183 – Conservative Conservationism with Stephen Perkins
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Release Date: 08/05/2025
201 – All Things China with Lu
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...
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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...
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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...
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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 ...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
info_outlineYounger Americans—regardless of their political affiliations—are increasingly supportive focusing on environmental and conservation issues. But while there may be renewed unity on recognizing the importance of such issues, the policies advocated by the Left and Right continue to differ. The American Conservation Coalition (ACC) is a group of young Americans on the political Right standing up for action over activism in their approach to environmental reform. Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is ACC’s COO, Stephen Perkins, to discuss how economic prosperity and a clean environment don’t necessarily have to be mutually exclusive, how younger Americans differ from past generations on environmental questions, what’s up with climate change, the prospects of a nuclear-powered future, and much more.
About Stephen Perkins
From acc.eco
Stephen Perkins is a conservative strategist and Chief Operating Officer of the American Conservation Coalition (ACC). He oversees ACC’s national operations and coordinates strategy among its grassroots, grasstops, communications, and administrative departments.
Stephen’s career has centered on community, leadership, and mobilization. One of ACC’s original volunteers, he joined the organization full-time in 2021 as the Vice President of Grassroots Strategy, leading field operations and growing membership to more than 40,000 young Americans. Before joining ACC, he was a partner at a digital marketing firm, assisting more than 50 political and advocacy clients in building successful digital programs over three election cycles. Earlier in his career, he provided marketing, advocacy, and leadership strategy to several political and educational organizations.
Stephen’s work and writing have been featured in publications such as Fox News, The Hill, Real Clear Energy, Townhall, the Washington Examiner, and The Dallas Morning News.
He holds a degree in Political Science from the University of Texas at Arlington, with a concentration in political leadership and civic engagement. A proud Texan, Stephen resides in the Hill Country with his dog, Hudson, and enjoys hiking, camping, hunting, Texas country music, and volunteering at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.