AEI Podcast Channel

The AEI Podcast Channel presents last month's episode of the Bradley Lecture Series podcast. If you enjoy this episode, subscribe directly to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

For decades, our appreciation for natural beauty has been tempered by an awareness of its impermanence. Our environment, its species, and the very climate in which we live all exist under conditions of duress.

In this month’s lecture, we will hear from Pulitzer prize winner E.O. Wilson, one of the most influential biologists of the last 70 years and pioneer of the field of sociobiology. His lecture, delivered in 2001, addresses the dangers facing our environment, strategies for slowing its decline, and the importance of preserving our natural capital. 

Today, the AEI Podcast Channel presents the latest episode of Banter, hosted by AEI President, Robert Doar, and Director of Media Relations, Phoebe Keller. To find more episodes of Banter, subscribe directly on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Professors Benjamin and Jenna Storey teach political philosophy at Furman University, where they also lead the Tocqueville Program. Their new book, Why We Are Restless: On the Modern Quest for Contentment, explores the roots of modern unhappiness and offers guidance in the search for fulfillment.

The Storeys – who are also joining AEI next year—appear on Banter to talk with Robert and Phoebe about what we can learn from French philosophers about how to find happiness in our modern lives.

Today, the AEI Podcast Channel shares the latest episode of "What the Hell is Going On?". If you enjoy this episode, subscribe directly to the podcast, on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

After labeling the Wuhan lab leak theory a conspiracy, the mainstream media and prominent scientists – even Dr. Fauci – are beginning to take the Covid origin story seriously. To further investigate the hypothesis, Rep. Mike Gallagher has asked the Biden administration to declassify the intelligence surrounding research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

On our latest episode, Rep. Gallagher joined Dany and Marc to discuss the pandemic’s origins and the growing evidence of a Chinese lab leak and cover-up. He also talks about the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s potential links to US funding through the EcoHealth Alliance.

This week, AEI presents the latest episode of Are You Kidding Me?. If you enjoy this episode, subscribe to the podcast directly on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

A professor at Georgetown Law School was recently fired for remarks she made during a private zoom call about the academic performance of black students at Georgetown — raising several questions about the nature of and potential solutions to racial disparities in higher education. What are the root causes of racial disparities in schools? How much freedom should professors and administrators be given to explore explanations of disparities that move beyond institutional racism? Should objective measurements of performance — such as standardized tests — be abolished?

In this episode, Naomi and Ian are joined by University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy Wax to discuss these issues and more. Professor Wax offers her defense of academic standards, arguing that movements seeking to deny the root causes of disparities and attribute all differences to structural racism are threatening the integrity of higher education institutions.

This week, the AEI Podcast Channel presents the latest episode of Unprecedential.

Both historically and constitutionally, the freedom to worship has been a centerpiece of American politics. For much of their history, Americans viewed religious devotion as a linchpin of human experience and deserving of legal protection. But traditional religion has become increasingly suspect in the current cultural landscape, which prizes autonomy and freedom. For those with secular beliefs, faith can seem like a veil for discrimination and intolerance.

To discuss the political dynamics of religion, George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School professor Helen Alvaré joins Adam on Unprecedential. Adam and Professor Alvaré, who has written and edited three books on topics related law and religion, consider religion’s place in government, in politics, and in education.

You can find Unprecedential on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week, the AEI Podcast Channel presents the most recent episode of Understanding Congress, hosted by AEI's Kevin Kosar.

The topic of today’s episode is, “Can Congress budget?”

My guest is Dr. Allen Schick. He is professor emeritus at the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland. He previously has held positions at the Congressional Research Service, the Urban Institute, the Brookings Institution, and the American Enterprise Institute. Dr. Schick published three volumes with AEI press, which you can download and read, and many other books with distinguished presses.

His books include, Congress and Money: Spending, Taxing, and Budgeting (1980), Making Economic Policy in Congress (1984), The Capacity to Budget (1990) and The Federal Budget: Politics, Policy, Process (1995).

Dr. Schick is the dean of budget policy, and we are very fortunate to have him on the program.

You can find Understanding Congress on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week, the AEI Podcast Channel presents the latest episode of the National Affairs Podcast.

The 2019-2020 school year will be remembered as the year we all became home schoolers. But well before the pandemic, the popularity of home schooling exceeded its actual prevalence, as fiscal and logistical challenges often posed insurmountable obstacles for potential home-school families. Guest Michael McShane joins us to discuss the hybrid home-school model, and how it might offer a way to close the gap as families consider their post-pandemic options. 

You can find the National Affairs podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Visit the National Affairs website for more information.

This week, the AEI Podcast Channel presents the latest episode of "The Invisible Men," hosted by Ian Rowe and Nique Fajors.

In this episode, Ian and Nique are joined by Delano Squires — an Author at the Federalist and a long-time public servant. Delano shares how his growing faith journey and upbringing in an interconnected family from the West Indies have been center points of his journey as a writer. A computer engineering major in college, Delano was inspired to begin his writing career as the tragic murder of MVF NFL quarterback Steve McNair prompted him to reflect on how deeply the decisions of fathers affect their families. Since then, Delano has become increasingly convinced that human flourishing in America hinges on the revitalization of strong families and faith communities.

Of increasing concern to Delano is the tendency of elites today to “raise the ceiling while giving lip service to the floor.” Specifically, Delano laments how many elites project language of oppression and avoid discussing central challenges like fraying families and communities, even as they build strong and stable families in their own lives. Delano responds to this challenge by calling on men who care more about their communities than their public reputation to speak publicly about the importance of fatherhood. Tune in to the full episode to learn more about Delano’s story and hear his words of advice for “Darryl.”

You can find "The Invisible Men" on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Today, the AEI Podcast Channel presents the most recent episode of What the Hell is Going On? hosted by Danielle Pletka and Marc Thiessen.

President Biden recently announced that he plans to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021. The decision has sparked accusations of “surrender,” and fears that Biden is repeating the Iraq withdrawal mistake again -- a decision that led to the establishment of ISIS’s caliphate in Iraq.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger joined Dany and Marc to talk about the implications of the US troop withdrawal. He also discusses his service in Afghanistan and Iraq, the timing of Biden’s decision, and what it will mean for American national security.

Rep. Kinzinger is currently serving his sixth term in the House of Representatives, representing Illinois’ Sixteenth Congressional District. Prior to being elected to Congress, Kinzinger served in the Air Force in both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

Download the transcript here.

You can find What the Hell is Going On? on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Today, the AEI Podcast Channel presents our newest podcast, An Economist Goes to College. Economist and scholar Beth Akers seeks to inform aspiring students about how to make strategic decisions about their higher education. Speaking on topics like how to use data to shop for college or non-college alternatives, how to utilize the student loan system to your advantage, and more, Beth cuts through the romanticism we often attach to college decision making and teaches listeners how to make decisions that are grounded in data and fact.

In this episode, Beth speaks with Ron Lieber, a personal finance columnist for The New York Times and author of the book, “The Price You Pay for College,” about the ins and outs of the college decision-making process. They talk about what aspiring students and their families most often get wrong about the system, and what they really can’t afford to misunderstand, when it comes to picking and paying for college.

You can find An Economist Goes to College on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.