197 – Defending Wonks with Nic Dunn
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Release Date: 03/03/2026
Roundtable - The 2026 Midterms
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
We stayed up late to discuss the results of the 2026 midterm elections. The panelists included: Lura Forcum () Corey Nathan () John Giokaris (undisclosed law firm in Chicago) Mike Taylor () Eric Kohn () Steve Phelps () Kent Straith ()
info_outline
213 – Approach the Bench with Mason Laney & Will Johnson
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
What’s up with the kids these days? Since even the youngest of the Millennials are entering their thirties, Saving Elephants host (and geriatric Millennial) Josh Lewis welcomes a couple of Gen Zers—Mason Laney and Will Johnson—to gain perspective on the world inhabited by younger Americans. Who are the voices young conservatives are listening to? What explains the rise of dissident Right and radical Right spokespeople like Nick Fuentes and Candace Owens? Is classical conservatism outdated or could it gain a foothold with the youth? About the Podcast Mason...
info_outline
212 – Allen Guelzo Redux
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Was Abraham Lincoln a racist? Were his efforts at emancipation the mere cold calculations of a politician whose sole aim was to win the Civil War, or do they point to some deeper ideals of America’s first principles? Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is Lincoln historian Dr. Allen C. Guelzo for a wide-ranging conversation on how Lincoln’s efforts at ending slavery and saving the union may provide the clearest example of prudent American statesmanship in practice. About Dr. Allen C. Guelzo Excerpts from the Dr. Allen C. Guelzo is a New York...
info_outline
211 – Next Right with Mike Warren
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Mike Warren has been on a mission to uncover what awaits conservatives, the Republican party, and the Right as the Trump administration begins to wind down. Who will control Congress after the midterms? Is Trumpism finished and everything will go back to the way it was prior to 2016? Does MAGA produce another cult leader who controls the GOP for the foreseeable future? Does Trump find a way to defy the Constitution and stick around? Does finally make his long-heralded appearance and put an end to us all? Mike isn’t in the business of making political...
info_outline
210 – John Quincy Adams with Jeffrey Tyler Syck
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Sure, most of us are aware that John Quincy Adams was the son of Founding Father John Adams and the sixth POTUS with a long and illustrative career in public service and diplomacy. Some might even recall that he was the brains behind the Monroe Doctrine, or that he nearly drowned during one of his many multi-hour swims in the Potomac River, or that he is undoubtedly the former president Americans would least likely want to have a beer with, or that he was considered by some to be . But all of that’s just trivia. More importantly, John Quincy Adams was a prolific writer whose...
info_outline
Roundtable - Rise of the DSA
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Whether it's Zohran Mamdani's win in NYC last year or the slew of Democratic Socialists of America electoral victories this year, the DSA is having a moment. Is this the beginning of the socialist utopia displacing the patriarchal/capitalist system in the United States or the latest ill-fated iteration of a party out of power attempting to redefine itself? Saving Elephants assembled another august panel to discuss this very issue, including: serves as Vice President of Communications for . Prior to joining SPN, Brooke was the Vice President of Communications at the , a...
info_outline
209 – The Soul of Schooling
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Former President George W. Bush was wrong when he iconically stated "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?" Actually, it's asked all the time (dubious grammatical structuring aside). Politicians and social influencers are quick to bemoan the state of education, but thoughtful conversations on how we might meaningfully change things for the better are few and far between. Saving Elephants has assembled an all-star panel to have a real conversation about education: Have we failed to educate our children? To what extent are problems in education a matter of bad policies,...
info_outline
Roundtable - Common Good Conservatism
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
In recent weeks conservative social media has been aflurry debating that nebulous phrase, the Common Good. Does the New Right have a monopoly on the concept of the common good? If we can agree on the common good, does that alone grant us the political authority to impose it? What is the relationship between liberty and the common good? Saving Elephants welcomes two guests to set the record straight for good and all. Dan Hugger, Editorial and Research Fellow and the Host of Acton Line Podcast at the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion & Liberty. He writes and speaks on questions...
info_outline
208 – Fusionism with Stephanie Slade
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Fellow Millennial, Stephanie Slade, has been in the trenches of various factions on the dissident Right lo these past several years to share with the uninitiated normies just how unhinged the Right has become in certain quarters. She joined Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis earlier this year () to explore this phenomenon. But since that time she’s written a book, , which offers the antidote to the rise of rightwing radicalism. That antidote is fusionism, a largely forgotten idea that once defined American conservatism. About Stephanie Slade From Stephanie...
info_outline
207 – Why Postliberalism Failed with James Patterson and Thomas Howes
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Patrick Deneen’s 2018 book, Why Liberalism Failed, was by the standards of most academic works of political philosophy, wildly successful. It struck a chord with some of the broader Right and gave a voice to a growing movement skeptical of the promises of classical liberalism and looking for an alternative. This burgeoning New Right, however, is anything but new. The kind of postliberalism often advocated by the New Right has been attempted in nations across Europe and South America. And each time it has been tried, it has failed. Joining Saving Elephants host...
info_outlineWhile 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 Sutherland Institute
Nic Dunn serves as Vice President of Strategy and Senior Fellow at Sutherland Institute. As VP of Strategy, Nic oversees the execution and strategic external impact of Sutherland’s written and multimedia policy content. In his capacity as Senior Fellow, he leads the policy research, coalition building, and public advocacy for policies that strengthen opportunity and upward mobility. This policy focus includes social safety net reform, workforce issues, and support for the well-being of men and boys. His expert commentary and analysis can be found on Sutherland’s weekly podcast, Defending Ideas, which he hosts, as well as in major outlets like Deseret News, Washington Examiner, National Review, and other Utah print and radio outlets.
Nic brings more than 13 years of experience in public policy and strategic communications spanning state and local government and the private sector. Prior to Sutherland, Nic served as director of Utah Community Builders, the Salt Lake Chamber’s nonprofit social impact foundation. In that role, Nic worked with the private sector to advance statewide initiatives in mental health, family policy, and upward mobility. Nic is also a member of the AEI Leadership Network, and the co-chair of the Salt Lake County Intergenerational Poverty Task Force.
In other previous work, Nic ran public policy for the Utah Valley Chamber, served as senior policy advisor to Salt Lake County Councilwoman Aimee Winder Newton, directed media relations for the Utah Department of Workforce Services, and worked on Gov. Gary Herbert’s communications staff as lead speechwriter.
Nic has a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Utah and dual bachelor’s degrees in broadcast journalism and political science from the University of Nevada, Reno. Nic and his wife, Lizzie, live in Eagle Mountain with their two sons.
Introducing Conservative Cagematches
Ever since Leo Strauss published his magnum opus Natural Right and History, 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?
On Wednesday, March 4 at 6PM EST / 5PM CST, Saving Elephants will assemble an all-star panel to answer these questions and more.
Representing Edmund Burke:
Greg Collins of Yale University and Lauren Hall of the Rochester Institute of Technology
Representing Leo Strauss:
Steve Hayward of Pepperdine and the international woman of mystery, Lucretia of the University of Arizona
You can watch the livestream on YouTube or Facebook