Join Aaron Renn as he sits down with policy wonk Robert Ordway to explore the vibrant and complex world of America's multiracial working class. Growing up in the steel town of Lake Station, Indiana, Ordway shares his journey from a blue-collar upbringing to working in the halls of power, offering unique insights into the values, challenges, and political shifts of working-class communities. From his roots in a Southern migrant family to his affiliations with both the NAACP and NRA, Robert’s stor...
Jun 30, 2025•1 hr
Join Aaron Renn as he dives into the alarming global fertility crisis with Daniel Hess, the voice behind the More Births X account and Substack. In this eye-opening podcast, they uncover the shocking decline in birth rates worldwide, its devastating implications for economies and societies, and what we can do to reverse this trend. From South Korea’s record-low fertility to the power of suburbs and pro-natal beliefs, this discussion is a wake-up call for anyone concerned about the future of huma...
Jun 23, 2025•1 hr 7 min
Why did religion become obsolete? Dr. Christian Smith, a renowned sociologist from the University of Notre Dame and author of the new book Why Religion Went Obsolete, joins us to explore the cultural shifts that have led to the decline of traditional religion in America since the 1990s. From the impact of neoliberal capitalism and postmodernism to the rise of the internet and changing family structures, Dr. Smith unpacks the complex forces reshaping faith. We also discuss the rise of alternative...
Jun 16, 2025•53 min
A fascinating discussion with Ian Fletcher, co-author of the comprehensive new book Industrial Policy for the United States (Cambridge University Press). In this episode, Ian unpacks the critical role of industrial policy in shaping America’s economic future, challenging the myths of free trade, and exploring how the U.S. can protect and grow its advantageous industries. From historical successes like the Morrill Act to modern challenges like China’s rise and the overvalued dollar, this conversa...
Jun 09, 2025•56 min
Join Aaron Renn as he sits down with Philip Howard, founder of Common Good, to discuss the crippling bureaucratic red tape stifling America’s ability to build and innovate. In this eye-opening episode, Howard delves into his Manhattan Institute paper, Escape from Quicksand: A New Framework for Modernizing America , revealing how a compliance-driven system has paralyzed infrastructure projects—like the $42.5 billion broadband initiative with zero results after four years. From the New Deal’s rapi...
Jun 02, 2025•38 min
Join host Aaron Renn as he sits down with Elizabeth Landis, author of The Forgotten Realm: Civics for American Christians, to explore why Christians need to engage more deeply in the civil realm. From local government to federalism, Elizabeth shares her journey from a concerned citizen to a passionate advocate for civic involvement, offering practical insights and biblical wisdom for Christians navigating governance. Discover how to move beyond voting, build relationships across political divide...
May 19, 2025•33 min
This fascinating conversation with writer Sheluyang Peng explores the profound influence of Friedrich Nietzsche on American thought. From Emerson’s impact on him to the way his philosophy found similarities with American pragmatism to his role in shaping modern political and cultural landscapes, this episode uncovers Nietzsche’s surprising connections to American philosophy, theology, and even infamous historical events like the Leopold and Loeb case. Yang shares insights into how Nietzsche’s id...
May 12, 2025•32 min
Join Aaron Renn as he sits down with Geoffrey Kabaservice, Vice President of Political Studies at the Niskanen Center and author of Rule and Ruin: The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party, From Eisenhower to the Tea Party. In this compelling episode, they dive into the decline of moderate Republicanism, tracing the transformation of the GOP from the era of Dwight Eisenhower to the rise of Ronald Reagan, the Tea Party, and beyond. Why did moderate Republicans fade fr...
May 05, 2025•1 hr 6 min
In this eye-opening episode, Aaron Renn sits down with Saagar Enjeti, co-host of Breaking Points and The Realignment, to dive deep into the explosive rise of sports betting in America. Following the 2018 Supreme Court decision that opened the floodgates, sports gambling has become a predatory industry, hooking millions with sophisticated algorithms, addictive apps, and aggressive marketing. Saagar breaks down the public policy failures, the devastating impact on problem gamblers, and the complic...
Apr 28, 2025•39 min
Join me for this exclusive conversation with former Vice President Mike Pence, as we dive deep into faith, marriage, and navigating life in the public square. In this heartfelt episode, Pence shares his journey to Christianity, the secrets behind his 40-year marriage to Karen Pence, and the truth about the controversial "Mike Pence Rule." He also offers inspiring advice for those hesitant to enter public life, emphasizing how character and faith can thrive in today’s challenging political landsc...
Apr 21, 2025•30 min
Why can't America build like it used to? What happened to our mojo? In this eye-opening episode, special guest Tanner Greer dives deep into the cultural and institutional decline that’s left America struggling to get things done. From building the Empire State Building in a year to endless delays today, we explore what’s gone wrong—comparing the decisive Spanish Flu response of 1918 to the chaos of COVID-19—and uncover solutions from high-agency groups like the U.S. Marine Corps, LDS Church, and...
Apr 14, 2025•1 hr 18 min
Join Aaron as he sits down with William Wolfe, Executive Director of the Center for Baptist Leadership (CBL), to discuss the future of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the fight against liberal drift in the church, and the intersection of faith and politics. From grassroots reform to meeting President Trump in the Oval Office, William shares CBL’s mission to revitalize Baptist identity and equip a new generation of leaders. 🌐 Center for Baptist Leadership: https://centerforbaptistleadersh...
Apr 07, 2025•37 min
In this episode of Aaron Renn's series on religious minorities in America, he speaks with Josh Hammer, senior editor-at-large at Newsweek Magazine and author of the book Israel and Civilization . Josh shares his personal journey from an assimilated Jewish upbringing to becoming fully observant, discusses the challenges of practicing Judaism in modern America, and offers insights on Jewish-Christian relations, contemporary anti-Semitism, and Israel's role in American foreign policy. Note: My audi...
Mar 31, 2025•58 min
In this first episode in a new series exploring the religious minority experience in America, I sit down with author, educator, and entrepreneur Haroon Mogul to discuss his experiences as a Muslim in the United States. Born to Pakistani immigrant parents in Connecticut and raised in New England, Haroon offers unique insights into navigating dual identities, building community across ethnic lines, and finding his place in a country where Muslims remain a small but diverse minority. From childhood...
Mar 24, 2025•47 min
Join host Aaron as he interviews Christopher Schlect, Senior Fellow of History and Director of the Classical and Christian Studies Program at New St. Andrews College. They discuss Schlect's fascinating doctoral dissertation "Onward Christian Administrators," which explores how business management practices transformed American Protestant churches in the early 20th century. Discover how this administrative revolution influenced church architecture, theological controversies, and even women's ordi...
Mar 17, 2025•37 min
In this thought-provoking conversation, wealth manager and author David Bahnsen challenges conventional wisdom about work, retirement, and purpose. Managing $7.1 billion in assets hasn't stopped Bahnsen from questioning our culture's assumptions about work as something to escape from. His book "Full-Time: Work in the Meaning of Life" presents a radical rethinking of vocation as central to human flourishing. Bahnsen argues that our focus on consumption over production and our eagerness to retire ...
Mar 10, 2025•40 min
Tony Carnes, sociologist, journalist, and founder of "A Journey Through NYC Religions," joins us to explore how New York City has transformed from a secular metropolis into what he calls "America's first post-secular city." Tony shares fascinating stories from his project documenting every religious site in New York City, revealing the vibrant religious communities that thrive in neighborhoods across all five boroughs. From Hasidic synagogues in Brooklyn to storefront churches in the Bronx, disc...
Mar 03, 2025•1 hr 10 min
Join Aaron as he welcomes back Brad Littlejohn, author of "Called to Freedom: Retrieving Christian Liberty in an Age of License" and fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. In this thought-provoking conversation, they explore the true meaning of freedom from a Christian perspective and how it contrasts with modern society's understanding of liberty as unlimited choice. Brad unpacks how technology, despite promising greater freedom, often leads to new forms of enslavement, and explains why...
Feb 24, 2025•35 min
In this wide-ranging conversation, writer and editor Titus Techera explores how media has evolved from America's founding to today's social media landscape. We discuss how different forms of media - from Revolutionary War pamphlets to modern podcasts - have shaped American democracy and character. Techera breaks down how technological changes have repeatedly disrupted elite institutional control, and why legacy media's attempts to maintain power in the digital age keep backfiring. We explore the...
Feb 17, 2025•53 min
NYT columnist Ross Douthat joins me to discuss his new book Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious . We explore why skeptics and non-believers should consider religious faith, examining evidence from science, philosophy, and human experience. Douthat makes the case that religious belief is not only reasonable but arguably obligatory for thinking people in our age. Buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/Believe-Why-Everyone-Should-Religious-ebook/dp/B0D8VNGWKL/?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=theurb...
Feb 10, 2025•58 min
Princeton Classics PhD Alex Petkas argues against the "Great Books" model of classical education and makes the case for returning to traditional classical training focused on Greek and Latin languages. He explains why Plutarch's Lives was one of early America's most influential books and why it deserves renewed attention today. Alex Petkas is host of the Cost of Glory podcast, exploring great thinkers and events in classical civilization. Alex Petka's article in the American Mind: “Great Books” ...
Feb 03, 2025•42 min
In this episode, Ruy Teixeira, one of America's leading political analysts, discusses the dramatic realignment of American political coalitions and what it means for the future. A longtime Democratic insider and co-author of The Emerging Democratic Majority , Teixeira explains his journey from progressive think tanks to the American Enterprise Institute, unpacks the Democrats' struggles with working-class voters, and offers a three-point plan for rebuilding the Democratic coalition. The Liberal ...
Jan 27, 2025•46 min
P. Jesse Rine, director of the Center for Academic Faithfulness and Flourishing (CAFF), joins us to talk about the state of Christian higher education. He will also showcase CAFF's new online Christian college guide, which is the most comprehensive collection of information about Christian colleges available. Note: This podcast may be best on Youtube because it involves a demonstration of a web site with beta data: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGoVYk06TwI Christian College Guide: https://www....
Jan 20, 2025•50 min
In this episode, a deep dive with Matthew Continetti on his book The Right: The Hundred Year War for American Conservatism . We explore how American conservatism developed, from its birth in in the 1920s and opposition to FDR's New Deal through today's populist resurgence. Continetti explains why conservative populism keeps returning, how elites lost their grip on the right, and what the future might hold for American conservatism. Matthew Continetti is the Director of Domestic Policy Studies an...
Jan 13, 2025•52 min
In this episode, Tim Chapman discusses how traditional conservatives are engaging with the Trump administration. He's the president of Advancing American Freedom, an advocacy group set up by former Vice President Mike Pence. We discuss: What traditional conservatism is and what it's future is in the age of populism and Trumpism What Advancing American Freedom does Engaging with the Trump administration: supporting China tariffs and a Tik Tok ban, tax cuts, deregulation Why AAF opposes RFK, Jr.'s...
Jan 06, 2025•26 min
In this episode, sociologist Musa al-Gharbi discusses his book We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite . How should we understand the "woke" phenomenon? Where did it come from? Why do elite whites claim to be marginalized, while showing little care for genuinely marginalized people around them like the service workers they rely on? Article referred to in the podcast about China interfering to elect Bill Clinton president in the 1990s: https://musaalgharbi.com/2018/03/...
Dec 23, 2024•48 min
Jon Askonas is a professor of politics at Catholic University. He wrote an interesting piece for Comment magazine on how Americans went from seeing technology as a source of progress to viewing it as leading us to an apocalypse. He joins us to discuss: How and why did this shift take place? Why are we so anxious? How should we live in this age of anxiety? Read "Building a Future in the Face of the Apocalypse": https://comment.org/building-a-future-in-the-face-of-the-apocalypse/ Subscribe to my n...
Dec 16, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Academia is almost entirely dominated by the left. Robert George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton, has thrived in it as a strong Catholic. But is it possible for conservatives and Christians to follow the same path today? What are the signs of optimism both for conservatives in academia, but also for a healthier climate for academia itself? George joins me to discuss these topics and what's he's personally been doing to push academia in a healthier direction. Subscribe to my ne...
Dec 09, 2024•47 min
Ryan Williams is the president of the Claremont Institute. Claremont is the institutional base of West Coast Straussianism, and has long been known for its fellowship programs and quarterly journal The Claremont Review of Books. It has attracted controversy in the Trump era for its willingness to engage with dissident ideas. It published the mega-viral "The Flight 93 Election Essay" and also the first mainstream review of the book Bronze Age Mindset. Williams joins me to talk about Claremont and...
Dec 03, 2024•53 min
Despite major progress in civil rights, black economic uplift, and even electing a black President, the question of race continues to be an ongoing major issue in the United States. There are continuing significant racial disparities between races. A black underclass still remains in America. And political and cultural debates around race continue to be major flashpoints. This includes within the evangelical church, where debates over race have become very intense. Joining me to discuss the ongo...
Nov 25, 2024•46 min
