Conservative Conversations with ISI

In This Episode:Dan McCarthy returns to the podcast to discuss Willmoore Kendall’s The Conservative Affirmationwhat majoritarianism and “the social contract” in the American tradition really means for today’s politicshow Kendall interpreted John Locke and its relation to the American FoundingTexts Mentioned:The Conservative Affirmation by Willmoore KendallThe Conservative Intellectual Movement in America Since 1945 by George NashThe Dilemmas of American Conservatism, edited by Kenneth DeutschWhat is Political Philosophy? by Leo StraussHeaven Can Indeed Fall  by Christopher OwenJohn Locke and the Doctrine of Majority Rule  by Willmoore KendallTucker Carlson interview clipThe Basic Symbols of the American Political Tradition by Willmoore KendallThe Second Treatise of Government by John LockeNatural Right and History by Leo StraussThe Social Contract by Jean-Jacques RousseauThe Government of Poland by Jean-Jacques RousseauModern AgeBecome a part of ISI:Become a MemberSupport ISIUpcoming ISI Events

In this episode: Curt Mills joins the podcast to discuss the political dynamics surrounding the upcoming midterm electionshow the establishment GOP is navigating the challenges and opportunities of the growing nationalist-populist movement within the partyWhy traditionally Blue states like Oregon, Rhode Island, and Maine could become Red states in the coming yearsTexts Mentioned:What It Takes: The Way to the White House by Richard Ben CramerBecome a part of ISI:Become a MemberSupport ISIUpcoming ISI Events

In this episode: Joseph Stuart, professor of history at the University of Mary and a former ISI Weaver fellow, joins the podcast to discuss the work of 20th century historian of culture, Christopher Dawsonwhy religion is at the heart of cultural identity, and how cultures that abandon their religion inevitably become captured by ideological “political religions”how to appreciate different cultures and have a rich, complex view of other civilizations without becoming a relativistTexts Mentioned:Christopher Dawson: A Cultural Mind in the Age of the Great War by Joseph StuartGifford Lectures by Christopher DawsonLeisure, The Basis of Culture by Josef PieperPrimitive Culture by Edward TylorThe Power and the Glory by Graham GreeneReligion and Culture by Christopher DawsonThe Dynamics of World History by Christopher DawsonThe Crisis of Western Education by Christopher DawsonThe Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order by Samuel Huntington“Christopher Dawson and Ayatollah Khatami and ‘The Dialogue of Civilizations’ A Christian-Muslim Conversation” by Stephen G. CarterThe Mission movie“Conservatism” by Christopher Dawson (introduction by Joseph Stuart)Religion and the Modern State by Christopher DawsonJoseph Stuart Faculty PageBecome a part of ISI:Become a MemberSupport ISIUpcoming ISI Events

 In this episode: Joshua Hochschild, director of the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics program at Mount St. Mary’s University, joins the podcast to talk about how his studies in medieval philosophy and metaphysics influenced his religious journey to the Catholic faiththe ways that smartphones change human life and social organization, and how the information age is dramatically different from other technological revolutionspreviews the work of Wendell Berry and his views on systemic racism in light of the release of his newest book, The Need to Be WholeTexts Mentioned:Ideas Have Consequences by Richard Weaver“How is My iPhone Changing Me?: Neuroscience and Thomistic Psychology” by Joshua Hochschild“Technology and the Soul: The Spiritual Lessons of Digital Distraction” by Joshua HochschildPhaedrus by Plato“I Used to be a Human Being” by Andrew SullivanLeisure, The Basis of Culture by Josef PieperThe Social Dilemma documentaryThe Screwtape Letters by C.S. LewisThe Need to Be Whole: Patriotism and the History of Prejudice by Wendell BerryThe Hidden Wound by Wendell Berry“Race and Anti-Fragility” by Joshua HochschildThe City of God: Against the Pagans by Augustine of HippoStanding by Words by Wendell BerryBecome a part of ISI:Become a MemberSupport ISIUpcoming ISI Events

In this episode:Troy Senik joins the podcast to talk about President Grover Cleveland’s life and unlikely path to the presidencythe principled character of Cleveland, and how his sense of honesty was at the center of this political priorities as a reform-minded politician during the Gilded Agethe political and cultural context in which Cleveland rose to prominence, and how his second term shaped a political realignment that saw his classical liberal politics exit politics until the 1970sBooks Mentioned:A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life and Improbably Presidency of Grover Cleveland by Troy SenikCoolidge by Amity ShlaesBecome a part of ISI:Become a MemberSupport ISIUpcoming ISI Events

In this episode: Francesco Giubilei joins the podcast to discuss the current landscape of Italian politics and how it led to the election of Giorgia Melonithe relationship between Italy and the European Union, and the major problems with globalization that have produced a nationalist backlashHow the Middle Ages shaped the local diversity of Italian cities and cultures, how the Catholic Church has played a defining role in the cultural and religious identity of Italy, and why the Roman Empire is the beginning of Italian conservatismTexts Mentioned:The History of European Conservative Thought by Francesco GiubileiInterpretations of Fascism by Renzo de Felice“The Perfect Consumer” speech by Giorgia MeloniThe Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi de LampedusaThe Crisis of Modernity by Augusto del NoceReflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund BurkeThe Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri“Why I Became a Conservative” by Sir Roger ScrutonBecome a part of ISI:Become a MemberSupport ISIUpcoming ISI Events

 In this episode:Antony Davies, professor of economics at Duquesne University, joins the podcast to discuss the current state of the American economy, including the record-level inflation hurting American consumers and its roots in the government response to COVID-19how government policies surrounding taxation and government spending contribute to the inflation crisis, and how to restructure the tax code in a way that is more clear, more fair, and better for long-term economic prosperitywhy the Biden student loan forgiveness program encourages all the wrong incentives in higher education, and how university endowments can be leveraged towards better educational and financial outcomesTexts mentioned:“Words and Numbers” Podcast by Antony Davies and James HarriganCooperation and Coercion by Antony Davies and James HarriganMilton Friedman and Phil Donahue interviews“Free to Choose” documentary by Milton FriedmanBecome a part of ISI:Become a MemberSupport ISIUpcoming ISI Events

In this episode:Eugene Meyer, son of Frank S. Meyer and President and CEO of the Federalist Society, joins to talk about the legacy of Fusionism, the philosophy pioneered by his fatherFrank Meyer's conversion from communism to championing politics centered around individual freedomthe enduring debate over the timeless principles of freedom and virtue in American political historyTexts Mentioned:In Defense of Freedom by Frank S. Meyer"Common Good Originalism" by Josh HammerThe Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien Become a part of ISI:Become a MemberSupport ISIUpcoming ISI Events

In this episode:Richard Gamble, professor of history at Hillsdale College, joins the podcast to discuss the two strands of American civil religionLincoln’s European political influences, and how Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address changed the way that America thinks about its purpose and how it reshapes our view of the American FoundingWhy the “old” conception of American Exceptionalism offers the best understanding of the American identityHow Protestantism shaped the landscape of American higher education in the colonial period and the early RepublicTexts Mentioned:“Civil Religion in America” by Robert BellahThe Tragedy of U.S. Foreign Policy: How America’s Civil Religion Betrayed the National Interest by Walter McDougall“Gettysburg Gospel” by Richard GambleGettysburg Address by Abraham LincolnThe National System of Political Economy by Friedrich ListThe Great Tradition edited by Richard GambleA Fiery Gospel: The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the Road to Righteous War by Richard GambleThe War for Righteousness: Progressive Christianity, the Great War, and the Rise of the Messianic Nation by Richard GambleBecome a part of ISI:Become a MemberSupport ISIUpcoming ISI Events

 In this episode:Frederica Mathewes-Green joins the podcast to discuss the basics of Eastern Orthodox spiritual practicesthe life and work of Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, one of the most important Orthodox theologians in the Westthe major differences in approach, focus, and emphasis between Eastern and Western prayer, doctrine, and political theologyTexts Mentioned:The Orthodox Church by Timothy WareThe Orthodox Way by Bishop Kallistos WareThe Jesus Prayer: The Ancient Prayer That Tunes the Heart to Godby Frederica Mathewes-GreenFr. Arseny: Priest, Prisoner, Spiritual Father by Vera and Peter BouteneffThe DidacheTwo Views of the Cross by Frederica Mathewes-GreenBecome a part of ISI:Become a MemberSupport ISIUpcoming ISI Events