209 – The Soul of Schooling
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Release Date: 08/31/2026
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,...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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206 – Pondering Patriotism with John Wilsey
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
What does it mean to love your country? Is that nationalism? And isn’t nationalism—you know—bad? And how should our allegiance and love of country be weighed against our duties and affections to family and faith? Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by John Wilsey to discuss his latest book, , the origins of nationalism and how it differs from patriotism, the link between history and love of ones country, the battles between the Romantics and Rationalists, and that great public servant, John Quincy Adams. About John Wilsey From the Dr. John...
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205 – Radical Experimentation in Liberty with Brad Birzer
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
The immortal words of the —We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness—are etched upon the hearts of American patriots today and knit us together with patriots down through the ages. Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by Hillsdale professor Brad Birzer as they delve into the depths of this most remarkable of political texts and explore the origins of the ideas that birthed our nation. About Brad Birzer From...
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Roundtable - America, 250 Years Young
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Whether you call it the Semiquincentennial or the Sestercentennial; whether you’re on team Red, Blue, or politically homeless; whether you believe Die Hard is a movie about Independence Day; America’s 250th birthday is something worth celebrating. So how best to ring in this once-in-a-lifetime advent? Saving Elephants has assembled a panel to reflect on what it means for America to turn the big 250.
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204 – Weaving Thru Weaver with Michael Lucchese
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Richard Weaver was a twentieth century American scholar and rhetorician whose writings were praised by the likes of Russell Kirk, William F. Buckley, Willmoore Kendall, and Frank Meyer. But nowadays Weaver is either derided as a racially charged Southern sympathizer or . If he’s discussed at all. Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is Michael Lucchese, whose latest essay in defends Weaver’s contributions to the intellectual Right and argues his writings are still instructive for the conservative today. This episode explores Weaver’s actual views on the South...
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Roundtable - Should We Uncap The House?
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
What if we can agree on the political solution, but we disagree on whose side is most likely to benefit? Congress is broken. On this we can all agree. One of the more interesting reform ideas to emerge is the call to expand the number of Representatives in the United States House, thereby making it more likely Representatives could actually, you know, represent their constituents. This idea seems to have some bipartisan appeal and is championed by voices on both the Left and Right. But doesn’t it stand to reason that any reform to the system is bound to favor one side over...
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203 – Historizing 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. But much has changed since the seventies. What can the history of conservatism tell us about this present moment, and what can it tell us about where things may be heading? Dr. Nash joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to unravel the past, present, and future of conservatism in the United States. About George H. Nash George H. Nash is the epitome of a gentleman and a scholar. ...
info_outlineFormer 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, structures, or philosophy? What is the purpose of education, and do our schools align with that purpose?
The panel includes:
Brooke Medina
From spn.org
Brooke Medina serves as Vice President of Communications for State Policy Network. She is SPN’s on-the-record spokesperson. Prior to joining SPN, Brooke was the Vice President of Communications at the John Locke Foundation, a state-based think tank in Raleigh, North Carolina. Brooke’s writing has been published in outlets such as Fox News, The Hill, Entrepreneur, Washington Examiner, WORLD, Daily Signal, and other publications. In addition, she is a contributor to The Digital Public Square: Christian Ethics in a Technological Society, published by B&H Academic Press. Brooke was also the executive producer of Sowing Resilience, Securing Our Food Supply from Farm to Table, a feature length film about North Carolina’s food systems and agriculture industry, as well as A Letter to the King, a film highlighting the historical significance of the Edenton Tea Party, America’s first all-female political movement.
Luke Sheahan
From lukesheahan.com
Luke Sheahan is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Duquesne University, Non-Resident Scholar at the Program for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society (PRRUCS) at the University of Pennsylvania, and editor of The University Bookman. Luke’s research and speaking focuses upon civil society and freedom of association. Luke is the author of Why Associations Matter: The Case for First Amendment Pluralism.
Caylan Ford
From caylanford.com
Caylan Ford is a documentary filmmaker, writer, researcher, charter school founder, and a former political candidate. Born in Calgary, Canada, and earning a Bachelor’s degree (Hons.) in Chinese history at the University of Calgary, Caylan obtained a Master’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and worked on and off as a senior policy advisor for Canada’s foreign ministry. Between the birth of her two children she earned another Master’s in International Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford. In 2022 Caylan founded Canada’s first tuition-free classical charter school network, Alberta Classical Academy. Here is a short video introduction to their work and how they aim to promote knowledge of things that are true, good, and enduring.