Julius Krein is the editor of American Affairs magazine, a reformist conservative policy journal, joins me to discuss why the Republican Party as currently constituted can't succeed, what's untrue in conservative dogma, and what conservatives should do next to be more successful and to genuinely help the country.American Affairs Journal: https://americanaffairsjournal.org/Julius Krein's essay Can Conservatism Be More Than a Grudge? https://ksr.hkspublications.org/2021/05/18/can-conservatism-be-more-than-a-grudge/Subscribe to my newsletter for interview and podcast transcripts, and more exclusive content: https://aaronrenn.substack.com

Demographer and Lutheran Lyman Stone joins us to discuss Lutheranism in America. What are the distinctives of Lutheranism? How did Lutheranism get established in the United States? What are the unique features of how it is organized? Why is the profile of American Lutheranism lower than some smaller denominations like Presbyterianism? Subscribe to my newsletter: https://aaronrenn.substack.com/

Since listeners expressed an interest in hearing about this, I revisit the sexual harassment and abuse accusations made against against former Willow Creek pastor Bill Hybels. In contrast to those many against many others, which were heavily substantiated, very little evidence was publicly presented demonstrating that the accusations were true. This is not to say that Hybels is innocent, merely that that the case against him that's been presented is not especially strong. I also examine the case of Canadian radio personality Jian Ghomeshi, who was also credibly accused of sexual misconduct by multiple credible accusers and was event put on trial for it. Ghomeshi was exonerated when he produced evidence showing that this accusers lied. Willow Creek Investigative Report on Bill Hybels: https://globalleadership.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/IAGReport_022819.pdfNew York Times article on Bill Hybels: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/05/us/bill-hybels-willow-creek-pat-baranowski.html Subscribe to my newsletter at: https://aaronrenn.substack.com

Leading cultural analyst and policy maven Joel Kotkin will join me to discuss his book The Coming of Neo-Feudalism, as well as the state of California vs. Texas and more. Kotkin will help provide a map to understand the today's geopolitical and economic realities in America.Buy Joel Kotkin's The Coming of Neofeudalism: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1641770945/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=theurban-20 Visit my Substack at: https://aaronrenn.substack.comOur Sponsor: Gold River Trading Co. speciality teas: https://goldriverco.com/ (Use discount code RENN10 for 10% off your order).

Many Republicans love to criticize the "Chamber of Commerce." But what is the chamber of commerce? In this podcast I answer that question, as well as describing the different types of chambers of commerce (there are many of them).  I examine what they do, their basic political orientations, and why they will always oppose social conservative ideas.Article Referenced: Indiana under Republican Rule - https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2021/11/indiana-under-republican-rule-pro-business-policy-disappoints-outside-the-sunbelt/This episode sponsored by Gold River Trading Co. teas: https://goldriverco.com/ (Use discount code RENN10 for 10% off your oder).Subscribe to my newsletter at: https://aaronrenn.substack.com/

Conservatives haven't tended to oppose things.  As William F. Buckley famously put it, to "stand athwart history yelling Stop!" But purely oppositional or defensive approached tend to get steamrolled in the long term.  You can't be something with nothing. You can't be someone else's proposal, even a bad proposal, to fix a real problem with no proposal. This is seen most notably in the Republican Party's approach to health care. What is the Republican health care plan? There isn't one and never has been. If you are someone who does not like ideas that other people are pushing, an important question to ask yourself is: what's my alternative?Subscribe to my newsletter: https://aaronrenn.substack.com/Become a Member today for access to exclusive Member Zoom events and Member Slack channel:Via Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/masculinistVia Gumroad: https://gumroad.com/masculinist/membership

So many arguments today de facto reduce the definition of societal flourishing to some economic definition such as GDP growth, per capita GDP, or per capita income. While economic growth is important, there are other dimensions of life that matter to most people. For example: how socially intact a community is (drugs, crime, out of wedlock birth rates, etc), the political functioning of the country, and whether a particular place is expressing people's cultural preferences. We can't allow the economy to become the sole measure of a nation's success or prosperity.

A listener asked how people who don't live on homestead farms can start creating a productive household. I share some thoughts about how people who live in urban environments can do that, primarily through in-sourcing things we presently pay people to do. And also through hospitality.

Returning to the theme of passing on our patrimony, I discuss the great patriotic and folks song of America, using Columbia the Gem of the Ocean as an example. Contrary to popular belief, the celebration of Christopher Columbus in America did not originate with Italian-Americans in the early 20th century. Instead, Columbus has a very long history of association with the United States. In fact, Columbia is simply an alternative name for the United States, as in the District of Columbia. Columbia is also the name of the female symbol of the United States. I learned patriotic songs like Columbia the Gem of the Ocean in music class in elementary school. But today you can't rely on school or organizations like the Boy Scouts to teach this part of our American patrimony to your children. Instead, you need to make sure they learn these great patriotic and folks songs that are part of our cultural treasury.A list of American patriotic songs from Scout Songs: https://www.scoutsongs.com/categories/patriotic-songs.htmlBecome a Subscriber or Member today.Via Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/masculinistVia Gumroad: https://gumroad.com/masculinist/membership

Sean Clifford is the CEO of Canopy, a company that produces software for blocking pornography on phones and other devices. We'll discuss the problem of porn today, how today's porn differs from yesterday's, how Canopy works to block porn, and how we can create a broader cultural pushback against pornography.Visit Canopy's Web Site at: https://canopy.us/TGC: The Most Effective Technology on the Planet to Block Pornography:  https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/the-most-effective-technology-on-the-planet-to-block-pornography/EPPC: How Social Media Harms Children and Families: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0C_wHt7LK4