James Wilson Institute Podcast

Join us for a special edition of the Anchoring Truths Podcast at the movies as we unpack the classic legal drama 12 Angry Men with film expert Onalee McGraw. Dr. McGraw is the director of the Educational Guidance Institute. 

Join us for a lively hour discussing conflicts in state constitutional law with Judge Jeff Sutton of the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Topics also include judicial review, administrative law, and why lawyers do not sue in state court as often as federal court. Judge Sutton is the author of a new book, "Who Decides?: States as Laboratories of Constitutional Experimentation," available from Oxford University Press. 

In this special episode, Garrett speaks with JWI Scholar David Forte and AEI Fellow Adam White about the history of fetal heartbeat legislation, the new Texas Heartbeat Law, and its unique enforcement mechanism allowing a private right of action for any citizen to bring suit.

Join Garrett Snedeker and Seth Root as they interview Judge Robert Conrad of the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. They discuss his new book, John Fisher and Thomas More: Keeping Their Souls While Losing Their Heads, and how the faith and integrity of these two men carried them through challenges and social upheaval.

Michael Knowles, author of the new book "Speechless: Controlling Words, Controlling Minds," joins the Anchoring Truths Podcast to discuss how conservatives should not expect to win the culture war by abandoning all standards, how critical theory made its “long march through the institutions,” and the need for conservatives to adopt a view of free speech that is consonant with a coherent conservative worldview.

And now for something different: a peek behind the curtain. For a special edition of our podcast, JWI Deputy Director Garrett Snedeker convened Summer Interns Tom Sarrouf and Sean Tehan for a discussion of their experience with us. Topics included how they grappled with JWI's unique approach to law, their views on how JWI adds to their own understanding of jurisprudence, learning new skills such as podcasting, and becoming accustomed to juggling independent and team-based responsibilities. 

Glenn Ellmers, author of "The Soul of Politics: Harry V. Jaffa and the Fight for America," joins the Anchoring Truths Podcast to discuss the singular contributions of Jaffa to our understanding of the moral ground of the American regime. Topics include how Jaffa and JWI Founder Hadley Arkes overlap in their views on morality and law, the fight over conservatism in America since World War II, and Jaffa's recasting of Lincoln as the securer of the Founding.

Dr. Charles Murray, Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, joins the podcast to discuss his new book "Facing Reality: Two Truths About Race in America." Author of "The Bell Curve" and "Coming Apart," Murray shares insights into his book, which he believes is a timely reminder that the timeless moral principle of "all men are created equal" need not mandate equal outcomes for all racial groupings. 

Newsweek opinion editor Josh Hammer joins the JWI Podcast again to discuss his influential new Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy piece, "Common Good Originalism." Topics include the history of the conservative legal movement, the influence of the Constitution's preamble on interpretation, and how a determination of the common good in constitutional interpretation draws both textual and philosophic support.

We talk about Breidenbach's new book, Our Dear Bought Liberty, and how early American Catholics justified secularism and overcame suspicions of disloyalty during the time of the Founding while also transforming ideas of religious liberty in the process. We also discuss whether the religious character of the colonies and early states exemplified mini-integralist republics.

Prof. Jesse Merriam of Patrick Henry College joins returning podcast guest Josh Hammer of Newsweek to discuss Merriam's critique of Hammer's co-authored piece "A Better Originalism" with fellow author and podcast host Garrett Snedeker.

Author and New York Post opinion editor Sohrab Ahmari joins JWI for a two-part discussion of his new book, "The Unbroken Thread: Discovering the Wisdom of Tradition in an Age of Chaos." In Part 2, we continue our discussion of how tradition informs understandings of filial piety and the Sexual Revolution, while also hearing about how Ahmari reconciles modernity's avoidance of death against traditional acceptance of frailty as part of the human condition. 

Author and New York Post opinion editor Sohrab Ahmari joins JWI for a two-part discussion of his new book, "The Unbroken Thread: Discovering the Wisdom of Tradition in an Age of Chaos." In Part I, we discuss Ahmari's inspiration for writing the book, the failings of modernity to provide mass satisfaction in the West, traditional religious communities, filial piety, and the Sexual Revolution.

Stephen Soukup, author and publisher of The Political Forum, joins JWI Deputy Director Garrett Snedeker and intern Peter Spence to discuss his new book, "The Dictatorship of Woke Capital". Soukup's book examines the methodical takeover by the left of big business and finance over the last decade and the danger that this poses to our nation. Snedeker, Spence, and Soukup discuss different issues brought up in the book and look at the solutions that Soukup proposes.

Author and Professor Scott Yenor joins JWI Deputy Director Garrett Snedeker and intern Peter Spence to discuss his new book, "The Recovery of Family Life". Professor Yenor's book explores the problems that the institution of the family is facing in modern society, the causes of these problems, and concrete solutions that we can implement to ensure the stability of marriage and the family going forward. Snedeker, Spence, and Yenor examine different issues discussed in the book and the policy solutions that Yenor suggests. 

Author and Professor Greg Collins joined JWI Deputy Director Garrett Snedeker and intern Chance Cook to discuss his new book, “Commerce and Manners in Edmund Burke’s Political Economy”. Collins’s book explores the intersection of Edmund Burke’s economic thought and views on natural law in light of newly discovered manuscripts and data. Prof. Collins gives a clear picture of Burke’s views on revenue, taxes, trade, and other economic issues. Snedeker, Cook, and Collins discuss different aspects of the book, and why it is important to study Burke’s philosophy.

Prof. Lucas Morel, distinguished Lincoln scholar at Washington and Lee University, discusses the 1619 Project and its challenge to the American Founding with Garrett Snedeker, JWI Deputy Director, and Jovan Tripkovic, JWI Intern.

Ilya Shapiro joins Garrett Snedeker and Spencer Reeves to discuss his book, "Supreme Disorder: Judicial Nominations and the Politics of America's Highest Court," which concerns the partisan battles over Supreme Court nominations that have become a focal point of judicial politics in the past few decades. He discusses the history of partisan Supreme Court nominations, the role of game theory, and some possible Supreme Court reforms that can finally end the partisan battles. 

Robert Reilly walks us through his book, America on Trial, which pushes back on recent theorists who have argued that the American founding brought with it the "Poison Pill" of modern liberalism. He goes through in detail, the traditions of thought that lead to the  American founding, arguing that it has its roots in Natural Law and the medieval constitutional tradition. 

Author Abigail Shrier on transgenderism and its growth among American female teens