117 – Conservatism Down Under with Jonathan Cole
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Release Date: 10/18/2022
175 – The Two James Burnhams with David Byrne
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
James Burnham was one of the most significant intellectual influences on the conservative movement of the twentieth century. As an anti-Communist hardliner, his views on dealing with the Soviet menace head on ultimately shaped US foreign policy in the Reagan administration. And his work at William F. Buckley’s National Review gave the fledgling magazine its foreign policy heft. Throughout his long public career, there emerged two James Burnhams: one who provided the early scaffolding to neoconservative ideas and the other who inspired paleoconservatives. Saving...
info_outline
174 – Triggering Straussians with Greg Collins
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
In his perpetual quest to mildly trigger his Straussian pals, Josh invites fellow Millennial and Burkean conservative Greg Collins on to discuss how Leo Strauss misconstrued Edmund Burke’s political views and lasting impact. Also discussed are Burke’s complex views on natural rights, manners, reform, revolution, social contract theory, classical liberalism, and Rousseau. Fair warning, dear listener, this one gets nerdy in a hurry! About Greg Collins From The Kirk Center Dr. Gregory Collins is one of the most celebrated Burke scholars of the rising generation. He is a...
info_outline
173 – The Fertility Gap with Clara Piano
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
The Right has long had a thing or two to say about the importance of the family and its role in national stability and prosperity. But there are sharp divisions regarding what political implications can be drawn from this idea, and what policies should be pursued to protect and strengthen families. Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis welcomes economist Clara Piano to the show to talk about the government’s role in pro-natal and pro-family policies, the ideal population size, the challenges of under/over-population, ethical consumerism, and what some of today’s Right have in...
info_outline
Roundtable - Conversing Across the Political Divide
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Is civil discourse even possible across the political divide when that divide seems so insurmountable? How do we maintain or even strengthen relationships when we don’t see politics the same? The latest Saving Elephants roundtable brings together panelists who all have experience in communicating across the divide: (former Acton Institute podcast host), (), Will Wright and Josh Burtram (), Elizabeth Doll (), and Calvin Moore ().
info_outline
172 – The History of American Conservatism with George Nash
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
In 1976 historian George H. Nash wrote , a celebrated historical accounting that established much of the narrative for how we think about the development of modern conservatism even today. George Nash joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to discuss the various strands of thought that emerged after the Second World War that eventually evolved into a political movement on the Right. Along the way, Dr. Nash shares his insights on the colorful individuals who shaped the debate, how they fought one another, and how an eventual loose consensus was brought forth. Finally, he...
info_outline
171 – Reality Therapy Redux
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
At the end of 2024, Ryan Rogers joined the show to share his as a graduate student. He later had Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis on his new podcast, , for a wide ranging discussion on conservatism, the challenges of the modern conservative movement, what conservatism offers that other political ideologies do not, and much more. This episode is a re-podcast of that original conversation. About Ryan Rogers Ryan Rogers is a graduate student in clinical mental health counseling. He has a bachelors degree in psychology and a work history in addiction treatment. His latest...
info_outline
Roundtable - Trump's 1st Week on the Job
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
It’s Trump’s first week on the job and he’s been quite busy making America great again or summoning the Fourth Reich, depending on your political perspective. Join Saving Elephants’ livestream roundtable of cross-partisan pontificators to break it all down for you and what this first week might portend for the next four years.
info_outline
170 – Tribalism is Dumb with Andrew Heaton
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Comedian, author, and political satirist joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to explore where our political tribalism comes from, why it’s gotten out of hand, and what to do about it. About Andrew Heaton Andrew Heaton is a comedian, author, and political satirist. He’s the host of “The Political Orphanage” comedy and news podcast, and scifi deep dive podcast “Alienating the Audience.” He’s a frequent Reason TV contributor and hosted the popular webseries “Mostly Weekly.” He’s performed standup comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as a finalist in the...
info_outline
169 – Unsolicited Advice with Blake Fischer
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
With the 2024 elections in rearview both parties are trying to grapple with what lessons they should learn. Who better to offer unsolicited advice than Josh Lewis and Blake Fischer, the respective hosts of the and podcasts? As two Trump-skeptical conservatives on the outside looking in, sure both parties are eager to hear their thoughts on how both parties should proceed in the elections ahead. In this episode, Josh and Blake take a deep dive into what went wrong and what went right for the Republicans in 2024 and what might help them secure their newfound majorities for...
info_outline
Roundtable - 2024 - A Year in Review
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
As 2024 comes to a close podcasters everywhere will be doing one of those hackneyed and insufferable “a look back at the year’s major events” shows. Not to be outdone, Saving Elephants will be getting in on the action as well with another livestream roundtable to bloviate and pontificate about the numerous twists and turns of our most recent trip around the sun. Of course, unlike all those other shows, you never know when the panelists will get into an argument about whether Burke, Strauss, Hayek, or Scruton would have had the more insightful outlook were they alive today.
info_outlineAmerican conservatism has long struggled to reconcile the American Revolution with a worldview that defers to the slow accretion of cultural and historical development over generations. Yet some nations followed this more “conservative” path. How might American conservatism appear to them? Joining Josh in this episode is bona fide conservative and Australian Jonathan Cole to discuss how Australian conservatism differs from both the American and British models and what each of us might learn from the other. Also discussed are how Jonathan defines conservatism, whether it’s an ideology or the negation of ideology, why conservatives are over-focused on power dynamics and have lost sight of the whole-life perspective of conservatism, how Australians view the politics of America, how American political culture impacts Australia, and the implications of the rise of China.
About Jonathan Cole
From Jonathan Cole’s website:
Dr Jonathan Cole is a scholar, writer, translator and lecturer specializing in political theology—the intersection between religion and politics.
He is currently Assistant Director of Research at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture at Charles Sturt University, Canberra, Australia, and host of The Political Animals Podcast: "Honest conversations about the political, theological and cultural ideas that shape who we are in the 21st century."
He has a PhD in political theology from CSU, an MA in Islamic theology and Middle Eastern politics from the Australian National University and a BA Hons in Modern Greek language and history from La Trobe University. He speaks Greek.
He spent 13 years working in a number of Australian federal government departments and agencies in Canberra, including seven years in intelligence, most recently as a Senior Terrorism Analyst at the Office of National Assessments (2010–2014).
Follow Jonathan on Facebook, Twitter, or Academia for his latest content.