The Law & Liberty Podcast

Especially since the controversies of 2020, the commanding heights of American culture have been dominated by left-wing moral panic. In his new book, Adam Szetela analyzes this toxic mentality’s influence on the publishing industry specifically. Many writers are either drafted into ideological crusades–or else become their victims. In this episode of the Law & Liberty Podcast, Szetela joins James Patterson to discuss his book and the sorry state of American literature.

From colonial times through the twentieth century, Western civilization became America’s own cultural heritage, and it was always taught in schools and universities. Then, in the later part of the twentieth century, Americans turned on Western Civ. Why did that happen? What are the consequences for our culture today? What can we do now to recover that heritage? Professor James Hankins joins John Grove, editor of Law & Liberty, to discuss these questions in connection with his new book, The Golden Thread: A History of the Western Tradition.

Robert Nisbet is best known for his books The Quest for Community and The Twilight of Authority. Luke Sheahan joins the podcast to discuss a new edition of Nisbet's lesser-known but perhaps most important book The Social Philosophers, a sweeping account of the history of community and its treatment by Western political philosophers.

What is the future of DEI? Does it have at least some laudable goals, and are there better ways to achieve them? What do the American people really want when it comes to tolerance, inclusion, and discrimination law? The Manhattan Institute’s Robert VerBruggen discusses all these questions and more with host James Patterson in this episode of the Law & Liberty Podcast. Related Links “Fight Bias and Legalize Meritocracy,” by Robert VerBruggen

America is still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic that broke out in 2020. Not only was it one of the most deadly health incidents in our history, the strategies imposed by central planners to contain its spread also inflicted countless costs on everything from the economy and education to social life itself. Stephen Macedo, an author of a recent book evaluating the pandemic's aftermath, joins Law & Liberty contributing editor G. Patrick Lynch to discuss the price of the pandemic on this episode of the Law & Liberty Podcast.

Although they understand themselves as missionaries to the marginalized, woke elites use their ideology of oppression to protect their own privilege and social status. Contributing Editor G. Patrick Lynch discusses these dynamics with Musa al-Gharbi, author of We Have Never Been Woke, and a shrewd diagnostician of elite hypocrisy. Related Links We Have Never Been Woke by Musa al-Gharbi “Questioning the Oppression Olympics,” by Jesse Smith (Review of We Have Never Been Woke)

Driven in part by the revival of a classic knit sweater emblazoned with an American flag, "Ralph Lauren nationalism" has emerged as a trope among online talking-heads. Well-dressed political scientist Samuel Goldman is also known for his sharp takes on menswear. He joins host James Patterson to discuss his recent article for Compact magazine that tackled the concept. There may be something to the Ralph Lauren aesthetic that captures an essential quality of the American character, Goldman argues, but it's not exactly what the highly-online chatterers think it is. Related Links "The Meaning of Ralph Lauren Nationalism" by Samuel Goldman

Neighborhoods are one of the most important human support structures, argues Seth D. Kaplan. Yet modern politics, economics, and social habits all seem aligned to undermine them. Discussing his recent book, Fragile Neighborhoods, Kaplan explains why neighborhoods are irreplaceable sources of human community, and why they are often in such bad shape today. "No government or philanthropic program can replace the benefits that the day-in-day-out love of parents and the continuous support of the community provide. Social services may address material needs and they may help mitigate specific problems after the fact, but they're rarely equipped to provide the care nurturing and targeted discipline that a supportive family and community deliver.” 

Daniel DiMartino calls balls and strikes on the ongoing, highly partisan debate over immigration, legal and illegal. The border ought to be secure, and asylum limited to those who have a genuine need for it, he argues. But border policy ought always to bound by law. When it comes to legal immigration, according to DiMartino, we do well to avoid an economics of nostalgia and should welcome the kind of immigration that adds to American life. DiMartino also recalls a recent run-in with the residual cancel culture at Columbia University.

What Solzhenitsyn called "the ideological lie" was not limited to a single country, government, or movement. And it did not, unfortunately, die off in 1989. In his new book, Mahoney presents the lie as the replacement of traditional categories of "good and evil" with "progress and reaction," a change that ripples through political and social ideas in a way that opens the door to the replacement of truth by an imposed, false reality. Though we shouldn't pretend that America today approaches the kind of tyranny seen in the twentieth century, we should recognize that the totalitarian impulse is alive and well. 

The drive to pursue wisdom is engrained in every human being, right? Many have believed so. But in his new book, Ignorance and Bliss, Mark Lilla argues that a certain "will to ignorance" is also part of the human experience. Like Plato's Thrasymachus, many often want to throw up their hands in resignation rather than commit themselves to the pursuit of truth, creating a tension in human life that is sometimes reasonable and sometimes pathological. Lilla offers an explanation for this phenomenon, drawing on philosophy, religion, psychology, and history. He joins James Patterson to discuss the book.

"Christian Nationalism" splashes across headlines regularly. But there is no clear definition of it. Is it just an epithet? A concept used for partisan manipulation? A real trend in socio-religious thought in America? Smith, Hall, and Williams consider different definitions, which ideas might be lumped into the category, and how it relates to American pluralism, historical Christianity, and contemporary populism.

Philip Rieff adopted the categories and language of Freud, but reinterpreted them in a way that supported culture and the moral life. Batchelder and Harding have edited a new volume of essays on Rieff, who they argue is a key thinker for any attempt to diagnose late modern cultural life. They join host James Patterson to discuss Rieff, Martin Luther King, Jr., Susan Sontag, and unimaginable depravities. 

Historically grounded assessments of the American republic's relationship with religion require nuanced thinking and an appreciation for ambiguity. Unfortunately, those qualities don't sell. So American history is replete with attempts to construct a simple narrative of a Christian nation or a wholly secular liberalism. Jerome Copulsky and Mark Noll join James Patterson to discuss Copulsky's book, American Heretics, which examines certain strands of religious thinking that, in one way or another, have sought to overcome the fact of American religious pluralism. 

A poorly worded tweet became a career-altering conflagration for Ilya Shapiro in a particularly egregious example of cancel culture. It prompted him to take a hard look at the state of legal education, which he now skewers in Lawless: The Miseducation of America's Elite. He and host James Patterson discuss the book, the atrocious impact critical theory and DEI has had on our  law schools, and what the future might hold.

Anyone could be forgiven for not knowing much about Peter Viereck. The eccentric historian and poet was one of the first mid-century thinkers to robustly embrace the "conservative" label, but he fell out of favor with movement conservatives and has been largely forgotten. John Wilsey thinks that's a mistake. He joins Law & Liberty's editor, John Grove, to talk about Viereck and his unique conservative manner of approaching the challenges of modern life. Related Links John Wilsey, "Peter Viereck's Unadjusted Conservatism," Law & Liberty Peter Viereck, Conservatism: From John Adams to Winston Churchill Peter Viereck, Conservatism Revisited Peter Viereck, Unadjusted Man in the Age of Overadjustment John Wilsey, Religious Freedom: A Conservative Primer (pre-order) Claes Ryn, "Peter Viereck: Traditionalist Libertarian?" Law & Liberty Robert Lacey, Pragmatic Conservatism

Konstantin Kisin has emerged as a powerful voice opposing "wokeness" in part because he has a unique appreciation for what makes Western civilization special. He and Helen Dale discuss the current state of wokeness, his own engagement with it, and the politics of the US, UK, and Australia. Ultimately, the moment calls not just for diagnosing Western malaise, but also gratitude for all the West offers us, and optimism for its future.

In the wake of the 2024 election, former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels joins James Patterson to talk about the one issue politicians all try to avoid: the national debt. Though we have an impending debt disaster, both sides of the aisle avoid the hard choices that will eventually need to be made. Today, Daniels worries, it may be too late for a soft landing. We chose not to find solutions, and we'll start living with consequences very soon. Daniels and Patterson also touch on the state of higher education, the election, and our evolving partisan dynamics.  Further Reading: Mitch Daniels, "The Day the Dollar Died," Washington Post Mitch Daniels, "I'm Talking to You," Law & Liberty (2022 Purdue University Commencement Remarks) Vance Ginn and Thomas Savidge, "Two Rules to Tackle America's Debt," Law & Liberty Samuel Gregg, "David Hume and America's Debt Disaster," Law & Liberty