Whether it’s foreign-policy hawks on the right, cultural conservatives on the left, or fiscal conservatives anywhere, the reductive binary of today’s electoral options can be deeply frustrating for intraparty minority groups. Considering how various 19th-century movements combined to form the Republican Party offers some paths out of that frustration.

Guest Jennifer Dresden joins us to discuss the forgotten history of fusion voting and how it might serve disaffected voters today.

Jennifer Dresden is a policy strategist at Protect Democracy, a non-profit and non-partisan group dedicated to promoting “free and fair elections, the rule of law, fact-based debate, and a better democracy for future generations.” 

This podcast discusses themes from Jennifer’s essay in the Spring 2025 issue of National Affairs, “Strategic Fusion and the GOP.”

The left in America has long accused the right of advancing minority rule and rejecting the principles of democracy. Though there is some truth to that charge, it applies as much to the left itself as it does to the right. A closer look at housing and infrastructure regulations, public-employee unions, professional licensing, and the governance of higher education suggests that “minoritarianism” pervades our politics.

Guest Steve Teles joins us to discuss the bipartisan penchant for minority rule and how lawmakers might restore a more majoritarian, democratic politics.

Steve Teles is a professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University and a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center. He’s the author of several books about topics such as economic inequality, welfare, and the conservative legal movement.

This podcast discusses themes from Steve’s essay in the Spring 2025 issue of National Affairs, “Minoritarianism Is Everywhere.”

Books and Essays Mentioned:

-Neighborhood Defenders: Participatory Politics and America’s Housing Crisis

-Special Interest: Teachers Unions and America’s Public Schools

-“The Strength of a Weak State: The Rights Revolution and the Rise of Human Resources Management Divisions”

-“Professionalization 2.0: The Case for Plural Professionalization in Education”

-“Beyond Academic Sectarianism”

-In Covid’s Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us

-“The Rise of the Abundance Faction”

-“The Future Is Faction”

Technology is a force for change in the world, both positive and negative. Its ability to rapidly transform our way of life poses an inherent challenge to families. If conservatives wish to restore the family as the foundation of our civilizational order, they must develop a comprehensive theory of technological change. Without it, new technologies will continue to heap disaster on the American family. But if properly guided, technological innovation can help uplift the family and usher it into a new era of flourishing.

Guest Jon Askonas joins us to discuss what a new conservative technology agenda might look like.

Jon Askonas is assistant professor of politics at the Catholic University of America and a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation.

This podcast discusses themes from Jon’s essay in the Winter 2025 issue of National Affairs, “Technology for the American Family.”

For more on this subject, see “A Future for the Family: A New Technology Agenda for the Right” in First Things, as well as “Stop Hacking Humans” in The New Atlantis. Additionally, AEI will host an event on Monday, February 24, 2025 at 11:10 a.m. titled “Dignity and Dynamism: The Future of Conservative Technology Policy.”

At first glance, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Russell Kirk do not have all that much in common. Yet it is striking that King and Kirk converged on certain first principles that rightfully mark King himself as part of a broader tradition of philosophical conservatism in America — one from which today’s left and right could both stand to learn.

Guest John Wood, Jr., joins us to discuss how both King and Kirk’s philosophical conservatism transcended ideology.  

John Wood, Jr., is national ambassador for Braver Angels, a columnist for USA Today, and a former Republican nominee for Congress.

This podcast discusses themes from John’s essay in the Fall 2024 issue of National Affairs, “Martin Luther King’s Transcendent Conservatism.”

Democracy is a central feature of Democrats’ 2024 electoral campaign. The party has worked to present its proposals on that front as designed to reject Donald Trump’s authoritarian narcissism and make government more responsive and accountable. But what the Democrats have in mind when they refer to “democracy” is a lengthy manifesto designed to transform American life should they take real control of the policy process. Guest Andy Taylor joins us to discuss the history of the modern Democratic Party, and why Democrats are now blurring the line between “saving” democracy and implementing their own policy goals.

Andrew J. Taylor is professor of political science at North Carolina State University.

This podcast discusses themes from Andy’s essay in the Fall 2024 issue of National Affairs, “The Democrats and Democracy.”

In a disturbing development, assisted suicide and euthanasia have become more prevalent across the West in recent decades. Government and health authorities are encouraging voluntary death, even for patients who do not suffer from a terminal illness but are afflicted by disabilities, poverty, or loneliness. Guest Aaron Rothstein joins us to discuss the radical assumptions about life, death, and human nature that underlie the practice of euthanasia. He also advocates a more humane approach to helping the dying and thinking about death.

Dr. Aaron Rothstein is a neurologist and a fellow in bioethics and American democracy at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He also hosts the podcast Searching for Medicine’s Soul.

This podcast discusses themes from Aaron’s essay in the Fall 2024 issue of National Affairs, “Origins of the Modern Euthanasia Movement.”

The chaos at the border in recent years has cast into stark relief one of the central issues surrounding illegal immigration: its fiscal costs. Unfortunately, most discussions on the subject tend to be filled with misconceptions, half-truths, and even outright falsehoods. The evidence indicates that illegal immigrants are almost certainly a net drain on our public fisc — but not for the reasons many activists put forth. Guest Steven Camarota joins us to discuss the current economic and fiscal realities of immigration, and how our policies might better reflect them.

Steven A. Camarota is the director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies.

This podcast discusses themes from Steven’s essay in the Summer 2024 issue of National Affairs, “The Cost of Illegal Immigration.”

Politics requires building coalitions in order to win elections. For those on the right, this means there is no alternative but to pursue some kind of fusionism among its competing elements. A revitalized fusionism would not look quite like the right’s prior successful coalitions, however: It would need to account for 21st-century realities, which means it will need to put family policy at the forefront of its agenda. Guest John Shelton joins us to discuss how conservatives might unite around pro-family rulemaking.

John Shelton is the policy director for Advancing American Freedom, an advocacy organization founded by former vice president Mike Pence. 

This podcast discusses themes from John’s essay in the Summer 2024 issue of National Affairs, “A Family-focused Fusionism.”

The emergence of generative artificial intelligence in the last few years has drawn a growing chorus of advocates offering proposals for how to regulate this new technology. Many of them want to treat AI as an entirely new kind of challenge that calls for entirely new regulatory tools. But starting from scratch is unlikely to lead us to effective regulation. Instead, regulators should begin from our existing tools and take the time to see what new modes of regulation might be needed.

Guest Dean Ball joins us to discuss how to strike a balance between hopeful optimism and candid recognition of the stark challenges posed by AI.

Dean Ball is a research fellow at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center, where he focuses on AI. He also writes a Substack called Hyperdimensional. 

This podcast discusses themes from Dean’s essay in the Spring 2024 issue of National Affairs, “How to Regulate Artificial Intelligence.”

The textbooks most commonly used in high-school history classes are badly deficient. These books, which shape the rising generation’s perception of the country they are inheriting, often leave out the core ideas that defined the American founding and the nation’s ideals. To recover America’s sense of itself, it’s crucial to teach high-school students the connection between ideas and events.

Guest Dan Currell joins us to discuss the erasure of the founding from high-school history and how we might restore it.

Dan Currell is CEO of the Digital Commerce Alliance and a senior fellow at the National Security Institute at George Mason University’s Scalia Law School. He has served as a senior advisor at the Department of Education and as a fellow in the office of former senator Ben Sasse.

This podcast discusses themes from Dan’s essay in the Winter 2024 issue of National Affairs, “The Invisible American Founding.”