Madison's Notes: Recent Episodes
The James Madison Program
The official podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions.
J.R.R. Tolkien's masterwork The Lord of the Rings delighted so many of us as children, yet it and its vast body of accompanying work, such as the Silmarillion, contain a rich depth not well understood by most adults. Tolkien's work reflects his academic interests in the history of language and the Medieval world, as well as his Catholic faith. What purpose and religious message does his writing contain? Does his work carry a political meaning? Here to discuss is Professor Rachel Fulton Brown, Associate Professor of Medieval History at the University of Chicago. In addition to her work on the history of Christianity, medieval liturgy, and the cult of the Virgin Mary, she teaches a popular course "Tolkien: Medieval and Modern," and has a series of lectures and writings mining the depths of Tolkien's thought and writing.
More on Rachel Fulton Brown here.
The syllabus to her course is here.
Her lecture series, "The Forge of Tolkien" is here.
Her blog, "Fencing Bear at Prayer" is here.
Dragon Common Room, which contains more lectures and information about creative writing, is here.
Annika Nordquist is the Communications Coordinator of Princeton University’s James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions and host of the Program’s podcast, Madison’s Notes.
Natural law theory is known to be more emphasized among Catholics than Protestants. Why is that the case, and should it be? Do Protestants need to focus more on philosophy? Today's guest, Andrew T. Walker of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, discusses why Protestants need natural law too, and specifically the work of the Madison Program’s founder and Director, Professor Robert P. George. We discuss Dr. Walker's book, Social Conservatism for the Common Good: A Protestant Engagement with Robert P. George, which features essays from a variety of Protestant scholars on Professor George and the importance of his contributions to the field of natural law. Andrew T. Walker is associate professor of Christian Ethics at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and an associate dean in their School of Theology. He also serves as the executive director of the Carl F. H. Henry Institute for Evangelical Engagement, as Managing Editor of WORLD opinions, and as a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.
More on Natural Law, from a former JMP fellow here.
A little bit on New Natural Law here.
An overview of John Rawls here.
Rawls' "original position," where he advocates for his famous "veil of ignorance" here.
His recent article, "True conservatism is not mere progressivism in slow motion" in WORLD Opinions here.
His recent book review, "Were problems baked into the American cake?" in WORLD Opinions here.
"The Baby and the Bathwater," an essay co-authored by Professor George mentioned during the interview here.
Annika Nordquist is the Communications Coordinator of Princeton University’s James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions and host of the Program’s podcast, Madison’s Notes.
In the final episode of Season 3, Annika sits down with James Fenelon, a veteran-turned-historian, who served in the Army for over a decade and is a graduate of the US Army’s Airborne, Jumpmaster and Pathfinder schools. They about his latest book, Angels Against the Sun: A WWII Saga of Grunts, Grit, and Brotherhood (Regnery, 2023), which chronicles the 11th Airborne Division, nicknamed "The Angels," and their campaign. A bit about the book: The Pacific theater of World War II pitted American fighting men against two merciless enemies: the relentless Japanese army and the combined forces of monsoons, swamps, mud, privation, and disease. General Joseph Swing's rowdy paratroopers of the 11th Airborne Division-- nicknamed the "Angels"--fought in some of the war's most dramatic campaigns, from bloody skirmishes in Leyte's unforgiving rainforests to the ferocious battles on Luzon, including the hellish urban combat of Manila. The Angels were trained as elite shock troops, but high American casualties often forced them into action as ground-pounding infantrymen. Surviving on airdropped supplies and reinforcements, the Angels fought their way across nearly impassable terrain, emerging as one of the most lethal units in the Pacific War. Their final task was the occupation of Japan, where they were the first American boots on the ground. Angels Against the Sun is an unforgettable account of the liberation of the Philippines. In the tradition of Band of Brothers, historian and former paratrooper James M. Fenelon offers a grunt's-eye view of the war. This is a soldier's history at its best. Annika Nordquist is the Communications Coordinator of Princeton University’s James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions and host of the Program’s podcast, Madison’s Notes. She graduated from Stanford University in 2021, where she studied Classics and Linguistics. She was also Editor-in-Chief of the Stanford Review and a member of the varsity fencing team. Previously, she was a Research Assistant in Education Policy at the American Enterprise Institute.
As the last few months of landmark Supreme Court decisions have showcased, Clarence Thomas is one of the most important men in America. To wrap up our Summer of Law series, Judge Amul Thapar discusses his recent book, The People's Justice: Clarence Thomas and the Constitutional Stories that Define Him (Regnery Publishing, 2023), digging into Justice Thomas's judicial legacy and some of his most interesting, influential, and surprising decisions. Amul Thapar is serves as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He became the first South Asian Article III judge in American history when President George W. Bush nominate him to serve on the Eastern District of Kentucky, where he then also served as the United States Attorney. In 2017, he became President Donald J. Trump’s first appellate court nominee. If you enjoyed this episode, you may also enjoy his most recent speech at the Madison Program. Annika Nordquist is the Communications Coordinator of Princeton University’s James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions and host of the Program’s podcast, Madison’s Notes.
What is natural law, and what does it have to do with originalism? Why does the Right defend religion yet so often struggle to define it? Next up in our "Summer of Law" series, Hadley Arkes, the Edward Ney Professor Emeritus of Jurisprudence Emeritus at Amherst College and the Founder and Director of the James Wilson Institute sits down to chat about his recent book, Mere Natural Law: Originalism and the Anchoring Truths of the Constitution (Regnery Publishing, 2023).
More on Prof. Arkes is available here.
About the The James Wilson Institute, here.
The Stanford Review's "religion," referenced during the podcast is here.
Annika Nordquist is the Communications Coordinator of Princeton University’s James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions and host of the Program’s podcast, Madison’s Notes. She graduated from Stanford University in 2021, where she studied Classics and Linguistics. She was also Editor-in-Chief of the Stanford Review and a member of the varsity fencing team. Previously, she was a Research Assistant in Education Policy at the American Enterprise Institute.
It has been a momentous few weeks for the Supreme Court. What better time to discuss the Court's history and future? We are therefore launching our "Summer of Law" series to shed light on the legal world . Kicking the series off is John Yoo, the Heller Professor of Law at the University of California at Berkeley. He is also a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He has written 8 books and over 100 academic articles, and is a regular contributor at a wide variety of publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and National Review. This episode discusses his latest book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Supreme Court (Regnery Publishing, 2023). Along the way, it unpacks legal thought on issues such as affirmative action, abortion, court-packing, the administrative state, and the unique position of the Supreme Court as an unelected institution. We have not forgotten, however, that tomorrow is our nation's birthday. At the end of the discussion, our Thomas W. Smith Distinguished Research Scholar Allen Guelzo will recite Patrick Henry's famous speech "Give Me Liberty." While this episode covers the court more broadly, here are some of Prof. Yoo's recent writings and appearances on these hot-button issues:
Newsweek, "Biden's Student Loan Forgiveness Was Always a Sham"
National Review, "The Supreme Court Corrects a Grievous Error"
His interview on Fox News, "Supreme Court says Congress, not the president, controls power of the purse"
His interview on Fox Business, "Employers should rethink race-based hiring, programs after SCOTUS affirmative action decision"
His interview on Fox News, "The Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution is colorblind"
Annika Nordquist is the Communications Coordinator of Princeton University’s James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions and host of the Program’s podcast, Madison’s Notes.
Within political discussions on the Right, social conservatism is on the rise. Why did the Right have a libertarian phase, and why is it leaving it behind? What does social conservatism look like in the world of practical public policy, and what is its future? How do religious citizens fit within the conservative movement? Ryan Anderson '04, is the director of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a thinktank at the forefront of just such questions. After graduating from Princeton, Dr. Anderson pursued his PhD in Political Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He is the co-author of five books, most recently Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing (Regnery, 2022). His research has been cited by two U.S. Supreme Court justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, in two Supreme Court cases. In addition to leading the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Anderson serves as the John Paul II Teaching Fellow in Social Thought at the University of Dallas, and the Founding Editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute. During the interview, Dr. Anderson references a scatterplot showing that there were more social conservatives than libertarian voters in the 2016 election, which you can find here.
Americans have always had mixed emotions about schooling: in popular literature and television, teachers are often depicted as tyrannical authorities, even as in classroom settings they often try to style themselves as "friends." Dr. Rita Koganzon, professor of political science at the University of Houston, discusses the history of the idea of authority in education, dwelling on Enlightenment thinkers like Locke, Rousseau, and Bodin. Along the way, she covers contemporary issues like homeschooling and parents' rights, and how attitudes towards those concepts have changed from the Early Modern period to the present.
More on Dr. Koganzon, https://uh.edu/class/political-science/faculty-and-staff/professors/koganzon/
Her book, "Liberal States, Authoritarian Families: Childhood and Education in Early Modern Thought," https://global.oup.com/academic/product/liberal-states-authoritarian-families-9780197568804?cc=us⟨=en&
Her recent article "There Is No Such Thing as a Banned Book: Censorship, Authority, and the School Book Controversies of the 1970s," https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/723442
"The narrative that old books are worthless are designed to keep you from noticing that they are not." Spencer Klavan, author of "How to Save the West: Ancient Wisdom for Five Modern Crises" discusses the West: why it's so important to preserve it, how its great ideas can help us today, and the limits of science in addressing modern problems.
Spencer Klavan received his PhD in Classics from Oxford and is Associate Editor of the Claremont Review of Books and Features Editor at the American Mind.
More on Dr. Klavan:
His podcast, Young Heretics, https://youngheretics.com/
"Hey hey ho ho Western Civ has got to go," https://intellectualtakeout.org/2019/06/hey-hey-ho-ho-western-civ-has-got-to-go/
Spencer on C.S. Lewis's science fiction novel "That Hideous Strength," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdutZEHonLc
More on Plato's Timaeus, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-timaeus/#:~:text=In%20the%20Timaeus%20Plato%20presents,%2C%20purposive%2C%20and%20beneficent%20agency.
More on Lucretius, a prominent Epicurean philosopher: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lucretius/
More on Stoicism, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/stoicism/
C.S. Lewis's The Discarded Image, https://portalconservador.com/livros/C-S-Lewis-The-Discarded-Image.pdf
Annika sits down with Robert Doar, president of the American Enterprise Institute, one of Washington D.C.'s most prominent think-tanks, to discuss the state of the American Right: what are the driving political issues of our time? What is the importance of freedom and liberty within the right? Drawing on Robert's background in poverty studies, they discuss what the Right has done right and wrong in addressing poverty, as well as Robert's time at our very own Princeton.
More on Robert Doar, https://www.aei.org/profile/robert-doar/
The department founded by Mr. Doar, "Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies," https://www.aei.org/policy-areas/sccs/
Robert's own podcast, "AEI Banter," https://www.aei.org/tag/aei-banter/
Is beauty objective, or merely a personal experience? Do we need beauty in our daily lives, or is it just icing on the cake? Is the sole purpose of art self-expression? Sociologist Margarita Mooney Clayton *05 of Princeton Theological Seminary discusses the history and philosophy of beauty, and its relationships with truth and the sacred.
More on Margarita, https://margaritamooneyclayton.com/bio/
Her nonprofit, the Scala Foundation, https://scalafoundation.org/
Her book, "The Wounds of Beauty," https://scalafoundation.org/woundsofbeautybook/
Her upcoming conference, "Art, the Sacred, and the Common Good," https://conference.scalafoundation.org/?_ga=2.143542197.1868599713.1674055972-127281008.1631133300
Her op-ed, "Why Choose Mystery Over Ideology?" https://comment.org/why-choose-mystery-over-ideology/
Her webinar with Aidan Hart, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJHvX9Prp4c
Scala's YouTube channel, which has plenty of additional content on beauty and the liberal arts, https://www.youtube.com/@ScalaFoundation
Amidst fraught debates about what gender is, and how it fits into feminism, Annika sits down with Dr. Abigail Favale, an English professor specializing in gender studies and feminist literary criticism turned Catholic convert. Dr. Favale is now a professor and writer at the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, and the author of "The Genesis of Gender: A Christian Theory."
More about Dr. Favale: https://abigailfavale.wixsite.com/home
Her book, "The Genesis of Gender," https://ignatius.com/the-genesis-of-gender-ggp/
Her latest essay, "From Post-Christian Feminism to Catholicism," https://thecatholicwoman.co/essays-for-the-new-feminism/letter-abigail-favale-from-post-christian-feminism-to-catholicism
What kind of person is our education system designed to create? Best-selling author and award-winning essayist William Deresiewicz discusses the failures of our higher education system, how it mis-conditions our elite, and fails to value the humanities, as well as his latest collection of essays, "The End of Solitude."
Sign up for our event with Bill via Zoom in 1 week! https://jmp.princeton.edu/events/college-kids-are-not-ok-and-what-do-about-it-conversation-william-deresiewicz-end-solitude
More on Bill Deresiewicz: https://billderesiewicz.com/
His book, "The End of Solitude": https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250858641/the-end-of-solitude
His book, "Excellent Sheep": https://billderesiewicz.com/books/excellent-sheep/
His recent piece on secularism: https://salmagundi.skidmore.edu/articles/360-disenchantment-and-dogma
Jean Anyon's article on how our education system enforces social class: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1179509
Nicholas Kristof's educational advice in the New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/07/opinion/sunday/student-success-advice.html
With the Supreme Court poised to potentially outlaw race-conscious admissions, Affirmative Action may soon be on the chopping block.
What will be the legacy of this half-century-old policy? Jason Riley, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and columnist at the Wall Street Journal, discusses affirmative action's impact both on the black community and the broader American education system.
More about Jason: https://www.manhattan-institute.org/expert/jason-l-riley
His book, "The Black Boom": httphttps://www.manhattan-institute.org/riley-black-boom
His book, "Please Stop Helping Us": https://www.amazon.com/Please-Stop-Helping-Us-Liberals/dp/1594038414
Statistical evidence of the impact of racial preferences in college admissions, mentioned in the discussion: https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2022/01/harvard-unc-affirmative-action-case-race-admissions-peter-arcidiacano-david-card-expert-witness-duke-university
His piece, "Racial Preferences Harm Their Beneficiaries, Too," WSJ
https://www.wsj.com/articles/college-racial-preferences-harm-beneficiaries-harvard-unc-supreme-court-higher-education-college-students-affirmative-action-11664917859
His piece, "The College Board's Racial Pandering," WSJ https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-college-boards-racial-pandering-education-k-12-schooling-ap-courses-exams-testing-high-schools-math-reading-propaganda-11664309793
With Christmas approaching, in this episode we reflect on Christian persecution in the Middle East, the historic cradle of Christianity and the birthplace of Jesus, and the very different challenges Christians face in the East versus the West.
Annika sits down with Father Benedict Kiely, a Catholic priest who has devoted his ministry to serving Christian communities in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq.
More on Father Kiely: https://www.nasarean.org/father_ben.php
Nasarean, his non-profit to help Christians in the Middle East: https://www.nasarean.org/mission.php
The Chinese Communist Party's re-translation of John:8: https://harpers.org/archive/2020/12/the-new-testament/
At the Battle of Saratoga, the tide of the Revolutionary War turned in favor of unlikely victors: the American patriots.
What were the major strategy elements at play in the Saratoga Campaign, and why did it prove so crucial? Where did England misstep, and what did the Americans get right? To find out, we chat with Kevin Weddle *03, Professor of Military Theory and Strategy at the Army War College.
A graduate of West Point and veteran of operations Desert Storm and Enduring Freedom, Dr. Weddle received his PhD here at Princeton, and was the William L. Garwood visiting professor with the Madison Program. He is the author of "The Compleat Victory: Saratoga and the American Revolution," winner of the 2021 Gilder Lehrman Military History Prize.
His book: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-compleat-victory-9780195331400?cc=us⟨=en
The Lehrman Prize: https://jmp.princeton.edu/events/compleat-victory-saratoga-and-american-revolution
Over six million prime-age men are neither working nor looking for work; America's low unemployment rate hides the fact that many men have dropped out of the workforce altogether. Our workforce participation rate is on par with that seen during the Great Depression.
Why does this problem affect men so acutely? Why is it so specific to America? What are these missing men doing with their time? How do we differentiate between leisure and idleness? Demographer and economist Nicholas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute discusses these trends and what they mean for America's future.
Nicholas Eberstadt's biography and website: https://www.aei.org/profile/nicholas-eberstadt/
His recent book, Men Without Work: https://templetonpress.org/books/men-without-work-2/
His recent op-ed, "A Nation of Quitters": https://spectatorworld.com/topic/a-nation-of-quitters/
What is the American Right, where does it come from, and how has it changed over time? Journalist and author Matthew Continetti discusses his recent book: The Right: The Hundred Year War for American Conservatism.
Continetti is Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and was formerly the founding editor and the editor-in-chief of the Washington Free Beacon. Previously, he was opinion editor at the Weekly Standard. He is also a contributing editor at National Review and a columnist for Commentary magazine.
Continetti's recent book: https://www.the-right-book.com/
The shifting demographics of wealthiest Americans, discussed during this episode: https://news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-report/democrats-tax-hike-bet-relies-on-their-new-500-000-plus-voters?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=taxdesk&utm_campaign=5B08EF5E-A165-11EB-8C78-8C0750017A06
With contentious midterm elections coming up fast, Annika sits down with one of the best-known commentators and participants in the American political economy over the past four decades: Larry Kudlow.
Director Kudlow has had a long and storied career; in addition to great success both on Wall Street and as a political commentator, he served in the Ronald Reagan administration in 1981, and as the Director of the National Economic Council under President Trump. He currently hosts the popular Larry Kudlow Show.
In this episode, Larry reflects on his experiences working in the Reagan versus the Trump administrations, the similarities between Reagan and JFK, the challenges China poses to free market economics, and his time studying here at Princeton.
The Larry Kudlow Show: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/larry-kudlow-show/id1553621771
His book, JFK and the Reagan Revolution: https://www.amazon.com/JFK-Reagan-Revolution-American-Prosperity/dp/1595231145
What kinds of tools do we need to make big decisions, and why aren't our universities training us to make them? Are universities doing students a disservice by occupying them with myriads of boxes to tick? Are students right to prefer money to meaning?
Madison Program alumni Ben and Jenna Storey discuss the philosophy of making choices and of restlessness, and critique the way universities treat those topics.
Ben and Jenna are senior fellows at the American Enterprise Institute in the Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies department, where they focus on political philosophy, classical schools, and higher education. Previously, they directed the Toqueville Program at Furman University in South Carolina. They are the authors of Why We Are Restless.
Their website: https://www.jbstorey.com/about-2
Their book: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691211121/why-we-are-restless
Their recent New York Times op-ed on choice: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/15/opinion/college-students-happiness-liberal-arts.html
Prof. Barba-Kay's tribute to Leon Kass mentioned during the episode: https://mediacentral.princeton.edu/media/The+Humanists+VocationA+Leon+Kass+as+Thinker+and+Teacher/1_bxkd7xqv
With the Biden Administration's student loan relief coming down the pike, Annika sits down with Dr. Beth Akers, a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who specializes in higher education finance. Beth discusses the issue of student debt, and what the Biden relief plan will and will not achieve.
You can find more information about Dr. Akers and her recent writing and appearances here.
How did Britain become a global superpower? Historian and classicist Ian Morris thinks geography has a lot to do with it. Prof. Morris discusses his latest book, Geography is Destiny: Britain and the World: A 10,000 Year History, which traces the long history of Britain's complex relationship with the European continent. He draws surprising parallels between characters ranging from the Roman Britons and Nigel Farage, to the Papacy and the European Union.
Prof. Ian Morris is the Jean and Rebecca Willard Professor of Classics and Professor in History at Stanford University, as well as the author of the critically acclaimed Why the West Rules—for Now. His latest book, Geography is Destiny, may be purchased here.
Israeli political philosopher Yoram Hazony ('86) discusses the Enlightenment, the American Founding, his latest book: Conservatism: A Rediscovery, and Conservatism's past and future.
Dr. Hazony is the the President of the Herzl Institute, based in Jerusalem, and the chairman of the Edmund Burke Foundation, a public affairs institute based in Washington D.C., which recently hosted the popular National Conservatism Conference in Miami, FL.
You can purchase his book Conservatism: A Rediscovery here.
We all know that things are a little more expensive when we head to the grocery store. But what does inflation actually mean? How did we get to where we are, and what happens next? What does history have to say about our current economic situation?
Annika sits down with Tyler Goodspeed of the Hoover Institution. Dr. Goodspeed served in the White House as Acting Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers from 2020-2021, and was formerly on the Faculty of Economics at the University of Oxford, where he specialized in financial history.
The overturning of Roe v. Wade has led to a flurry of commentary and wondering, "Where next?" But, it also begs deeper questions: what is the history of abortion and sex-positivity within the feminist movement, and how did Roe affect our views on sex? Feminist legal scholar Dr. Erika Bachiochi is the founder and director of the Wollstonecraft Project at the Abigail Adams Institute and a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Here, she discusses these questions as well as her recent book on Mary Wollstonecraft, The Rights of Women: Reclaiming a Lost Vision.
Her book may be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/Rights-Women-Reclaiming-Catholic-Secular/dp/0268200815
Articles referenced during the show:
"Pursuing the Unification of Work and Home," American Compass. https://americancompass.org/essays/pursuing-the-reuinification-of-home-and-work/
"Why the Dobbs Decision Won't Imperil Pregnancy-Related Medical Care," SCOTUSblog. https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/07/why-the-dobbs-decision-wont-imperil-pregnancy-related-medical-care/
Modern social and political discussions all seem to revolve around the concept of identity. Dr. Carl Trueman, theologian and former William E. Simon Fellow in Religion and Public Life here at the Madison Program, discusses how thinkers like Marx, Freud, and Nietzsche created a world in which sexuality is politicized, and in which we all instinctively know what it means to "identify as."
Dr. Trueman is the author two recent books, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, and a shorter, study-version on the same topic, Strange New World.
Who is the new host of Madison's Notes? Season 1 host Nino Scalia interviews the host of Season 2, Annika Nordquist. They chat about her interests, background, and the thinkers who have influenced her most.
During the episode, Annika notes the following books as particularly influential on her thought:
- C.S. Lewis, Till We Have Faces
- Niccolo Machiavelli, Discourses on Livy
- G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man
- Camille Paglia, Sexual Personae
- Rene Girard, Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World
- Hannah Arendt, Between Past and Future
- Christopher Lasch, Revolt of the Elites
What are American conservatives trying to conserve? What is Natural Law, and how can we know it? Is there a single "good life"? Robert P. George, Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, joins the show to answer these questions and others in the Season One finale.
Robert P. George's personal website: https://robertpgeorge.com/
What does it mean to be a great leader? Have we entered an "Age of Artificial Intelligence"? Why is Joe Lonsdale so optimistic? Joe Lonsdale is an entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Palantir, managing partner at 8VC, and host of the "American Optimist" podcast. He joins Madison's Notes to answer these questions and others.
Joe Lonsdale's website: https://joelonsdale.com/
Lonsdale on the University of Austin: https://nypost.com/2021/11/08/university-of-austin-founded-by-writers-and-entrepreneurs/
"American Optimist" on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/americanoptimist/null
What does Xi Jinping want, and what is he afraid of? What is the future of China's relationship with Russia? What should the United States be doing to counter China? Matt Pottinger, Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution and former Deputy National Security Advisor, joins Madison's Notes to answer these questions and others.
Matt Pottinger's Hoover page: https://www.hoover.org/profiles/matt-pottinger
Matt Pottinger's interview with the WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-china-and-the-new-cold-war-ukraine-xi-putin-bloc-dictators-alliance-invasion-11647623768
What's wrong with vaccine mandates? What is the "biosecurity surveillance regime"? Is trust in our public health institutions damaged beyond repair? Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, who was fired by the UC Irvine School of Medicine for refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, joins Madison's Notes to answer these questions and more.
Dr. Kheriaty's website: https://www.aaronkheriaty.com/
Dr. Kheriaty's Substack: https://aaronkheriaty.substack.com/
Dr. Kheriaty's Senate Testimony: https://aaronkheriaty.substack.com/p/senate-testimony-and-update-on-fda?s=r
Why should we study Robert E. Lee? Why did he make the fateful decision to betray his country? How should we judge Robert E. Lee? Allen C. Guelzo, Director of the James Madison Program's Initiative on Politics and Statesmanship, joins Madison's Notes to answer these questions and others.
Robert E. Lee: A Life: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/robert-e-lee-allen-c-guelzo/1139190394
Will Russia invade Ukraine? Has America lost its military edge to Russia and China? Is nuclear war a possibility in the 21st century? Marshall Billingslea, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, has held many important positions in the U.S. government, including those of Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control at the U.S. Department of State and Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. He joins Madison's Notes to answer these questions and others.
On September 23, 2021, the James Madison Program and the Ethics and Public Policy Center hosted a discussion of Robert P. George and Ryan T. Anderson's 2019 National Affairs essay, "The Baby and the Bathwater." George and Anderson delivered remarks and then spoke with Alexandra DeSanctis and Antonin Scalia about the central themes of the essay, and how the philosophical framework they set out applies to America.
Watch "The Baby and the Bathwater: Toward a Recovery of the American Idea": https://jmp.princeton.edu/events/baby-and-bathwater-toward-recovery-american-idea
Read "The Baby and the Bathwater": https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/the-baby-and-the-bathwater
The James Madison Program's new Initiative on Freedom of Thought, Inquiry, and Expression (the "Free Speech Initiative") will "promote, explain, and defend free speech and academic freedom." Keith Whittington and Bernard Haykel, co-directors of the Initiative, join Madison's Notes to discuss the need for and work of the Initiative.
Initiative Homepage: https://jmp.princeton.edu/freespeech
What did Aristotle and Shakespeare mean to Harry Jaffa, and what might they mean to America? Can extremism be prudent? What is the nature of the crisis facing the West today? Glenn Ellmers, senior fellow with the Claremont Institute, joins the show to discuss his new book, "The Soul of Politics: Harry V. Jaffa and the Fight for America."
The Soul of Politics: https://www.encounterbooks.com/books/the-soul-of-politics/
Can we learn how to rule? How do military innovations change civil society? What did Machiavelli learn from Xenophon? Shilo Brooks, Faculty Director and Teaching Associate Professor in the Engineering Leadership Program at the University of Colorado Boulder, joins the show to discuss "The Education of Cyrus," by Xenophon.
The Education of Cyrus: https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780801487507/the-education-of-cyrus/
UC Boulder's Engineering Leadership Program: https://www.colorado.edu/engineeringleadershipprogram/
Did the sexual revolution create identity politics? Why are young men and women so unhappy? Mary Eberstadt, Panula Chair in Christian Culture at the Catholic Information Center and Senior Research Fellow at the Faith and Reason Institute, joins the show to answer these questions and others and discuss her new book, "Primal Screams: How the Sexual Revolution Created Identity Politics."
Primal Screams: https://templetonpress.org/books/primal-screams/
Mary Eberstadt's website: https://maryeberstadt.com/
How are hiring and admissions decisions made in the hard sciences if not by merit? What are the risks of allowing science to be politicized? Professors Dorian Abbot (University of Chicago), Anna Krylov (University of Southern California), David Romps (University of California, Berkeley), and Bernhardt Trout (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), join the show to answer these questions and others.
Resources:
Dorian Abbot on "The Views That Made Me Persona Non Grata at MIT": https://www.wsj.com/articles/cancel-culture-college-mit-dorian-abbot-university-chicago-representation-equity-equality-11635516316
MIT poll on free speech: https://www.mitfreespeech.org/
Why the Latest Campus Cancellation Is Different (The Atlantic): https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/10/why-latest-campus-cancellation-different/620352/
What Does a University Owe Democracy? (The New York Times): https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/12/opinion/cancel-culture-college-campus.html
Jonathan Rauch on "The Constitution of Knowledge": https://heterodoxacademy.org/heterodoxoutloud/
Campaign to adopt the Chicago Principles at MIT: https://freespeech.mit.edu/
Why doesn't Socrates get drunk? Is love finding your "other half"? What's the relationship between comedy and tragedy, love and immortality? Marcus Gibson, Director of the Princeton Initiative in Catholic Thought, returns to Madison's Notes to continue our journey through the Platonic dialogues with a discussion of Plato's Symposium.
Dorian Abbot is an Associate Professor of Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) had invited Abbot to deliver their prestigious Carlson Lecture, but rescinded the invitation after receiving complaints about an article Abbot had written for Newsweek, titled "The Diversity Problem on Campus." In response, Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions invited Abbot to speak at the James Madison Program. He'll do so live on Zoom on October 21st, at 4:30 PM ET. Abbot joins the podcast to discuss MIT's capitulation, academic freedom in the hard sciences, and more.
Register for Abbot's Lecture at the James Madison Program: https://jmp.princeton.edu/events/climate-and-potential-life-other-planets
The Diversity Problem on Campus: https://www.newsweek.com/diversity-problem-campus-opinion-1618419
Dorian Abbot for Bari Weiss' "Common Sense": https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/mit-abandons-its-mission-and-me
Jack Phillips is the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado. In 2012, Jack Phillips declined to create a custom wedding cake celebrating a so-called same-sex marriage. The men who requested the cake filed a charge with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, beginning a legal battle that reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Jack Phillips joins the show to discuss his new book, "The Cost of My Faith: How a Decision in My Cake Shop Took Me to the Supreme Court." Joining Jack is Jake Warner, legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom’s Appellate Team.
The Cost of My Faith: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-cost-of-my-faith-jack-phillips/1136404933
Alliance Defending Freedom: https://adflegal.org/
What went wrong in Afghanistan, and who is to blame? Is America safer today than on September 10, 2001? What lessons should the leaders of America's foreign policy draw from the war in Afghanistan? Ambassador Nathan Sales is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, the former U.S. State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism, and former acting Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights. He joins the show to answer these questions and others.
The James Madison Program: https://jmp.princeton.edu/events
Why is Jordan Peterson so popular? In what ways is Jordan Peterson's approach to Scripture unique? What can Christians learn from Peterson about the Bible? Christopher Kaczor, Professor of Philosophy at Loyola Marymount University, joins Madison's Notes to answer these questions and discuss his new book, "Jordan Peterson, God, and Christianity: The Search for a Meaningful Life."
Jordan Peterson, God, and Christianity: The Search for a Meaningful Life: https://www.wordonfire.org/peterson-book/
Peterson's Biblical Series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-wWBGo6a2w
What does the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs do? How can a liberal arts education help you personally and professionally? Roger Carstens, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, joins Madison's Notes to answer these questions and more.
What is academic freedom for? What are the greatest threats to academic freedom today? Should Critical Race Theory be taught on college campuses? What about in K-12 classrooms? Keith Whittington, Chairman of the Academic Freedom Alliance's Academic Committee and the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics at Princeton University, joins the show to answer these questions and discuss the work of the Academic Freedom Alliance.
The Academic Freedom Alliance: https://academicfreedom.org/
About Keith Whittington: https://scholar.princeton.edu/kewhitt/home
Relevant articles by Keith Whittington: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/06/30/racism-academic-discussions-pennsylvania-law/
https://areomagazine.com/2021/06/16/the-trouble-with-banning-critical-race-theory/
https://www.chronicle.com/article/we-have-criticized-nikole-hannah-jones-her-tenure-denial-is-a-travesty?cid2=gen_login_refresh&cid=gen_sign_in
Are Books VIII and IX the climax of the Republic? Is 21st century America a democratic or oligarchic society? Are democratic societies destined for tyranny? Marcus Gibson, Director of the Princeton Initiative in Catholic Thought, returns to Madison's Notes to continue our series on the Platonic dialogues with a discussion of Books VIII and IX of the Republic.
Is the Declaration of Independence unique? Does the Declaration prescribe a form of government? What is the relationship between the Declaration and the Constitution? Allen C. Guelzo, Director of the James Madison Program's Initiative on Politics and Statesmanship, joins the show to answer these questions and more.
Harry and Me: https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/harry-and-me/
Gigi Georges has had an extensive career in politics, public service, and academia. She joins Madison's Notes to discuss her new book, "Downeast: Five Maine Girls and the Unseen Story of Rural America." Georges discusses rootedness, the importance of home, life in rural America, the double-edged sword of "Progress," and more.
Downeast: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/downeast-gigi-georges?variant=32306138284066
How did American Catholics go from subjects to citizens? Who is the "godfather" of the First Amendment? How can spiritual and temporal duties be reconciled? Michael Breidenbach, Associate Professor of History at Ave Maria University, joins the show to answer these questions and discuss his new book, "Our Dear-Bought Liberty: Catholics and Religious Toleration in Early America."
Does God need politics? What does it mean to be free? Why should we care about tradition? Sohrab Ahmari, op-ed editor of the New York Post, joins Madison's Notes to discuss his new book, "The Unbroken Thread: Discovering the Wisdom of Tradition in an Age of Chaos."
The Unbroken Thread: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/623405/the-unbroken-thread-by-sohrab-ahmari/
From Fire by Water: https://www.ignatius.com/From-Fire-by-Water-P3122.aspx
Why is education so important in a democracy? Are democracies capable of producing the citizens they need? What do John Locke and Alexis de Tocqueville have to teach us about education in a liberal democracy? Jeffrey Sikkenga, Executive Director of the Ashbrook Center, joins Madison's Notes to answer these questions and more.
About the Ashbrook Center: https://ashbrook.org/about/
Helen Andrews, senior editor at The American Conservative, joins Madison's Notes to discuss her new book, "Boomers: The Men and Women Who Promised Freedom and Delivered Disaster."
Boomers: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/617494/boomers-by-helen-andrews/
Was Socrates guilty? What is the relationship between the philosopher and the city? What does it mean to live an "examined life"? Marcus Gibson, John and Daria Barry Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Princeton University's James Madison Program, returns to the show to discuss The Apology of Socrates in this second episode of our series on the Platonic dialogues.
The Complete Works of Plato: https://www.hackettpublishing.com/philosophy/complete-works
For 40 months, Wang Xiyue was imprisoned in Iran on false charges of espionage. A doctoral candidate in history at Princeton University, Wang Xiyue joins the show to discuss his imprisonment and U.S.-Iranian relations.
Don’t let Iran’s human rights be sacrificed at the altar of a nuclear deal: https://www.aei.org/articles/dont-let-irans-human-rights-be-sacrificed-at-the-altar-of-a-nuclear-deal/
What I learned in an Iranian prison: https://www.aei.org/op-eds/what-i-learned-in-an-iranian-prison/
Born in Somalia, Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a women’s rights activist, free speech advocate, and New York Times bestselling author. She joins the show to discuss her new book, "Prey: Immigration, Islam, and the Erosion of Women's Rights." [Note: This conversation includes discussion of sensitive topics related to sexual violence.]
Prey: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/prey-ayaan-hirsi-ali?variant=32126595203106
What is postmodernism? Does the Biden Administration support Critical Race Theory? How might a recommitment to classical liberal principles help fight "Woke-ism"? James Lindsay joins the show to answer these questions and more and discuss his book (co-written with Helen Pluckrose), "Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything About Race, Gender, and Identity—and Why This Harms Everybody."
Cynical Theories: https://cynicaltheories.com/
Grievance Studies Affair: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/10/new-sokal-hoax/572212/
Why and how should we read Plato? Why did Plato write dialogues? Is Plato a friend to democracy? Dr. Marcus Gibson, John and Daria Barry Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Princeton University's James Madison Program, joins Madison's Notes to provide an introduction to Plato in preparation of a series of episodes on individual Platonic dialogues.
Plato: Complete Works (John M. Cooper): https://www.amazon.com/Plato-Complete-Works/dp/0872203492
John Cribb is the author of "Old Abe," an historical novel which former Vice President Mike Pence says is the "best book on President Lincoln" he has ever read. John joins to show to discuss the book, the importance of heroes, the "great man" approach to history, Facebook's attempts to "cancel" his book, and more!
Old Abe: https://www.amazon.com/Old-Abe-Novel-John-Cribb/dp/1645720160
"Facebook Cancels Abe Lincoln" by John Cribb: https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2021/01/27/facebook_cancels_abe_lincoln_145125.html
What does the future hold for the Republican Party? What are the greatest challenges facing America today? How many pull-ups should a young man be able to do? Congressman Mike Gallagher joins Madison's Notes to answer these questions and more.
On January 6th, 2021, the world watched in disbelief as rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol while the results of the Electoral College were being formally presented—and challenged—in Congress. The riots left at least 4 dead, and many others wounded. Robert P. George, Director of the James Madison Program, and Allen C. Guelzo, Director of the James Madison Program's Initiative on Politics and Statesmanship, discuss the significance of this attack on the Capitol, the state of the Nation, and what Republicans and Democrats alike can do to fix this.
What is the relationship between America's Founding principles and her foreign policy? What are unalienable rights and how do we know they exist? How have other nations responded to the final report of the U.S. Department of State's Commission on Unalienable Rights? Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Mary Ann Glendon, Chair of the Commission on Unalienable Rights, join Madison's Notes to answer these questions and others.
Final Report of the Commission on Unalienable Rights: https://www.state.gov/report-of-the-commission-on-unalienable-rights/
What made George Washington the "greatest man in the world"? What is his legacy outside the United States? What did "honor" mean to America's Founding Fathers, and why was it so important to them? Craig Bruce Smith, author of American Honor: The Creation of the Nation's Ideals During the Revolutionary Era, joins the show to answer these questions and others.
American Honor: https://www.amazon.com/American-Honor-Creation-Nations-Revolutionary/dp/1469638835
Craig's piece for The Hill: https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/506980-a-monument-for-the-world
Sergiu Klainerman is the Eugene Higgins Professor of Mathematics at Princeton University. Born in communist Romania, he sees disturbing parallels between life in the Soviet Bloc and the "soft totalitarianism" or "pre-totalitarianism" taking root in America. He joins the show to discuss these parallels and reflect on Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's 1978 speech, "A World Split Apart."
Listen on YouTube (subtitles included): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWrbjGNEG0o
(1:24) “Reflections on Solzhenitsyn’s Harvard Address,” Sergiu Klainerman, Quillette, October 24, 2020: https://quillette.com/2020/10/24/reflections-on-solzhenitsyns-harvard-address
(45:48) “Princeton’s President Is Wrong. The University Is Not Systemically Racist,” Sergiu Klainerman, Newsweek, September 9, 2020: https://www.newsweek.com/princetons-president-wrong-university-not-systemically-racist-opinion-1530480
(1:00:11) “How to Fight the Enemies of Academic Freedom,” Sergiu Klainerman, Quillette, August 10, 2020: https://quillette.com/2020/08/10/how-to-fight-the-enemies-of-academic-freedom
_____________
Addresses, lectures, articles, essays, and books by other authors:
(1:24) Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Harvard address, June 8, 1978 (video and text of address) Prepared speech as written: https://www.solzhenitsyncenter.org/a-world-split-apart Speech as delivered (transcribed from live audio of the Russian-to-English interpreter/translator at Harvard): https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/alexandersolzhenitsynharvard.htm
(4:29) Darkness at Noon, Arthur Koestler (1940)
(4:34) Animal Farm, George Orwell (1949)
(4:34) 1984, George Orwell (1945)
(19:10) “The Challenge of Marxism,” Yoram Hazony, Quillette, August 16, 2020 https://quillette.com/2020/08/16/the-challenge-of-marxism
(24:35) Yuval Levin, “Why Institutions Matter: Three Lectures on Breakdown and Renewal,” series of three lectures delivered at the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, Princeton University, April 30 – May 3, 2018 https://jmp.princeton.edu/events/why-institutions-matter-three-lectures-breakdown-and-renewal
(39:09) Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents, Rod Dreher (2020)
(44:46) “Suicide of the Liberals,” Guy Saul Morson, First Things, October 2020 https://www.firstthings.com/article/2020/10/suicide-of-the-liberals
(45:05) House of Government: A Saga of the Russian Revolution, Yuri Slezkine (2017)
(54:43) “Live Not by Lies,” Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (On the day Solzhenitsyn was arrested in the Soviet Union, February, 12, 1974, he released the text of his essay, “Live Not by Lies”; the next day, he was exiled to the West.): https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03064220408537357
On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. Allen C. Guelzo, Director of the James Madison Program's Initiative on Politics and Statesmanship, joins the show to discuss the legacy of the Gettysburg Address and what Lincoln might say to us today.
Guelzo's 2013 article for The New York Times: https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/17/lincolns-sound-bite-have-faith-in-democracy/
Guelzo's 2013 piece in the Claremont Review of Books: https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/a-new-birth-of-freedom/
Are transgenderism and feminism at odds? Are we living through another sexual revolution? Why have conservatives been so unsuccessful in fighting the "culture wars"? Scott Yenor, Professor of Political Science at Boise State University, joins Madison's Notes to answer these questions and discuss his new book, "The Recovery of Family Life: Exposing the Limits of Modern Ideologies."
The Recovery of Family Life: https://www.amazon.com/Recovery-Family-Life-Exposing-Ideologies/dp/1481312820
The False Science of Feminism: https://americanmind.org/salvo/the-false-science-of-feminism/
Could totalitarianism take root in America? What does it mean to "live not by lies"?
Rod Dreher is a senior editor at The American Conservative and the author of several books, including The Benedict Option. He joins the show to answer these questions and discuss his new book, Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents.
Live Not by Lies: https://www.amazon.com/Live-Not-Lies-Christian-Dissidents/dp/0593087399
Solzhenitsyn's 1974 essay: https://archive.org/stream/LiveNotByLies/Live%20Not%20By%20Lies_djvu.txt
Is the Supreme Court too powerful? When did judicial nominations become so contentious? Should we have term limits for judges and justices?
Ilya Shapiro '99, Director of the Cato Institute's Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies, joins the show to answer these questions and discuss his new book, Supreme Disorder: Judicial Nominations and the Politics of America's Highest Court.
Supreme Disorder: https://www.amazon.com/Supreme-Disorder-Judicial-Nominations-Politics/dp/1684510562
"The Brilliance Lives Loudly Within Her": https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/the-brilliance-lives-loudly-within-her
Is America still a democracy? What is at stake in the 2020 presidential election? Michael Anton, Lecturer at Hillsdale College and Senior Fellow at the Claremont Institute, joins the show to answer these questions and discuss his new book, "The Stakes: America at the Point of No Return."
The Flight 93 Election: https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/digital/the-flight-93-election/
The Stakes: America at the Point of No Return: https://www.amazon.com/Stakes-2020-Election-Point-Return/dp/1684510619
Amy Coney Barrett is a judge on the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. In 2019, Judge Barrett delivered the James Madison Program's Annual Walter F. Murphy Lecture in American Constitutionalism. The lecture was entitled "The Constitution as Our Story."
The Constitution as Our Story (Video): https://jmp.princeton.edu/events/constitution-our-story
What are the "great books"? What makes them great? Is the cultivation of an intellectual life especially important to citizens of a democratic republic? Zena Hitz, Tutor at St. John's College, joins the show to discuss all this and more!
Lost in Thought: https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Thought-Hidden-Pleasures-Intellectual/dp/0691178712
What did Abraham Lincoln read? What makes him "America's greatest defender"? What should we do with Confederate memorials? Lucas Morel, the John K. Boardman, Jr. Professor of Politics at Washington and Lee University, joins the show to discuss all this and more!
"Why Lee should remain a namesake of my university": https://richmond.com/opinion/columnists/lucas-e-morel-column-why-lee-should-remain-a-namesake-of-my-university/article_5d6664f6-00e0-55e7-b567-0a10ae5b3403.html
Lincoln and the American Founding: https://www.amazon.com/Lincoln-American-Founding-Concise-Library/dp/0809337851
Alexandra DeSanctis is a Staff Writer for National Review and a Visiting Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. She joins Madison's Notes to discuss abortion, the Pro-Life movement in America, the state of free speech in journalism, and more!
Bari Weiss' letter of resignation: https://www.bariweiss.com/resignation-letter
In this special episode of Madison's Notes, Robert P. George and Cornel West urge Americans to be honest and courageous in confronting the challenges we face as a Nation.
In The Boston Globe: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/07/15/opinion/unite-country-we-need-honesty-courage/
How did the American Founders understand religious liberty? Why should students study the Founding? What is the relationship between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution? Dr. Vincent Phillip Muñoz, the Tocqueville Associate Professor of Political Science and Concurrent Associate Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame, joins Madison's Notes to discuss these questions and more!
Dr. Muñoz's 2020 Test Lectures: https://jmp.princeton.edu/events/religious-liberty-and-american-founding-natural-rights-and-original-meaning-first-0#video
On July 4, 2000, the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions was founded at Princeton University. Robert P. George, Director of the James Madison Program, returns to Madison's Notes to discuss how and why the Madison Program came to be. After the conversation with Professor George you'll hear Allen C. Guelzo, Director of the Madison Program's Initiative on Politics and Statesmanship, read Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address—a fitting and proper way to celebrate the 4th of July.
Make a gift: https://jmp.princeton.edu/gift
Bill McClay is the G. T. and Libby Blankenship Chair in the History of Liberty at the University of Oklahoma and the author of Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story. He joins the show to discuss Land of Hope, the state of the history profession, nationalism, the New York Times' 1619 Project, and more.
Land of Hope: https://www.encounterbooks.com/books/land-of-hope/#:~:text=A%20Refreshing%20Vision%20of%20American%20History&text=In%20Land%20of%20Hope%3A%20An,most%20popular%20U.S.%20history%20textbooks.
Bill McClay's interview with Daniel Cullen: https://jackmillercenter.org/daniel-cullen-wilfred-mcclay-interview-land-of-hope/
What is the Administrative State? Where did it come from? Is it a cause for concern or celebration? Adam J. White, Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and Director of the C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, answers these questions and more.
"A Republic, If We Can Keep It" https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/02/a-republic-if-we-can-keep-it/605887/
Robert P. George is McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. In this inaugural episode of Madison's Notes, he speaks about his childhood, his decision to enter academia, the purpose of the university, academic freedom, and more.