Conservative Conversations with ISI
Conservative ideas are no longer welcome on most college campuses—or anywhere else. If you are a conservative student or professor, or just interested in the conservative intellectual tradition, this podcast is for you! Join Johnny Burtka, Marlo Slayback, and Tom Sarrouf for in-depth conversations with leading thinkers on the most important issues facing conservatism.
Episodes
In this episode:
- three historians discuss the legacies and importance of Andrew Jackson, Grover Cleveland, and William McKinley
- what it means to be a statesman, as exemplified by these great American leaders
- what we miss about America when we miss 19th century American history
Texts Mentioned:
- A Man of Iron by Troy Senik
- Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times by H.W. Brands
- President McKinley: Architect of the American Century by...
In this episode:
- Professor Susan Hanssen joins the podcast to discuss the quintessentially American holiday of Thanksgiving and its history
- how the Puritans and Pilgrims fit into the British political and cultural experience, how they end up in America, and how they shape America today
- what remains in the American project as a “remnant” that’s powerful and worth conserving today
Texts Mentioned:
In this episode:
- ISI’s own Jane Scharl joins the podcast to talk about her work as a professional poet and playwright
- why everyone needs to appreciate the fine arts to be fully human, and how to get started for beginners
- why beauty changes and saves the world by changing and saving souls, and how to become a patron of artists to produce more beautiful things
Texts Mentioned:
- Sonnez Les Matines by Jane Scharl
- A People’s Trage...
In this episode:
- A special debate between Henry Olsen and Donald Devine about the legacy of Ronald Reagan, from our recent Modern Age panel celebrating the launch of the new Modern Age website
Texts Mentioned:
- Old House of Fear by Russell Kirk
- The Working Class Republicanby Henry Olsen
- Ronald Reagan’s Enduring Principles by Donald Devine
- Ronald Reagan “A Time for Choosing” Speech
- Modern Age
Become a part of ISI:
In this episode:
- Dr. Jerry Hendrix, a retired Navy captain and author of To Provide and Maintain a Navy, joins the podcast to talk about the need for America to revitalize the US Navy and defend the “free seas”
- a deep dive into America’s foreign policy, especially the challenges posed by our three biggest adversaries: China, Russia, and Iran
- advice for students consider a life of service in the US armed forces
Texts Mentioned:
...In this episode:
- Sam Hammond, senior economist at the Foundation for American Innovation, joins the podcast to talk about artificial intelligence and its transformative aspects on modern society
- what AI offers human society to advance our economy and our society, and the potential dangers of AI run amok
- how AI and super-intelligent machines that match or exceed human cognition will mean for human nature and what it means to be a h...
Rodge Reschini on Conservatism at Cornell, Free Speech and Academic Freedom, and The Power of Alumni
In this episode:
- Rodge Reschini, ISI’s editor of The Cornell Review, joins the podcast to talk about the state of the conservative movement at Cornell
- a student perspective on “academic freedom”
- how to leverage alumni support as a check on the worst impulses of American universities
Texts Mentioned:
In this episode:
- Alexandra Hudson joins the podcast to talk about her new book, The Soul of Civility
- how Burke and Locke come together with the “vertical” and “horizontal” social compacts that capture the social and political relations of society
- the difference between politeness and civility, and the limits of politeness in our personal and political life
Texts Mentioned:
- The Soul of Civility by Alexandra Hudson
- A People’s ...
In this episode:
- A special Q&A between Johnny and Tucker following Tucker’s keynote address at ISI’s annual Gala for Western Civilization at our new Linda Bean Center on campus in Wilmington, DE
- Tucker reflects on a career in journalism and the role of individuals in a democracy. Join us as they discuss the future of America and what ISI is doing for students across the country.
Texts Mentioned:
In this episode:
- Jesse Merriam, professor of constitutional studies at Patrick Henry College, joins the podcast to talk about how we got our antiracist Constitution
- how Brown v. Board’s jurisprudence unleashed a diversity regime that has usurped the written Constitution and the principles of a free society
- what we can expect for the future of affirmative action in light of the recent Supreme Court decisions challenging affirmative...
In this episode:
- Catherine Pakaluk joins the podcast to discuss her forthcoming book, Hannah’s Children, about women having large families amongst a culture of childlessness
- the limits of economic and family policy in reversing the falling birthrates, and what really drives our demographic decline
- Marlo and Catherine talk about the various joys and challenges that come with motherhood, both of one child and of many children
Te...
In this episode:
- Zena Hitz joins the podcast to talk about the enduring value and necessity of a liberal arts education
- how class and economic considerations describe the shifts towards “practical” studies and coursework to the neglect of “the fundamental questions”
- the connection between ascetic practice and proper reasoning, and how education requires retreat from the present things
Texts Mentioned:
- Lost in Thought by Zen...
In this episode:
- Tom Shakely, Chief Engagement Officer for Americans United for Life, joins the podcast to discuss the case for making birth free and charting a pro-family agenda
- why Lincoln’s insights on shaping public opinion about slavery should analogously inform the pro-life movement’s thinking about protecting the unborn
- how the logic of abortion could lead to a dystopian regime that promotes euthanasia as a right and a good ...
In this episode:
- Michael Anton joins the podcast to discuss his book, The Stakes, about the state of the country in 2020 and what could be lost and gained
- How the progressive ideology that rules California’s politics has turned the state into a nightmare, from education and cost-of-living to immigration and crime
- Where we could be headed in America’s short-term political future with the coming 2024 election, or even the long-term ...
In this episode:
- Jay Richards joins the podcast to talk about the political machine that drives the transgender ideology that has captured the American public square
- how fighting gender ideology offers an opportunity for conservatives to make allies with others across the political spectrum to defend reality
- practical advice for how to become an expert in any topic
Texts Mentioned:
- Chloe Cole testimony before Congress
- Irreve...
In this episode:
- Sohrab Ahmari, author and founder of Compact magazine, joins the podcast to discuss his new book, Tyranny Inc. about private coercion and its role in harming the American working class
Texts Mentioned:
- “Sohrab Ahmari on the Unbroken Thread” episode of Conservative Conversations
- The Unbroken Thread by Sohrab Ahmari
- Tyranny, Inc. by Sohrab Ahmari
- A People’s Tragedy by Orlando Figes
- Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XII...
In this episode:
- Acclaimed journalist and activist Christopher Rufo joins the podcast to discuss his new book, America’s Cultural Revolution: How the Radical Left Conquered Everything
- why language is an essential tool in driving social and political change
- what the Right can do to reform and change the institutions that have been captured by Leftist priorities
Texts Mentioned:
In this episode:
- Brad Wilcox, the Director of the National Marriage Project, joins the podcast to talk about marriage, family formation, and children
- The important keys to successful and happy marriage, and what elites tell us that we need to reject
- why men and women are alienated from each other, and what each sex should go to recover a calling to family life
Texts Mentioned:
In this episode:
- Glenn Ellmers joins the podcast to discuss his new book, The Narrow Passage, about the permanent political problems that stem from reason in politics
- how the modern project rejects the humility of the classical tradition, and has ushered in the philosophic tyranny of the modern administrative state and woke ideology
- why the Left is built upon a contradiction between postmodernism and a belief in rational post-pol...
In this episode:
- Joseph DeReuil, a student at Notre Dame and editor-in-chief emeritus of ND’s Irish Rover, joins the podcast to talk about being sued by a Notre Dame professor
- what life is like on a Catholic college campus like Notre Dame, and how ISI and the Collegiate Network has helped him make a difference
- what aspiring journalists should pay attention to when honing their skills
Texts Mentioned:
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