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!

Episode 069 – Bob is Back – Quagmire 2020 10/20/2020

Episode 68 – Divided We Fall with David French 10/06/2020

Episode 68 – Divided We Fall with David French Hardly anyone disagrees Americans are divided, or that our divisions are problematic. But could continual political partisanship and polarization actually fracture the United States into multiple nations? What is the likely outcome or potential risks if we do not find a way to reverse the negative polarization? What are the preconditions for state secessions, and how close are we to meeting those preconditions? Is the United States facing another civil war, acrimonious divorce, or eventual reconciliation? Those are precisely the questions David French sets out to answer in his new book . David joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to discuss the threats political polarization represent for the United States, what our history can tell us about the likelihood of these dangers, and how returning to the Madisonian blueprint of the extended republic may offer the solutions to many of the controversial political battles today. David French is an Iraqi war veteran, attorney, free speech and religious liberties advocate, political commentator, and author who has been at the center of some of the hottest political battles over the past four years. His name was used to coin the term Frenchism to describe a deference to classical liberalism and opposition to the new nationalism and authoritarianism on the Right (). French has served as a senior counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice and the Alliance Defending Freedom, has lectured at Cornell Law School, and spent much of his career working on religious-rights issues. He served as president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). He retired from FIRE in 2005, citing plans to serve in the United States Army Reserve as a judge advocate general officer. He was a staff writer for from 2015 to 2019, and a senior fellow at the National Review Institute. In 2019 French left National Review to join the conservative news site as a senior editor. /episode/index/show/savingelephants/id/16287290

Episode 67 – The Radio Right with Paul Matzko 09/15/2020

Episode 67 – The Radio Right with Paul Matzko Many Evangelicals and conservatives share an embattlement mindset. Somehow we’re always losing the culture wars despite political gains and cultural acceptance, and even when we’re in the majority politically or enjoy unprecedented influence we can’t shake the feeling that the other shoe is about to drop. No majority, position, or gain is ever secure and we’re just one election away from losing everything. But where does this embattlement mindset come from? Is it simply crackpot paranoia? Is there something embedded in the histories of the Right and Evangelicalism that gives this mindset an air of legitimacy? Or is it a little bit of both? Paul Matzko joins Josh to answer these questions by exploring the murky histories of the radio Right in the 1960s, Kennedy’s successful efforts at censoring opposition, and the cultural significance of Evangelicals’ evolution from The Painter of Light to The Painter of Trump . Paul Matzko is a historian (PhD, Penn State) specializing in the intersection of politics and religion in twentieth century America. His work also draws from media studies, public choice economics, gender studies, and social movement theory. Paul’s book , was published earlier this year, which tells the story of the 1960s far Right, who were frustrated by what they perceived to be liberal bias in the national media, particularly the media's sycophantic relationship with the John F. Kennedy administration. His book provides the essential pre-history for the last four decades of conservative activism, as well as the historical context for current issues of political bias and censorship in the media. Paul has taught multiple courses at Penn State, both on campus and online, and worked as an adjunct at Princeton University. He is currently the Assistant Editor for Tech and Innovation at Libertarianism.org, an outreach of the Cato Institute, where he runs a regular column and also hosts a podcast on emerging technology called He cohosts the podcast dedicated to friendly conversations on politics, culture, and history from the standpoint of his own libertarian views and the socialists views of his friend Sean Trainor. Paul can be found on Twitter @PMatzko /episode/index/show/savingelephants/id/15993800

Episode 66 – Monetary Mayhem with Joseph Sternberg 08/25/2020

Episode 66 – Monetary Mayhem with Joseph Sternberg book released in June was just the latest in a series of books, blogs, articles, podcasts, and videos extoling the virtue of Modern Monetary Theory (or “MMT”). We’re told that governments that have sovereignty over their currency can afford a wide array of social programs from entitlement expansion to generous welfare benefits to the . Leftist are ecstatic that they finally have an answer to the Right’s persistent question “how are you going to pay for all this stuff?” But is MMT sound monetary policy? For that matter, what is monetary policy? What did famous economists like Milton Friedman and John Maynard Keynes have to say about monetary policy? Was it a mistake for America to get off the gold standard? What is the Federal Reserve, and why can’t they seem to leave the interest rate alone? Do deficits matter? If so, how? For most, monetary policy may sound like a subject that’s dreadfully complicated or—far worse—boring. Yet this opaque subject matter is very important to our economic wellbeing. In fact, bad monetary policy greatly exacerbated economic downturns to the point of creating The Great Depression and The Great Recession. Sound monetary policy benefits us all, and it’s imperative we understand what sound—and not so sound—monetary policy looks like. Returning guest and friend to the podcast Joseph Sternberg joins Josh in a discussion on monetary policy that’s both digestible and engaging. We last heard from Joseph in when he dropped by to discuss his book . Joseph is a member of the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal, where he writes the Political Economics column. He joined the Journal in 2006 as an editorial writer in Hong Kong, where he also edited the Business Asia column. He currently lives in London. He graduated from The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia with an economics major. /episode/index/show/savingelephants/id/15725609

Episode 65 – POTUS Pontifications with Sarah Isgur 08/18/2020

Episode 64 – School Choice under COVID-19 with Brooke Medina 08/04/2020

Episode 64 – School Choice under COVID-19 with Brooke Medina School districts across America are faced with unprecedented challenges as they weigh their options in reopening classrooms in the midst of a global pandemic. But could these challenges point the way to interesting opportunities to find innovative ways to educate and even allow for a healthy debate on the purpose of education in the first place? Perennial optimist and returning guest Brooke Medina believes this is the case and she shares how empowering parents and local governments to make their own choices is not only the best way to deal with the lasting effects of COVID-19, it also happens to be the best policy for educating our kids overall. Brooke joined Josh earlier this year in in a discussion over the philosophy and purpose of education. However, Josh got so wound up reminiscing about his homeschool upbringing that there wasn’t time left to cover school choice, vouchers, and education policy. This episode picks things up where episode 58 left off in moving beyond the philosophical to the more practical elements of conservatism as applied to education policy. Brooke Medina is a homeschool mother of four and the Director of Communications at where she manages Civitas’ outward facing platforms, oversees messaging strategy, and handles all press relationships. The North Carolina based Civitas Instituted is a nonprofit policy organization dedicated to removing barriers to freedom so that all North Carolinians can enjoy a better life. Brooke also co-hosts Civitas’ podcast , which focuses on drawing connections between civics and culture. Brooke is a graduate of Regent University, holding a B.A. in Government and a minor in English. She has also completed several programs with the Charles Koch Institute, including the Koch Leaders Program and Koch Communications Fellowship, focusing on the philosophical underpinnings of market-based management and classical liberalism. She also sits on the board of directors for ReCity Network, a Durham-based non-profit committed to empowering civil society in combating poverty-related problems. Brooke’s writings have been published in outlets such as The Hill, Entrepreneur, Washington Examiner, Daily Signal, FEE, and Intellectual Takeout. But most importantly, Brooke’s hot takes, insights, and shenanigans on social media are worth following so be sure and check her out on Twitter @Brooke_Medina_ /episode/index/show/savingelephants/id/15473963

Episode 063 – Gen Z Conservatism with Nate Hochman 07/21/2020

Episode 063 – Gen Z Conservatism with Nate Hochman As Millennial conservatives know, conservatism gets a bad wrap in our generation. Conservatism is a hard sell on the young in general because it begins by challenging our natural inclinations towards innovation, novelty, and the pursuit of progress and revolution over gratitude and reform. And far too often, older conservatives fail to understand the unique historical inputs—the Great Recession, 9-11, our increasingly digital and automated world, the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street—that have formed our worldviews. As such, they tend to dismiss Millennial concerns as trite, unappreciative, ignorant, or dangerously unpatriotic instead of engaging our concerns head-on and offering better solutions. We’re depicted as the “kids these days” and largely written off as hopeless causes who will eventually swing to the Right when we learn what’s good for us. But the oldest Millennials will soon be forty—which hardly qualifies as the “kids these days”. And as Millennials age and eventually take charge, are we in danger of repeating the same mistakes of our elders? Do we understand the unique inputs that are forming the next generation of Americans—COVID-19, civil unrest and police misconduct, the Trump era—and how the message of conservatism might be tailored to meet their concerns? To that end, Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis (a Millennial) welcomes Nate Hochman (Gen Z) to the podcast to discuss conservatism through the eyes of younger Americans. Nate Hochman is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of , an online publication that offers a platform for dissent from Colorado College’s political orthodoxy. Hochman is currently majoring in political science with a minor in journalism at Colorado College. He has interned at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. and National Review and has been published in National Review. He is currently interning with Steve Hayes and Jonah Goldberg’s media start-up The Dispatch. You can follow Nate on Twitter @njhochman /episode/index/show/savingelephants/id/15300827

Episode 062 – Is Truth Found with Reason and Science Alone? 07/07/2020

Episode 062 – Is Truth Found with Reason and Science Alone? Josh forgoes the podcast guest this episode and offers some thoughts on how the conservative worldview differs from the worldview of secularism, scientism, and materialism. Secularism can mean the belief that governments should remain neutral on the matter of religion and should not enforce nor prohibit the free exercise of religion, leaving religious choice to the liberty of the people. However, this describes a viewpoint held by many religious and nonreligious people and is not wed exclusively to a materialistic worldview. Secularism, for the purposes of this discussion, has less to do with whether a person has fine feelings about government neutrality on religious matters and everything to do with whether or not they believe religious matters comport to reality or hold any weight beyond mere private superstitions. Secularism, then, is more than the principle of separating institutions of government from institutions of religion—though that idea is present. But the secularist also possesses an indifference, rejection, or exclusion of religious considerations or appeals to supernatural explanations. This would include both a person who rejects all supernatural explanations as well as a person who—though they may consider themselves to be religious personally—for all practical purposes behave as if all that exists is the material world. Some secularists ascribe to scientism; the belief philosopher and theologian defines as “the view that the hard sciences—like chemistry, biology, physics, astronomy—provide the only genuine knowledge of reality.” Other secularists hold that personal introspection, reasoning, logic, and philosophical inquiry are also means of discovering truth—not just the scientific method. But all secularists agree that religious traditions and divine revelation—that is supernatural methods—are illegitimate means of discovering truth. In fact, many would describe religious truth claims as not only nonsensical, but destructive to the form of modern, Western society we live in today. The conservative staunchly disagrees with this notion. For, while conservatism isn’t a religion, it is interested in conserving things of value in our culture (among which are certain religious traditions). That is, the conservative defends religious convictions not out of some sense of loyalty or nostalgia, but because the conservative believes religious convictions play an important role in the formation of culture and—even more importantly—comport to reality. Are reason and science sufficient for acquiring knowledge? Can they sustain a society of ordered liberty? Can they provide us with a moral code rivaling religious doctrine? Can they fulfil humanity’s desire for the transcendent? Can they answer our deepest questions? The secularist says “yes” the conservative says “no”. /episode/index/show/savingelephants/id/15110798

Bonus Episode – In the Trenches with Cal, Seth, and Josh 06/30/2020

Episode 61 – Untangling Neoconservatism with Matthew Continetti 06/16/2020

Episode 61 – Untangling Neoconservatism with Matthew Continetti Today the term “neocon” is often used to depict someone as war hawkish or part of “The Establishment”. And it’s often used as a pejorative. To call someone a neocon is to imply they are part of the problem, unsympathetic to the plight of the average Joe, and, quite possibly, evil. Neocon is, of course, short for “neoconservative”. But what is neoconservatism? Is it simply a group of elitist gloooobalists on the Right who profit from the status quo and ever-increasing military ventures at the expense of the rest of us? And who is a neocon? Politicians ranging from George W. Bush to John McCain to Hillary Clinton have all been labeled neocon. Is it a label without any meaningful distinction? Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by Matthew Continetti to untangle this often misused, misunderstood, and definitely underappreciated term. Josh and Matthew talk through the three iterations or waves of neoconservatism from the godfather of the movement—Irving Kristol—in the 1960s to the conservative responses to the Vietnam War to the post-Cold War iteration with Irving’s son Bill Kristol on to today, and what this historical tradition can tell us about our own political dilemmas. From Continetti’s bio with AEI: Matthew Continetti holds a BA in history from Columbia University and is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where his work is focused on American political thought and history, with a particular focus on the development of the Republican Party and the American conservative movement in the 20th century. A prominent journalist, analyst, author, and intellectual historian of the right, Mr. Continetti was the founding editor and the editor-in-chief of The Washington Free Beacon. Previously, he was opinion editor at The Weekly Standard. Mr. Continetti is also a contributing editor at National Review and a columnist for Commentary Magazine. He has been published in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, among other outlets. He also appears frequently on Fox News Channel’s “Special Report” with Bret Baier and MSNBC’s “Meet the Press Daily” with Chuck Todd. Mr. Continetti is the author of two books: “” (Sentinel, 2009) and “” (Doubleday, 2006). You can find Matthew Continetti on Twitter @continetti. /episode/index/show/savingelephants/id/14818631

Episode 60 – Undervaluing Free Trade with Scott Lincicome 06/02/2020

Episode 60 – Undervaluing Free Trade with Scott Lincicome In the wake of the global pandemic, American attitude on trade with China is beginning to sour. Is president Trump’s hawkish stance on free trade the right way to go? Has free trade made us more prosperous or mere stooges of foreign governments who take our jobs and rob us of billions in trade deficits? Joining Josh to untangle these important issues is Scott Lincicome, international trade attorney and adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute. This episode was inspired by a listeners email: “Hello I’m a new listener and big fan of the show all the way from Massachusetts. I was hoping you would cover some economics like the supply side vs demand And maybe the debt deficit and why it matters. I know some of it can be wonky but I think your listeners would really enjoy it I know I would.” Regards, Raphael While a discussion on trade touches only aspects of a broader discussion on conservative economic ideas, this episode will at least serve as an introduction to the subject with many more to come in the days ahead. From the Cato Institution’s biography of Scott Lincicome: Scott Lincicome is an international trade attorney with extensive experience in trade litigation before the United States Department of Commerce, the US International Trade Commission (ITC), the US Court of International Trade, the European Commission and the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body. He has also advised corporate and sovereign clients on US bilateral and regional trade agreements and US trade policy, as well as WTO matters, including accessions, compliance and multilateral trade negotiations. Scott is also a Visiting Lecturer at Duke University, where he teaches a course on US trade policy and politics. From 1998–2001 Scott was as a trade policy research assistant at the Cato Institute. Since 2009, Scott has authored or co‐authored several policy papers published by the Cato Institute and other organizations. He also blogs on international trade politics and policy at his personal blog, . Scott has a BA in Political Science from the University of Virginia and a JD from the University’s School of Law. You can find Scott on Twitter @scottlincicome. /episode/index/show/savingelephants/id/14641169

Episode 59 – Podcasting Orphans with Andrew Heaton 05/19/2020

Episode 59 – Podcasting Orphans with Andrew Heaton Versatile author, stand-up comedian, and podcaster Andrew Heaton joins Josh to untangle the complex web of models and metrics for identifying someone’s political persuasions. Both Andrew and Josh feel uncomfortable with the simply Left/Right scale—and it’s not just because they’re chary of adopting the political paradigm of dead Frenchmen. No political identification model is perfect, but Andrew and Josh attempt to weigh the merits of some of the more perfectible models. Also discussed: What puts the “OK” in Oklahoma, Heaton’s eventful journey from Goldwater Republican to eventually landing somewhere on a spectrum between George Will and Andrew Yang, the commonality of those who feel alienated from political tribalism, and why Andrew doesn’t want to make America great again by fighting trade wars with China. : Andrew Heaton is a comedian, author, and political satirist. He’s the host of comedy and news podcast, and scifi deep dive podcast . He’s a frequent Reason TV contributor and hosted the popular webseries . He’s performed standup comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as a finalist in the China International Standup Competition, and throughout the United States and Europe. A former congressional staffer, he’s the best-selling author of “Laughter is Better Than Communism,” as well as two funny novels. He once opened for William Shatner, who said he’s “very funny.” So there. As a UCB-trained sketch writer and improviser Andrew Heaton comprises half of the comedy duo , which has performed improvised historical reenactments at the Del Close Marathon and . He’s a founding member of the popular New York indie improv team , and an alumni of the sketch troupes and First Runner Up. As a political comedian Andrew Heaton has entertained numerous think tanks and advocacy groups, student associations, and sinister political action committees. He’s a regular at Electoral Dysfunction at the People’s Improv Theater in New York, and the Totally Dishonest Media Show at Stand Up New York. He hosted the award-winning series , a comedy show which explained economics through popular culture. Andrew Heaton is the author of the best-selling work of political satire Laughter is Better Than Communism, and two funny paranormal novels: (about aliens) and (a tender coming of age novel involving werewolves). You can follow Heaton on Twitter @MightyHeaton /episode/index/show/savingelephants/id/14458640

Episode 58 – Brooke Medina, Quarantina 05/05/2020

Episode 58 – Brooke Medina, Quarantina What is the real purpose of getting an education? And what benefits does a proper education bring to the individual and to society at large? What became of the radically conservative cult(ure) of ATI, Bill Gothard, I Kissed Dating Goodbye courtships, and denim-skirt-wearing coalitions of Christian home schoolers of the 80s and 90s? Does homeschooling have its cultish elements today, or are conservative homeschoolers more…conservative? Aren’t all students just homeschoolers now that COVID-19 has us social distancing from educational facilities? Saving Elephants host and former homeschooler Josh Lewis is joined by perennial educator and fellow former homeschooler Brooke Medina to answer these questions and many more. Brooke Medina is a homeschool mother of four and the Director of Communications at where she manages Civitas’ outward facing platforms, oversees messaging strategy, and handles all press relationships. The North Carolina based Civitas Instituted is a nonprofit policy organization dedicated to removing barriers to freedom so that all North Carolinians can enjoy a better life. Brooke also co-hosts Civitas’ podcast , which focuses on drawing connections between civics and culture. Brooke is a graduate of Regent University, holding a B.A. in Government and a minor in English. She has also completed several programs with the Charles Koch Institute, including the Koch Leaders Program and Koch Communications Fellowship, focusing on the philosophical underpinnings of market-based management and classical liberalism. She also sits on the board of directors for ReCity Network, a Durham-based non-profit committed to empowering civil society in combating poverty-related problems. Brooke’s writings have been published in outlets such as The Hill, Entrepreneur, Washington Examiner, Daily Signal, FEE, and Intellectual Takeout. But most importantly, Brooke’s hot takes, insights, and shenanigans on social media are worth following so be sure and check her out on Twitter @Brooke_Medina_ /episode/index/show/savingelephants/id/14286167

Episode 57 – Russell Kirk, Eccentric Genius with Bradley Birzer 04/21/2020

Episode 57 – Russell Kirk, Eccentric Genius with Bradley Birzer Russell Kirk contributed more to modern American conservatism than arguably anyone else! Yet few who call themselves conservative today are familiar with the name “Kirk”—unless they’re referring to Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA. No offense to Charlie but comparing him to Russell is like comparing the works of William Shakespeare to whatever the last thing Bill Mitchell tweeted. Who was Russell Kirk? Why is he considered the father of American conservatism? What did he do that was so important? Does his message hold value for conservatives today? Why has his legacy been largely forgotten? Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by Bradley Birzer to answer these questions and more about this woefully underappreciated, unusually eccentric, and highly ingenious thinker from the twentieth century whose prolific writings still have much to say to us about the nature of conservatism in the twenty-first century. But aside from all that, Kirk is just a fascinating individual who wrote more than the average intelligent adult will read in their lifetime and was far more comfortable with mysticism, levitation, and cultish practices than you’d ever expect of someone considered the father of American conservatism! Bradley J. Birzer, Ph.D. is a professor of history at Hillsdale where he is the Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies and Fellow of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. He is the co-founder, editor at large, and senior contributor of , an on-line journal for those who seek the True, the Good, and the Beautiful, addressing culture, liberal learning, politics, political economy, literature, the arts, and the American Republic. Dr. Birzer also serves on the boards of the Free Enterprise Institute and The Center for Cultural Renewal and is a Fellow with the Foundation for Economic Education, Intercollegiate Studies Institute, The McConnell Center, and the Center for Economic Personalism (Brazil). Dr. Birzer is author of several books, including: , , , , co-editor of , and co-author of . He is also the author of , and is considered an authority on the life of Russell Kirk. He and his wife (also Dr. Birzer) have seven children and divide their time between Michigan and Colorado. /episode/index/show/savingelephants/id/14058662

Episode 56 – Environmental Conservatism with Danielle Butcher 04/07/2020

Episode 56 – Environmental Conservatism with Danielle Butcher Conservative Millennials who came of age listening to rightwing radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh probably associate political conversations about the environment with the likes of Al Gore railing against global warming and sundry other warnings of environmental apocalyptic doom. Much of what the Right had to say about environmental concerns was that they were frequently overblown and often used by the Left as an excuse to bring about their calls for central planning. But as younger Americans have come of age, there’s growing concern on the Right about a whole host of environmental concerns from conservation to endangered species to event climate change. The late conservative philosopher Sir Roger Scruton noted that “there is no conceivable chance that the conservative defense of property will gain converts among the young without the attempt to show that it is not state control but private ownership that will save the planet from human waste.” If conservatism hopes to survive and adapt, it must find a what to answer the challenge of environmental concerns in a way that’s not hostile to the free market and limited government. Fortunately, there are growing voices on the Right who claim conservatives can do just that. And among the most prominent of those voices spring from a group of young Americans who make up the : a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating and empowering conservatives to re-engage on environmental conversations. ACC Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President Danielle Butcher joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to discuss the work ACC is doing, how conservatives can impact the environment for the better and—shudder—the threat of climate change. Danielle Butcher is a nonprofit executive who aides organizations in developing and implementing their national strategies. Danielle currently serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the American Conservation Coalition and on the Advisory Board of the British Conservation Alliance, where she merges her love of leadership with her passions for free-markets and the environment. Danielle was recently named to 2020’s Forbes 30 Under 30 list. She has spoken at several prominent conservative events including CPAC, appeared as a frequent guest on NPR and Fox News Radio, and has had her work featured in publications such as The Times, The Hill, The Washington Examiner, VOX, and more. With her work prior to ACC, she served in leadership roles at various conservative nonprofits and organizations. Danielle attended Bethel University in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where she studied Political Science and Rhetoric Communications. /episode/index/show/savingelephants/id/13863692

Bonus Episode – Leading Questions from Left to Right 04/01/2020

Episode 55 – The New Centrist with Justin Stapley 03/31/2020

Episode 55 – The New Centrist with Justin Stapley As the polarization between the two political parties increases where does that leave principled conservatives? Are we simply outcasts, or the new centrists? Justin Stapley returns to the show to discuss the state of the GOP, what he considered to be the “last straw” that led him to leave the Republican party earlier this year, the impeachment proceedings, his objections to “vote blue no matter who”, the changing political landscape, and why he now calls himself a new centrist. A prolific writer and thoughtful tweeter, Justin began working on projects not at all dissimilar to Saving Elephant’s mission to fight for a restoration of political principles in the American political process shortly after the 2016 election. And during the past several years, Justin has launched multiple websites and written for many affiliate groups. His flagship website is the apply named which links to his various endeavors, including a contributing advocate and writer for the Federalist Coalition, an advocacy journalist at NOQ Report, an opinion columnist at Porter Medium, the founder and editor of , and the Shooting Editor at Spencer Durrant Outdoors and will be a co-host for the up-and-coming Spencer Durrant Outdoors Podcast. Earlier this year Justin launched his own podcast called which features his original commentary and highlights of worthwhile speeches. In addition to politics, his writings include recreational shooting, hunting, fishing, and self-defense. Justin described himself as a “liberty-minded conservative and member of the Republican Party” whose “principles and beliefs are grounded in the idea of ordered liberty as expressed in the traditions of classical liberalism, federalism, and modern conservatism.” While much of that remains the same, he no longer feels he can be a card-caring member of the Republican party and hold to those values, as he explains at length in the episode. Justin last appeared on the podcast in , and he’s also contributed a couple of blog posts to Saving Elephants, first in contrasting then in that erupted within conservative circles last year. You can find Justin on Twitter @JustinWStapley. /episode/index/show/savingelephants/id/13775204

Bonus Episode – JB Shreve Interviews Saving Elephants Host Josh Lewis 03/24/2020

Bonus Episode – JB Shreve Interviews Saving Elephants Host Josh Lewis The tables are turned in this special bonus episode as Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is the interviewee in a conversation that was originally included in The End of History podcast. Podcaster JB Shreve conducted a series of interviews of Christians of various political persuasions to ask about their expectations and recommendations in the upcoming 2020 election. JB had invited Josh to join as the “conservative” participant in the interviews. The conversation includes exploring the influences and influencers that shaped Josh’s worldview, his political journey from the first presidential he voted in until today, and his thoughts on keeping one’s sanity in the 2020 race. JB Shreve is the founder of The End of History, a blog and podcast for Christians dedicated to helping believers make sense of the chaos of the world around them. JB has been producing podcasts and articles since 2012. After more than 200 podcast episodes, his listeners have come to expect well researched, fact-based backgrounders on a wide variety of topics to help them better understand the world around them. These backgrounders range from the history of the Middle East to the true story of economic inequality. Episodes and posts frequently expose myths and false paradigms we have come to believe. JB is adamant he is not pushing a political agenda. Rather, JB’s mission is to: Help believers in crafting their own response to world affairs and current events Provide a faith-based, values-centered voice in the face of current global issues Ease the tension between a Biblical worldview and the world we live in Provide reasonable, intelligent perspectives empowered with Biblical values and faith Remove the yelling, outrage, and debate from our worldviews to find facts and seek the truth You can learn more about JB’s work and podcast on his website, . JB can be found on Twitter @JB_Shreve /episode/index/show/savingelephants/id/13673162

Episode 54 – The Art of Losing 03/17/2020

Episode 54 – The Art of Losing Let us begin with some unsettling facts: . It is quite possible your death will be painful and frightening. For some, death comes tragically early and unexpectedly. For some, death comes much later and is fully expected, after years of the body and mind steadily deteriorating to the point vital organs no longer function. If you live long enough, everyone you care about now will die. I’m not trying to be macabre here; I’m simply trying to frame things in a certain context before we proceed. Our society is obsessed with success, winning, reaching our goals, being our all, “arriving”, self-help, and self-actualization. Trump promised his supporters we’d be winning so much . We love winning. Shelves are dedicated to self-help books in bookstores and there’s no end to podcasts offering advice on how to get rich, be successful, and reach whatever goal you have in mind. Failure is temporary. If it manages to truly set us back or keep us from our goals that’s only because something or someone—God? The lifeforce? The Universe?—has set in motion something even better for us than we had imagined. Death, if it enters our minds at all, is some distant threat that won’t come knocking until after a long life of success and a solid legacy that will ensure our life’s impact is felt for generations to come. Conservative thinkers have had a lot to say about loss and failure. And their words can be a great comfort when our shallow world of "winning" falls apart. British philosopher Roger Scruton observed in his book, : “The loss of religion makes real loss more difficult to bear; hence people begin to flee from loss, to make light of it, or to expel from themselves the feelings that make it inevitable…The Western response to loss is not to turn your back on the world. It is to bear each loss as a loss. The Christian religion enables us to do this, not because it promises to offset our losses with some compensating gain, but because it sees them as sacrifices. That which is lost is thereby consecrated to something higher than itself.” “There has been a decline in the belief in an afterlife in whatever form—the belief that, somehow or other, the ‘unfairness’ of this life in this world is somewhere remedied and that accounts are made even,” , “As more and more people cease to believe any such thing, they demand that the injustice and unfairness of life be coped with here and now.” What if the faith of our ancestors that taught life everlasting is awaiting us after death wasn’t an antiquated superstition that we’ve evolved out of, but the very glue that held people together when everything else around them looked meaningless in an eternal sense? “I am a conservative. Quite possibly I am on the losing side; often I think so,” Russell Kirk several generations ago, “Yet, out of a curious perversity I had rather lose with Socrates, let us say, than win with Lenin.” Can Millennial conservatives muster the strength of mind to say the same today? Once again, a new generation of conservatives faces the very real possibility of the movement fading into oblivion. The only thing that has prevented that in the past were those brave men and women willing to choose the prospect of losing over meaningless victory. Let us pray that we can find the same courage. Because when all we’re about is winning, we’ve already lost. /episode/index/show/savingelephants/id/13562579

Episode 53 – Front Porch Civility with Alexandra Hudson 03/10/2020

Episode 53 – Front Porch Civility with Alexandra Hudson Civility is essential to civil society. It puts the "civil" in civilization and allows for a system of ordered liberty to flourish. But what do we do when political opponents refuse to behave with civility? Can civility become a weakness in the face of those willing to risk incivility to get their way? Is it possible to both fight for what we believe while maintaining civility, or are these ideas in conflict with one another? And what exactly is civility? Is it simply being polite and well-mannered, or is there more to it than that? Alexandra Hudson joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to discuss the importance of civility, the need to find ways to bolster institutions that strengthen civility and form the individual's character, and the crucial role of front porches (both metaphorically and literally). Josh gets a little carried away and nerds-out on a brief discussion about how these ideas relate to the broader context within conservatism such as the French/Ahmari debates. For a crash course in what the heck he was referring to, . Alexandra is a California native raised in Vancouver, Canada and currently living in Indianapolis, Indiana and is currently a fellow at the . She studied history and political philosphy at Trinity Western University and earned a Masters in Social Policy at the London School of Economics as a Rotary Scholar. Alexandra has held posts at the Federalist Society and the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty. Most recently, Alexandra served as a Policy Advisor for the US Department of Education, where she worked to administer an annual budget of $16 billion. She left to write her first book, on civility. Alexandra was among the recipients of the 2019 Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship Award. She has appeared on Fox News, and her work has been published in The Wall Street Journal, The American Conservative, the Washington Examiner, The Claremont Review of Books, The Catholic Herald, Commentary Magazine, and Quillette. You can learn more about Alexandra and follow her on Twitter @LexiOHudson. /episode/index/show/savingelephants/id/13460234

Episode 52 – Departied with Bill Roberts 02/25/2020

Episode 51 – Understanding Socialism – Part 2 02/11/2020

Episode 51 – Understanding Socialism – Part 2 Josh and Bob continue their discussion from last week, further demystifying socialism. The episode opens with a three-minute clip of Leftist Congresswoman (AOC) responding to a moderator’s questions in a recent townhall. Her brief clip encapsulates much of the socialist mindset Josh and Bob had discussed in Part 1. After recapping their understanding of socialism, Josh and Bob turn to the three most common “methods” socialists advocate to bring about a socialist economy and society. They are: Social Democrats Communists/Revolutionaries Democratic Socialists Josh and Bob walk through the differences and sometimes maddeningly nuanced similarities between these three methods in their attempt to understand socialism. And, of course, they offer their counterpoints and conservative critiques throughout. It’s no secret that younger Americans are increasingly drawn to socialism. But what is socialism? Do people who say they support socialism simply mean they want something other than what we have now, or do they have a firm grasp of socialist economic theory and complex vision of what a socialist America would look like? While some conservatives may dismiss calls for socialism as foolish and not worth debating, Millennial conservatives don’t have that luxury. We understand that calls for a socialist state are not a passing fad but a significant shift in how Americans are beginning to think. And if conservatives are going to defend the free market, we must first begin to understand what socialism is before we can show how capitalism offers a better alternative. On December 16, 2019 the Leftist podcast Millennial Review ran an episode entitled What is Socialism (Parts One and Two) in which cohosts Trevor and Justin described what socialism means, how to create a socialist state, and what such a state might look like. Trevor and Justin are both proponents of socialism and, in defining socialism, offer their arguments in support. You can listen to their episode by . /episode/index/show/savingelephants/id/13010768

Episode 50 – Understanding Socialism – Part 1 02/04/2020

Episode 49 – God and the Speechless at Yale with Avi Woolf 01/21/2020

Episode 49 – God and the Speechless at Yale with Avi Woolf Ever since William F. Buckley wrote his landmark book “God and Man at Yale” in the 1950s, conservatives have had a deep love/hate relationship with higher education. That relationship has only soured in recent decades with some prominent conservative thinkers——suggesting it may even be time for conservatives to work to “get rid of universities altogether.” But unlike Buckley’s generation, conservative groups today have emerged and even thrived on college campuses across the nation. Many of these groups have successfully instilled conservatives in prominent think tanks, political offices, the media, law, education, and other important areas of society. But as conservative speakers and ideas become increasingly marginalized in American Ivy League universities, so too have these groups grown increasingly aggressive in demanding their right to freedom of speech. Many college conservatives and their organizations are in danger of losing sight of what it is they demand to have the right to say. So much so that, were Leftist administrators and students to suddenly tolerate anything and everything their conservative counterparts had to say, they may find themselves quite dumbstruck. We are in danger of fighting for freedom of speech for the speechless. Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is international and returning guest Avi Woolf to weigh in on where conservatives can go from here. Avi is a translator and editor whose work has been published in Arc Digital, Commentary, National Review, The Bulwark, and The Dispatch. He is chief editor of the online Medium publication Conservative Pathways, and he hopes to help forge a path for a conservatism which is relevant for the 21st century while not abandoning the best of past wisdom. Avi hosts his own podcast entitled “Avi’s Conversational Corner”, a podcast on culture, history, and politics in a broad perspective, which can be found at Avi can be found on Twitter @AviWoolf /episode/index/show/savingelephants/id/12795464

Episode 48 - The Problem with Populism 01/07/2020

Episode 48 - The Problem with Populism Much has been said of the rise of populism on the Right today. But what is populism? Is it a coherent ideology with discernable objectives and ideas or a reactionary movement against an entrenched government and The Establishment? Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis parses through the meaning of populism, how it’s applied to politics, what it gets right, what it gets wrong, and how populism can disguise itself as other more rigorous worldviews, not the least of which is conservatism itself. While a certain dosage of populism is important in a free society, there are many ways in which too much populism can go very, very wrong. In this episode, Josh expands on the five reasons why populism is ultimately a dangerous ideological game. Populism is like the cover of a book. It may look enticing enough from the outside to earn you approving nods by holding it in front of your face at Starbucks, but unless it’s filled with actual content of a more comprehensive worldview, it hasn’t much to say. Show me a man who is only a populist and I will show you a book with blank pages. We can only truly understand a populist by examining the flavor of the worldview that’s infused with their populism. That’s why two populists can end up supporting radically different causes from communism to fascism to protectionism to socialism to capitalism. We might assume then that a conservative wouldn’t find much fault with populism so long as it’s infused with conservatism. That would be a faulty assumption, though some conservatives today put much effort in defending president Trump’s rather void political philosophy on these grounds. Trumpism, lacking a set of coherent, consistent policies of its own, has—for the moment—adopted conservative policies. Why fuse over a book cover entitled The Political Rantings of an Uninformed Narcissist if the pages inside plagiarize excerpts from ? Why judge a book by its cover? Laying aside the argument that the words we use actually do matter, this view . Conservatism is . Conservative policies are important, but not nearly as important as the attitudes and convictions and persuasions that led us to those policies. From a distance a conservative and a populist advocating conservative policies may look very much alike. But look past the flashy cover, past the index, the preface, the introduction by that celebrity on the Right who spoke at last year’s , and delve into the actual meat of the book and the differences begin to emerge in a powerful way. Josh explains that conservatism can never truly align with populism because conservatism stands against radical ideologies; in fact, it considers them dangerous. And, ultimately, populism is among the most dangerous, as Josh explains in this episode. /episode/index/show/savingelephants/id/12619283

Episode 47 - Wonkish Optimism with Andy Smarick 12/17/2019

Episode 47 - Wonkish Optimism with Andy Smarick As Republicans look ahead to the end of the Trump presidency (whether that’s a year away or five years out) many are beginning to ask, “what does a post-Trump GOP look like?” For conservatives who have spent the past three years as outcasts from a party increasingly given to populist nationalism, the prospects are both exciting and worrying. Will things ‘go back to normal’? Will the Republican party once again be the home of conservatism? Or has Trump permanently changed things? And, if so, how much has changed? Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by Andy Smarick who holds an optimistic view of what the future has in store for conservatives. His recent article in The Bulwark entitled argues that few presidents have had a lasting impact on their party, and that Trump is even less likely leave his mark as “Trumpism has failed in terms of principles, people, and popularity.” But it’s not enough to hope for the end of populist nationalism in the GOP. Conservatives must have something better to offer as an alternative. And to that end, Andy makes his case for why conservatism has a rich and deep heritage that will long outlast the Age of Trump. Andy Smarick is the Director, of Civil Society, Education and Work at , a free-market think tank with a pragmatic approach to public policy challenges. We draw inspiration from such thinkers as Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, Ronald H. Coase, James M. Buchanan and Arthur C. Pigou. Andy researches and writes about civil-society issues at R Street, including localism, governing institutions, education and social entrepreneurship. Before joining R Street, Andy was a Morgridge Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and served as president of the Maryland State Board of Education. Prior to that, he worked at the White House as an aide in the Domestic Policy Counsel and was a deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Education. He was also the deputy commissioner of education in New Jersey and a legislative assistant at the U.S. House of Representatives. Andy has authored or edited four books (2012); (2013); (2015); and No Longer Forgotten: The Triumphs and Struggles of Rural Education in America (2018). Andy earned his bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude and with honors, in government and politics from the University of Maryland, and his master’s in public management from UMD’s School of Public Policy. He lives in Stevensville, Maryland with his wife and three kids. /episode/index/show/savingelephants/id/12428738

Episode 46 - Should Presidents be our Role Models? 12/03/2019

Episode 45 - America's Greatest (and Worst) Presidents - Part 3 11/19/2019

Episode 44 - America's Greatest (and Worst) Presidents - Part 2 11/12/2019

Episode 43 - America's Greatest (and Worst) Presidents - Part 1 11/05/2019

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