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Bonus Episode – Midterm Examinations with Mickey Dodson

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

Release Date: 11/09/2018

161 – American Covenant with Yuval Levin show art 161 – American Covenant with Yuval Levin

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

In this era of polarization and partisan bickering, Americans of all political persuasions are calling for the nation to come together.  National unity is certainly in high demand and highly praised.  But what is unity?  As Yuval Levin argues in his latest book, , “unity doesn’t mean agreement…disagreement does not foreclose the possibility of unity.  A more unified society would not always disagree less, but it would disagree better—that is, more constructively and with an eye to how different priorities and goals can be accommodated.  That we have lost some...

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Roundtable - Kamala's DNC Speech show art Roundtable - Kamala's DNC Speech

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

It's the last night of the Democratic National Convention and who better to offer commentary on Kamala Harris' speech than a cross-partisan panel? Join us for a livestream discussion scheduled to take place shortly after Kamala's speech.

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160 – FreeCons with Avik Roy show art 160 – FreeCons with Avik Roy

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

The great fusionist project of ordered liberty advocated by Frank Meyer, William F. Buckley, and M. Stanton Evans is defended and affirmed today by a group calling themselves Freedom Conservatives, or FreeCons.  And as most groups of conservatives are wont to do, they have drafted a outlining what they hope to affirm.  Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is a proud signatory on this statement and welcomes in this episode one of the two originators of the Statement, Avik Roy, for a wide-ranging discussion on fusionism, how FreeCons may compare and contrast with NatCons, the need for...

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159 – The Prudential Lincoln with Allen Guelzo show art 159 – The Prudential Lincoln with Allen Guelzo

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...

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158 – Fashionable Fusionists with Samuel Goldman show art 158 – Fashionable Fusionists with Samuel Goldman

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

In an age of rampant informalities, shoddy attire, and the kind of milieu that makes a possibility, conservatives stand athwart history yelling STOP!  Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is the impeccably dressed Samuel Goldman to explore how conservatism informs the world of fashion, why legendary figures on the Right from Russell Kirk to Albert J Nock to Willmoore Kendall wore such questionably lavish accessories, the connective tissues between intellectual conservatism and 90s era punk rock, and much more.   About Samuel Goldman Samuel Goldman is an associate professor of...

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157 – Fifty Conservative Thinkers show art 157 – Fifty Conservative Thinkers

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

In an age where what passes for the archetype conservative are the likes of , , , , , 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...

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156 – Reappraising the Right’s Foreign Policy with Michael Lucchese show art 156 – Reappraising the Right’s Foreign Policy with Michael Lucchese

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

In February of 2004 the late Charles Krauthammer delivered the keynote address at .  It was a year into the Iraqi war and several years into the War on Terror.  Krauthammer’s address—entitled Democratic Realism—lauded much of the Bush administration’s approach to the war, but offered some stern warnings on how the war and rebuilding efforts might go awry.  His warnings proved to be profoundly prescient as the following years led to the disillusionment of what broadly (and wrongly) became known as NeoCon foreign policy.   What had the Right missed in Krauthammer’s...

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155 – Melodic Musings with Barney Quick show art 155 – Melodic Musings with Barney Quick

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

How might music point us to the good, the true, and the beautiful?  What is the purpose of music, and we are guilty of misusing it?  Why are we so obsessed with Taylor Swift?  Musician and conservative journalist Barney Quick joins Josh to discuss how conservatism might better inform our approach to music.  Also discussed are whether or not the elephants can be saved at all, how an owning-the-libs approach misses the spirit of conservatism, and whether or not Principles First has lost its first principles.   About Barney Quick Barney Quick is a journalist whose work...

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154 – That Old Burkean Saw with Cal Davenport show art 154 – That Old Burkean Saw with Cal Davenport

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

After a stint of episodes taking deep dives into obscure topics, Josh returns to some conservative first-principles by inviting long-time friend of the podcast Cal Davenport on for a wide-ranging discussion on whether or not the fusionist consensus is truly dead, why all the energy in the Right seems to be going towards the NatCons, what’s leading to the rise of populism, how to repackage conservative ideas into digestible slogans, who belongs on the Mt. Rushmore of conservative thought, and how Edmund Burke factors into all of this.  Trigger warning for the Straussian listener: this...

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153 – Full-Time with David Bahnsen show art 153 – Full-Time with David Bahnsen

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

David Bahnsen returns to the podcast to discuss his latest book: .  David holds a high view of work and, in an era where self-help gurus are teaching us how to work less to achieve a work/life balance, David wants to shift the paradigm to work/rest and celebrate the productive nature of our being.  Also discussed in this episode are what the church gets wrong about work, how each generation brings different challenges and advantages to work culture, universal basic income (UBI), whether the Marxist are right and work under a capitalist system is exploitation, and what the future of...

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More Episodes
The 2018 midterm elections have come and gone, but there’s still plenty of analyzing and expounding to be done.  And who better than an investigative auditor to get to the bottom of the good, the bad, and the ugly details of 2018?  Joining Josh for this special bonus episode is Mickey Dodson, investigative auditor for the Oklahoma State Auditor’s Office.
 
Though a Millennial, Mickey has worn a number of hats that take many people a lifetime to achieve.  He’s a former city councilor, former attorney for the Tulsa County DA’s office, and former agent for the FBI.  These days he performs special and investigative audits of public officials and public entities in Oklahoma where he works with Saving Elephants’ host Josh Lewis in the State Auditor’s Office.  In running for office himself and in working in many campaigns over the years, Mickey has gained invaluable insight into the Republican party at a state and national level.
 
The 2018 midterm election was a mixed bag for both the Republican and Democratic parties.  The real losers in the midterm elections were those who don’t identify with the more radical elements of both parties.  Those who don’t separate the world into warring tribes or factions of good guys vs bad guys are becoming fewer and fewer in election positions, and our nation is all the worse off for it.
 
What does this mean for the Republican party in the years ahead?  Will the Democrats—emboldened with their new majority in the House—legislate or litigate?  Will the next two years be non-stop investigations and calls for impeachment or will congress find ways to compromise and work out their differences?  And where does this leave the Republican party?  Have they forever solidified themselves as the party of Trump or is he a passing fad?  Join us as we dissect these questions and more.