Libsyn Directory

157 – Fifty Conservative Thinkers

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

Release Date: 07/02/2024

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

Sometimes the best way to understand one’s culture is to compare it with something entirely different. In this episode Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis take a deep dive into China with Chinese dissident Lu of the YouTube channel . Lu demystifies what the Communist Chinese Party (CCP) wants, why they fear Taiwan, how they view the ethnic Han population, why they work so hard to cover up the history of the Tiananmen Square massacre when far more people died in the great famine and the cultural revolution, and just who the heck is this “professor” Jiang Xueqin who’s been all over...

200 – Is the GOP Worth Saving?

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

This month marks eight years of Saving Elephants tirelessly calling the GOP back to its classical conservative roots instead of the cult-of-personality nationalist populism to which the party has succumbed. And over these past eight years...things have only gotten worse. Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis assembles an all-star panel to answer the question: is the GOP worth saving? Meet the Panelists: Shawn Whatley Shawn Whatley hosts , a weekly podcast focusing on political ideas, culture, and news. Shawn, MD, is a seasoned physician leader with experience in emergency...

199 – Getting Friendly with John von Heyking

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

Friendship is one of the last words you might associate with politics these days. Yet John von Heyking believes recovering a proper, classical understanding of friendship is precisely what our civic order needs to function. Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis and John discuss the differences in how the ancients and medievals viewed friendship and how it’s been undervalued by us moderns. They also discuss the important need for civic education and why America has to import Canadians like John to teach American civics. About John von Heyking Bio from John von...

Roundtable - POTUS War Powers

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

It's been nearly a month since Supreme Leader Khamenei and his gathered Legion of Doom were killed in the Trump administration's "special military operation" in Iran. So, are we at war with Iran now? If so, what's the objective? Isn't Congress supposed to declare a war before a president takes things this far? What are the necessary and practical limits on a president's wartime powers? We covered all of this and more in the latest Saving Elephants livestream. The panelists include: · JB Shreve – Host of ...

198 – Conservative Cagematch – Burke vs Strauss

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

Ever since Leo Strauss published his magnum opus , which ends by heavily implying Edmund Burke opened the door for the evils of historicism in the modern world, a great fissure in conservative nerddom erupted between those who align with either titan. Were Strauss’ criticism of Burke warranted? Did Burke disavow natural rights and pave the way for the evils of authoritarianism, fascism, Marxism, and progressivism to come? Does a careful, esoteric reading of Natural Right and History reveal the Strauss secret family chili recipe? Saving Elephants has assembled an all-star panel to answer...

197 – Defending Wonks with Nic Dunn

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

While Saving Elephants is dedicated to offering the conservative intellectual tradition in mercifully modern vernacular, fellow podcaster Nic Dunn has been on a similar mission: making the work of policy institutions more digestible. Nic joins Josh for a conversation around the important role policy can play in defusing political tension, alleviating poverty, and expanding the freedom and opportunities all Americans seek. About Nic Dunn Bio from Nic Dunn serves as Vice President of Strategy and Senior Fellow at Sutherland Institute. As VP of Strategy, Nic oversees the...

196 – Crossing the Danube with Calum Nicholson

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

For good or ill, the post World War II era built by the Baby Boomers seems to be rapidly coming to an end. But what will replace it? What might be done to prevent global conflicts and bloodshed as the old order begins to break down? And what should younger conservatives seek to conserve in this era of chaotic change? Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is Director of Research at the , Calum Nicholson to share how the Anglosphere often misunderstands the way the rest of the world thinks and how that might help us better prepare for what’s ahead. About Calum...

195 – Geeking Out with Lauren Hall

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

In a world of exhaustive binary thinking sometimes complexity offers relief. Lauren Hall joins the show to offer her alternative living in 4D she calls “radical moderation”. In the latter half of the conversation Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis happily takes Lauren up on her offer to geek out on Edmund Burke. About Lauren Hall Excerpts from Lauren Hall is an author and professor helping people combat overwhelm in an age of extremes. Her writing rejects binary and black-and-white thinking to help people lead more balanced lives, build stronger relationships, and...

194 – Conversing Across the Pond with Daniel Pitt

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

Dr. Daniel Pitt and his imposing mustache joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to explore the similarities and differences between American and British conservatism, proto-Burkean “conservative” thinkers, Pitt’s personal relationship with Sir Roger Scruton, and the importance of unchosen obligations in a free society, all offered up in a wonderfully meandering conversation that nonetheless stays within the broader parameters of some conceivable structure analogous to the conservative vision of ordered liberty. Undoubtedly, Michael Oakeshott would have been proud. About...

193 – Dissenting the Dissident Right with Stephanie Slade

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

While Saving Elephants defends the classical conservative position, the loudest voices on the Right today coalesce around different policies, priorities, and goals. Those that form the dissident Right are comprised of multiple sub-groups with overlapping and, at times, incompatible views. So who is this disparate group of dissidents? What holds them together, and how do they differ from conservatives? Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is Stephanie Slade to explore the contours of the dissident Right. About Stephanie Slade From Stephanie Slade is a senior...

More Episodes

In an age where what passes for the archetype conservative are the likes of Candace Owens, Bill Mitchell, Sean Hannity, Matt Gaetz, Tomi Lahren, and Donald Trump, it can be discouraging for those of us who take pride in the rich legacy and colorful history of thinkers on the Right to be associated with such grifters, demagogues, and charlatans.

Trying to define conservatism is challenging and trying to compile a list of individuals who best exemplify conservatism is problematic. Yet this is becoming increasingly important in a world where “conservatism” is quickly being coopted by reactionary nationalist populists who have little to nothing in common with the namesake.

In this episode Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis offers his list of conservative thinkers well worthy of your time and attention.

Disclaimer

This list is imperfect and incomplete. If I were to revisit the list next year or possibly even next week, I’m sure there are plenty of names I’d believe should supplant the names here. Some of these individuals may even be uncomfortable with the label “conservative”, though they all share aspects of the broader conservative worldview. The names below are not listed in order of preference or importance, but they are all insightful and noteworthy.

The fifty individuals discussed in this episode are noted below. If you’d like to learn more about each one you can check out the original blog post of Fifty Conservative Thinkers for a brief bio and links.

Josh’s (Incomplete) List of Fifty Conservative Thinkers Worth Your Time

Edmund Burke

Milton Friedman

Wilhelm Röpke

David Bahnsen

F.A. Hayek

John Adams

Frederick Douglass

Thomas Sowell

James Madison

Barry Goldwater

Ronald Reagan

Bradley J. Birzer

Russell Kirk

Matthew Continetti

David French

Gertrude Himmelfarb

George Nash

Stephen J. Tonsor

Roger Scruton

Jacques Ellul

Whittaker Chambers

Michael Oakeshott

Eric Voegelin

Timothy Carney

C.S. Lewis

G.K. Chesterton

Jonah Goldberg

Wendell Berry

T.S. Eliot

Ross Douthat

Mary Eberstadt

M. Stanton Evans

Irving Kristol

George Will

William F. Buckley

Kristen Soltis Anderson

Robert Nisbet

Carly Fiorina

Arthur Brooks

Marian Tupy

Charles Marohn

Patrick Deneen

Harry Jaffa

Walter Williams

Frank S. Meyer

Alexis de Tocqueville

Lord Acton

Leo Stauss

Willmoore Kendall

Yuval Levin

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