118 – Fearlessly Curious with Mónica Guzmán
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Release Date: 11/01/2022
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_outlineSaving 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_outlineSaving 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...
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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 ().
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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...
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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_outlineSaving 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.
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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_outlineSaving 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_outlineSaving 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_outlineMónica Guzmán joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis as they reach across the political divide to explore how the Left and Right might better engage one another in respectful debate. Mónica shares her experiences as a liberal living in deep, blue Seattle yet grappling with her immigrant parent’s support for Trump. They also discuss the limitations of reason to resolve our differences, why viewing people as complex and not merely complicated helps us bridge divides, and why Mónica has hope for a brighter future.
About Mónica Guzmán
Per her website, Mónica Guzmán is Senior Fellow for Public Practice at Braver Angels, a nonprofit working to depolarize America, host of Crosscut’s interview series Civic Cocktail, and author of I Never Thought Of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times.
Moni was a 2019 fellow at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, where she studied social and political division, and a 2016 fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, where she studied how journalists can better meet the needs of a participatory public.
Before committing to the project of helping people understand each other across the political divide, Mónica cofounded the award-winning Seattle newsletter The Evergrey and led a national network of groundbreaking local newsletters as VP of Local for WhereBy.Us.
She was named one of the 50 most influential women in Seattle, served twice as a juror for the Pulitzer Prizes, and plays a barbarian named Shadrack in her besties' Dungeons & Dragons campaign.