Sponsored by Casper

They plotted a literary revolution. Both became famous in their time, but only one endures in the popular imagination today, says James McGrath Morris, author of The Ambulance Drivers: Hemingway, Dos Passos, and a Friendship Made and Lost in War.

In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, Morris describes why Ernest Hemingway and John Dos Passos drove ambulances during the First World War rather than served as soldiers, how they became pals, and which of their books are worth reading today. He also describes the poltical journey of Dos Passos, who began life on the pacifist left and finished it as a contributor to National Review.

Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/ambulance-drives-hemingway-dos-passos-friendship-made-lost-war/.

Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.

Subscribe to The Bookmonger with John J. Miller in iTunes (and leave a 5-star review, please!), or by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in iTunes or by RSS feed.

Sponsored by Zip Recruiter

What does Herbert Hoover have to say to 21st-century conservatives? Quite a bit, according to George Nash, who has written an introduction to a new edition of American Individualism, first published almost a century ago.

In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, Nash describes how Hoover became a believer in American exceptionalism and why so many historians regard his presidency as a failure. Toward the end, Nash–who also wrote The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America–explains what Trumpism means for the conservative movement.

Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/american-individualism/.

Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.

Subscribe to The Bookmonger with John J. Miller in iTunes (and leave a 5-star review, please!), or by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in iTunes or by RSS feed.

Sponsored by Zip Recruiter

It sets us apart from animals, and it’s the subject of Roger Scruton‘s new book: On Human Nature.

In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, Scruton explains how his short volume differs from Edward O. Wilson’s influential book of the same name, whether human nature ever changes, and how science has the potential to dehumanize.

Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/on-human-nature/.

Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.

Sponsored by Zip Recruiter

How can orthodox Christians flourish in a hostile modern world? Rod Dreher proposes a way in The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation.

In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, Dreher pitches his idea, explains its inspiration, and insists that he doesn’t mean conservatives should flock to monasteries. He also tells us whether he still considers himself a “crunchy con”–the subject of his first book.

Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/the-benedict-option/.

Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.

Sponsored by Casper

Confronted by Russian aggression, Islamic terrorism, and rising nationalism, Europe is in an existential crisis, says James Kirchick, author of The End of Europe: Dictators, Demagogues, and the Coming Dark Age.

In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, Kirchick explains why Americans must care more about the continent’s fate as well as which threat worries him the most. Then he describes a worst-case scenario for the future of Europe.

Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/the-end-of-europe/.

Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.

Sponsored by Zip Recruiter

This big book of nearly 1,200 pages includes everything from Beowulf’s time–and that’s why they call it The Complete Old English Poems, translated by Craig Williamson and with an introduction by Tom Shippey.

In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, Shippey explains why this old literature is still worth reading and how it influenced J.R.R. Tolkien. He also discusses the Anglo-Saxon fondness for riddles and describes the paradox of how he became both a scholar of these aged works as well as the Wall Street Journal’s science-fiction book critic.

Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/complete-old-english-poems/.

Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.

Sponsored by Zip Recruiter

It’s time to rediscover Booker T. Washington, says Kenneth M. Hamilton, author of Booker T. Washington in American Memory.

In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, Hamilton explains why Washington was the most important and influential African American of his time, why so many people mourned his death, why his reputation recently has fallen on hard times–and how we may need his message now more than ever.

Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/booker-t-washington-american-memory/.

Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.

Sponsored by Patriot Mobile

How should Americans love their country? Steven F. Hayward offers answers in Patriotism Is Not Enough: Harry Jaffa, Walter Berns, and the Arguments that Redefined America.

In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, Hayward explains the important of Jaffa and Berns, describes why they clashed, and reveals how their disputes shaped the course of modern conservative thought. He also gives a refreshingly brief answer to a vexing question: What’s a Straussian?

Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/patriotism-not-enough-harry-jaffa-walter-berns-arguments-redefined-america/.

Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.

Sponsored by Zip Recruiter

American culture is like an open sewer, spewing waste and corrupting everything it touches, says Anthony Esolen, author of Out of the Ashes: Rebuilding American Culture.

In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, Esolen describes the decay of American civilization, why children should play outside more, and how we must recover a proper sense of manhood and womanhood. He ends on a hopeful note, offering advice on how to begin to recover what we’ve lost.

Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/ashes-rebuilding-american-culture/.

Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.

Sponsored by Zip Recruiter

What’s so bad about Common Core? Joy Pullmann explains in her new book, The Education Invasion: How Common Core Fights Parents for Control of American Kids.

In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, Pullmann explains why “accountability” and “standards” are so often meaningless buzzwords, how parents can tell if a school is good, and what the Trump administration should do to improve schooling.

Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/the-education-invasion/.

Podcast listeners: Now become a Ricochet member for only $2.50 month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/join/.