Niccolo Machiavelli, is usually cast as something of a villain for supposedly promoting cut-throat politics. Regarded as the father of modern political theory and science, however, among his many ideas was that when regimes - governments - slip into a state of decline, a return to first principles was necessary to save them. Turning back to the ideas that were most pure at a founding was, he believed, essential to revive a country that had lost its way.

Is America at such a point today? Political theorist, commentator, and author Jay Cost believes we are, and discusses what a “Machiavellian Moment” is, and why America, especially as we approach our 250th birthday, is in need of one.

Read his article: https://tinyurl.com/3ytfx3fb

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Homepage: https://ashbrook.org/the-american-idea-podcast/

Religious liberty is at the foundation of the American Idea - but how was it understood and protected at America’s Founding, and how what does this fundamental right look like today? Jeff and Dr. Vincent Phillip Munoz, of Notre Dame University, discuss the earliest state of religious freedom, and how it has evolved today.

Read the Virginia Declaration of Rights: https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/virginia-declaration-of-rights-2/

Read the Virginia Statue for Religious Freedom: https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/virginia-statute-for-religious-liberty/

Read Washington’s Letter to the Hebrew Congregation: https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/letter-to-the-hebrew-congregation-at-newport/

Read JFK’s Speech to the Houston Ministerial Association: https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/historic-speeches/address-to-the-greater-houston-ministerial-association

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Homepage: https://ashbrook.org/the-american-idea-podcast/

The United States Supreme Court handed down its decision on Louisiana v. Callais in early May, and it’s impossible to understand this 6-3 ruling without having some background knowledge of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and how courts between then and now have interpreted it. Don’t get lost in the political rhetoric surrounding this case; learn the background for yourself and make up your own mind.

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Homepage: https://ashbrook.org/the-american-idea-podcast/

School choice has moved to the forefront of national conversations and debates most notably since COVID; however the ‘educational choice’ movement is not new in America at all.

Jeff is joined by Shaka Mitchell, Senior Fellow at the American Federation for Children, to trace the history of school choice and schooling in America, drawing clear policy, political, and cultural connections between what was, what has been, and what is ‘normal’ now, and how that’s changing.

You can follow Shaka on his Substack: https://shakamitchell.substack.com/

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Homepage: https://ashbrook.org/the-american-idea-podcast/

What’s taught in British schools about the American Revolution? How are Americans’ motivations during the Founding understood by our ‘cousins’ on the other side of the Atlantic? Jeff discusses the fascinating history of British history and perspectives on America with Liam Heffernan, host of America: The Story of the USA, a British podcast that seeks to explain American to the British.

You can find Liam's pod at https://tinyurl.com/puysecxp

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Homepage: https://ashbrook.org/the-american-idea-podcast/

The Abolition and Civil Rights movements are often presented as solutions to the failures of the American Founding, or replacements for its ideas. The relationship between the core ideas of America, as asserted in the Declaration of Independence and those of these two movements is complicated and has evolved over time. As we approach our 250th birthday, let’s take a look at how the Declaration is, in fact, the moral and intellectual foundation of both abolition and civil rights.

Jeff is joined by Dr. Peter Myers, Professor of Political Science and expert in the politics of abolition and civil rights.

Read Peter's book on Douglass: https://a.co/d/0b1TiSI3

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

On Apple Podcasts: https://tr.ee/aTARALr9Gx

On Spotify: https://tr.ee/09Ca21CCp-

On iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-american-idea-119582945/

Abraham Lincoln once asserted that all of his political philosophy was rooted in the Declaration of Independence. Other presidents have spoken positively about our founding document, and some have disparaged the ideas promoted in it. What about Ronald Reagan? Where did he stand on the Declaration’s core ideas of natural rights, limited government, and liberty?

Jeff is joined by Greg McBrayer, who looks back on decades of speeches from Reagan in order to establish a clear connection between the principles of our 40th president and America’s original mission statement.

Read Reagan’s “A Time for Choosing”: https://tinyurl.com/btvr8mu9

Read Reagan’s 1986 Independence Day speech: https://tinyurl.com/ycyfvnka

Read Reagan’s Farewell Address: https://tinyurl.com/mu92b545

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Homepage: https://ashbrook.org/the-american-idea-podcast/

This episode examines the constitutional principle of separation of powers: what it is, why the American founders considered it essential to liberty, and how it works in practice through checks and balances. The conversation explores the distinct roles of Congress, the presidency, and the courts, and then turns to major controversies that continue to shape American government, including executive removal power, independent agencies, and war powers. The result is a clear discussion of why separation of powers remains one of the most important and contested features of the American constitutional order.

Download the Separation of Powers documents collection for free: https://tinyurl.com/mr3274xx

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Homepage: https://ashbrook.org/the-american-idea-podcast/

Jeff is joined by Palantir Technologies Development Strategist and author Madeline Hart to discuss her book, co-authored with Palantir’s CTO, about what’s wrong with America’s military industrial base, how we got here, and what we can do to fix this vital part of our national defense.

Read about Madeline’s book: https://mobilizebook.com/

Get the book: https://a.co/d/0ikuJ5tb

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Homepage: https://ashbrook.org/the-american-idea-podcast/

The First Amendment’s free speech clause is meant to protect Americans against government abridgment of free expression. How does this apply to social media companies when they are subjected to both formal and informal pressure from members of a president’s inner circle?

Although a narrow ruling, MO v. Biden makes clear the relevance of free speech, regardless of the state of technology at a given time in our history.

Read NCLA’s press release: https://nclalegal.org/press_release/ncla-reaches-historic-settlement-strikes-major-blow-against-governments-social-media-censorship/

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Homepage: https://ashbrook.org/the-american-idea-podcast/