Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

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 signify the end or is it merely the beginning of a new set of challenges and uncertainty in a world that doesn't always embrace life? Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by Kimberly Ross to discuss what a post-Roe world looks like for the pro-life movement and where to go from here.

About Kimberly Ross

Kimberly Ross is a freelance conservative writer. Her work regularly appears in The Washington Examiner, both online and the print magazine, and The Mirror magazine, a monthly publication from Aid to the Church in Need. Her archive of published work can be found at RedState, Arc Digital, The Bulwark, Rare, and USA Today.

As a mother of two and self-described "first wave feminist", she is most passionate about the rights of children, women, and the issue of abortion. She considers herself an independent conservative (not to be confused with conservative independent), and is beholden to no politician.

Kimberly has a B.A. in history with graduate work in political science. You can follow Kimberly on Twitter @southernkeeks

Earlier this summer, Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis joined three other veteran podcasters to launch a new show: Are We Right? Cal Davenport, Brooke Medina, and Calvin Moore, and Josh debate a wide range of topics from politics to religion to culture and invite the audience to weigh in on whether or not they're right. A recent episode featured Calvin quizzing Josh and Cal on why they embrace a conservative worldview. And even though Cal and Josh are in violent agreement during much of the conversation, there's plenty of nuance and jargon to satiate the politically curious listener. This conversation was quite apropos for the Saving Elephants project, so it is being re-podcast as a Saving Elephants episode.

Hosts of Are We Right?

Cal Davenport – Fellow Burkean conservative and co-host of his own podcast, In The Trenches, Cal brings a wealth of sobriety and insights far beyond his years.

Josh Lewis – Needs no introduction.

Calvin Moore – Veteran podcaster and host of the progressive Christian podcast What's Left to Say who keeps the conversation from succumbing to violent agreement by offering the progressive alternative.

Brooke Nicole – Vice President of Communications for the John Locke Foundation and eternal optimist in an age of despair, Brooke manages to keep the boys in line and shift the ridged, patriarchal structure of the show to a softer, joyful place.

You can find the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon, Audible, or wherever you listen, find us on Twitter @ TheAWRPodcast, and email us at [email protected].

https://open.spotify.com/show/1EzCyrKtiH7qfgvvDxS7KG

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/are-we-right/id1626743255

https://www.stitcher.com/show/are-we-right-707890

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https://www.audible.com/pd/Are-We-Right-Podcast/B0B2NBFG82

The Orthodox Christian faith is a growing yet tiny minority in the Christendom body in the United States. Yet they are growing in strength and numbers on the broader American Right. Which suggests that Orthodoxy may exert its influence on the conservative movement of the future. What traditions does the faith hold that may bolster and modify conservatism? What challenges are there in seeking to fuse a predominantly Eastern religion with the politics of the West? How do practicing Orthodox view Russia's war in Ukraine? Can Orthodoxy be a gateway for those who become radicalized on the Right? Returning guest and Greek Orthodox practitioner Christopher Chesny joins Josh to answer all this and more.

About Christopher Chesny

Christopher Chesny is a conservative activist who has been involved in Republican and conservative politics for almost two decades. After his political awakening at a young age after the 2000 Election and 9/11, he began to engage in the public policy process in a myriad of ways before graduating high school, and that engagement has continued through college up to the present day. This has included academic public policy research, journalism covering state governmental bodies including legislatures and executive and judicial branch agencies, being elected to various party offices and as an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention, lobbying legislators for conservative causes both in an activist and professional capacity, managing social media accounts for conservative groups, and most significantly volunteering and sometimes professionally managing and consulting political campaigns in multiple states across the country.

Currently living in Virginia outside of Washington, D.C., Christopher was born in Oklahoma City and grew up outside Tulsa, and received his B.A. with a Major in Political Science and Minors in History and Economics from Arizona State University, and later his Master's Degree in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma. Besides specializing in American political history and psephology (the study of elections) since the Second World War, he is a fan of history and geography from most every era in most every part of the world, especially the history of different religious faiths. Besides keeping up with current events, he is also an armchair cinephile and an avid fan of both classical music and rock 'n roll, especially alternative rock and its offshoots from the 1980s through to the present day.

You can find Chris on Twitter at @ChrisChesny89

Fellow geriatric millennial Eric Kohn joins Josh to discuss what keeps the Acton Institute anchored in turbulent political waters, the proper role for libertarian ideas in conservatism, the dangers of religious zeal in political ideologies, and what's wrong with conservative kids these days.

About Eric Kohn

From Acton Institute's website:

Eric Kohn is director of marketing and communications at the Acton Institute. In that role, he works to bring Acton's vision of a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles to a wider audience. Every week he hosts Acton Unwind, Acton's roundtable podcast, and he's a part-time host of Acton Line, Acton's weekly interview podcast.

He's an associate producer of the award-winning THE HONG KONGER: JIMMY LAI'S EXTRAORDINARY STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM, the newest documentary feature film from the Acton Institute, released in 2022.

Prior to joining Acton, Eric was director of community management at the Illinois Policy Institute, one of the nation's premier state-based think tanks. He was also the founder and CEO of Curious Task Strategies, a public affairs consulting firm. For more than 10 years, Eric led the Chicago chapter of America's Future Foundation, an organization dedicated to developing the next generation of classical liberal leaders in Chicago.

From 2019 to 2021, Eric co-hosted Sources with Knowledge along with Joe Kaiser on News/Talk 560 The Answer in Chicago. He previously hosted The Eric Kohn Program on 1530-AM WJJG, and has guest-hosted the nationally syndicated The Guy Benson Show, Illinois Watchdog Radio on Cities 92.9FM in Bloomington-Normal, and Chicago's Morning Answer on News/Talk 560 The Answer. He has appeared as a guest host and commentator on Beyond the Beltway with Bruce DuMont, Extension 720 with Milt Rosenberg, The Michael Koolidge Show, WTTW's Chicago Tonight, and numerous news broadcasts in the Chicagoland area. Eric's writings have appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, The Detroit News, the Belleville News-Democrat, and other publications.

Eric grew up in Belleville, Ill., and is a graduate of Millikin University in Decatur, Ill. He lives in Grand Rapids, Mich., with his wife and two children. You can follow Eric on Twitter @iEricKohn

Matthew Continetti's new book The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism has instigated a vigorous conversation around the best way to understand the historical phenomenon of modern conservatism in the United States. Returning guest Avi Woolf joins Josh for a discussion on what Continetti's depiction gets right and not-so-right about American conservatism, what has conservatism conserved, and what ought conservatism to conserve in the future.

About Avi Woolf

Avi Woolf is a writer, editor, translator, and podcaster whose work has been published in Arc Digital, Commentary, National Review, The Bulwark, Ordinary Times, and The Dispatch. He is chief editor of the online Medium publication Conservative Pathways, and he—in his words—"hopes to help forge a path for a conservatism which is relevant for the 21st century while not abandoning the best of past wisdom."

Avi has been a guest on the show several times prior: the first in which he explored the need for conservatism to find a way to appeal to people who live in urban areas in Episode 26 – Urban Conservatism, the second in which he mulled over the love/hate relationship the Right has long had with institutions of higher education in Episode 49 – God and the Speechless at Yale, and, finally, where he considered what is America and what does it mean to be an American in Episode 87 – E Pluribus Unum with Avi Woolf.

Avi hosts his own podcast entitled Avi's Conversational Corner, a podcast on culture, history, and politics in a broad perspective. You can find Avi on Twitter @AviWoolf

Introducing the Are We Right? Podcast

If you like Saving Elephants you'll love the new podcast Are We Right? featuring Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis along with three other co-hosts: Cal Davenport, Brooke Medina, and Calvin Moore. Cal, Josh Brooke, and Calvin debate a wide range of topics from politics to religion to culture and invite the audience to weigh in on whether or not they're right. You can find the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen, find us on Twitter @ TheAWRPodcast, and email us at [email protected].

Founded in the early 1950s, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) sought to fill the gaping void in higher education where progressive ideas were in vogue and conservative ones were ignored or attacked. Under the leadership of their first president, a young journalist named William F. Buckley Jr., ISI began mentoring young men and women to become eloquent defenders of the principles of liberty. And they have continued this legacy on to today.

In this episode Josh is joined by ISI National Director of Student Programs Marlo Slayback to talk about the work of the organization, her personal journey to conservatism, the role of religion and political worldview, and what it's like for conservatives on campus today.

About Marlo Slayback

Marlo Slayback is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, where she studied political science and poetry. She is a former ISI Collegiate Network fellow at National Review and led an ISI Society on her campus, where she also helped launch a Collegiate Network newspaper. Marlo is a 2021 Publius Fellow with the Claremont Institute and joined the ISI team after working as an education and culture reporter at the Daily Caller. She is a freelance writer and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Spectator US, The Lamp, and the University Bookman. You can follow Marlo on Twitter @marlo_safi

Esteemed AEI scholar Matthew Continetti returns to the podcast for a woefully brief overview of his latest book, The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism

From the book's description:

When most people think of the history of modern conservatism, they think of Ronald Reagan. Yet this narrow view leaves many to question: How did Donald Trump win the presidency? And what is the future of the Republican Party?

In The Right, Matthew Continetti gives a sweeping account of movement conservatism's evolution, from the Progressive Era through the present. He tells the story of how conservatism began as networks of intellectuals, developing and institutionalizing a vision that grew over time, until they began to buckle under new pressures, resembling national populist movements. Drawing out the tensions between the desire for mainstream acceptance and the pull of extremism, Continetti argues that the more one studies conservatism's past, the more one becomes convinced of its future.

Deeply researched and brilliantly told, The Right is essential reading for anyone looking to understand American conservatism.

About Matthew Continetti

Matthew Continetti holds a BA in history from Columbia University and is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where his work is focused on American political thought and history, with a particular focus on the development of the Republican Party and the American conservative movement in the 20th century. A prominent journalist, analyst, author, and intellectual historian of the right, Mr. Continetti was the founding editor and the editor-in-chief of The Washington Free Beacon. Previously, he was opinion editor at The Weekly Standard.

Mr. Continetti is also a contributing editor at National Review and a columnist for Commentary Magazine. He has been published in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, among other outlets. He also appears frequently on Fox News Channel's "Special Report" with Bret Baier and MSNBC's "Meet the Press Daily" with Chuck Todd.

Mr. Continetti is the author of two additional books: "The Persecution of Sarah Palin: How the Elite Media Tried to Bring Down a Rising Star" (Sentinel, 2009) and "The K Street Gang: The Rise and Fall of the Republican Machine" (Doubleday, 2006).

You can find Matthew Continetti on Twitter @continetti.

Introducing the Are We Right? Podcast

If you like Saving Elephants you'll love the new podcast Are We Right? featuring Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis along with three other co-hosts: Cal Davenport, Brooke Medina, and Calvin Moore. Cal, Josh Brooke, and Calvin debate a wide range of topics from politics to religion to culture and invite the audience to weigh in on whether or not they're right. You can find the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen, find us on Twitter @ TheAWRPodcast, and email us at [email protected].

Bo Winegard returns to the show to talk about controversies surrounding the science of human variation, his experience with cancel culture, and the growing problems of cognitive distribution. It's another in-the-weeds wonkfest of alarmingly nerdish proportions.

About Bo Winegard

Bo Winegard obtained his PhD in social psychology from Florida State University, under the tutelage of Roy Baumeister. Formerly a professor at a small college in the Midwest, Bo is now an independent scholar interested in human evolution, human variation, the rise of political order, and political conservatism. He also enjoys literature, film, sports, and mediocre detective fiction.

Bo has many peer-reviewed publications on motley topics and often writes for the online media publication Quillette. He is currently working on the first of several books on human nature and political ideology.

Visit Bo's website:

https://www.bmwinegard.com/

And his YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8mHb9VLBbrlvzRRwwGgL5w

You can also find Bo on Twitter @EPoe187

Introducing Are We Right?

If you like Saving Elephants you'll love the new podcast Are We Right? featuring Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis along with four other co-hosts: Cal Davenport, Brooke Medina, and Calvin Moore. Cal, Josh Brooke, and Calvin debate a wide range of topics from politics to religion to culture and invite the audience to weigh in on whether or not they're right. You can find the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen, find us on Twitter @ TheAWRPodcast, and email us at [email protected].

As more and more working-class Americans join the Republican party some voices on the Right are advocating the GOP become the worker's party—a role that has traditionally been held by various movements and parties of the Left. Is there any merit to this idea? What is the history of labor relations and the Right and Left in the United States? How have labor unions and right to work laws evolved over the past century? Do national candidates like JD Vance or Ron DeSantis have what it takes to capitalize on the surge of working-class voters on the Right? Joining Josh is his friend of nearly a decade Christopher Chesny to discuss all this and more.

About Christopher Chesny

Christopher Chesny is a conservative activist who has been involved in Republican and conservative politics for almost two decades. After his political awakening at a young age after the 2000 Election and 9/11, he began to engage in the public policy process in a myriad of ways before graduating high school, and that engagement has continued through college up to the present day. This has included academic public policy research, journalism covering state governmental bodies including legislatures and executive and judicial branch agencies, being elected to various party offices and as an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention, lobbying legislators for conservative causes both in an activist and professional capacity, managing social media accounts for conservative groups, and most significantly volunteering and sometimes professionally managing and consulting political campaigns in multiple states across the country.

Currently living in Virginia outside of Washington, D.C., Christopher was born in Oklahoma City and grew up outside Tulsa, and received his B.A. with a Major in Political Science and Minors in History and Economics from Arizona State University, and later his Master's Degree in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma. Besides specializing in American political history and psephology (the study of elections) since the Second World War, he is a fan of history and geography from most every era in most every part of the world, especially the history of different religious faiths. Besides keeping up with current events, he is also an armchair cinephile and an avid fan of both classical music and rock 'n roll, especially alternative rock and its offshoots from the 1980s through to the present day.

You can find Chris on Twitter at @ChrisChesny89

Historian George Nash returns to the show to discuss the life and legacy of Herbert Hoover.

Few American presidents are as decried by voices on both the Left and Right as Herbert Hoover. His name has become synonymous with economic suffering and callous Federal response. But Dr. Nash contends that the popular narrative linking Hoover to the catastrophes of the Great Depression do a great injustice to the actual historical account and reduce one of America's most remarkable men to that of a callous buffoon. Hoover, in Dr. Nash's telling, was responsible for saving the lives of more people than anyone else who ever lived. And that's just the start of it. He accomplished so much in his long life of public and private service that, even if he had never been president, he would be well worth studying today. A greater appreciation for the complexities of the man and the times in which he lived provides the student of conservatism a greater appreciation for the challenges we face today.

About George Nash

George H. Nash is the epitome of a gentleman and a scholar. A graduate from Amherst College who received his Ph.D. in History from Harvard University, Dr. Nash is an authority on the histories of American conservatism and the life of President Herbert Hoover. Dr. Nash is an independent scholar, historian, and lecturer. He speaks and writes frequently about the history and present direction of American conservatism, the life of Herbert Hoover, the legacy of Ronald Reagan, the education of the Founding Fathers, and other subjects. His writings have appeared in the American Spectator, Claremont Review of Books, Intercollegiate Review, Modern Age, National Review, New York Times Book Review, Policy Review, University Bookman, Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. He has lectured at the Library of Congress; the National Archives; the Herbert Hoover, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson presidential libraries; the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum; the Hoover Institution; the Heritage Foundation; the McConnell Center; and at various universities and conferences in the United States and Europe. Several of his lectures have been featured on C-SPAN. He has also been interviewed by C-SPAN, National Public Radio, numerous radio stations, and the print media. Dr. Nash lives in Massachusetts.