Harvey Mansfield: Liberal Democracy as a Mixed Regime
What is liberal democracy? What parts of human nature does liberal democracy rely on and try to cultivate? How can Aristotle help us understand America? In this thought-provoking and challenging Conve...
2 Maj 202055min
Chester Finn: Education Reform in America
What reforms would most benefit American education? What are the obstacles to putting them in place? What changes to the education sector should we anticipate in the coming years? In this Conversation...
18 Apr 20201h 13min
Arthur Melzer: The Lost History of Esoteric Writing
According to the standards of today, all philosophic and political writing is expected to be clear and unambiguous. Writers are told to be absolutely open about their suppositions and opinions—to lay ...
4 Apr 20201h 25min
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 Mars 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 Mars 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
