Bonus Episode – Remembering Roger Scruton with Bryan Baise
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Release Date: 01/12/2021
Episode 82 – Ruminating Remnants with Jonah Goldberg
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Syndicated columnist, author, podcaster, and political commentator Jonah Goldberg joins Josh to discuss his work in conservative media, their shared concerns with the direction of the country and sanity of the GOP, and why Woodrow Wilson was possibly an even worse human being than James Buchanan. Jonah Goldberg hosts , a podcast featuring a “Cannonball Run”-style cast of stars, has-beens, and never-weres to address the most pressing issues of the day and of all-time, mixing history, pop culture, rank-punditry, political philosophy, and, at times, shameless book-plugging,...
info_outline
Episode 81 – But, He's a Fighter
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
How often have you heard someone say of a Republican politician that they don’t necessarily approve of everything they do or say, but at least they fight? What exactly do we mean when we say—often approvingly—that someone is a fighter? Why is the Right so concerned with whether or not someone is fighting? Who are they supposed to be fighting, and what does it mean to fight? What is the role of civility in public discourse, and is it possible to maintain an appropriate amount of civility while still fighting? If we grant that the Right seems to be on the...
info_outline
Episode 80 – The Future of Fusionism with Stephanie Slade
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
“There's a well-worn tale about modern American conservatism,” writes Stephanie Slade in her piece for entitle “It says that the movement as we know it came into being during the mid–20th century as a ‘fusionist’ coalition of economic libertarians and religious traditionalists. These groups, whose goals and priorities differed from the start, were held together mainly by two things: the sheer charisma of National Review founder William F. Buckley Jr., and the shared enemy of global communism. As long as the Cold War endured, the story goes, each wing...
info_outline
Bonus Episode – What is Conservatism? – with Corey Astill and Kyle Sammin
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
The Saving Elephants podcast turns three years old today—no joke! To celebrate Saving Elephants is releasing a bonus episode: a re-podcast from the podcast where Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis joined Corey Astill and Kyle Sammin to discuss Frank Meyer’s classic book is a podcast about conservative ideas and thinkers. Hosts Corey and Kyle explore what it means to call yourself a conservative, where conservatism has been, and where it's going. Each week, they select readings and conduct a discussion to share with you our investigation. You can join the...
info_outline
Episode 79 – Turning Left from Right with Calvin Moore
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Host of the podcast Calvin Moore joins Josh to discuss his journey away from the Evangelical faith and a traditional, conservative, Republican culture. Calvin became disillusioned with the Christianity of his upbringing and dissuaded from the politics commonly attached to it over many years of wrestling with hypocrisies and disingenuous arguments. His story is an excellent example of the dangers in short-sighted political strategies and belief systems that fail to take the experiences of others into account. Calvin begins his story where he left off last year on the...
info_outline
Episode 78 – Iron Ladies with Leslie Loftis
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Women on the Right have an invisibility problem. It’s not that they’re nonexistent, it’s that they’re often overlooked by the Fox News stereotype of what is believed to constitute a conservative woman. So says Leslie Loftis, longtime curator of publications from conservative women. Leslie and Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis delve into the challenges women on the Right face and what unique strengths they might bring to the Republican party and conservatism in general if they were more visible. Leslie also shares her thoughts on the role of feminism in advancing...
info_outline
Episode 77 – Truth in Tension with Justin Stapley
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
In this crossover episode friend of the podcast Justin Stapley invites Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis onto his show to discuss self-evident truths and what it means to hold truth in tension. The conversation includes thoughts on whether or not our inalienable rights are “self-evident”, the genius of American founders, Jeffersonian, Lockean liberalism vs. Hamiltonian, Burkean conservatism, why John Adams didn’t make a good president, whether the 1619 Project or 1776 Project is “right” or if the truth is somewhere in-between, whether America’s founding perfect or problematic,...
info_outline
Episode 76 – What Happens Now with Cal Davenport
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
The million-dollar question within conservatism these days is what happens now? After the tumultuous years of the Trump administration and with a Republican party gearing up for civil war to determine who owns the heart and soul of the Right, to say nothing of looming questions of the role of nationalism and populism competing against conservatism, it’s difficult to predict how all of this will ultimately shake out. Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to try to offer some clarity in our murky times is Cal Davenport, co-host of , a show of two young conservatives having...
info_outline
Episode 75 – A Peaceful Transfer of Power
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Tomorrow Joe Biden will be sworn in as our 46th President. Yet this inauguration will mark the first time in American history that the outgoing president refused to accept the results of the election and actively worked to overturn them. And, for the first time in modern American history, we were deprived on a peaceful transfer of power. On January 6, 2021 our country was attacked. My country. Your country. Though the events took place several weeks ago, it is important to keep them fresh in our minds as we reflect on what it means to be Americans and to...
info_outline
Bonus Episode – Remembering Roger Scruton with Bryan Baise
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
One year ago today, on January 12, 2020, Sir Roger Scruton died at the age of 75. Thus passed one of the greatest intellectual minds of the past century. Scruton was an English philosopher and writer who specialized in aesthetics and political philosophy. He wrote over 50 books on philosophy, art, music, politics, literature, culture, sexuality, and religion, as well as novels and two operas. Yet his greatest achievement, according to Dr. Samuel Gregg with the Acton Institute, was to put into words and give form to conservatism as a philosophy beyond a...
info_outlineOne year ago today, on January 12, 2020, Sir Roger Scruton died at the age of 75. Thus passed one of the greatest intellectual minds of the past century. Scruton was an English philosopher and writer who specialized in aesthetics and political philosophy. He wrote over 50 books on philosophy, art, music, politics, literature, culture, sexuality, and religion, as well as novels and two operas. Yet his greatest achievement, according to Dr. Samuel Gregg with the Acton Institute, was to put into words and give form to conservatism as a philosophy beyond a mere disposition or attitude.
Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis in remembering the life and works of Sir Roger Scruton is returning guest Bryan Baise, professor of philosophy and apologetics at Boyce College. Bryan describes Scruton as a dear friend he’d never met who nonetheless had a rescuing influence on his life. Bryan published several obituaries for Scruton last year to celebrate his life. He wrote:
“I was sitting in Panera when I received a text message from a friend and colleague: ‘Roger Scruton has died.’ I was with my family and a widow from our church, holding back tears until I could get in the car. A man that changed so many things about my world has now passed away.”
Bryan then recounted the many things Scruton had taught him, as discussed in the episode. In another obituary Bryan wrote:
“It’s difficult to try to describe the various ways [Scruton] influenced individuals and movements…I’m afraid the loss of Scruton means the erosion of a kinder, gentler conservatism than what is currently on offer…The posture toward politics and culture that Scruton embodied is, I fear, being forgotten and will one day die out.”
Bryan Baise is a professor of philosophy and apologetics at Boyce College. Bryan is the program director of philosophy, politics, and economics and the program director of the Christian worldview and apologetics. He is currently working on two books, one about beauty and another about introducing the conservative worldview to a non-academic audience. You can follow Bryan on Twitter @bryanbaise.
Bryan was a guest on two previous episodes:
Episode 41 - Why Beauty Matters with Bryan Baise
Episode 25 - Developing Your Worldview with Bryan Baise