New Books in American Politics

Live from the Frontline Club in London, Ctrl Alt Deceit is back for its second season. Hosts Nina dos Santos and Owen Bennett-Jones host a fascinating discussion on the myriad threats to democracy, particularly in light of Trump's re-election. Joined by Gabriel Gatehouse is an award-winning BBC journalist and broadcaster, formerly International Editor of Newsnight and host of the award winning podcast The Coming Storm. And Connor Tomlinson is a commentator and writer, contributing to Ayaan Hirsi Ali's Courage Media and presenting the Deprogrammed podcast at the New Culture Forum. He previously hosted Tomlinson Talks on LotusEaters.com In this provocative and timely discussion, big ideas collide as our panel tackles the fault lines shaking the foundations of the democratic world. As power shifts, authoritarianism rises, and ideological battles intensify, is liberal democracy collapsing under its own contradictions—or is it still the best system we’ve got? From Silicon Valley’s techno-libertarian ambitions to the push for a return to a more rigidly defined Western identity, our panel will explore the competing visions for the future. Has democracy been hijacked by global institutions that sideline voters? Was the dream of a liberal world order always doomed to fail? And if democracy is in decline—what comes next? Producer: Pearse Lynch Exec Producer: Lucinda Knight Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the Supreme Court poised to potentially outlaw race-conscious admissions, Affirmative Action may soon be on the chopping block. What will be the legacy of this half-century-old policy? Jason Riley, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and columnist at the Wall Street Journal, discusses affirmative action's impact both on the black community and the broader American education system. Riley is the author of Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell and Please Stop Helping Us: How Liberals Make It Harder for Blacks to Succeed. Riley's piece "Racial Preferences Harm Their Beneficiaries, Too" is here. Riley's article "The College Board's Racial Pandering" is here. Statistical evidence of the impact of racial preferences in college admissions, mentioned in the discussion is here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is the American Right, where does it come from, and how has it changed over time? Journalist and author Matthew Continetti discusses his recent book: The Right: The Hundred Year War for American Conservatism. Continetti is Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and was formerly the founding editor and the editor-in-chief of the Washington Free Beacon. Previously, he was opinion editor at the Weekly Standard. He is also a contributing editor at National Review and a columnist for Commentary magazine Data on the shifting demographics of wealthiest Americans, discussed during this episode, is here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The overturning of Roe v. Wade has led to a flurry of commentary and wondering, "Where next?" But, it also begs deeper questions: what is the history of abortion and sex-positivity within the feminist movement, and how did Roe affect our views on sex? Feminist legal scholar Dr. Erika Bachiochi is the founder and director of the Wollstonecraft Project at the Abigail Adams Institute and a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Here, she discusses these questions as well as her recent book on Mary Wollstonecraft, The Rights of Women: Reclaiming a Lost Vision. Articles referenced during the show: "Pursuing the Unification of Work and Home," American Compass. "Why the Dobbs Decision Won't Imperil Pregnancy-Related Medical Care," SCOTUSblog. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the Biden Administration's student loan relief coming down the pike, Annika sits down with Dr. Beth Akers, a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who specializes in higher education finance. Beth discusses the issue of student debt, and what the Biden relief plan will and will not achieve.  You can find more information about Dr. Akers and her recent writing and appearances here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Israeli political philosopher Yoram Hazony ('86) discusses the Enlightenment, the American Founding, his latest book: Conservatism: A Rediscovery, and Conservatism's past and future. Dr. Hazony is the President of the Herzl Institute, based in Jerusalem, and the chairman of the Edmund Burke Foundation, a public affairs institute based in Washington D.C., which recently hosted the popular National Conservatism Conference in Miami, FL. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Annika sits down with Robert Doar, president of the American Enterprise Institute, one of Washington D.C.'s most prominent think-tanks, to discuss the state of the American Right: what are the driving political issues of our time? What is the importance of freedom and liberty within the right? Drawing on Robert's background in poverty studies, they discuss what the Right has done right and wrong in addressing poverty, as well as Robert's time at our very own Princeton. Robert's own podcast, "AEI Banter," is here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Melvin Rogers is Associate Professor of Political Science at Brown University. You can follow Melvin on Twitter at @MRogers097. Professor Rogers specializes in democratic theory, with special focus on the traditions of American and African-American politics. The "Why We Argue" podcast is produced by the Humanities Institute at the University of Connecticut as part of the Future of Truth project. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On September 23, 2021, the James Madison Program and the Ethics and Public Policy Center hosted a discussion of Robert P. George and Ryan T. Anderson's 2019 National Affairs essay, "The Baby and the Bathwater." George and Anderson delivered remarks and then spoke with Alexandra DeSanctis and Antonin Scalia about the central themes of the essay, and how the philosophical framework they set out applies to America.  Watch "The Baby and the Bathwater: Toward a Recovery of the American Idea" here.  Read "The Baby and the Bathwater" here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did the sexual revolution create identity politics? Why are young men and women so unhappy? Mary Eberstadt, Panula Chair in Christian Culture at the Catholic Information Center and Senior Research Fellow at the Faith and Reason Institute, joins the show to answer these questions and others and discuss her new book, Primal Screams: How the Sexual Revolution Created Identity Politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does the future hold for the Republican Party? What are the greatest challenges facing America today? How many pull-ups should a young man be able to do? Congressman Mike Gallagher joins Madison's Notes to answer these questions and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Helen Andrews, senior editor at The American Conservative, joins Madison's Notes to discuss her new book, Boomers: The Men and Women Who Promised Freedom and Delivered Disaster.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is the relationship between America's Founding principles and her foreign policy? What are unalienable rights and how do we know they exist? How have other nations responded to the final report of the U.S. Department of State's Commission on Unalienable Rights? Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Mary Ann Glendon, Chair of the Commission on Unalienable Rights, join Madison's Notes to answer these questions and others.  The Final Report of the Commission on Unalienable Rights is here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What made George Washington the "greatest man in the world"? What is his legacy outside the United States? What did "honor" mean to America's Founding Fathers, and why was it so important to them? Craig Bruce Smith, author of American Honor: The Creation of the Nation's Ideals During the Revolutionary Era, joins the show to answer these questions and others.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Cribb is the author of Old Abe, an historical novel which former Vice President Mike Pence says is the "best book on President Lincoln" he has ever read. John joins to show to discuss the book, the importance of heroes, the "great man" approach to history, Facebook's attempts to "cancel" his book, and more!  You can find Cribb's essay "Facebook Cancels Abe Lincoln" here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. Allen C. Guelzo, Director of the James Madison Program's Initiative on Politics and Statesmanship, joins the show to discuss the legacy of the Gettysburg Address and what Lincoln might say to us today.  Guelzo's 2013 article for The New York Times is here.  Guelzo's 2013 piece in the Claremont Review of Books is here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are transgenderism and feminism at odds? Are we living through another sexual revolution? Why have conservatives been so unsuccessful in fighting the "culture wars"? Scott Yenor, Professor of Political Science at Boise State University, joins Madison's Notes to answer these questions and discuss his new book, The Recovery of Family Life: Exposing the Limits of Modern Ideologies. Yanor's essay "The False Science of Feminism" is here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Could totalitarianism take root in America? What does it mean to "live not by lies"?  Rod Dreher is a senior editor at The American Conservative and the author of several books, including The Benedict Option. He joins the show to answer these questions and discuss his new book, Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents. Solzhenitsyn's 1974 essay is here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is America still a democracy? What is at stake in the 2020 presidential election? Michael Anton, Lecturer at Hillsdale College and Senior Fellow at the Claremont Institute, joins the show to answer these questions and discuss his new book, The Stakes: America at the Point of No Return. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amy Coney Barrett is a judge on the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. In 2019, Judge Barrett delivered the James Madison Program's Annual Walter F. Murphy Lecture in American Constitutionalism. The lecture was entitled "The Constitution as Our Story." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices