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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).
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210 – John Quincy Adams with Jeffrey Tyler Syck
Sure, most of us are aware that John Quincy Adams was the son of Founding Father John Adams and the sixth POTUS with a long and illustrative career in public service and diplomacy. Some might even recall that he was the brains behind the Monroe Doctrine, or that he nearly drowned during one of his many multi-hour swims in the Potomac River, or that he is undoubtedly the former president Americans would least likely want to have a beer with, or that he was considered by some
Sep 152 min read
209 – The Soul of Schooling
Former President George W. Bush was wrong when he iconically stated "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?" Actually, it's asked all the time (dubious grammatical structuring aside). Politicians and social influencers are quick to bemoan the state of education, but thoughtful conversations on how we might meaningfully change things for the better are few and far between. Saving Elephants has assembled an all-star panel to have a real conversation about educa
Sep 12 min read
208 – Fusionism with Stephanie Slade
Fellow Millennial, Stephanie Slade, has been in the trenches of various factions on the dissident Right lo these past several years to share with the uninitiated normies just how unhinged the Right has become in certain quarters. She joined Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis earlier this year (back in episode 193) to explore this phenomenon. But since that time she’s written a book, Fusionism: Liberty, Virtue, and the Future of the American Right, which offers the antidote to
Aug 182 min read
207 – Why Postliberalism Failed with James Patterson and Thomas Howes
Patrick Deneen’s 2018 book, Why Liberalism Failed, was by the standards of most academic works of political philosophy, wildly successful. It struck a chord with some of the broader Right and gave a voice to a growing movement skeptical of the promises of classical liberalism and looking for an alternative. This burgeoning New Right, however, is anything but new. The kind of postliberalism often advocated by the New Right has been attempted in nations across Europe and Sou
Aug 42 min read
206 – Pondering Patriotism with John Wilsey
What does it mean to love your country? Is that nationalism? And isn’t nationalism—you know—bad? And how should our allegiance and love of country be weighed against our duties and affections to family and faith? Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by John Wilsey to discuss his latest book, God and Country: Upholding Faith, History, and National Identity, the origins of nationalism and how it differs from patriotism, the link between history and love of ones count
Jul 214 min read
205 – Radical Experimentation in Liberty with Brad Birzer
The immortal words of the Declaration of Independence—We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness—are etched upon the hearts of American patriots today and knit us together with patriots down through the ages. Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by Hillsdale professor Brad Birzer as they delve into the dep
Jul 72 min read
204 – Weaving Thru Weaver with Michael Lucchese
Richard Weaver was a twentieth century American scholar and rhetorician whose writings were praised by the likes of Russell Kirk, William F. Buckley, Willmoore Kendall, and Frank Meyer. But nowadays Weaver is either derided as a racially charged Southern sympathizer or accused of preparing the way for the MAGA movement and authoritarianism. If he’s discussed at all. Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is Michael Lucchese, whose latest essay in Law and Liberty defends
Jun 162 min read
203 – Historizing Conservatism with George Nash
In 1976 historian George H. Nash wrote The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America Since 1945, a celebrated historical accounting that established much of the narrative for how we think about the development of modern conservatism even today. But much has changed since the seventies. What can the history of conservatism tell us about this present moment, and what can it tell us about where things may be heading? Dr. Nash joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to unra
Jun 22 min read
202 – How to Get What You Want with Josh Bandoch
Persuasion seems conspicuously absent from our politics. Not shouting, denouncing, or trying to convince the “other side” that they’re wrong, evil, or both. But the good faithed attempt to reach the hearts, minds, and emotions of others and persuade them to our point of view. Why? Why is persuasion so hard? And is it even possible to persuade in an era of political polarization? Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis welcomes fellow “Josh”—Josh Bandoch—on the show to discuss
May 192 min read
201 – All Things China with Lu
Sometimes the best way to understand one’s culture is to compare it with something entirely different. In this episode Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis take a deep dive into China with Chinese dissident Lu of the YouTube channel All Things China with Lu. Lu demystifies what the Communist Chinese Party (CCP) wants, why they fear Taiwan, how they view the ethnic Han population, why they work so hard to cover up the history of the Tiananmen Square massacre when far more people
May 51 min read
200 – Is the GOP Worth Saving?
This month marks eight years of Saving Elephants tirelessly calling the GOP back to its classical conservative roots instead of the cult-of-personality nationalist populism to which the party has succumbed. And over these past eight years...things have only gotten worse. Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis assembles an all-star panel to answer the question: is the GOP worth saving? Meet the Panelists: Shawn Whatley Shawn Whatley hosts Concepts with Shawn Whatley , a weekly p
Apr 212 min read
199 – Getting Friendly with John von Heyking
Friendship is one of the last words you might associate with politics these days. Yet John von Heyking believes recovering a proper, classical understanding of friendship is precisely what our civic order needs to function. Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis and John discuss the differences in how the ancients and medievals viewed friendship and how it’s been undervalued by us moderns. They also discuss the important need for civic education and why America has to import Can
Apr 72 min read
198 – Conservative Cagematch – Burke vs Strauss
Ever since Leo Strauss published his magnum opus Natural Right and History , which ends by heavily implying Edmund Burke opened the door for the evils of historicism in the modern world, a great fissure in conservative nerddom erupted between those who align with either titan. Were Strauss’ criticism of Burke warranted? Did Burke disavow natural rights and pave the way for the evils of authoritarianism, fascism, Marxism, and progressivism to come? Does a careful, esoteric re
Mar 173 min read
Defending Wonks with Nic Dunn – Transcript
The following transcript comes from Saving Elephants podcast episode 197 – Defending Wonks with Nic Dunn . This transcript was auto-generated by Zencastr and while some effort has been taken to reduce glaring omissions and errors, mistakes will undoubtedly still exist. The original podcast audio should be relied upon for an accurate representation of the actual conversation. Podcast Introduction While Saving Elephants is dedicated to offering the conservative intellectual
Mar 441 min read
197 – Defending Wonks with Nic Dunn
While Saving Elephants is dedicated to offering the conservative intellectual tradition in mercifully modern vernacular, fellow podcaster Nic Dunn has been on a similar mission: making the work of policy institutions more digestible. Nic joins Josh for a conversation around the important role policy can play in defusing political tension, alleviating poverty, and expanding the freedom and opportunities all Americans seek. About Nic Dunn Bio from Sutherland Institute Nic
Mar 32 min read
196 – Crossing the Danube with Calum Nicholson
For good or ill, the post World War II era built by the Baby Boomers seems to be rapidly coming to an end. But what will replace it? What might be done to prevent global conflicts and bloodshed as the old order begins to break down? And what should younger conservatives seek to conserve in this era of chaotic change? Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is Director of Research at the Danube Institute , Calum Nicholson to share how the Anglosphere often misunderstands
Feb 172 min read
Crossing the Danube with Calum Nicholson – Transcript
The following transcript comes from Saving Elephants podcast episode 196 – Crossing the Danube with Calum Nicholson . This transcript was auto-generated by Zencastr and while some effort has been taken to reduce glaring omissions and errors, mistakes will undoubtedly still exist. The original podcast audio should be relied upon for an accurate representation of the actual conversation. Podcast Introduction For good or ill, the post World War II era built by the Baby Boom
Feb 1743 min read
195 – Geeking Out with Lauren Hall
In a world of exhaustive binary thinking sometimes complexity offers relief. Lauren Hall joins the show to offer her alternative living in 4D she calls “radical moderation”. In the latter half of the conversation Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis happily takes Lauren up on her offer to geek out on Edmund Burke. About Lauren Hall Excerpts from laurenkhall.com Lauren Hall is an author and professor helping people combat overwhelm in an age of extremes. Her writing rejects
Feb 32 min read
194 – Conversing Across the Pond with Daniel Pitt
Dr. Daniel Pitt and his imposing mustache joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to explore the similarities and differences between American and British conservatism, proto-Burkean “conservative” thinkers, Pitt’s personal relationship with Sir Roger Scruton, and the importance of unchosen obligations in a free society, all offered up in a wonderfully meandering conversation that nonetheless stays within the broader parameters of some conceivable structure analogous to the co
Jan 201 min read
193 – Dissenting the Dissident Right with Stephanie Slade
While Saving Elephants defends the classical conservative position, the loudest voices on the Right today coalesce around different policies, priorities, and goals. Those that form the dissident Right are comprised of multiple sub-groups with overlapping and, at times, incompatible views. So who is this disparate group of dissidents? What holds them together, and how do they differ from conservatives? Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is Stephanie Slade to explore
Jan 62 min read
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