The American Idea

Jeff is joined by Dan Monroe of Millikin University to discuss John Brown, the man some claim 'lit the fuze' that caused the Civil War. Monroe explains and analyzes Brown's background, his influences, and his firm embrace of violence as a means-of-choice for addressing the scourge of slavery.

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Greg McBrayer

Producer: Jeremy Gypton

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Jeff is joined by historian and author Dr. Jonathan White to discuss "Shipwrecked: A True Civil War Story of Mutinies, Jailbreaks. Blockade-Running, and the Slave Trade." This fascinating tale is of a little-known story of ship captain Appleton Oaksmith and his, to put it lightly, varied and adventurous life experiences, many of which intersected and overlapped one of the greatest events, the Civil War, and one of the greatest problems, slavery, in American history.

Find Jon's book here: https://a.co/d/2rCVhhy

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Greg McBrayer

Producer: Jeremy Gypton

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Jeff is joined by Rebeccah Heinrichs, Senior Fellow and defense policy expert at the Hudson Institute, to discuss current developments in Israel, Ukraine, and China. How do these conflicts impact American politics and policy? Get a thoughtful strategic analysis in this week's episode.

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Greg McBrayer

Producer: Jeremy Gypton

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John Moser and Eric Pullin discuss rapprochement and detente with China during the Nixon administration - how it came about, what resulted from it in the short-term, and what longterm challenges it created for America and the world.

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Greg McBrayer

Producer: Jeremy Gypton

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Jeff is joined by Jason Stevens, professor of Political Science at Ashland University, to discuss the meaning and legacy of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, delivered 160 years ago this month. Learn what made it so important then, and what we can draw from it now.

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Greg McBrayer

Producer: Jeremy Gypton

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Jeff discusses the historical and intellectual roots of Critical Race Theory with Robert George of Princeton University. What is CRT? Where does it come from? What are its roots as an academic movement? What does it preach, in practice, and how do these things shape the mind of the individual and relations between people?

George suggested a few readings, linked below.

Plato's Dialogue with Gorgias: https://classics.mit.edu/Plato/gorgias.html

Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/1342

Federalist 10: https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/federalist-10/

CS Lewis' "The Abolition of Man" : https://www.amazon.com/Abolition-Man-C-S-Lewis/dp/0060652942

Repressive Tolerance: https://www.marcuse.org/herbert/publications/1960s/1965-repressive-tolerance-fulltext.html

George’s article on the topic: https://www.deseret.com/2023/8/6/23800937/critical-race-theory-martin-luther-king-jr-dei

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Greg McBrayer

Producer: Jeremy Gypton

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What is going on in the House of Representatives, and why did the Republicans fire their own Kevin McCarthy as Speaker? Where did this come from, what does it say about Congress, the House, political parties in general and in this point in our history, and in particular the Republican party? Jeff Sikkenga is joined by Joe Postell of Hillsdale College to discuss these issues and more, starting with the background to the GOP revolt against their own leader and what has been going on in the House for the last few weeks. Joe, who offered McCarthy's firing as a possibility when we talked with him in January about the new session of Congress, analyzes the current state of our political parties and what this might mean for the future of the House and Congress. Recorded on 24 OCT 23, this is a timely discussion of important, developing events.

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Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Greg McBrayer

Producer: Jeremy Gypton