James Wilson Institute Podcast

Join Judge Amul Thapar and the Anchoring Truths Podcast team for a deep dive into Judge Thapar's new book on Justice Clarence Thomas, "The People's Justice." The book delves into some of Justice Thomas's opinions that tell the fascinating stories of the litigants behind the cases.

Prof. John Yoo of California's Berkeley Law School joins the pod for a light-hearted and spirited discussion of his new, co-authored book "The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Supreme Court" as well as the recent decisions of the Supreme Court in its OT 2022 term. (0:01:24) Why write the book? (0:04:17) Books you aren’t supposed to read (0:08:03) Brown v. Board and the Harvard Admissions case (0:13:25) Lochner Era and “freedom of contract” (0:24:06) Commerce Clause, future litigation on economic rights, administrative agencies (0:32:23) Contrasts between legal positivism and natural law (0:38:09) Counterfactual possibilities, what drives progressive jurisprudence vs. originalism (0:46:40) Dobbs leak (0:56:05) Closing segment, defining legacy of the Roberts court

James Rosen, author of Scalia: Rise to Greatness, and Chief White House Correspondent for Newsmax, joins host Garrett Snedeker for an insider's look at Antonin Scalia's life before he became Justice Scalia. Their discussion touches on Scalia's upbringing in New York, his early positions in the Nixon and Ford White Houses, his tenure as a law professor, and those early years as a judge on the D.C. Circuit.

Prof. Mark David Hall, JWI Affiliated Scholar and Professor at George Fox University, joins host Garrett Snedeker for a discussion of Mark's new book Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land: How Christianity Has Advanced Freedom and Equality for All Americans. The two discuss the vital place of religious liberty in American culture, both historically and at present. They delve especially deeply into the highly problematic slogan "separation of church and state" as well as contemporary flashpoints in the courts over religious liberty.

Mary Harrington, author of Feminism Against Progress, joins host Garrett Snedeker for a discussion of her fascinating new book. Harrington, a British writer, argues that “Progress” no longer benefits the majority of women, and only a feminism that is skeptical of it can truly defend their interests in the twenty-first century. She explains how modern feminism claims to advance “equality” and “freedom” but instead results in sexual dimorphism itself. This shift may benefit the elites, but it only makes it easier to commodify women’s bodies, human intimacy, and female reproductive abilities by stripping women of the exact things that make them uniquely women. Harrington, a self-described “reactionary feminist,” is a contributing weekly editor at UnHerd. She was born in the United Kingdom and graduated from Oxford University in 2002. Her work quickly drew attention from the UK’s Unherd, and she has since appeared in First Things, American Affairs, the New York Post, The Spectator, the New Statesman, The Times of

Rep. Keith Rothfus joins the AT Podcast for a discussion of the Lincolnian position, particularly on abortion, and why it needs to be restored in our political and legal discourse. We also chat about his terms in Congress and what reforms he advocates for a better functioning U.S. House.

Jon Schweppe of American Principles Project and Garrett Snedeker sit down to discuss the confusion in the pro-life movement among conservative politicians, particularly at the Federal level. While some have taken up the standard of national restrictions on abortion, others have taken the line simply that the Dobbs decision returned the choice to the States and the Federal government has no further business in abortion. Jon Schweppe warns that without a coherent strategy and message, the pro-life movement may be set back years by this confusion. Jon Schweppe's Twitter Jon Schweppe's Substack

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning have reentered our public discourse due to some fascinating new applications, yet AI’s role in these areas has also made many question the moral place of AI and its implications on our culture beyond these applications. We’ll be discussing these topics and more with one of the foremost experts on AI and tech regulation, Adam Thierer.

Garrett Snedeker sits down with Mark Bauerlein to discuss the New College of Florida, the importance of new alternative educational institutions, and what these kinds of long-term strategies mean for the conservative movement.

"Who Deserves Scalia's Mantle?" by Garrett Snedeker https://www.theamericanconservative.com/who-deserves-scalias-mantle/ "Legal Conservatism's Chevron Pivot" by Jesse Merriam https://lawliberty.org/book-review/legal-conservatisms-chevron-pivot/

Western Culture is in a state of crisis. Objective truth is being replaced by virtual reality, humanity by “transhumanism,” meaning by meaninglessness, and religion by whole-hearted devotion to scientism. And these are just a few examples of the situation the West faces. We discuss these subjects and more with Spencer Klavan, the author of How to Save the West: Ancient Wisdom for 5 Modern Crises (Regnery).

“The introduction of critical race theory (CRT) and race-based instruction in schools has disrupted American classrooms from coast to coast and impacted families from every ethnic, cultural, and income background.” That’s the opening sentence of a new book that chronicles the story of individual parents, students, and school board members who are fighting this ideological indoctrination. One of the co-authors of that book joins the Anchoring Truths Podcast. Lance Izumi is Senior Director of the Center for Education at the Pacific Research Institute. He has written and produced books, studies and films on a wide variety of education topics. His new co-authored book that we’ll discuss today is THE GREAT PARENT REVOLT: How Parents and Grassroots Leaders Are Fighting Critical Race Theory in America’s Schools. In 2016-17, Mr. Izumi served on President Trump’s transition Agency Action Team for education policy. As a member of the transition team, he drafted policy papers and recommendations for consideration b

Dr. Samuel Gregg returns to the Anchoring Truths Podcast for a discussion of his new book, The Next American Economy: Nation, State, and Markets in an Uncertain World. Gregg carefully addresses New Right criticism of the conventional wisdom on economics that pervaded conservative intellectual circles in recent decades. Gregg offers a defense of America as a commercial republic, though one in need of a substantive argument rooted in morals to defend trade and growth. He also discusses how China's unique challenge requires a rethinking of the conventional wisdom in a healthy way.

Join Garrett Snedeker and Criminologist Barry Latzer for an in-depth look at Latzer's new book, The Myth of Overpunishment, arguing provocatively that America underincarcerates. Latzer also details his proposal for reducing the cost of incarceration as well as the overall prison population: e-carceration.

Host Garrett Snedeker and JWI Programs Manager Daniel Osborne review the key debates in law and morality animating the conservative legal movement in 2022. They also discuss how those debates featured in audiences gathered by JWI.

Garrett Snedeker sits down with Jordan Ballor, Director of Research at the Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy at First Liberty Institute, to discuss the CRCD's inaugural, first of its kind initiative to measure and rank each state's safeguards for religious liberty.

Populism and self-government take center stage in this discussion of "The Conservative Affirmation" by essayist Willmoore Kendall. The book of essays has been re-released with a new foreword by ISI's Dan McCarthy. McCarthy joins us for a wide-ranging discussion of Kendall, populism, and the underpinnings of conservative intellectual thought. 

JWI Founder & Director Hadley Arkes offers his fullest statement on the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health. Arkes finds much to savor in Justice Alito's majority opinion, but cautions that the logic of Justice Kavanaugh's pivotal concurrence does not augur well for conservative jurisprudence. JWI Senior Scholar Gerry Bradley reacts to Arkes's address with his own notes of caution and his path forward for pro-life litigation strategy. This is a recording of a public event JWI hosted on October 28, 2022.

In this episode of the Anchoring Truths podcast, Garrett Snedeker and JWI intern Jacob Shields sit down with Troy Senik to discuss his new book titled, "A Man of Iron; The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland" They discuss Cleveland's rise to political prominence, his principled approach to executive power, and his relevance to our current moment. You can purchase a copy of the book here.

In this episode, Garrett Snedeker and JWI intern Jacob Shields sit down with Professor Carson Holloway of the University of Nebraska, Omaha, to discuss his recent article for the Claremont Institute titled "Rethinking Libel, Defamation, and Press Accountability," They discuss New York Times v. Sullivan, the natural right to reputation, and the most likely scenario for a challenge to current libel precedent.