The American Mind Podcast

Reporting from Claremont’s Publius fellowship, where rising young conservatives receive instruction on America’s founding principles from distinguished scholars, President Ryan P. Williams examines the politics of the Right’s youth—and the necessity of the programming. The fellowships equip members to fend off radical progressivism, think about American history, and contribute to the future of the Right in 2028 and beyond.

On the cusp of America’s 250th anniversary, the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission has prepared a lineup of events celebrating the nation’s virtues. This week, Lucas Morel, member of the commission and professor of politics at Washington and Lee University, joins the show to celebrate the many and varied expressions of patriotism this occasion has called forth, while emphasizing the need to recover the merits of the Founding. Plus: Several important Supreme Court decisions have been handed down. Among them, birthright citizenship has been upheld in Trump v. Barbara. What does this spell for Trump, and America’s political community?

Recommended:

Justice Thomas’s Declaration

Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story

After returning from a week-long trip to Japan, Spencer Klavan joins Mike Sabo this week to recount the nation’s efficient and spirited society. Balanced immigration, respect for tradition and the spirit, and an affection for America. Europe, this is not. Plus, intrigues from the country: lightning-fast bullet trains, bowing deer, and the philosopher's path.

The United States and the Iranian regime have signed a 14-point memo of understanding, establishing a 60-day window to negotiate the war's end. To work out the details—which include an end to sanctions and international monitoring of Iran’s uranium—J.D. Vance met with Iran’s diplomats in Switzerland, while Secretary Marco Rubio is slated to confer with Middle Eastern allies this week. Meanwhile, U.K. prime minister Keir Starmer has resigned amid a breakdown of government trust, sparked by the Labour government’s failure to take immigration and related crime seriously. 

The Left has controlled America's media institutions for decades, setting the political narrative and driving policy behind the scenes. How can the Right fight back? Claremont Washington Fellow Matthew Peterson argues that conservatives must shed the underdog mindset and compete for mainstream legitimacy. Plus: How marketing is the key to the Right's counter-revolution, which Peterson outlines in "Marketing is the Message," part of his Exit Memos series on Substack.

A memo of understanding between the United States and Iran is reportedly taking shape, laying the groundwork for a potential deal that includes $300 billion to rebuild Iran. But can President Trump secure an agreement that serves American interests, and sell it to voters before the midterm elections? Meanwhile, Trump kicked off a summer-long America 250 celebration with a blockbuster UFC event at the White House. Plus, the guys preview upcoming Claremont essays, events, and Fourth of July reflections. 

Recommended:

Of the Elite, By the Elite, For the Elite

Justice Thomas’s Declaration

Nationalism, Universalism, and the Declaration

How the Declaration Can Unite a Divided Nation

President Trump ordered the public release of images that may depict alien starcraft last month, prompting a wave of fresh speculation about "disclosure." Following the latest information, and the coming release of Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi film Disclosure Day, Ryan Williams and Spencer Klavan discuss the presence of aliens in the public psyche...and on Earth?? Plus: questions of free will, faith, and more!

Having departed from the founders' understanding of libel, the Supreme Court of today declines to protect the reputation of public figures—a gap that has been abused by the press to run unfounded narratives. Author of No Liberty to Libel Carson Holloway joins the hosts this week to trace the morphing values of the 19th and 20th centuries, and to advocate a restoration of older principles. Meanwhile, Spencer Pratt narrowly lost to Democratic Socialist Nithya Raman in the L.A. mayoral race following a sudden wave of mail-in ballots, highlighting California’s lax voting standards.

Recommended:

No Liberty to Libel: The Constitutional Case Against New York Times v. Sullivan, by Carson Holloway

Is California’s Election ‘Rigged’?

Pope Leo XIV, in his first encyclical, dropped a quote from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Gandalf. Inspired, Ryan Williams and Spencer Klavan examine why, as other franchises become cringe, the Lord of the Rings books remain moving and important. Even despite some rough streaming adaptations, the stories pair sacred story with timeless moral lessons and unmatched world building. Ryan and Spencer rank the best—and worst—of the fantasy universe Tolkien helped inaugurate. 

We all know the story: officer Derek Chauvin was making an arrest in the summer of 2020 when he supposedly killed George Floyd—and became a national hate object. This week, former federal prosecutor TJ Harker joins the hosts to detail the research that led him to conclude Chauvin is not only innocent but an American Scapegoat. After years of post-Floyd lawfare, is America now on track to heal? Meanwhile, the senatorial election in Texas rages between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico, the Left’s new “normal” guy: a football enjoyer, feminist Bible reader, and six gender believer.

Recommended:

The Scapegoating of Derek Chauvin, Pt. I

The Scapegoating of Derek Chauvin, Pt. II

American Scapegoat: How a Corrupt Justice System Sacrificed Derek Chauvin to the Mob