Joseph Loconte on J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and the battle against the spirit of their age.

Author, educator, and filmmaker Joseph Loconte is the director of the Rivendell Center in New York City and serves as a presidential scholar at New College of Florida and as the C.S. Lewis Scholar for Public Life at Grove City College. He also serves as a senior fellow at Sagamore Institute and at the Trinity Forum. Loconte is the author of several books, including: the New York Times bestseller, "A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War: How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-1918" and "God, Locke, and Liberty: The Struggle for Religious Freedom in the West." His most recent book is "The War for Middle-earth: J.R.R. and C.S. Lewis Confront the Gathering Storm, 1933-1945" (HarperCollins 2025). Loconte’s commentary has appeared in both scholarly and popular journals, including: National Affairs, The New Criterion, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and National Review.

This lecture occurred on November 18, 2025 at UATX.

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UATX Professor of Religion and Philosophy J.J. Kimche on the Talmud and why it matters.

An Englishman by upbringing and an intellectual historian by training, J.J. Kimche's work explores the intersections of European philosophy, Jewish thought, and the evolving trajectory of religious ideas in the modern West.

Recorded: June 1, 2026 at UATX.

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This event was hosted by the Austin Union. UATX students founded the Austin Union to promote respectful debate and rigorous thinking.

Bryan Caplan is a Visiting Professor at UATX. He is a professor of economics and senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center, George Mason University. Caplan is also the bestselling author of Open Borders and The Myth of the Rational Voter.

Garett Jones is a professor of Economics and BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism at the Mercatus Center, George Mason University. He has written two books published by Stanford University Press: Hive Mind: How Your Nation’s IQ Matters So Much More Than Your Own, and 10% Less Democracy: Why You Should Trust Elites a Little More and the Masses a Little Less.

Coleman Hughes is a Visiting Professor at UATX. He is the host of the Conversations with Coleman podcast at The Free Press, and the author of the book, The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America.

This was recorded on May 29, 2026 at UATX.

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In this talk, Charles Fain Lehman—senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and senior editor of City Journal—explains why so much crime goes undetected, what it actually takes to restore public order, and why the “Karens” objecting to antisocial behavior are onto something.

Recorded: May 19, 2026 at UATX.

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Rep. Elise Stefanik on her new book, term limits, and whether she'd recommend Harvard to her son.

Congresswoman Stefanik has proudly represented New York’s 21st Congressional District for six terms and currently serves as Chairwoman of House Republican Leadership. At the time of her first election, Rep. Stefanik made history as the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. For over a decade, she has served on the House Armed Services Committee, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Committee on Education and the Workforce. She was featured on TIME's 100 List as one of the most influential leaders in the world and is frequently named on the Most Powerful Women in Washington List by Washingtonian magazine.

This discussion occurred at UATX on May 11, 2026.

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Rob Henderson on his life story, luxury beliefs, and why all family structures aren't created equal.

Rob Henderson is the bestselling author of Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class, which was recently optioned for a major motion picture. Henderson grew up in foster homes in Los Angeles and in the rural town of Red Bluff, California. Once described as “self-made” by The New York Times, he then served in the U.S. Air Force, obtained a B.S. in Psychology from Yale, and earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Cambridge, where he studied as a Gates Cambridge Scholar. Henderson is currently a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Boston Globe, among others, and his Substack newsletter is sent weekly to over 75 thousand subscribers.

This lecture was recorded on April 28, 2026 at UATX.

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Niall Ferguson in discussion with UATX undergraduates Emerson Lau, Faith Brown, and Merrick Meardon.

Sir Niall Ferguson is a co-founder of UATX. He is the Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and a senior faculty fellow of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard. Niall is the author of sixteen books, including Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe and Kissinger, 1923-1968: The Idealist, which won the Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Prize.

This discussion was recorded on April 26, 2026 at UATX.

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Watch Ben Shapiro’s keynote address at the University of Austin (UATX).

Featuring: Ben Shapiro, Niall Ferguson, Joe Lonsdale, and UATX President Carlos Carvalho. Includes live student Q&A.

Recorded: Sunday, April 26.

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Judge Roy K. Altman on his new book, "Israel on Trial: Examining the History, the Evidence, and the Law."

On April 4, 2019, Judge Altman was confirmed to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. At 36, he became the youngest federal district court judge in the country—and the youngest federal judge ever appointed in the Southern District of Florida.

Judge Altman received a BA from Columbia University, where he played quarterback on the football team and pitched for the baseball team—earning All-Ivy honors. He received his JD from the Yale Law School, where he was projects editor of the Yale Law Journal. After law school, the Judge clerked on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals for the Honorable Stanley Marcus. He then became a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami, where he twice received the Director of the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys’ Award for Superior Performance by a federal prosecutor. In 2013, Judge Altman was named “Federal Prosecutor of the Year” by the Miami Dade Chiefs of Police and the Law Enforcement Officers’ Charitable Foundation.

Recorded April 14, 2026 at UATX.

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Jim Meigs on monkeys, Nietzsche, and populism.

Jim Meigs is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a columnist for The Wall Street Journal’s Free Expression newsletter. He spent ten years as editor-in-chief of Popular Mechanics, then the country’s largest-circulation science and technology magazine. His work has appeared in the New York Post, Commentary, City Journal, and Slate, among others.

This lecture occurred on April 7, 2026 at the University of Austin (UATX).

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