Ill Literacy: Books with Benson

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Dr. Ted Widmer to discuss his book, Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington. They talk about the crisis point the United States had reached in the time between Lincoln’s election and his journey to Washington, D.C. for his inaugural, and how Lincoln’s journey, in a way, compares to the journey of Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey. The also talk about the many speeches Lincoln makes on his journey, as well as myriad other travails, and how Lincoln’s arrival in Washington and his inaugural really signify the first victory of the Union against the forces of secession. Further, they discuss the importance of Euclid, the Founders (George Washington especially), and the Declaration of Independence in the formulation of Lincoln’s political thought and his conception of the American nation.

Get the book here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Lincoln-on-the-Verge/Ted-Widmer/9781476739434

Show Notes

C-SPAN: Lincoln on the Verge

https://www.c-span.org/video/?471982-1/lincoln-verge

The Guardian: 'What it means to be an American': Abraham Lincoln and a nation divided

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/apr/11/abraham-lincoln-verge-book-ted-widmer-interview

Wall Street Journal: ‘Lincoln on the Verge’ Review: Odyssey to the Inaugural

https://www.wsj.com/articles/lincoln-on-the-verge-review-odyssey-to-the-inaugural-11589578200

Washington Post: The train ride that brought Lincoln to D.C. — and introduced him to the nation

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/the-train-ride-that-brought-lincoln-to-dc--and-introduced-him-to-the-nation/2020/04/23/afef2192-4f58-11ea-bf44-f5043eb3918a_story.html

World Affairs Council of Dallas/Ft. Worth: Lincoln on the Verge with Ted Widmer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMZAiGE6KWU

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Fergus M. Bordewich to discuss his book, Congress at War: How Republican Reformers Fought the Civil War, Defied Lincoln, Ended Slavery, and Remade America. They talk about the productivity of the 37th and 38th Congresses, two of the most impactful in American history, which were being steered by a Republican Party still in its infancy. They also chat how members of Congress like Thaddeus Stevens, Ben Wade, and William Pitt Fessenden clashed with Abraham Lincoln over war policy, and how others like Clement Vallandigham possibly crossed the line into treasonous conduct.

Make sure you check out his website at: http://www.fergusbordewich.com/

The American Spectator: President Lincoln’s War With Republicans

https://spectator.org/president-lincolns-war-with-republicans/

The Atlantic: Abraham Lincoln’s Radical Moderation

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/03/abraham-lincolns-radical-moderation/605551/

Commonwealth Club of California: Fergus Bordewich: Congress at War

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNLi82vUuX0

C-SPAN: Congress at War

https://www.c-span.org/video/?469257-1/congress-war

Library of Congress: Fergus Bordewich on Congress at War

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO7qVZbYgSI

The New Yorker: Did Lincoln Really Matter?

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/02/10/did-lincoln-really-matter

The Wall Street Journal: ‘Congress at War’ and ‘When It Was Grand’ Review: The Great Emancipators

https://www.wsj.com/articles/congress-at-war-and-when-it-was-grand-review-the-great-emancipators-11581694320

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Dr. Phillip W. Magness to discuss his book, The 1619 Project: A Critique. They discuss the New York Times’ Pulitzer-winning project’s genesis, aims, and goals. Magness describes what the 1619 Project gets grievously wrong about slavery, economics, and the motivations of the Founding Fathers, as well as areas where prominent critics of it are off base, including their critique of the project’s interpretation of Abraham Lincoln. They also talk about how the project’s editors have such a hard time accepting any criticism of their work.

Show Notes:

https://www.acton.org/audio/critiquing-1619-project-phil-magness

American Institute for Economic Research: The 1619 Project Debate: A Bibliography

https://www.aier.org/article/the-1619-project-debate-a-bibliography/

The Atlantic: 1776 Honors America’s Diversity in a Way 1619 Does Not

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/01/inclusive-case-1776-not-1619/604435/

Commentary: How The New York Times Is Distorting American History

https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/wilfred-mcclay/how-the-new-york-times-is-distorting-american-history/

New York Review of Books: American Slavery and ‘the Relentless Unforeseen’

https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2019/11/19/american-slavery-and-the-relentless-unforeseen/

New York Times: The 1619 Project

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html

Reason: What The New York Times' 1619 Project Gets Wrong About Capitalism: Phillip Magness

https://reason.com/podcast/what-the-new-york-times-1619-project-gets-wrong-about-capitalism-phillip-magness/

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Dr. Bjørn Lomborg to discuss his book, False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet. They discuss how, contrary to what alarmists in media and academe will tell you, climate change really isn’t an “existential” threat to the planet, and they delve into the specifics. They chat about polar bears, hurricanes, droughts, flooding, wildfires, and how human innovation and adaption is already helping to mitigate climate damage. They also talk about the ineffectiveness of the Paris Agreement and how the Green New Deal is terrible policy.

Show Notes:

Financial Post: Bjorn Lomborg: As we begin our global climb out of the coronavirus depression, we shouldn’t start by letting bad green deals make us poorer

https://financialpost.com/opinion/bjorn-lomborg-as-we-begin-our-global-climb-out-of-the-coronavirus-depression-we-shouldnt-start-by-letting-bad-green-deals-make-us-poorer

Fortune: Climate change is important—but it shouldn’t distract us from other crucial problems

https://fortune.com/2020/07/14/climate-change-policy-priorities/

Hoover Institution:  Bjorn Lomborg Declares “False Alarm” on Climate Hysteria

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxWYglbtqnQ

Institute for Energy Research: Book Review: False Alarm by Bjørn Lomborg

https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/climate-change/book-review-false-alarm-by-bjorn-lomborg/

New York Post: How climate change alarmists are actually endangering the planet

https://nypost.com/2020/07/11/how-climate-change-alarmists-are-actually-damaging-the-planet/

Wall Street Journal: The Lockdown’s Lessons for Climate Activism

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-lockdowns-lessons-for-climate-activism-11594440061

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Dr. Matthew B. Crawford to discuss his book, Why We Drive: Toward a Philosophy of the Open Road. They discuss how active transportation is crucial to human identity and how driverless cars may become a threat to our freedom. They also discuss how safety features in cars are atrophying our skills and taking away the fun of driving while simultaneously gadgets like smart phones are taking our eyes off the road. From there, they shift gears to talk about automotive subcultures across the United States, tear into the red light camera racket, praise the taxi drivers of London, and turn the hairy eyeball on Uber. 

Show Notes:

First Things: Driving and Democracy

https://www.firstthings.com/media/driving-and-democracy

Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture: Videos: Matthew Crawford on the Car as a Domain of Skill and Freedom

https://iasculture.org/crawford/why-we-drive-video

The New Atlantis: GPS and the End of the Road 

https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/gps-and-the-end-of-the-road

New Statesman: The freedom of driving

https://www.newstatesman.com/why-we-drive-driverless-cars-matthew-crawford-review

Observer: ‘Why We Drive’ Takes Aim at Self-Driving Vehicles and Other Threats to Car Culture

https://observer.com/2020/06/why-we-drive-matthew-crawford-review/

San Francisco Chronicle: Review: ‘Why We Drive’ skewers the utopianisms of driverless cars

https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/books/review-why-we-drive-skewers-the-utopianisms-of-driverless-cars

Wall Street Journal: ‘Why We Drive’ Review: Awake at the Wheel

https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-we-drive-review-awake-at-the-wheel-11591225475?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=2

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Dr. Bradley C.S. Watson to discuss his book Progressivism: The Strange History of a Radical Idea. They discuss how progressive historians have portrayed progressivism since the advent of the movement up until the end of the 20th Century, and how that portrayal does not emphasize what a complete break with the ideals of the American founding and natural rights theory that it actually was. They then talk about the pushback these historians have received from political theorists on the right over the past few decades, and how the progressive historians have paved the way for the radicalism of the 1619 Project. They also chat about hockey and some other stuff.

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Dr. Mary Grabar to discuss her book Debunking Howard Zinn: Exposing the Fake History That Turned a Generation against America. They discuss the pernicious history of Zinn’s book A People’s History of the United States, Zinn’s merits as a historian, critiques of Zinn’s scholarship from both the Left and Right, and whether Zinn should be considered the intellectual godfather of the 1619 Project and the new wave of neo-iconoclastic Jacobin youths vandalizing American cities.

Purchase the book here

[Please subscribe to the Heartland Daily Podcast for free on iTunes at this link.]

SHOW NOTES:

American Educator: Undue Certainty: Where Howard Zinn’s A People’s History Falls Short

Claremont Review of Books: The Disgraceful Howard Zinn

Dissent: Howard Zinn’s History Lessons

The Federalist: How To Replace Howard Zinn’s Communist Account Of U.S. History For American Kids

The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal: A Radical Pseudo-historian Meets His Match

Law & Liberty: Howard Zinn: Fake Historian

The New Republic: Agit-Prof: Howard Zinn's influential mutilations of American history

Quadrant: Howard Zinn’s Tendentious Mendacity

Washington Times: BOOK REVIEW: 'Debunking Howard Zinn'

Happy Birthday to Ladies of Liberty Alliance (LOLA), celebrating 11 years this month! Listen to this discussion with Holly Soto, Communications and Outreach manager of LOLA. What is the mission of LOLA? How can we increase female involvement in the liberty movement world wide? Why is embracing liberty and creating a network of like minded women within this movement crucial to it's success? Soto and host Christina Herrin discuss these questions and more.

https://ladiesofliberty.org/

Term limits have been a discussion in American politics for quite some times. After the impeachment of President Donald John Trump, one has to wonder just how stale Washington D.C. has gotten. In fact, up to 15% of Congress were around for both his and the impeachment of former President William Jefferson Clinton, over a twenty year gap. Is a constitutional amendment needed to help kickstart innovation and stymie corruption in the nation's capitol, or do we already have that power in the first place through voting? Listen now and judge for yourself. 

The article: https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/482728-impeachment-demonstrates-dire-need-for-term-limits