Conservative Conversations with ISI

In this episode: Miles Smith joins the podcast to discuss the destruction of American statues and the political endgame that motivates ita lesson against civic contempt for average people and a story about the wisdom and erudition of country folka listener question about good books to introduce kids to the “great tradition”Texts Mentioned:Apply for the ISI Honors Conference!The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonaldThe Great Tradition by Richard GambleThe Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-ExuperyThe Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix PotterAesop’s Fables by AesopBlessed Charles of Austria by Charles CoulombeThe Hobbit and Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. TolkienLittle House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls WilderThe Iliad and The Odyssey by HomerThe Hardy Boys by Franklin W. DixonNancy Drew by Carolyn KeeneThe Beginner’s BibleThe Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. LewisLee: A Biography by Clifford DowdeyKing James BibleBook of Common PrayerMeditations by Marcus AureliusConfederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz“What Happens When a Poor State Guts Its Public University” by Michael PowellBecome a part of ISI:Become a MemberSupport ISIUpcoming ISI Events

In this episode: Spencer Kashmanian, ISI’s own chief of staff, joins the podcast to talk about his love for jazz music, its connections to the Christmas season, and elements of its “conservative disposition”Texts Mentioned:“Christmastime Revives Jazz Legends” by Marlo Slayback“White Christmas” by Charlie ParkerThe Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom“Summer of ’69” by Bryan AdamsLeisure: The Basis of Culture by Josef PieperThe Republic by PlatoThe Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. TolkienBecome a part of ISI:Become a MemberSupport ISIUpcoming ISI Events

In this episode: Jeremy Wayne Tate, founder and CEO of the Classical Learning Test, joins the podcast to talk about reforming curricula to cover the most important texts and thinkers of the Western Heritagehow the College Board has changed the purpose of education and caused a decline in educational quality and skill development, and how to fix itwhy students “light up” when we teach things related to man’s capacity to good and evil, and the timeless principles and questions that pertain to the good lifeTexts Mentioned:The Republic by PlatoThe Odyssey by Homercltexam.comBecome a part of ISI:Become a MemberSupport ISIUpcoming ISI Events

 In this episode: Andrew Bacevich joins the podcast to talk to Tom about his 2008 book, The Limits of Power, about the failures of the Iraq War and the cultural, political, and military crises that led to it and exposed the weaknesses in America’s global posturethe lessons to be taken from the post-WWII history of American military policy and foreign entanglementswhy the impulse to rely on “American muscle” to fix things is often unjustifiedTexts Mentioned:The Limits of Power by Andrew BacevichThe Decadent Society by Ross Douthat“The Crisis of Confidence” speech by Jimmy CarterBattlegrounds by H.R. McMasterISI Debate on Taiwan and ChinaAmerican Conservatism: Reclaiming an Intellectual Tradition by Andrew BacevichBecome a part of ISI:Become a MemberSupport ISIUpcoming ISI Events

In this episode: William Benson and Michael Ippolito, co-founders of The American Postliberal, join the podcast to talk about the rising success of their new journal and the postliberal vision that animates its visionwhat “catholic political realism” is, what its goals are, and why it’s the best hope for America’s futurehow America’s history is best understood in light of its Catholic heritage, which holds the key to understanding a Catholic future for AmericaTexts Mentioned:The American Postliberal substack“The 1492 Project: Two Americas” by Michael Ippolito“The 1492 Project: The Founding” by Michael Ippolito“The 1492 Project: America’s Catholic Destiny” by Michael IppolitoLonginqua by Pope Leo XIII“Catholic Political Realism Is the Only Hope for America” by William Benson“To the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island” by George WashingtonDignitatis Humanae by Pope Paul VI“Blues for Blue Laws” by Michael IppolitoLeisure, the Basis of Culture by Josef PieperApply for the ISI Honors Conference!Become a part of ISI:Become a MemberSupport ISIUpcoming ISI Events

In this episode:Khalil Habib joins Conservative Conversations in an episode that covers a wide range of great thinkers, including Machiavelli, Montesquieu, Polybius, Livy, Lucretius, Tocqueville, and Edmund Burkewhy republics tend to become empires, and how the Founders used the history of the classical world when thinking about the Constitutionhow Napoleon fits into the story and meaning of the French RevolutionTexts Mentioned:Discourses on Livy by Niccolo MachiavelliConsiderations on the Causes of Greatness of the Romans and Their Decline by MontesquieuThe History of Rome by LivyThe Histories by PolybiusOn the Nature of Things by LucretiusThe Federalist PapersReflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund BurkeThe Ancien Regime and the French Revolution by Alexis de TocquevilleThe Spirit of the Laws by MontesquieuDemocracy in America by Alexis de TocquevilleA People’s Tragedy by Orlando FigesWar and Peace by Leo TolstoyDiscourse on the Arts and Sciences by Jean-Jacques Rousseau“Letter to the Sheriffs of Bristol” by Edmund BurkeBecome a part of ISI:Become a MemberSupport ISIUpcoming ISI Events

In this episode:three historians discuss the legacies and importance of Andrew Jackson, Grover Cleveland, and William McKinleywhat it means to be a statesman, as exemplified by these great American leaderswhat we miss about America when we miss 19th century American historyTexts Mentioned:A Man of Iron by Troy SenikAndrew Jackson: His Life and Times by H.W. BrandsPresident McKinley: Architect of the American Century by Robert W. Merry“Cross of Gold” speech by William Jennings BryanBecome a part of ISI:Become a MemberSupport ISIUpcoming ISI Events

In this episode: Professor Susan Hanssen joins the podcast to discuss the quintessentially American holiday of Thanksgiving and its historyhow the Puritans and Pilgrims fit into the British political and cultural experience, how they end up in America, and how they shape America todaywhat remains in the American project as a “remnant” that’s powerful and worth conserving todayTexts Mentioned: Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789 by George WashingtonWilliam Bradford’s Journal“A Model of Christian Charity” by John WinthropNotes on the State of Virginia by Thomas JeffersonProclamation of Thanksgiving by Abraham LincolnReflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund BurkeThe Mayflower CompactA Defence of the Constitutions of the Government of the United States by John AdamsThe Captive Mind by Czeslaw MiloszThe Conservative Mind by Russell KirkThe Roots of American Order by Russell Kirk“How America’s Adams Family Inherited and Preserved the Pilgrim Mind” by Susan HanssenBecome a part of ISI:Become a MemberSupport ISIUpcoming ISI Events

In this episode:ISI’s own Jane Scharl joins the podcast to talk about her work as a professional poet and playwrightwhy everyone needs to appreciate the fine arts to be fully human, and how to get started for beginnerswhy beauty changes and saves the world by changing and saving souls, and how to become a patron of artists to produce more beautiful thingsTexts Mentioned:Sonnez Les Matines by Jane ScharlA People’s Tragedy by Orlando FigesApollo and Daphne mythThe Aeneid by Virgil“Can Poetry Matter?” by Dana GioiaBeowulfWiseblood BooksSlant BooksSt. Louis IX Art SocietyPushkin by Jonathan Leafjcscharl.comBecome a part of ISI:Become a MemberSupport ISIUpcoming ISI Events

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 websiteTexts Mentioned: Old House of Fear by Russell KirkThe Working Class Republicanby Henry OlsenRonald Reagan’s Enduring Principles by Donald DevineRonald Reagan “A Time for Choosing” SpeechModern AgeBecome a part of ISI:Become a MemberSupport ISIUpcoming ISI Events