Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
The Saving Elephants Podcast features engaging conversations about conservative values with a mercifully modern twist. Tired of political shock-talk and rank punditry on your radio and TV? Curious about what conservative thinkers of yesteryear had to say but don't have time to read some terribly long, boring book they wrote? Want to learn why conservatism still holds value for Millennials today? Join us as we re-ignite conservatism for Millennials!
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166 – Independent Idiosyncrasies with Brett Loyd
11/19/2024
166 – Independent Idiosyncrasies with Brett Loyd
“The biggest takeaway from the 2024 election,” , is that “independents have officially broken the duopoly and now share the title of America’s largest political group with Republicans.” But what is an independent, exactly? What do they want and how are they different from those who proudly affiliate with the Republican or Democratic parties? And what might this portend for the future of American politics? Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by pollster Brett Loyd to make sense of the rise of the independents in the electorate. About Brett Loyd President and CEO of The Bullfinch Group, Brett Loyd is a leading researcher and campaign strategist, being one of the few political operatives to accurately forecast the 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections. With his methods unswayed by external influences, Brett has built a reputation as a trusted and insightful partner to presidential, senatorial, congressional, and gubernatorial candidates; national political committees; and corporate and issue campaigns. His unbiased and data-first approach has delivered research, insights, analysis, and recommendations that have led to wins from the highest levels of U.S. campaign politics to local policy initiatives, and among his trade association, NGO, and Fortune 500 clients’ efforts. This extensive experience also allows Brett to serve as a reputable advisor to DC’s embassy and foreign relations community, advising international government relations firms as well as ambassadors and their diplomatic staff in Washington and abroad. Brett Loyd began his career in statistics and political science after graduating from Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa. Following his start in state politics, Brett moved to Washington, DC in 2007 where he and his wife still reside with their dog Falkor and goldfish Doug. About The Independence Center is an organization dedicated to building a movement of independent-thinkers with Leaders who support centrist common sense compromise. The Independent Center’s mission is advocate for the millions of Americans who believe we share common ground and to promote and support candidates who share those values through research and outreach. Have you heard? Saving Elephants is now on YouTube! Saving Elephants now has YouTube channel, featuring full-length episodes, exclusive shorts, and even live events! Check it out here:
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Roundtable - Election Night - Livestream
11/06/2024
Roundtable - Election Night - Livestream
Sure, the major news networks had all the "experts", but how many of them opined on what Buckley, Burke, or Kirk would think of the election results? Listen to Saving Elephants' livestream on election night as results come in from another stellar panel of cross-partisan contributors: , , , , Kent Straith, , John Giokaris, , and Steve Phelps.
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165 – Take Courage
11/05/2024
165 – Take Courage
Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis flies this election day episode solo to offer his thoughts on how your vote is more likely to impact yourself than it is the races, having grace for those who choose to vote differently than we do, and why conservatives should take courage in a profoundly discouraging time. Special Election Night Livestream You’re already staying up late to watch the election results. Why not watch them with another august cross-partisan panel brought to you by Saving Elephants? Join us, beginning 9PM CST, as we analyze the results in real time. Sure, the national networks have professional pundits, but how likely are any of them to seriously discuss what Burke, Kirk, or Buckley would think about our political developments? Here’s the link for and another for where we’ll be livestreaming.
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Roundtable - Election 2024 - Home Stretch
10/21/2024
Roundtable - Election 2024 - Home Stretch
The most [assuredly not] important election of our lifetime is a little more than two weeks away. The candidates are in the home stretch as each of them make their final pitch to the dwindling undecided voter. Join another venerable group of panelists as we share our thoughts on the state of the race and our hopes and fears with a coming Harris or another Trump administration. Panelists include: Brooke Medina, Eric Kohn, Mike Taylor, and Nate Honorè
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164 – What is a Woman with Kimberly Ross
10/15/2024
164 – What is a Woman with Kimberly Ross
Saving Elephants meticulously avoids many cringeworthy tropes in today’s “conservative” media and opts instead for deeper conversations on the conservative worldview and what it can offer Millennials. As such, there is much low-hanging-fruit among the fruitier parts of the Left that isn’t as vigorously explored as it is in the aforementioned “conservative” media. But that doesn’t mean these topics are off limits—just that they’re to be approached with conviction and clarity. Josh Lewis welcomes Kimberly Ross back to the podcast for a wide-ranging discussion on what it means to be a woman, the place of feminism in conservatism, how both the Left and Right get the differences in the sexes wrong, and whether Andrew Tate is the “conservative’s” answer to Che Guevara. About Kimberly Ross Kimberly Ross is a freelance conservative writer. Her work regularly appears in The Washington Examiner, both online and the print magazine, and The Mirror magazine, a monthly publication from Aid to the Church in Need. She is a freelance columnist at and co-host of podcast. Her archive of published work can be found at RedState, Arc Digital, The Bulwark, Rare, and USA Today. As a mother of two and self-described "first wave feminist", she is most passionate about the rights of children, women, and the issue of abortion. She considers herself an independent conservative (not to be confused with conservative independent) and is beholden to no politician. Kimberly has a B.A. in history with graduate work in political science. You can follow Kimberly on Twitter @SouthernKeeks
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Roundtable - Vice Vice Baby
10/02/2024
Roundtable - Vice Vice Baby
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Senator JD Vance square off for the first—and likely only—vice presidential debate that’s sure to leave pundits chattering, social media accounts fighting, and late economists spinning in their graves. The debate begins at 9PM ET. Join us immediately following the debate for another livestream roundtable to restore some inkling of sanity back to this election. Panelists include Scott Howard, Jeffery Tyler Syck, and John Giokaris.
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163 – Where Does the Conservative Go from Here?
10/01/2024
163 – Where Does the Conservative Go from Here?
In a world where both political parties are moving away from free market oriented policy solutions, a robust defense of our international allies, and traditional social norms, where does the conservative go from here? Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by special returning guests Cal Davenport, Erik Kohn, and Justin Stapley for a roundtable discussion on what the future holds for the conservative movement. This episode first dropped as a livestream on the new Saving Elephants YouTube channel., featuring full-length episodes, exclusive shorts, and even live events! Check it out here:
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Roundtable - Towards a Sensible Foreign Policy
09/25/2024
Roundtable - Towards a Sensible Foreign Policy
From Eastern Europe to the Middle East to Southeast Asia to so many other places, the world's on fire. Yet neither presidential candidate is offering us a compelling vision to navigate this brave new world. Join another august assembly of panelists as we discuss what a sensible foreign policy might look like. You can also watch this episode on YouTube:
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162 – Harmonizing Sentiments with Hans Eicholz
09/17/2024
162 – Harmonizing Sentiments with Hans Eicholz
The Declaration of Independence audaciously declares certain “truths” to be “self-evident”. And, in so doing, offered a justification for not only a break with Great Britain and Revolutionary War, but the foundation upon which a new nation could be built. But how uniformly were these “truths” held and understood by the Founding Fathers? Were they disparate views that were ultimately incoherent or inconsistent? Did the divergent cultures of the American North and South have fundamentally different ideas of what they conceived of America to be? Were the Founders simply protecting their material interests and reaching for any argument at hand that seemed useful to that end? Who was most responsible for the ideas of the American founding? John Locke? Scottish Enlightenment thinkers? Egalitarianism? Modernity? Scientific rationalism? Christian teachings? Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is historian Hans Eicholz who argues it was actually a harmonization of many of these different, but not incompatible, sentiments that lead to the founding of America. About Hans Eicholz Hans Eicholz is a historian and Senior Fellow at Liberty Fund. Much of his work has been in the history of economic thought, looking initially at the influence of market ideas in the American founding period, but also extending up through the 19th century. Hans is the author of (2001; Second Edition, 2024), and a contributor to The Constitutionalism of American States (2008).
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Roundtable - That 1st Trump vs Harris Debate
09/11/2024
Roundtable - That 1st Trump vs Harris Debate
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
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161 – American Covenant with Yuval Levin
09/03/2024
161 – American Covenant with Yuval Levin
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 of our knack for unity in America does not mean that we have forgotten how to agree but that we have forgotten how to disagree…Unity does not mean thinking alike; unity means acting together.” Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is Yuval Levin himself who contends that the American Constitution is ideally designed to address our need for unity. And becoming better acquainted with the intentions and insights of those who put our system of government together could bring us together the durable and cohesive unity we lack today. About Yuval Levin Yuval Levin is a political analyst, public intellectual, academic, and journalist. He is the founding editor of National Affairs, director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a contributing editor of National Review, and co-founder and a senior editor of The New Atlantis. He also holds the Beth and Ravenel Curry Chair in Public Policy. Yuval served as a member of the White House domestic policy staff under President George W. Bush. He was also executive director of the President’s Council on Bioethics and a congressional staffer at the member, committee, and leadership levels. Yuval’s essays and articles have appeared in numerous publications, among them, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Commentary. He is the author of many books which include , , and . Yuval discussed the last two books when he was previously on the podcast in
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Roundtable - Kamala's DNC Speech
08/23/2024
Roundtable - Kamala's DNC Speech
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
08/20/2024
160 – FreeCons with Avik Roy
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 conservatism to grapple with issues of equality, and much more. About Avik Roy Excerpts from Avik Roy is the President of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity (FREOPP.org), a non-partisan, non-profit think tank that conducts original research on expanding opportunity to those who least have it. Roy’s work has been praised widely on both the right and the left. National Review has called him one of the nation’s “sharpest policy minds,” while the New York Times’ Paul Krugman described him as man of “personal and moral courage.” Roy has advised three presidential candidates on policy, including Marco Rubio, Rick Perry, and Mitt Romney. Roy also serves as the Opinion Editor at Forbes, where he writes on politics and policy, and manages The Apothecary, the influential Forbes blog on health care policy and entitlement reform. [He] is the author of How Medicaid Fails the Poor, published by Encounter Books in 2013, and Transcending Obamacare: A Patient-Centered Plan for Near-Universal Coverage and Permanent Fiscal Solvency, a second edition of which was published in 2016 by FREOPP. He serves on the advisory board of the National Institute for Health Care Management, is a Senior Advisor to the Bipartisan Policy Center, and co-chaired the Fixing Veterans Health Care Policy Taskforce. Roy’s writing has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Atlantic, National Review, The Weekly Standard, and National Affairs, among other publications. He is a frequent guest on television news programs, including appearances on Fox News, Fox Business, NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, Bloomberg, CBS, PBS, and HBO. From 2011 to 2016, Roy served as a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, where he conducted research on the Affordable Care Act, entitlement reform, universal coverage, international health systems, and FDA policy. Previously, he served as an analyst and portfolio manager at Bain Capital, J.P. Morgan, and other firms. Roy was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he studied molecular biology, and the Yale University School of Medicine. You can follow Roy on Twitter @Avik
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159 – The Prudential Lincoln with Allen Guelzo
08/06/2024
159 – The Prudential Lincoln with Allen Guelzo
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 Times best-seller author, American historian and commentator on public issues. He has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Christian Science Monitor, National Affairs, First Things, U.S. News & World Report, The Weekly Standard, Washington Monthly, National Review, the Daily Beast, and the Claremont Review of Books, and has been featured on NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday” and “On Point,” The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (2008), Meet the Press: Press Pass with David Gregory, The Civil War: The Untold Story (Great Divide Pictures, 2014), Race to the White House: Lincoln vs. Douglas (CNN, 2016), Legends and Lies: The Civil War (Fox, 2018), Reconstruction (PBS, 2019) and Brian Lamb’s “Booknotes.” In 2010, he was nominated for a Grammy Award along with David Straithern and Richard Dreyfuss for their production of the entirety of The Lincoln-Douglas Debates (BBC Audio). In 2018, he was a winner of the Bradley Prize, along with Jason Riley of The Wall Street Journal and Charles Kesler of the Claremont Institute. He is Thomas W. Smith Distinguished Research Scholar and Director of the James Madison Program Initiative on Politics and Statesmanship. Previously, he was Senior Research Scholar in the Council of the Humanities at Princeton University, and the Director of Civil War Era Studies and the Henry R. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era at Gettysburg College. During 2010-11 and again in 2017-18, he served as the WL. Garwood Visiting Professor in the James Madison Program at Princeton University. He holds the MA and PhD in History from the University of Pennsylvania. Among his many award-winning publications, he is the author of Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President, which won both the Lincoln Prize and the Abraham Lincoln Institute Prize in 2000; Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America (Simon & Schuster, 2004) which also won the Lincoln Prize and the Abraham Lincoln Institute Prize, for 2005; Lincoln and Douglas: The Debates That Defined America (Simon & Schuster, 2008), on the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858; a volume of essays, Abraham Lincoln as a Man of Ideas (Southern Illinois University Press, 2009) which won a Certificate of Merit from the Illinois State Historical Association in 2010; and Lincoln: A Very Short Introduction (in the Oxford University Press ‘Very Short Introductions’ series. In 2012, he published Fateful Lightning: A New History of the Civil War and Reconstruction with Oxford University Press, and in 2013 Alfred Knopf published his book on the battle of Gettysburg (for the 150thanniversary of the battle), Gettysburg: The Last Invasion, which spent eight weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. Gettysburg: The Last Invasion won the Lincoln Prize for 2014, the inaugural Guggenheim-Lehrman Prize in Military History, the Fletcher Pratt Award of the New York City Round Table, and the Richard Harwell Award of the Atlanta Civil War Round Table. His most recent publications are Redeeming the Great Emancipator (Harvard University Press, 2016) which originated as the 2012 Nathan Huggins Lectures at Harvard University, and Reconstruction: A Concise History (Oxford University Press, 2018). He is one of Power Line’s 100 “Top Professors” in America. In 2009, he delivered the Commonwealth Fund Lecture at University College, London, on “Lincoln, Cobden and Bright: The Braid of Liberalism in the 19th-Century’s Transatlantic World.” He has been awarded the Lincoln Medal of the Union League Club of New York City, the Lincoln Award of the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia, and the Lincoln Award of the Union League of Philadelphia, in addition to the James Q. Wilson Award for Distinguished Scholarship on the Nature of a Free Society. In 2018, he was named a Senior Fellow of the Claremont Institute. He has been a Fellow of the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History at Harvard University, and currently serves as a Trustee of the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History. Together with Patrick Allitt and Gary W. Gallagher, he team-taught The Teaching Company’s American History series, and as well as courses on Abraham Lincoln (Mr. Lincoln, 2005) on American intellectual history (The American Mind, 2006), the American Revolution (2007), and the Founders (America’s Founding Fathers, 2017). From 2006 to 2013, he served as a member of the National Council of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Dr. Guelzo’s latest book, , which is discussed in this episode is available wherever books are sold. He lives in Paoli and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Debra. They have three children and five grandchildren. His website is Saving Elephants is coming to YouTube! We’re thrilled to announce that Saving Elephants will be launching a YouTube channel in August with full-length episodes, exclusive shorts, and even live events! Further details coming soon...
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158 – Fashionable Fusionists with Samuel Goldman
07/16/2024
158 – Fashionable Fusionists with Samuel Goldman
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 political science at George Washington University, where he is also executive director of the and director of the . Samuel is the Editor of , an online journal inspired by the belief that Western civilization is defined by intertwined threads of freedom and tradition, innovation and order, rights and duties. In addition to academic work, his writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. His most recent book, was published by University of Pennsylvania Press in spring 2021. His first book was published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 2018. Samuel received his Ph.D. from Harvard and taught at Harvard and Princeton before coming to GW. You can follow Samuel on Twitter @SWGoldman For those interested in learning more about men’s fashion, Samuel recommends the following resources: Blogs Books Saving Elephants is coming to YouTube! We’re thrilled to announce that Saving Elephants will be launching a YouTube channel in August with full-length episodes, exclusive shorts, and even live events! Further details coming soon...
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157 – Fifty Conservative Thinkers
07/02/2024
157 – Fifty Conservative Thinkers
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 nothing in common with the namesake. In this episode Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis offers his list of conservative thinkers well worthy of your time and attention. Disclaimer This list is imperfect and incomplete. If I were to revisit the list next year or possibly even next week, I’m sure there are plenty of names I’d believe should supplant the names here. Some of these individuals may even be uncomfortable with the label “conservative”, though they all share aspects of the broader conservative worldview. The names below are not listed in order of preference or importance, but they are all insightful and noteworthy. The fifty individuals discussed in this episode are noted below. If you’d like to learn more about each one you can check out the original blog post of for a brief bio and links. Josh’s (Incomplete) List of Fifty Conservative Thinkers Worth Your Time Edmund Burke Milton Friedman Wilhelm Röpke David Bahnsen F.A. Hayek John Adams Frederick Douglass Thomas Sowell James Madison Barry Goldwater Ronald Reagan Bradley J. Birzer Russell Kirk Matthew Continetti David French Gertrude Himmelfarb George Nash Stephen J. Tonsor Roger Scruton Jacques Ellul Whittaker Chambers Michael Oakeshott Eric Voegelin Timothy Carney C.S. Lewis G.K. Chesterton Jonah Goldberg Wendell Berry T.S. Eliot Ross Douthat Mary Eberstadt M. Stanton Evans Irving Kristol George Will William F. Buckley Kristen Soltis Anderson Robert Nisbet Carly Fiorina Arthur Brooks Marian Tupy Charles Marohn Patrick Deneen Harry Jaffa Walter Williams Frank S. Meyer Alexis de Tocqueville Lord Acton Leo Stauss Willmoore Kendall Yuval Levin
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156 – Reappraising the Right’s Foreign Policy with Michael Lucchese
06/18/2024
156 – Reappraising the Right’s Foreign Policy with Michael Lucchese
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 warnings? What foreign policy approaches has the United States historically taken, and are any of them still relevant? How might conservatism shed light on the most appropriate foreign policy we could pursue? Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is returning guest Michael Lucchese to think through the lessons learned in American foreign policy. About Michael Lucchese Michael Lucchese is the founder and CEO of Pipe Creek Consulting, a communications firm based in Washington, D.C., and a visiting scholar at the Liberty Fund. Previously, he was a communications aide to U.S. Senator Ben Sasse. He received a BA in American Studies at Hillsdale College and was a Hudson Institute Political Studies fellow and an alumnus of the Röpke-Wojtyła Fellowship at Catholic University of America's Busch School of Business. Michael is an Associate Editor at and a contributing editor to . His writings have also appeared in multiple publications, including the and , Engelsberg Ideas, and Public Discourse. Michael Lucchese is from Chicago, Illinois. Michael was a previous guest on Saving Elephants in episode
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155 – Melodic Musings with Barney Quick
05/21/2024
155 – Melodic Musings with Barney Quick
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 appears in magazine features. He is a frequent contributor to and a Senior Freelance Contributor for . He has been maintaining his blog, , since 2012. But you can find the bulk of his writings on his substack . Barney is also a musician and jazz guitarist who could find lucrative gigs, but is well aware he’s chosen a musical life that isn’t going to pay a lot of bills. Barney is an adjunct lecturer in jazz history and rock and roll history at his local community college. You can follow Barney on Twitter @Penandguitar
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154 – That Old Burkean Saw with Cal Davenport
05/07/2024
154 – That Old Burkean Saw with Cal Davenport
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 episode gets a bit Burke-y. About Cal Davenport Cal Davenport is a veteran podcaster and writer. He has written for The Wasington Examiner, RedState, The Resurgent and more. He has worked in Congress, for political campaigns, for think tanks, and in political consulting. Cal received his M.A. in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from Witten/Herdecke University. You can follow Cal on Twitter @jcaldavenport
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153 – Full-Time with David Bahnsen
04/16/2024
153 – Full-Time with David Bahnsen
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 retirement might mean for working Americans. About David Bahnsen From : David L. Bahnsen is the founder, Managing Partner, and Chief Investment Officer of , a bi-coastal private wealth management firm with offices in Newport Beach, CA, New York City, Minneapolis, and Nashville managing over $3.5 billion in client assets. David is consistently named as one of the top financial advisors in America by Barron’s, Forbes, and the Financial Times. He is a frequent guest on CNBC, Bloomberg, and Fox Business and is a regular contributor to National Review and Forbes. He has written his own for over a decade. David serves on the Board of Directors for the National Review Institute and was the Vice-President of the Lincoln Club of Orange County for eight years. He is a committed donor and activist across all spectrums of national, state, and local politics, and views the cause of Buckley and Reagan as the need of the hour. David is passionate about opposition to crony capitalism, and has lectured and written for years about the need for pro-growth economic policy. Every part of his political worldview stems from a desire to see greater freedom as a catalyst to greater human flourishing. He is the author of the book, and his most recent book, . His ultimate passions are his lovely wife of 18+ years, Joleen, their gorgeous and brilliant children, sons Mitchell and Graham, and daughter Sadie, and the life they’ve created together in Newport Beach, California.
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152 – Humanist Conservatives with Jeffery Tyler Syck
04/02/2024
152 – Humanist Conservatives with Jeffery Tyler Syck
Fusionism—the viewpoint advocated by the likes of William F. Buckley and Frank Meyer of order and liberty mutually reinforcing each other—has been the dominant form of conservatism in the United States for a generation. In the era of Trump and the rise of nationalist populism on the Right, however, fusionism has steadily lost influence. Should conservatives double down on what’s worked in the past? Or is it time for a different approach that was advocated by some of the original critics of fusionism on the Right? Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is Jeffery Tyler Syck to argue for a conservative alternative to the fusionists and NatCons: humanist conservatism. The humanist conservative is interested in preserving the diverse daily practices of human existence, as advocated by noteworthy thinkers like Michael Oakeshott, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and Peter Viereck. It’s a quitter, more moderated form of conservatism that—Syck believes—could offer an antidote to the excess of the nationalist populous radicalism ascendant on the Right. About Jeffery Tyler Syck From Jeffery Tyler Syck is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Pikeville. Tyler’s academic research focuses on the development of American democracy and the history of political ideologies. He is the editor of the forthcoming book “A Republic of Virtue: The Political Essays of John Quincy Adams” and is completing a second book manuscript entitled “The Untold Origins of American Democracy.” This second book describes how the political debates between John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson forever altered the republic created by the American founders – leaving behind an increasingly majoritarian democracy. His essays and articles on politics, philosophy, and history have appeared in several public facing publications including Law and Liberty, Persuasion, and the Louisville Courier-Journal. Tyler’s academic work has recently been published in the journal . A native of Pike County Kentucky, Tyler’s political thought and writing are strongly shaped by the culture of Appalachia. With their tightly knit communities, the mountains of Appalachia have instilled in him a love of all things local. As such his writing most often advocates for a rejuvenation of local democracy and a renaissance of rural culture. Tyler received a Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Arts in Government from the University of Virginia. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Government and History from Morehead State University where he graduated with honors. You can follow Tyler on Twitter @tylersyck
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151 – The God of This Lower World
03/19/2024
151 – The God of This Lower World
What is the single most important virtue for a leader to possess? What quality can make the run-of-the-mill politician into a statesman? Is it integrity, communication skills, resilience, courage, empathy, or wisdom? All of these things are important, of course, and if any are sufficiently lacking we wouldn’t call that a good leader. But what would you say is the chief virtue? Conservative thinkers from Burke to Kirk to Kristol to Strauss and even many of the ancient and medieval thinkers from Aristotle to Plato to St. Thomas Aquainis identified a single virtue as the chief “political” virtue. A virtue so important that Edmund Burke referred to it as the god of this lower world. What is that virtue? That’s exactly what Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis explores in this solo episode. Mentioned in the episode: .
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150 – We Don't Need No Indoctrination with Luke Sheahan
03/05/2024
150 – We Don't Need No Indoctrination with Luke Sheahan
What is the purpose of higher education? Is it primarily to prepare us for the jobs of the future? Is it to ensure the leaders of tomorrow hold the right opinions on important issues? Is it to provide a safe haven for the pursuit of Truth? Thinkers on the Right have held differing—sometimes incompatible—views on the purpose of higher education. Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is returning guest Luke Sheahan to explore these arguments and how conservatives might respond to the rise of radicalism and wokism on college campuses. About Luke Sheahan : Luke Sheahan is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Duquesne University and a Non-Resident Scholar at the Program for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society (PRRUCS) at the University of Pennsylvania. He researches the intersection of First Amendment rights and political theory. Sheahan’s scholarly articles and reviews have appeared in The Political Science Reviewer, Humanitas, Anamnesis, and The Journal of Value Inquiry and he has lectured widely on religious liberty, freedom of speech, and freedom of association. He is author of . He is writing a second book tentatively titled “Pluralism and Toleration: Difference, Justice, and the Social Group.” From 2018-2019, Sheahan was Associate Director and Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Freedom Project at Wellesley College and from 2016-2018, Sheahan was a Postdoctoral Associate and Research Fellow in the Department of Political Science at Duke University. He received a PhD and MA in political theory from the Catholic University of America and a B.S. in political science from the Honors College at Oregon State University. He is a five-time recipient of the Humane Studies Fellowship from the Institute for Humane Studies, a 2014 recipient of the Richard M. Weaver Fellowship from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI), and a 2018 recipient of the Leonard P. Liggio Memorial Fellowship. In 2022 the the appointment of Dr. Luke C. Sheahan as the fifth editor in the history of , originally established by none other than Russell Kirk, seeking to redeem the time by identifying and discussing those books that diagnose the modern age and support the renewal of culture and the common good. You can follow Luke on Twitter @lsheahan
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149 – The Legacy of Roger Scruton with Fisher Derderian
02/20/2024
149 – The Legacy of Roger Scruton with Fisher Derderian
Having published more than forty books on an astoundingly wide range of topics and holding noteworthy positions at the British Academy and the Royal Society of Literature, the University of Oxford, the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and the University of Buckingham, Sir Roger Scruton was the quintessential British gentleman and scholar. He was also one of the greatest conservative intellectuals of the last century and the beginning of this century who died in 2020. Fisher Derderian joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis for a woefully incomplete exploration at the legacy of Scruton, including Scruton’s contributions to American conservatism, his curious admiration of Friedrich Hegel, his spirited yet charitable critics of the thinkers of the New Left, and his inscrutable views on the Christian faith. About Fisher Derderian Source – Fisher Derderian is the Founder and Executive Director of the Roger Scruton Legacy Foundation. He met Sir Roger as a student in the MA Philosophy Programme at the University of Buckingham and the idea for the RSLF was subsequently conceived at a tutorial with Scruton. Fisher currently resides in Orange County with his wife, Maxine, and their three children. He serves as a member of the Arts Commission for the City of Costa Mesa. Fisher holds a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from The King’s College NYC and a MA in Philosophy from the University of Buckingham. You can follow Fisher on Twitter @Fisher_D About the Roger Scruton Legacy Foundation Source – The Roger Scruton Legacy Foundation is the centre of an international network of institutions and scholars dedicated to furthering the philosophical and cultural achievements of the West championed in Scruton’s work. Through the hosting and sponsoring of events, lectures, seminars, research and projects, the RSLF supports those dedicated to the achievements of Western philosophy, architecture, art and literature who are committed to living for ‘the vanished things’ and teaching our great inheritance to the rising generations.
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148 – Conservatism in Practice with Gov Mitch Daniels
02/06/2024
148 – Conservatism in Practice with Gov Mitch Daniels
The Saving Elephants podcast has welcomed a wide array of incredible guests who are on forefront of the conservative political movement. But most of the guests discuss conservatism from the perspective of a theory or set of principles or idea. Few have had the opportunity to enact political conservatism as a practice. And few ex-politicians have been as successful as former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels in advancing conservatism as a practice. While Daniels is reticent to label his approach “conservative” or identify as part of red team vs. blue team, his practices in executive offices from the governor’s mansion to serving in presidential administrations to leading a university have all displayed a strong tinge of conservative prudence and small-government grit. Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis welcomes former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels to the show to discuss his experiences as governor, advisor to Ronald Reagan, Director of OMB for George W. Bush, president of Purdue University. His accomplishments in these offices and no-nonsense approach towards governing has earned him recognition among many on the Right. Some leading conservatives—from George Will to Jonah Goldberg to Ross Douthat—have clearly stated he would have been their preferred presidential candidate in recent elections. While Daniels isn’t a presidential candidate then or now, his story provides a roadmap in our politically bleak wilderness for what qualities we should be looking for in a leader. About Mitch Daniels Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. is the 12th president of Purdue University and the former governor of Indiana. He was elected Indiana’s 49th governor in 2004 in his first bid for any elected office, and then re-elected in 2008 with more votes than any candidate in the state's history. During his tenure, Indiana went from an $800 million deficit to its first AAA credit rating, led the nation in infrastructure building and passed sweeping education and healthcare reforms. After a series of transformations, which included the biggest tax cut in state history, the nation’s most sweeping deregulation of the telecommunications industry and a host of other reforms aimed at strengthening the state’s economy, Indiana was rated a top five state for business climate and number one for state infrastructure and effectiveness of state government as Daniels exited office. Indiana’s business climate is now rated among the nation’s best. At Purdue, Daniels has prioritized student affordability and reinvestment in the university’s strengths. Breaking with a 36-year trend, Purdue has held tuition unchanged from 2012 through at least the 2022-23 academic year. Simultaneously, room rates have remained steady, meal plan rates have fallen about 10%, and student borrowing has dropped 32% while investments in student success and STEM research have undergone unprecedented growth. It is less expensive to attend Purdue today than it was in 2012. In recognition of his leadership as both a governor and a university president, Daniels was named among the Top 50 World Leaders by Fortune Magazine in 2015 and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2019. Prior to becoming governor, Daniels served as chief of staff to Senator Richard Lugar, senior advisor to President Ronald Reagan and Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush. He also was the CEO of the Hudson Institute, a major contract research organization. During an 11-year career at Eli Lilly and Company, he held a number of top executive posts including president of Eli Lilly’s North American pharmaceutical operations. Daniels earned a bachelor's degree from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and a law degree from Georgetown. He is the author of three books and a contributing columnist in the Washington Post. He and his wife Cheri have four daughters and seven grandchildren.
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147 – Where the Religious Right Went Wrong with JB Shreve
01/16/2024
147 – Where the Religious Right Went Wrong with JB Shreve
One of the strangest political developments over the past several decades has been the devolution of the Religious Right and large swaths of politically active Evangelicals as they morphed from character counts moralists of the 1990s to MAGA Trumplicans. Regardless of the merits of where the Religious Right stands today, one could be forgiven for being perplexed at how they arrived here at all. Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is JB Shreve, creator of podcast and blog, to demystify the Religious Right’s conversion to the Church of Trump. Both JB and Josh were raised in the cultural milieu of Evangelical conservatism and have an insider’s perspective on what went so wrong on the Religious Right. About JB Shreve JB Shreve spent his life in the highlands of western Arkansas, where he and his wife Casie raised their three children. JB worked in international ministry between 1998 and 2008 in various roles with organizations such as Bill Glass Prison Ministries, Christian Motorcyclists Association, and Open Doors with Brother Andrew. After securing his degrees in International Relations and Middle East Studies at the Fulbright College and King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Arkansas, JB went to work in the corporate business sector. In 2005, JB and his family moved to northwest Arkansas, where they joined a team to build a new church Transformation Center. JB continues in an active leadership role at Transformation Center. JB hosts two podcasts and blogs. includes devotionals and bible studies, while looks at our generation's current events, history, and socio-political issues. JB has written two books: published in 2019 and his latest book .
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146 – The Myth of Nationalism with Samuel Goldman
01/02/2024
146 – The Myth of Nationalism with Samuel Goldman
What does is mean to be an American? And why do we Americans obsess so much over the question of what it means to be an American? This nagging question has plagued our nation since its birth and various national “myths” have been advanced to offer some form of national identity and cohesion. At times one myth has proven stronger than the others, only to be overshadowed as historical events call its sufficiency and truth into question. So where does that leave us today in an era of collective, existential crisis? Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to explore these questions is George Washington University associate professor of political science Samuel Goldman. About Samuel Goldman Samuel Goldman is an associate professor of political science at George Washington University, where he is also executive director of the and director of the . Samuel is the Editor of , an online journal inspired by the belief that Western civilization is defined by intertwined threads of freedom and tradition, innovation and order, rights and duties. In addition to academic work, his writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. His most recent book, was published by University of Pennsylvania Press in spring 2021. His first book was published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 2018. Samuel received his Ph.D. from Harvard and taught at Harvard and Princeton before coming to GW. You can follow Samuel on Twitter @SWGoldman
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145 – Smoking Yule Logs and Donning Gay Apparel
12/19/2023
145 – Smoking Yule Logs and Donning Gay Apparel
In 2021, Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis joined three other veteran podcasters on a new podcast endeavor: Are We Right? Cal Davenport, Brooke Medina, and Calvin Moore, and Josh debated a wide range of topics from politics to religion to culture and invited the audience to weigh in on whether or not they’re right. While the show was tragically short-lived, a number of excellent episodes were produced and this is a re-podcast of their Christmas episode to commemorate the holiday season: In the spirit of the season, Are We Right presents an epic Christmas-themed episode unmatched in festive gaiety since George Lucas’ The Star Wars Holiday Special. Calvin recalls fond memories of the family going to the movies at Christmastime and waxes eloquent about the proper color of Christmas lights and ranking of Christmas films. Brooke attempts in vain to engage the group in a lively debate about the merits of singing Mariah Carey Christmas songs and ruminates about the religious implications of Christmas in a manner that would make a Southern Baptist shout “Amen!”. And Josh regales the audience with a banjo solo of Angels We Have Heard on High (no, really). You can find the podcast on , , , , or wherever you listen, find us on Twitter @ TheAWRPodcast, and email us at .
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144 – Conservative Historian Redux with AD Tippet
12/05/2023
144 – Conservative Historian Redux with AD Tippet
Earlier this year Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis was on AD Tippet’s podcast, . This episode is a re-podcast of that conversation that covered a wide variety of conservative topics from both the past and today. About AD Tippet AD Tippet (the podcast formerly known as Belisarius Aves) is the founder and publisher of the Conservative Historian and . “History is too important to be left to the left,” writes AD. “The Conservative Historian provides content and opinions on conservative thinking through the prism of history.” You can follow Bel on Twitter @BelAves
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143 – The Conservative Mind at 70 with Michael Lucchese
11/21/2023
143 – The Conservative Mind at 70 with Michael Lucchese
In 1953 a little-known political theorist Russell Kirk repurposed his doctoral dissertation as a book for publication. His book, The Conservative Mind, would quickly become a bestseller, give the nascent conservative movement its name and intellectual moorings, be reviewed and debated in respectable publications across the country, and launch its author to international fame. Seventy years later, the book is still going strong. Now on its seventh edition and reprinted in multiple languages, The Conservative Mind is among the indispensable tomes for understanding the conservative movement. In this episode, Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by Michael Lucchese to explore the enduring legacy of The Conservative Mind at seventy. About Michael Lucchese Michael Lucchese is the founder and CEO of Pipe Creek Consulting, a communications firm based in Washington, D.C., and a visiting scholar at the Liberty Fund. Previously, he was a communications aide to U.S. Senator Ben Sasse. He received a BA in American Studies at Hillsdale College and was a Hudson Institute Political Studies fellow and an alumnus of the Röpke-Wojtyła Fellowship at Catholic University of America's Busch School of Business. His writing have appeared in multiple publications, including the and , Engelsberg Ideas, Public Discourse, and Law & Liberty. Michael Lucchese is from Chicago, Illinois. The Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal Celebrates the 70th Anniversary of The Conservative Mind In celebration of the 70th anniversary of Russell Kirk’s landmark book, The Conservative Mind, the Russell Kirk Center cordially invites you to join them for a special evening event with a panel of emerging conservative thinkers: The celebration will be held at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, December 5.
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