Episode 24 - Conservative Activism with Alexandra DeSanctis
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Release Date: 02/05/2019
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
The stakes were high in the first debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Did anyone, other than the American people, emerge the loser? Were any pets harmed during the debate? Did some semblance of substance somehow slip through? Saving Elephants presents another livestream cross-partisan panel to debate the debate, featuring: Elizabeth Doll Mike Taylor Cal Davenport John Giokaris
info_outline 161 – American Covenant with Yuval LevinSaving 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...
info_outline Roundtable - Kamala's DNC SpeechSaving 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.
info_outline 160 – FreeCons with Avik RoySaving 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...
info_outline 159 – The Prudential Lincoln with Allen GuelzoSaving 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 158 – Fashionable Fusionists with Samuel GoldmanSaving 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...
info_outline 157 – Fifty Conservative ThinkersSaving 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...
info_outline 156 – Reappraising the Right’s Foreign Policy with Michael LuccheseSaving 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...
info_outline 155 – Melodic Musings with Barney QuickSaving 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...
info_outline 154 – That Old Burkean Saw with Cal DavenportSaving 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...
info_outlineAcross college campuses and in our nation’s capital political activism is on the rise. But it’s not just a tool of the Left as more and more Right-leaning activist organizations are appearing. What exactly is political activism? What are its potential benefits or defects? And how might activism fit with a conservative worldview?
Joining Josh on the podcast is National Review staff writer Alexandra DeSanctis. Alexandra has been active in the prolife movement for many years and offers her thoughts on political activism put into practice. She first began working for the magazine as a William F. Buckley Jr. Fellow in Political Journalism in 2016. She cohosts the Ordered Liberty podcast twice a week with National Review senior writer David French. It can be found on the National Review website, iTunes, or Google Play. Her Twitter handle is xan_desanctis.