James Ceaser: How We Select Presidential Candidates, Then and Now
Is the current system of presidential selection—primary and caucus voting—working well? How did the framers of the Constitution think about presidential selection? How did presidential selection work ...
21 Mar 202057min
Paul Cantor on The Western
What was the Old West? How did Westerns emerge as a quintessential American art form? What are the greatest Westerns and what accounts for their enduring appeal—in America and around the world? In thi...
7 Mar 20201h 30min
Harvey Mansfield on Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws
Though not read nearly as much as it should be, Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws (1748) is a fundamental text in the history of political philosophy. Featuring key presentations of themes includin...
22 Feb 20201h 12min
Diana Schaub on Frederick Douglass
In this Conversation, first released in 2018, Professor Diana Schaub considers the life and ideas of the statesman and political thinker Frederick Douglass (c. 1818 – 1885). Schaub reflects on Douglas...
15 Feb 202059min
Jonathan V. Last: The Demographic Baby Bust and its Consequences
The birthrate in the United States, and in many other countries around the world, has been declining for decades. The US birthrate now is at 1.8, which is below the need for a stable population—the re...
8 Feb 20201h 11min
Stan Veuger on Europe Today: Politics, Economics, and the Future of the EU
What is the political and economic situation in Europe today? How should we think about contentious issues like stresses in the European Union, Brexit, the migration crisis, and the rise of populist p...
25 Jan 20201h 7min
N. Gregory Mankiw: On the Economic Ideas of the Left and Right Today
How is the US economy performing today? How should we think about the turn against free markets by prominent figures of the Left and the Right? What economic policies might spur innovation and growth ...
11 Jan 20201h 9min
Jack Goldsmith: On Jimmy Hoffa, labor unions, and the rise and fall of the mob
Jack Goldsmith is a professor of law at Harvard, an expert on national security, terrorism, and cybersecurity—and a regular guest on Conversations. As he reveals in a fascinating new book, In Hoffa’s ...
1 Jan 202058min
