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The Saving Elephants Blog
Featuring original content on classical conservatism, current affairs, and everything in-between, these weekly blog posts will illustrate how the wisdom of the past can be applied to the challenges of today. The blog is organized by the following categories: Conservative Values (taking a deep dive into specific conservative ideas), Competing Worldviews (comparing and contrasting conservatism with other worldviews), Trumpism (posts related to the Trump phenomenon), Elections (observations on upcoming and past elections), and Cornucopia (posts that don't fit in the previous categories).
Select a category from the menu, or read the most recent weekly post below:
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191 – Canceling Caylan with Caylan Ford
In 2019 Caylan Ford resigned her political candidacy in Canada after controversy over allegations of her echoing white nationalist rhetoric. In spite of her resignation—and continual insistence she held no such views—the mobs of cancel culture demanded “justice”. She was blacklisted from employers, unable to continue work with organizations that seek to liberate people living under the yoke of totalitarianism, ostracized by friends and colleagues, attacked and trolled onlin
5 days ago3 min read
190 – Biographizing Buckley with Sam Tanenhaus
There are four faces on the Saving Elephants’ Mount Rushmore of great conservatives: Edmund Burke, Russell Kirk, Thomas Sowell, and William F. Buckley. While the first three have each had fully episodes dedicated to their life and works, William F. Buckley has yet to be explored at length. And with Buckley’s posthumous 100th birthday happening later this month, now is the perfect time to reflect on his long and remarkable life. Sam Tanehaus’ decades-in-the-making biograph
Nov 182 min read
189 – Rescuing the American Project with Nathan Brown and Robert Haglund
Those who identify as pro-immigration and pro-nationalist are often at odds with one another. But what if a healthy dose of nationalism is the very thing that could bolster our immigration? Nathan Brown and Robert Haglund argue in their new book Rescuing the American Project that “much of the dysfunction in contemporary American politics is a consequence of the failure by our elites to understand the crucial relationship between immigration and nationalism.” Nathan and R
Nov 41 min read
188 – The UnLeft with J.J. McCullough
Disillusioned with the rigidity of political tribalism, J.J. McCullough left his role as conservative journalist and commentator and became a content creator. His YouTube channel, J.J. McCullough offers his one million subscribers weekly deep dives about countries, cultures, and Canada. But while politics is not the focus of his channel, some of his content is still tinged with the overtures of his past life. J.J. joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to discuss how his
Oct 211 min read
Bonus Episode - My Conversation / Intervention with Justin Stapley
Justin Stapley and I have been on similar journeys these past many years seeking to better understand our worldviews and the ever-changing political moment and how best to restore sanity and integrity to our politics. But while I've been diligently producing podcast episodes for these past seven years, Justin has launched a dizzying array of projects. In his own words: There's an ongoing joke between myself and @svngelephants that every time I'm on his podcast, I've rebran
Oct 154 min read
187 – Audaciously Aspirational with John Wilsey
One cannot BE a conservative. One can only aspire to conservatism. So says John Wilsey in his new book Religious Freedom: A...
Oct 71 min read
186 – Conservative Canucks with Shawn Whatley
Is Trump correct that Canada is destined to be America’s 51 st state? Or is there simply too much distinction between Canada and the...
Sep 162 min read
185 – Inventing Conservatism with Daniel J. Flynn
Few forerunners of the modern conservative movement are as important, little known, and underappreciated as Frank Meyer. Meyer possessed...
Sep 22 min read
184 – Paradigming Phenomenological Essences with Steven Hayward
Steven Hayward has been involved in so many conservative institutions and organizations it may be simpler to list where he hasn’t left a...
Aug 192 min read
183 – Conservative Conservationism with Stephen Perkins
Younger Americans—regardless of their political affiliations—are increasingly supportive focusing on environmental and conservation...
Aug 52 min read
182 – Partying Like It’s 1776
On July 6 Saving Elephants assembled an august team of commentators to commemorate the advent of the United States turning the big...
Jul 153 min read
181 – Escaping the Housing Trap with Chuck Marohn
The housing market today is in an increasingly unsustainable paradox: younger Americans need houses to be more affordable so that they...
Jul 12 min read
180 – Uncap the House with Jeff Mayhugh
What if the surest way to reduce the harmful effects of self-serving politicians in Washington D.C. is to have more of them? Joining...
Jun 171 min read
179 – I, Tony with Tony Woodlief
What if the real division in America isn’t between Republicans and Democrats, Red States vs Blue States, or liberals and conservatives...
Jun 32 min read
178 – Revolt of the Independents with Lura Forcum
The 2024 presidential election witnessed a historic number of independent voters—more independents voted than Democrats and they came...
May 201 min read
177 – Dear Mr. President with Destry Edwards
Former president Chester A. Arthur is probably best remembered for his mutton chops and as a trivia question. But he did play a...
May 62 min read
176 – Consuming News Responsibly
In this era of information overload it’s easy to join the ranks of the too online, filtering our every thought through the latest thing...
Apr 152 min read
175 – The Two James Burnhams with David Byrne
James Burnham was one of the most significant intellectual influences on the conservative movement of the twentieth century. As an...
Apr 11 min read
174 – Triggering Straussians with Greg Collins
In his perpetual quest to mildly trigger his Straussian pals, Josh invites fellow Millennial and Burkean conservative Greg Collins on to...
Mar 182 min read
173 – The Fertility Gap with Clara Piano
The Right has long had a thing or two to say about the importance of the family and its role in national stability and prosperity. But...
Mar 41 min read
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