The Hauenstein Center Collection

In this episode, EJ Dionne Jr., a columnist at the Washington Post, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and frequent commentator at NPR, MSNBC, and PBS, talks about his most recent book, Why the Right Went Wrong.

In his book, EJ tracks the fracture of the Republican Party from the Goldwater Movement in the early 60s all the way up to Donald Trump. In our conversation, EJ outlines that fracture and emphasizes the significance of Trump’s revolt on the right. We discussed the Trumpification of the Right, the past and future of American conservatism, and what Burkean or moderate conservatives such as David Brooks or Michael Gerson should do in the face of a Trump takeover. This interview was recorded on May 17, 2016.

In this episode, we hear a May 19, 2016 interview with Daniel McCarthy, editor of The American Conservative.

In 2002, a small group of writers and politicians on the right, including Reagan’s former senior advisor Pat Buchanan, founded a magazine called The American Conservative. Established in opposition to the Iraq War, the magazine would feature the writing of traditionalist or paleoconservatives: that is, thinkers on the right who, unlike the so-called conservative establishment, generally detest military adventurism abroad and think that American culture has sadly neglected its roots in the cultural and religious tradition of the West.

Though not as widely circulated as mainstream conservative publications such as National Review, The American Conservative has a loyal following on the right, and is known, in the words of conservative commentator Reihan Salam, “as a sharp critic of the conservative mainstream.” In this interview, Dan McCarthy describes his magazine’s role as a critic of the mainstream right, as well as what he thinks of the current fracture of the Republican Party.

Common Ground, the podcast of the Hauenstein Center, explores the cultural and political landscape shared by the left and right. Every other week, Joseph Hogan, the podcast’s host, talks with public intellectuals, political leaders, scholars, critics, and writers-at-large about American life, ideas, and identities. Soon to be published, Common Ground can be found on iTunes by searching for “Common Ground Initiative.”

Common Ground, the podcast of the Hauenstein Center, explores the cultural and political landscape shared by the left and right. Every other week, Joseph Hogan, the podcast’s host, talks with public intellectuals, political leaders, scholars, critics, and writers-at-large about American life, ideas, and identities. Soon to be published, Common Ground can be found on iTunes by searching for “Common Ground Initiative.”