161 – American Covenant with Yuval Levin
In this era of polarization and partisan bickering, Americans of all political persuasions are calling for the nation to come together. ...
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The Saving Elephants Podcast
The Saving Elephants Podcast features engaging conversations about conservative values and ideas with a mercifully modern twist. Tired of political shock-talk and rank punditry? Curious about what conservative thinkers of yesteryear had to say but don't have time to read some terribly long, boring book they wrote? Join us!
New episodes every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month.
Listen to individual episodes below or subscribe by clicking on these platforms:
- Aug 20
160 – FreeCons with Avik Roy
The great fusionist project of ordered liberty advocated by Frank Meyer, William F. Buckley, and M. Stanton Evans is defended and...
- Aug 6
159 – The Prudential Lincoln with Allen Guelzo
Was Abraham Lincoln a racist? Were his efforts at emancipation the mere cold calculations of a politician whose sole aim was to win the...
- Jul 16
158 – Fashionable Fusionists with Samuel Goldman
In an age of rampant informalities, shoddy attire, and the kind of milieu that makes People of Walmart a possibility, conservatives stand...
- Jul 2
157 – Fifty Conservative Thinkers
In an age where what passes for the archetype conservative are the likes of Candace Owens, Bill Mitchell, Sean Hannity, Matt Gaetz, Tomi...
- Jun 18
156 – Reappraising the Right’s Foreign Policy with Michael Lucchese
In February of 2004 the late Charles Krauthammer delivered the keynote address at AEI’s Annual Dinner. It was a year into the Iraqi war...
- May 21
155 – Melodic Musings with Barney Quick
How might music point us to the good, the true, and the beautiful? What is the purpose of music, and we are guilty of misusing it? Why...
- May 7
154 – That Old Burkean Saw with Cal Davenport
After a stint of episodes taking deep dives into obscure topics, Josh returns to some conservative first-principles by inviting long-time...
- Apr 16
153 – Full-Time with David Bahnsen
David Bahnsen returns to the podcast to discuss his latest book: Full-Time: Work and the Meaning of Life. David holds a high view of...
- Apr 2
152 – Humanist Conservatives with Jeffery Tyler Syck
Fusionism—the viewpoint advocated by the likes of William F. Buckley and Frank Meyer of order and liberty mutually reinforcing each...
- Mar 19
151 – The God of This Lower World
What is the single most important virtue for a leader to possess? What quality can make the run-of-the-mill politician into a...
- Mar 5
150 – We Don't Need No Indoctrination with Luke Sheahan
What is the purpose of higher education? Is it primarily to prepare us for the jobs of the future? Is it to ensure the leaders of...
- Feb 20
149 – The Legacy of Roger Scruton with Fisher Derderian
Having published more than forty books on an astoundingly wide range of topics and holding noteworthy positions at the British Academy...
- Feb 6
148 – Conservatism in Practice with Gov Mitch Daniels
The Saving Elephants podcast has welcomed a wide array of incredible guests who are on forefront of the conservative political movement. ...
- Jan 16
147 – Where the Religious Right Went Wrong with JB Shreve
One of the strangest political developments over the past several decades has been the devolution of the Religious Right and large swaths...
- Jan 2
146 – The Myth of Nationalism with Samuel Goldman
What does is mean to be an American? And why do we Americans obsess so much over the question of what it means to be an American? This...
- Dec 19, 2023
145 – Smoking Yule Logs and Donning Gay Apparel
In 2021, Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis joined three other veteran podcasters on a new podcast endeavor: Are We Right? Cal Davenport,...
- Dec 5, 2023
144 – Conservative Historian Redux with AD Tippet
Earlier this year Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis was on AD Tippet’s podcast, Conservative Historian. This episode is a re-podcast of...
- Nov 21, 2023
143 – The Conservative Mind at 70 with Michael Lucchese
In 1953 a little-known political theorist Russell Kirk repurposed his doctoral dissertation as a book for publication. His book, The...
- Nov 7, 2023
142 – Jiving with Jaffa with Seth Root
While Leo Strauss was famous for influencing men and women who became intellectual heavyweights in the conservative movement—names like...
- Oct 17, 2023
141 – The Soul of Civility with Alexandra Hudson
Everyone supports civility, in theory, when the “other side” is behaving themselves. But what is the role of civility in an era of...
- Oct 3, 2023
140 – Back to Burke
The name Edmund Burke is used quite liberally on the Saving Elephants podcast as host Josh Lewis makes no bones about being a “Burkean”...
- Sep 19, 2023
139 – Perspectives from Across the Pond with Sarah Stook
The United States and United Kingdom have enjoyed and, at times, endured a symbiotic history, culture, politics, and global relationship....
- Sep 5, 2023
138 – The Conservative Historian with Belisarius Aves
“History offers not simply a chronicle of events but, more importantly, opportunities to gain insights about the human condition from the...
- Aug 15, 2023
137 – Political Theology with Jonathan Cole – Part 2
Christian or not, it’s undeniable that Western civilization, and the United States in particular, has deep historical roots in...
- Aug 1, 2023
136 – Political Theology with Jonathan Cole – Part 1
“I never discuss anything else except politics and religion,” English writer, philosopher, and Christian apologist G. K. Chesterton once...
- Jul 18, 2023
135 – Cool Ellul with Jason Thacker
Modern views on how future technology is likely to change our lives range from bloviatingly aspirational visions of utopia to musings on...
- Jul 4, 2023
134 – Gilding a Mess with Avi Woolf
In the aftermath of the Civil War and prior to the first World War lies an often overlooked era in American history known as the Gilded...
- Jun 20, 2023
133 – Grappling with Hate Speech with Brooke Medina
In this brave new digital world, opportunities for hate speech seem ubiquitous and increasingly dangerous. How should a conservative...
- Jun 6, 2023
132 – Classical Period Non-Perverts with Jack Butler
Among the very-online, relatively young, and mostly male cohorts of the Right is a movement growing in popularity and intensity that...
- May 16, 2023
131 – Witnessing Whittaker with Sam Tanenhaus
In 1948 Whittaker Chambers shocked the nation when, while testifying before Congress, he gave the names of individuals he claimed were...
- May 2, 2023
130 – Cultivating Kirk with Jeff Nelson
Perhaps no other individual (or person, for the benefit of the Kirkian insider) was more responsible for resuscitating intellectual...
- Apr 18, 2023
129 – Epistemological Musings with Bonnie Kristian
Our digital world is saturated in “facts” but there’s little agreement on what constitutes “truth”. If we can no longer agree on what...
- Apr 4, 2023
128 – Reconciling Kirk and King with John Wood Jr
What do Russell Kirk and Martin Luther King Jr. have in common? Though they’re traditionally depicted as coming from opposing political...
- Mar 21, 2023
127 – 40 Must-Read Conservative Books – Part 2
The conservative tradition embodies centuries of accumulated wisdom from some of the brightest and most inspiring thinkers you’ll find. ...
- Mar 7, 2023
126 – 40 Must-Read Conservative Books – Part 1
The conservative tradition embodies centuries of accumulated wisdom from some of the brightest and most inspiring thinkers you’ll find....
- Feb 21, 2023
125 – Braver Angels with Elizabeth Doll
In response to America’s rapidly polarizing political divide a number of organizations have developed to try and turn down the heat....
- Feb 7, 2023
124 – The Unpopulists and the New Right with Shikha Dalmia
Populism is on the rise today—or so we’re told. But what is populism? Is it something to be feared or should it only be concerning to...
- Jan 17, 2023
123 – Judging Lord Acton with Dan Hugger
1st Baron Acton, 13th Marquess of Groppoli, John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton who, for obvious reasons, is more commonly referred to as...
- Jan 3, 2023
122 – The Political Animals with Jonathan Cole
Late last year Jonathan Cole had Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis on his podcast, The Political Animals, to talk about the quirkiness of...
- Dec 20, 2022
121 – Kids These Days with Scott Howard
While Saving Elephants is targeted to younger Americans, more and more Millennials cannot be counted among “the kids these days”. ...
- Dec 6, 2022
120 – Why Associations Matter with Luke Sheahan
In 1953 sociologist Robert Nisbet published his most famous work The Quest for Community, arguing for the necessity of association to the...
- Nov 15, 2022
119 – Inflating the Apocalypse with David Bahnsen
What is the great economic challenge of our times? Is it inflation? Rising inequality? Artificially low interest rates? Economist...
- Nov 1, 2022
118 – Fearlessly Curious with Mónica Guzmán
Mónica Guzmán joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis as they reach across the political divide to explore how the Left and Right might...
- Oct 18, 2022
117 – Conservatism Down Under with Jonathan Cole
American conservatism has long struggled to reconcile the American Revolution with a worldview that defers to the slow accretion of...
- Oct 4, 2022
116 – Fifty Conservative Thinkers
In an age where what passes for the archetype conservative are the likes of Candace Owens, Bill Mitchell, Sean Hannity, Matt Gaetz, Tomi...
- Sep 20, 2022
115 – A Post-Roe World with Kimberly Ross
With the end of Roe, the pro-life movement scores a major victory in the fight to protect the life of the unborn. But does this victory...
- Sep 6, 2022
114 – Are We Right? - Crossover Podcast
Earlier this summer, Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis joined three other veteran podcasters to launch a new show: Are We Right? Cal...
- Aug 16, 2022
113 – It's Greek to Me with Christopher Chesny
The Orthodox Christian faith is a growing yet tiny minority in the Christendom body in the United States. Yet they are growing in...
- Aug 2, 2022
112 – Geriatric Millennials with Eric Kohn
Fellow geriatric millennial Eric Kohn joins Josh to discuss what keeps the Acton Institute anchored in turbulent political waters, the...
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