Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

Last week cohosts Cal Davenport and Seth Root of the In The Trenches podcast invited Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis on their show for some no holds barred discourse around the topic of whether David French’s recommendations for addressing the growing political divide in the country are sufficient, achievable, and ideal or fail to go far enough. Throughout the conversation Cal and Josh appeal to Burkean arguments while Seth holds his own defending a Straussian viewpoint. What are the solutions to the nation’s political divide? Are David French’s solutions too Frenchist? Is nationalist populism a viable alternative to Frenchism? Take a listen!

Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis participated in a panel discussion on the podcast Leading Questions with Calvin Moore to discuss the possible impact of a Biden presidency on the Republican and Democratic parties, the historic nature of Kamala Harris being the first female VP, and the future of American political discourse. This is a rebroadcast of that panel discussion. The panel also includes Leading Questions hosts Calvin, Kent, and Steve and guests Saeed Khan and Jennifer Moore.

Saving Elephants’ own Josh Lewis hosts an election night panel to discuss the incoming results of the race and what it may mean for the future of the country, Republican and Democratic parties, and conservative movement.

Meet the panelists:

Brooke Medina:

Brooke Medina is a homeschool mother of four and the Director of Communications at Civitas Institute where she manages Civitas’ outward facing platforms, oversees messaging strategy, and handles all press relationships. The North Carolina based Civitas Instituted is a nonprofit policy organization dedicated to removing barriers to freedom so that all North Carolinians can enjoy a better life. Brooke also co-hosts Civitas’ podcast Civitalk, which focuses on drawing connections between civics and culture.

Brooke is a graduate of Regent University, holding a B.A. in Government and a minor in English. She has also completed several programs with the Charles Koch Institute, including the Koch Leaders Program and Koch Communications Fellowship, focusing on the philosophical underpinnings of market-based management and classical liberalism. She also sits on the board of directors for ReCity Network, a Durham-based non-profit committed to empowering civil society in combating poverty-related problems. Brooke’s writings have been published in outlets such as The Hill, Entrepreneur, Washington Examiner, Daily Signal, FEE, and Intellectual Takeout.

But most importantly, Brooke’s hot takes, insights, and shenanigans on social media are worth following so be sure and check her out on Twitter @Brooke_Medina_

Justin Stapley:

A prolific writer and thoughtful tweeter, Justin began working on projects not at all dissimilar to Saving Elephant’s mission to fight for a restoration of political principles in the American political process shortly after the 2016 election. And during the past several years, Justin has launched multiple websites and written for many affiliate groups.

His flagship website is the apply named justinstapley.com which links to his various endeavors, including a contributing advocate and writer for the Federalist Coalition, an advocacy journalist at NOQ Report, an opinion columnist at Porter Medium, the founder and editor of The Liberty Hawk, and the Shooting Editor at Spencer Durrant Outdoors and will be a co-host for the up-and-coming Spencer Durrant Outdoors Podcast. Earlier this year Justin launched his own podcast called The New Centrist which features his original commentary and highlights of worthwhile speeches. In addition to politics, his writings include recreational shooting, hunting, fishing, and self-defense. His most current work includes the near-weakly newsletter Self-Evident.

Justin described himself as a “liberty-minded conservative and member of the Republican Party” whose “principles and beliefs are grounded in the idea of ordered liberty as expressed in the traditions of classical liberalism, federalism, and modern conservatism.” While much of that remains the same, he no longer feels he can be a card-caring member of the Republican party and hold to those values, as he explains at length in the episode.

You can find Justin on Twitter @JustinWStapley.

JB Shreve:

Veteran podcaster JB Shreve conducted a series of interviews of Christians of various political persuasions to ask about their expectations and recommendations in the upcoming 2020 election. JB had invited Josh to join as the “conservative” participant in the interviews. And Josh was happy to return the favor in having JB on the show to share his insights.

JB Shreve is the founder of The End of History, a blog and podcast for Christians dedicated to helping believers make sense of the chaos of the world around them. JB has been producing podcasts and articles since 2012.

After more than 200 podcast episodes, his listeners have come to expect well researched, fact-based backgrounders on a wide variety of topics to help them better understand the world around them. These backgrounders range from the history of the Middle East to the true story of economic inequality. Episodes and posts frequently expose myths and false paradigms we have come to believe. JB is adamant he is not pushing a political agenda. Rather, JB’s mission is to:

• Help believers in crafting their own response to world affairs and current events
• Provide a faith-based...

With everything else going on, it’s easy to forget 2020 is still a presidential election year. To help us navigate the coming election, Josh welcomes Sarah Isgur to talk about national elections, money in politics, how much gender and race is a factor in elections, and how much influence campaigns really have in determining the outcome of an election.

Sarah Isgur is a writer and podcast host at The Dispatch where she specializes in legal and political matters.

Sarah graduated from Harvard University with a degree in law. She has extensive experience in political campaigns, including working in both John Corbyn and Ted Cruz’s campaigns for U.S. Senate and Mitt Romney’s presidential race in 2012. In 2013 and 2014 she served as Deputy Communications Director to the Republican National Committee. In 2016 Sarah was Deputy Campaign Manager in Carly Fiorina’s presidential campaign. During Jeff Session’s stint as Attorney General she served as his Senior Counsel as well as Director of the Office of Public Affairs for the Department of Justice. Prior to joining The Dispatch, Sarah worked for CNN as a political editor.

You can follow Sarah on Twitter @whignewtons

Saving Elephants has got your summer reading list covered! In this episode Josh walks through classic, foundational books that every conservative should read, as well as some great books that speak to Millennials in particular. Ranging from pithy and digestible to massive, complex, and dry, Josh gives a brief outline of the book and shares why it’s important to understanding conservatism.

While summer is traditionally reserved for light reading, it can also be the perfect time of year to tear into something quite challenging. Reading hard books—if they’re good books—can sharpen our minds and develop our character. Even reading of people with strong character can develop our character. As Russell Kirk put it, “Reading of great lives does something to make decent lives.”

Here is the list of the books and authors referenced throughout the episode

Edmund Burke, British statesman and the “Father of Conservatism”:

Reflections on the Revolution in France

Russell Kirk, political theorist, moralist, historian, social critic, and literary critic:

The Conservative Mind

Concise Guide to Conservatism

Ten Conservative Principles

Barry Goldwater, Senator and 1964 Republican nominee for president:

Conscience of a Conservative

Roger Scruton, English philosopher:

How to be a Conservative

Irving Kristol, journalist and the “Godfather of Neoconservatism”:

Neo-Conservatism

Patrick Deneen, political theorist:

Why Liberalism Failed

Thomas Sowell, economist and social theorist:

Black Rednecks and White Liberals

A Conflict of Visions

Basic Economics

Jonah Goldberg, columnist, author, commentator, podcaster:

Suicide of the West

Timothy Carney, journalist and editor:

Alienated America

Ben Sasse, Senator:

Them

Joseph Sternberg, journalist:

The Thef...