Ill Literacy: Books with Benson

Saving Can-Do: How to Revive the Spirit of America (Guest: Philip K. Howard)

Tim Benson — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 16:17:59 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Philip K. Howard, Chair of Common Good, to discuss his latest book, Saving Can-Do: How to Revive the Spirit of America. They chat about how nothing works as it should because red tape has strangled common sense, how bureaucracy makes people go brain dead, how the United States is flailing in legal quicksand, and what we can do about it.

Get the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Saving-Can-Do-Revive-Spirit-America/dp/1957588403

Show Notes:

The Atlantic: Philip K. Howard – “Americans Are Afraid of Authority”

Law & Liberty: Philip K. Howard – “The Need for Judgment”

Law & Liberty: Mark Pulliam – “A Post-Trump Era Common Sense?”

The Wall Street Journal: Yuval Levin – “‘Saving Can-Do’ Review: How to Stop Dragging Feet”

The Washington Post: George F. Will – “America’s can-do spirit needs liberation from can’t-do regulation”

The Persistence of the Ideological Lie (Guest: Daniel J. Mahoney)

Tim Benson — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 13:35:37 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined once again by Daniel J. Mahoney, professor emeritus at Assumption University and senior fellow at the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy, to discuss his latest book, The Persistence of the Ideological Lie: The Totalitarian Impulse Then and Now. They chat about what is the “Ideological Lie,” how the totalitarians from the Jacobins onward have relied on it, and how our failure to learn from the totalitarian tragedy of the twentieth century allowed the ideological virus to metastasize in new and alarming ways.

Get the book here: https://www.encounterbooks.com/books/persistence-ideological-lie/

Show Notes:

The American Mind: Daniel J. Mahoney – “Fighting the Ideological Lie”

https://americanmind.org/salvo/fighting-the-ideological-lie/

City Journal: Daniel DiSalvo – “The Destructiveness of Ideological Thinking”

https://www.city-journal.org/article/daniel-j-mahoney-persistence-ideological-lie

Fusion: Juliana Geran Pilon – “To Lie or Not to Lie”

https://fusionaier.org/2025/to-lie-or-not-to-lie/

Law & Liberty: Theodore Dalrymple – “Diagnosing the Ideological Mind”

https://lawliberty.org/book-review/diagnosing-the-ideological-mind/

Law & Liberty: Daniel J. Mahoney – “The Persistence of the Lie”

https://lawliberty.org/the-persistence-of-the-lie/

National Review: John O’Sullivan – “Lies, Damned Lies, and Ideology”

https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2025/06/lies-damned-lies-and-ideology/

The University Bookman: Jeffrey Folks – “Unmasking the Ideological Lie”

https://kirkcenter.org/reviews/unmasking-the-ideological-lie/

Brought Forth on This Continent: Abraham Lincoln and American Immigration (Guest: Harold Holzer)

Tim Benson — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 02:01:19 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Harold Holzer, director of the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College, to discuss his latest book, Brought Forth on This Continent: Abraham Lincoln and American Immigration. They chat about the immigration situation in the United States in the 30 years leading up the Civil War, how immigrants forever altered the country’s demographics, culture, and voting patterns, how tensions over immigration broke apart the Whig Party and lead to the formation of the Republican Party, and how Lincoln evolved into a champion for immigration.

Get the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/558372/brought-forth-on-this-continent-by-harold-holzer/

Ill Literacy, Episode 182: Measuring the Man (Guest: Jonathan W. White)

Tim Benson and Jonathan W. White — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 01:52:30 -0600

In Episode 182 of Ill Literacy, Tim Benson talks with Jonathan W. White, co-editor of Measuring the Man: The Writings of Frederick Douglass on Abraham Lincoln.

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined once again by Jonathan W. White, Professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University, to discuss his latest book, co-edited with Lucas E. Morel, Measuring the Man: The Writings of Frederick Douglass on Abraham Lincoln. They chat about how White discovered a cache of unknown, insightful letters in England by Douglass on Lincoln, the distrust and vitriol Douglass directed at Lincoln as he moved slowly and methodically toward emancipation, how three personal interactions between the two led to powerful feelings of friendship and mutual admiration, and how, after Lincoln’s assassination, Douglass expressed greater appreciation for Lincoln’s statesmanship during the Civil War and praised him as a model for postwar America.

Get the book here: https://reedypress.com/shop/measuring-the-man/

Show Notes:

Smithsonian Magazine: Lucas E. Morel & Jonathan W. White – “When Historians Rediscovered These Frederick Douglass Letters, They Were Surprised by His Candid Opinions About Abraham Lincoln”

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/historians-rediscovered-frederick-douglass-letters-surprised-candid-opinions-abraham-lincoln-180987175/

The Wall Street Journal: David S. Reynolds – “‘Measuring the Man’ Review: Partners in Their Time”

https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/measuring-the-man-review-partners-in-their-time-2a96aff1?mod=books_more_article_pos114

Ill Literacy, Episode 181: From Dakota to Dixie (Guest: Jonathan W. White)

Tim Benson and Jonathan W. White — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 22:02:13 -0500

In Episode 181 of Ill Literacy, Tim Benson talks with Jonathan W. White, co-editor of From Dakota to Dixie: George Buswell's Civil War.

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined once again by Jonathan W. White, Professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University, to discuss his latest book, co-edited with Reagan Connolly, From Dakota to Dixie: George Buswell's Civil War. They chat about who George Buswell was, his interesting service record in the Civil War, and the uniqueness of his diary of the period. They pay particular attention to the Dakota War in Minnesota and the Dakota Territory in 1862, in which Buswell served, as well as the execution of 38 Dakota men at Mankato at the
end of the conflict, the largest officially sanctioned mass execution in American history, of which Buswell was an eyewitness. They also discuss Buswell’s tenure fighting in the Deep South as an officer in the 68th U.S. Colored Infantry, his views of the men under his command, and the impact the experience had on him.

Get the book here: https://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/10075/

Ill Literacy, Episode 180: An Abundance of Caution (Guest: David Zweig)

Tim Benson — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 12:30:23 -0500

In Episode 180 of Ill Literacy, Tim Benson talks with David Zweig, author ofAn Abundance of Caution: American Schools, the Virus, and a Story of Bad Decisions.

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by David Zweig to discuss his latest book, An Abundance of Caution: American Schools, the Virus, and a Story of Bad Decisions. They chat about how everyone from journalists to eminent health officials repeatedly made fundamental errors in their assessment and presentation of evidence regarding COVID and the closing of American schools, and how there was never any evidence that long-term school closures, nor a host of interventions imposed on students when they were in classrooms, would reduce overall cases or deaths in any meaningful way.

Get the book here: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262549158/an-abundance-of-caution/

Show Notes:

The Atlantic: David Zweig – “The Disaster of School Closures Should Have Been Foreseen”

City Journal: James B. Meigs – “What Were We Thinking?”

Commentary: Noam Blum – “School’s Out Forever”

The Dispatch: Kevin D. Williamson – “The Wrong Kind of Abundance”

Education Next: Frederick Hess – “The Junk Science of Pandemic School Closure”

The Free Press: David Zweig – “How Covid Lies Destroyed Kids’ Lives”

The Wall Street Journal: Philip Wallach – “‘An Abundance of Caution’ and ‘In Covid’s Wake’: Failing the Pandemic Test”

Washington Examiner: Jesse Adams – “David Zweig proves the fog of war is no excuse for the damage done to children’s education in the name of public health”

The 74: Greg Toppo – “Journalist David Zweig Calls COVID School Closures ‘A False Story About Medical Consensus’”

Ill Literacy, Episode 179: Out of the Darkness (Guest: Frank Trentmann)

Tim Benson — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 13:04:45 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Frank Trentmann, professor of history at Birkbeck, University of London, to discuss his latest book, Out of the Darkness: The Germans, 1942–2022. They chat about how a nation whose past has been marked by mass murder, a people who cheered Adolf Hitler, reinvented themselves, and by how much.

Get the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/554959/out-of-the-darkness-by-frank-trentmann/

Show Notes:

Literary Review: David Blackbourn – “A Mercedes in Every Garage”

https://literaryreview.co.uk/a-mercedes-in-every-garage

New York Review of Books: Timothy Garton Ash – “Big Germany, What Now?”

https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2024/05/23/big-germany-what-now-timothy-garton-ash/

The New Statesman: Brendan Simms – “What it means to be German”

https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2023/12/meaning-modern-germany-brenadan-simms

The Times: Oliver Moody – “Out of the Darkness by Frank Trentmann review — how Germans became good (and rather complacent)”

https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/out-of-the-darkness-by-frank-trentmann-review-9rc5n8kbd?region=global

Times Literary Supplement: Ben Hutchinson – “New moral order”

https://www.the-tls.co.uk/history/twentieth-century-onwards-history/after-the-nazis-michael-h-kater-out-of-the-darkness-frank-trentmann-book-review-ben-hutchinson

The Wall Street Journal: Ian Brunskill – “‘Out of the Darkness’ Review: War Crimes and Remembrance”

https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/out-of-the-darkness-review-war-crimes-and-remembrance-0b830556

The Washington Post: Bryn Stole – “An ambitious history of Germany interrogates the country’s moral makeover”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2024/04/18/out-darkness-germans-nazis-legacy-frank-trentmann-review/

Ascent to Power: How Truman Emerged from Roosevelt's Shadow and Remade the World (Guest: David L. Roll)

Tim Benson — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 14:19:07 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by David L. Roll, founder of the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation, to discuss his latest book, Ascent to Power: How Truman Emerged from Roosevelt's Shadow and Remade the World. They chat about Truman’s struggles to emerge as president in his own right after his accidental ascension to the office and how Truman’s decisions during these pivotal years changed the course of the world in ways so significant we live with them today.

Get the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/690665/ascent-to-power-by-david-l-roll/

Show Notes:

Foreign Affairs: Jessica T. Mathews – “Review: ‘Ascent to Power: How Truman Emerged From Roosevelt’s Shadow and Remade the World’”

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/ascent-power-how-truman-emerged-roosevelts-shadow-and-remade-world

Wall Street Journal: Robert W. Merry – “’Ascent to Power’ Review: Harry Truman’s Moment”

https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/ascent-to-power-review-harry-trumans-moment-e5654cb0

Kent State: An American Tragedy (Guest: Brian VanDeMark)

Tim Benson — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:25:48 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Brian VanDeMark, professor of history at the United States Naval Academy, to discuss his latest book, Kent State: An American Tragedy. They chat about the context of the divided cultural landscape of America during the Vietnam War and heightened popular anxieties around the country, how the shootings came to take place, the reductive narratives that ensued, the victims of the shooting, and the impact of that day on the Guardsmen who were there.

Get the book here: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324066255

Show Notes:

Los Angeles Review of Books: Tom Zoellner – “Yelling ‘Fire’ on a Crowded Knoll”

https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/yelling-fire-on-a-crowded-knoll/

Los Angeles Times: Chris Vognar – “A meticulous, pain-filled history of the senseless slaughter at Kent State”

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-08-05/brian-vandemark-kent-state-an-american-tragedy

National Review: Paul Baumann – “What Happened at Kent State?”

https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2024/10/what-happened-at-kent-state/

Times Literary Supplement: John McMillian – “Civil unrest”

https://www.the-tls.co.uk/regular-features/in-brief/kent-state-brian-vandemark-book-review-john-mcmillian

Mirrors of Greatness: Churchill and the Leaders Who Shaped Him (Guest: David Reynolds)

Tim Benson — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 12:32:17 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by David Reynolds, emeritus professor of international history at Christ’s College, Cambridge University, to discuss his latest book, Mirrors of Greatness: Churchill and the Leaders Who Shaped Him. They reevaluate Churchill’s life by viewing it through the eyes of his allies and adversaries like Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, FDR, Chamberlain, Attlee, De Gaulle, and Gandhi, as well as his own family. They also chat about Churchill’s lifelong struggle to overcome his political failures and his evolving grasp of what “greatness” truly entailed.

Get the book here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/david-reynolds/mirrors-of-greatness/9781541620209/?lens=basic-books

Show Notes:

The Wall Street Journal: Robert D. Kaplan – “‘Mirrors of Greatness’ Review: Churchill’s Personal Diplomacy”
https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/mirrors-of-greatness-review-churchills-personal-diplomacy-c8e300e3

Washington Examiner: Sean Durns – “Making history with Winston Churchill”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/2838794/making-history-with-winston-churchill/

Serpent in Eden: Foreign Meddling and Partisan Politics in James Madison's America (Guest: Tyson Reeder)

Tim Benson — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 09:30:51 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Tyson Reeder, assistant professor of history at Brigham Young University, to discuss his new book, Serpent in Eden: Foreign Meddling and Partisan Politics in James Madison's America. They chat about the espionage, shadow diplomacy, foreign scheming, and domestic backstabbing in the formative years of the American republic, and how an infant nation adjusting to rancorous partisan politics, aggravated by the untested and imperfect new tools of governance and the growing power of media, was exploited by foreign powers to advance their own agendas.

Get the book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/serpent-in-eden-9780197628591?cc=us&lang=en&

Show Notes:

Law & Liberty: Sam Negus – “The Old World and the Young Republic”
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/the-old-world-and-the-young-republic/

The Wall Street Journal: Mark G. Spencer – “‘Serpent in Eden’: Foreign Spies and False Allies”
https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/serpent-in-eden-review-spies-lies-and-false-allies-5a34e6e8

Righteous Strife: How Warring Religious Nationalists Forged Lincoln's Union (Guest: Richard Carwardine)

Tim Benson — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 16:46:20 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Richard Carwardine, Emeritus Rhodes Professor of American History and Distinguished Fellow of the Rothermere American Institute at Oxford University, to discuss his new book, Righteous Strife: How Warring Religious Nationalists Forged Lincoln's Union. They chat about how the tensions surrounding the moral quandary of slavery cracked the United States in half, and even formed rifts within the North itself, how Lincoln proclaimed more days of national fasting and thanksgiving than any other president before or since, and how these pauses for spiritual reflection provided the inspirational rhetoric and ideological fuel that sustained the war.

Get the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/24975/righteous-strife-by-richard-carwardine/

Bob Dylan: Prophet Without God (Guest: Jeffrey Edward Green)

Tim Benson — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 10:05:21 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Jeffrey Edward Green, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy at the University of Pennsylvania, to discuss his new book, Bob Dylan: Prophet Without God. They chat about how Green sees Dylan as a modern-day prophet, but a prophet of diremption rather than a prophet of salvation. They also discuss how Dylan has made novel contributions to the meaning of self-reliance, the quest for rapprochement between the religious and non-religious, and the problem of how ordinary people might operate in a fallen political world.

Get the book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/bob-dylan-9780197651742?cc=us&lang=en&

American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation―and Could Again (Guest: Yuval Levin)

Tim Benson — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 12:56:17 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Yuval Levin, the director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he also holds the Beth and Ravenel Curry Chair in Public Policy, to discuss his new book, American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation―and Could Again. They chat about the Constitution’s true genius and reveals how it charts a path to repairing America’s fault lines. They also discuss the Constitution’s exceptional power to facilitate constructive disagreement, negotiate resolutions to disputes, and forge unity in a fractured society.

Get the book here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/yuval-levin/american-covenant/9780465040742/?lens=basic-books

Show Notes:

The Atlantic: Yuval Levin – “What’s Wrong With Congress (And How to Fix It)”
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/06/congress-reform-filibuster-constitution/678604/

Commentary: Tal Fortgang – “We Are the Reformers We’ve Been Waiting For”
https://www.commentary.org/articles/tal-fortgang/american-covenant-constitution/

The Dispatch: Ben Rolsma – “The Constitution That Binds Us”
https://thedispatch.com/article/the-constitution-that-binds-us/

Law & Liberty: Charles C.W. Cooke – “A Roadmap—If We Want It”
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/a-roadmap-if-we-want-it/

Law & Liberty: John G. Grove – “The Latent Wisdom in Our Constitution”
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/the-latent-wisdom-in-our-constitution/

Law & Liberty: Mark Landy – “How the Constitution Unifies the Country”
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/how-the-constitution-unifies-the-country/

Law & Liberty: Scott Yenor – “Can Our Constitutional Order be Revived?”
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/can-our-constitutional-order-be-revived/

National Review: Matthew J. Franck – “The Constitution We Still Need”
https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2024/08/the-constitution-we-still-need/

Washington Examiner: Michael M. Rosen – “Yuval Levin’s constitutional glue”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/premium/3064559/constitutional-lore/

Washington Free Beacon: - Robert P. George – “A Constitution, If You Can Keep It”
https://freebeacon.com/culture/a-constitution-if-you-can-keep-it-2/

The Washington Post: Ramesh Ponnuru – “The Constitution was supposed to be a uniter, not a divider”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/06/18/yuval-levin-american-covenant-review-essay/

The Extinction of Experience (Guest: Christine Rosen)

Tim Benson — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 15:49:42 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Christine Rosen, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and media commentary columnist at Commentary, to discuss her new book, The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World. They chat about how digital technologies offer novelty and convenience, but also transform our sense of self and warp the boundaries between virtual and real, and what the costs of these technologies are. They also discuss whether face-to-face communication, sense of place, authentic emotion, and even boredom are at risk of becoming extinct.

Get the book here: https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393241716

Show Notes:

National Review: Ian Tuttle – “Losing Ourselves in a Disembodied World”

https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2024/12/losing-ourselves-in-a-disembodied-world/

The Wall Street Journal: Meghan Cox Gurdon – “‘The Extinction of Experience’ Review: Devices and Distraction”

https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/the-extinction-of-experience-review-devices-and-distraction-398139bc

Washington Examiner: Mark Judge – “Being human in a digitally disembodied world”

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/community-family/3125777/being-human-in-a-digitally-disembodied-world/

A Great and Good Man: Rare, First-Hand Accounts and Observations of Abraham Lincoln (Guest: Jonathan W. White)

Tim Benson — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 12:05:25 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Jonathan W. White, professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University, to discuss his new book, co-authored with William J. Griffing, A Great and Good Man: Rare, First-Hand Accounts and Observations of Abraham Lincoln. They chat about the excerpts of the more than 200 previously unpublished accounts written by men and women who lived during the Civil War featured in the book, what the writers thought about Lincoln, and how these letters and diaries shed new life on Lincoln’s life, his contemporary reputation during the war and before his assassination, and how his death instantaneously turned Lincoln into a revered martyr.

Get the book here: https://www.reedypress.com/shop/a-great-and-good-man-rare-first-hand-accounts-of-abraham-lincoln/

How Economics Explains the World (Guest: Andrew Leigh)

Tim Benson — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 11:26:38 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Andrew Leigh, Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities, Treasury and Employment, and Federal Member for Fenner in the Australian Parliament, to discuss his book How Economics Explains the World: A Short History of Humanity. They chat about how ingenuity, greed, and desire for betterment have determined our past, present, and future. They also discuss why Europe colonized Africa instead of the other way around, what happened when countries erected trade and immigration barriers in the 1930s, and how property rights drove China’s growth surge in the 1980s

Get the book here: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/how-economics-explains-the-world-andrew-leigh?variant=42112692453410

Thomas Jefferson and the Fight against Slavery (Guest: Cara Rogers Stevens)

Tim Benson — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 12:13:59 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Cara Rogers Stevens, associate professor of history at Ashland University, to discuss her book Thomas Jefferson and the Fight against Slavery. They chat about the evolution of Jefferson’s views on race and slavery, his legislative attempts to put the practice on a pathway to extinction in Virginia beginning in the colonial period, the antislavery intentions of his lone book, Notes on the State of Virginia, and how he tried to persuade younger slaveholders to embrace emancipation.

Get the book here: https://kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700635979/

Show Notes:

The Imaginative Conservative: Bradley J. Birzer – “Redeeming (Mostly) Thomas Jefferson”

https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2024/07/thomas-jefferson-cara-rogers-stevens-fight-slavery-bradley-birzer.html

Why War? (Guest: Richard Overy)

Tim Benson — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 12:01:31 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by renowned historian Richard Overy to discuss his new book, Why War? They chat about why has war been such a consistent presence throughout the human past, and indeed in the human present, and what are the major drivers and motivations for war, how each has contributed to organized conflict, and whether humanity will ever evolve away from organized conflict. They also discuss the impulses embedded in human biology and psychology, the incentives to conflict developed through cultural evolution, and how competition for resources, or conflicts stirred by the passions of belief, the effects of ecological stresses, the drive for power in leaders and nations, and the search for security all contribute to this phenomenon that is unique human.

Get the book here: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324021742

Show Notes:

The Telegraph: James Holland – “Why humanity’s appetite for war will never be sated”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/non-fiction/why-war-richard-overy-review/

Times Literary Supplement: Edward N. Luttwak – “Battle grounds”

https://www.the-tls.co.uk/politics-society/politics/why-war-richard-overy-book-review-edward-luttwak

The Wall Street Journal: Dominic Green – “‘Why War?’ Review: Nature, Nurture and Violence”

https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/why-war-review-nature-nurture-and-violence-e0babb7f

A Voice in Their Own Destiny: Reagan, Thatcher, and Public Diplomacy in the Nuclear 1980s (Guest: Anthony Eames)

Tim Benson — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 14:53:04 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Anthony Eames, director of scholarly initiatives at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, non-resident fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, and professorial lecturer at the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University, to discuss his new book, A Voice in Their Own Destiny: Reagan, Thatcher, and Public Diplomacy in the Nuclear 1980s. They chat about how the administrations of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher used innovations in public diplomacy to build back support for their foreign policy agendas at a moment of widespread popular dissent. They also discuss how ow competition between the governments of Reagan and Thatcher, the Anglo-American antinuclear movement, and the Soviet peace offensive sparked a revolution in public diplomacy.

Get the book here: https://www.umasspress.com/9781625347107/a-voice-in-their-own-destiny/

To Run the World: The Kremlin's Cold War Bid for Global Power (Guest: Sergey Radchenko)

Tim Benson — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 11:08:47 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Sergey Radchenko, Wilson E. Schmidt Distinguished Professor at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, to discuss his new book, To Run the World: The Kremlin's Cold War Bid for Global Power. They chat about how the Soviet struggle with the United States and China reflected its irreconcilable ambitions as a self-proclaimed superpower and the leader of global revolution, and how this tension drove Soviet policy throughout the second half of the 20th Century. They also discuss whether Soviet foreign policy was motivated more by Marxist-Leninist ideology or by traditional Russian imperialism and security concerns.

Get the book here: https://www.cambridge.org/us/universitypress/subjects/history/diplomatic-and-international-history/run-world-kremlins-cold-war-bid-global-power?format=HB

Show Notes:

The Bulwark: Brian Stewart – “Going to War for Respect”

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/review-radchenko-run-world-going-war-for-respect

Financial Times: Edward Luce – “To Run the World — Moscow’s quest for power and parity with the US”

https://www.ft.com/content/e8dc41b9-98a7-4ca0-8092-79d64249694a

Foreign Affairs: John Lewis Gaddis – “Why Would Anyone Want to Run the World?”

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/why-would-anyone-run-world-cold-war

Foreign Policy: Casey Michel – “Putting the Cold War on the Couch”

https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/05/19/radchenko-gorbachev-krushchev-cold-war-psychology/

The New Statesman: Serhii Plokhy – “Russia’s great-power complex”

https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2024/06/russias-great-power-complex

The Spectator: Rodric Braithwaite – “China’s role in Soviet policy-making”

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/chinas-role-in-soviet-policy-making/

Reds: The Tragedy of American Communism (Guest: Maurice Isserman)

Tim Benson — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 11:06:27 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Maurice Isserman, Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of American History at Hamilton College, to discuss his new book, Reds: The Tragedy of American Communism. They chat about the deeply contradictory nature of the history of the Communist Party USA, the history of the American far left, and how the Bolshevik Revolution skewed the American far left. They also discuss CPUSA’s unwavering faith in the Soviet Union, how many American communists became involved in espionage on behalf of the USSR, and the organization’s decline into political irrelevance.

Get the book here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/maurice-isserman/reds/9781541620032/?lens=basic-books

Show Notes:

The American Prospect: Harold Meyerson – “Red Weather Vanes”
https://prospect.org/culture/books/2024-08-08-red-weather-vanes-isserman-review/

The Bulwark: Ron Radosh – “How and Why American Communism Failed”
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/communism-failed-maurice-isserman-reds-review

Foreign Policy: Casey Michel: “The Contradictions of America’s Communist Party”
https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/07/07/communist-party-america-history-illiberal-democracy/

The Wall Street Journal: Joseph Epstein – “‘Reds’ Review: Communism in the U.S.A.”
https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/reds-review-communism-in-the-u-s-a-1e0b14d7

To Overthrow the World: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism (Guest: Sean McMeekin)

Tim Benson — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 17:08:27 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Sean McMeekin, Francis Flournoy Professor of European History and Culture at Bard College, to discuss his new book, To Overthrow the World: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism. They chat about the evolution of Communism from a seductive ideal of a classless society into the ruling doctrine of tyrannical regimes. They also discuss communism’s unpopularity as a political form, yet it’s endurance as an ideology.

Get the book here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/sean-mcmeekin/to-overthrow-the-world/9781541601963/?lens=basic-books

Show Notes:

The New Criterion: Gary Saul Morson – “The red star returns”
https://newcriterion.com/article/the-red-star-returns/

Washington Free Beacon: Harvey Klehr – “The Struggle To Contain Communism … in One Book”
https://freebeacon.com/culture/the-struggle-to-contain-communism-in-one-book/

The Gulf War: George H. W. Bush and American Grand Strategy in the Post-Cold War Era (Guest: Spencer D. Bakich)

Tim Benson — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 09:51:44 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Spencer D. Bakich, Professor of International Studies and Director of the National Security Program at the Virginia Military Institute, and Senior Fellow at the University of Virginia's Miller Center, to discuss his new book, The Gulf War: George H. W. Bush and American Grand Strategy in the Post-Cold War Era. They chat about how Bush fashioned a grand strategy to bring about a New World Order designed to transform international politics by focusing on great power cooperation through the United Nations, how Bush’s strategic beliefs oriented American statecraft in peace and war, and how the war’s outcome exposed faulty assumptions about the international system that underpinned that strategy.

Get the book here: https://kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700636884/the-gulf-war/

The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry (Guest: Tevi Troy)

Tim Benson — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 14:07:32 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Tevi Troy, Senior Fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center, Senior Scholar at Yeshiva University’s Straus Center, and a Visiting Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, to discuss his new book, The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry. They chat about how the vast reach of the federal government became a critical fact of life for every business, how companies find themselves navigating a competitive landscape defined by stringent regulations, and how CEOs must influence the legislative and regulatory system. They also discuss how much the modern presidency relies on CEOs for personnel, policy insights, campaign cash, and as potential foils.

Get the book here: https://www.regnery.com/9781684515400/the-power-and-the-money/

The Eastern Front: A History of the Great War, 1914-1918 (Guest: Nick Lloyd)

Tim Benson — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 09:30:24 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Nick Lloyd, Professor of Modern Warfare at King’s College London, to discuss his new book, The Eastern Front: A History of the Great War, 1914-1918. They chat about the scale of the conflict, how the most radical aspect of the struggle in the east was that the violence was not confined to combatants, and how the repercussions of the war in the east, including the fall of three great empires and the rise of Bolshevism, were much more profound than the war in the west.

Get the book here: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324092711

Show Notes:

Financial Times: Margaret MacMillan – “The Eastern Front by Nick Lloyd — truth bombs”
https://www.ft.com/content/8e29eba7-a91a-40a6-a5e5-47369a7c70eb

Literary Review: Jonathan Boff – “Graveyard of Empires”
https://literaryreview.co.uk/graveyard-of-empires

The Spectator: Tessa Dunlop – “The horrors of the Eastern Front”
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-horrors-of-the-eastern-front/

The Telegraph: Simon Heffer – “How the carnage on the Eastern Front transformed the First World War”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/non-fiction/review-eastern-front-nick-lloyd/

The Times: Dominic Sandbrook – “The Eastern Front by Nick Lloyd review: a fresh take on the First World War”
https://www.thetimes.com/culture/article/the-eastern-front-a-history-of-the-first-world-war-nick-lloyd-review-fm2z0kkzn

Times Literary Supplement: Hew Strachan – “Suicide of empires”
https://www.the-tls.co.uk/history/twentieth-century-onwards-history/the-eastern-front-nick-lloyd-book-review-hew-strachan

The Wall Street Journal: William Anthony Hay – “‘The Eastern Front’ Review: The Battle Far From the Trenches”
https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/the-eastern-front-review-the-battle-far-from-the-trenches-e09b3580

The Light of Battle: Eisenhower, D-Day, and the Birth of the American Superpower(Guest: Michel Paradis)

Tim Benson — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 16:25:26 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Michel Paradis, fellow at the Center on National Security and the National Institute for Military Justice and lecture in law at Columbia Law School, to discuss his new book, The Light of Battle: Eisenhower, D-Day, and the Birth of the American Superpower. They chat about how Eisenhower’s rise both reflected and was integral to America’s rise as a global superpower, his unique facility as a teambuilder, and just what exactly was on the line with Operation Overlord.

Get the book here:
https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-light-of-battle-michel-paradis?variant=41106434326562

Show Notes:
Wall Street Journal: Paul Kennedy – “‘The Light of Battle’ Review: Eisenhower’s Road to Normandy”
https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/the-light-of-battle-review-eisenhowers-road-to-normandy-55a76a2f

Collisions: The Origins of the War in Ukraine and the New Global Instability (Guest: Michael Kimmage)

Tim Benson — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 11:49:36 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Michael Kimmage, Professor of History at the Catholic University of America and non-resident Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, to discuss his new book, Collisions: The Origins of the War in Ukraine and the New Global Instability. They chat about the origins of the war, how it has transformed multiple centers of power and has shifted the direction of major macro-trends in world politics, contributing to the fragmentation of international politics, higher inflation, greater food insecurity, and the general collapse of arms control.

Get the book here:
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/collisions-9780197751794?cc=us&lang=en&

Show Notes:
Foreign Affairs: Liana Fix & Michael Kimmage – “Putin’s Last Stand”
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/russian-federation/putin-last-stand-russia-defeat

Wall Street Journal: Michael Kimmage – “Trump Is Unlikely to Abandon Ukraine—and Might Dangerously Escalate the War”
https://www.wsj.com/politics/trump-is-unlikely-to-abandon-ukraineand-might-even-escalate-the-war-356a2825

Wall Street Journal: Michael Kimmage – “Putin’s Rogue State”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/putins-rogue-state-140d876f

Washington Times: Martin Di Caro – “BOOK REVIEW: ‘Collisions: The Origins of the War in Ukraine and the New Global Instability’”
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/mar/7/book-review-collisions-origins-of-war-in-ukraine-a/

A Wonderful Career in Crime (Guest: Frank W. Garmon Jr.)

Tim Benson — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 12:55:39 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Frank W. Garmon Jr., assistant professor of American studies at Christopher Newport University, to discuss his new book, A Wonderful Career in Crime: Charles Cowlam’s Masquerades in the Civil War Era and Gilded Age. They chat Cowlam’s career as convict, spy, detective, congressional candidate, adventurer, con artist, and serial bigamist and how his life managed to intersect with Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, and Ulysses S. Grant. They also discuss the mid-19th Century’s economic system that was dependent upon trust and personal relationships and how Cowlam exposed the liabilities of the political system constructed on the same foundations.

Get the book here:
https://lsupress.org/9780807182666/a-wonderful-career-in-crime/

Democracy and Solidarity: On the Cultural Roots of America's Political Crisis

Tim Benson — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 09:15:32 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by James Davison Hunter, LaBrosse-Levinson Distinguished Professor of Religion, Culture and Social Theory and Executive Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia, to discuss his new book, Democracy and Solidarity: On the Cultural Roots of America's Political Crisis. They discuss how our historic sources of national solidarity have now largely dissolved, why a deepening political polarization is the most obvious sign of this, how the true problem is not polarization per se but the absence of cultural resources to work through what divides us, and how all political regimes require some level of unity, and if it cannot be generated organically, it will be imposed by force. They also chat about whether this problem can be fixed and whether or not the Enlightenment-era institution that is liberal democracy survive in a post-Enlightenment world.

Get the book here:
https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300274370/democracy-and-solidarity/

Show Notes:
City Journal: Fred Bauer – “A Renewed Union?”
https://www.city-journal.org/article/a-renewed-union

The Hedgehog Review: James Davison Hunter – “Dissent and Solidarity”
https://hedgehogreview.com/issues/america-on-the-brink/articles/dissent-and-solidarity

National Catholic Reporter: Michael Sean Winters – “New book examines cultural roots of our political crisis” & “From 'culture wars' to 'cultural exhaustion': James Davison Hunter diagnoses our cultural ills”
https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/ncr-voices/new-book-examines-cultural-roots-our-political-crisis-0
https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/ncr-voices/culture-wars-cultural-exhaustion-james-davison-hunter-diagnoses-our-cultural

New York Times: David Brooks – “The Deep Source of Trump’s Appeal”
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/11/opinion/trump-biden-authoritarianism.html

Ill Literacy, Episode 156: The Hollow Parties (Guest: Sam Rosenfeld)

Tim Benson — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 14:07:42 -0500

In Episode 154 of Ill Literacy, Tim Benson talks with Sam Rosenfeld, co-author of The Hollow Parties: The Many Pasts and Disordered Present of American Party Politics.

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Sam Rosenfeld, Associate Professor of Political Science and Director, Public Affairs and Policy Research Initiative at Colgate University, to discuss his new book, co-authored with Daniel Schlozman, The Hollow Parties: The Many Pasts and Disordered Present of American Party Politics. They discuss how party hollowness lies at the heart of our democratic discontents and how the nation’s parties became so dysfunctional. They also chat about the history of the party system in the United States, how today’s fractious party politics arose from the ashes of the New Deal order in the 1970s, how the 1968 DNC transformed presidential nominations but failed to lay the foundations for robust, movement-driven parties, and how, in Rosenfeld’s estimation, modern American conservatism hollowed out the party system, deeming it a mere instrument for power.

Get the book here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691248554/the-hollow-parties

Show Notes:

Capital Research Center: Michael E. Hartmann – “Donors, The Hollow Parties, Distance, And Democracy”

https://capitalresearch.org/article/donors-the-hollow-parties-distance-and-democracy/

The New Republic: Ben Metzner – “The Decay of America’s Political Parties”

https://newrepublic.com/article/184302/decay-americas-political-parties-schlozman-rosenfeld-interview

New York Times: Sam Rosenfeld and Daniel Schlozman – “The Republican Party Has Devolved Into a Racket”

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/18/opinion/politics/republican-party-trump-racket.html

Politico: Ian Ward – “Democrats Are Feckless and Republicans Are Chaotic. Here’s Why.”

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/05/01/hollow-political-parties-donald-trump-00155297

Reason: J.D. Tuccille – “Hollow Major Parties Preside Over a Politics of 'Fear and Loathing'”

https://reason.com/2023/08/07/hollow-major-parties-preside-over-a-politics-of-fear-and-loathing/

Semafor: Davie Wiegel – “Why political parties desperately need to make a comeback”

https://www.semafor.com/article/05/10/2024/why-political-parties-desperately-need-to-make-a-comeback

Washington Examiner: Ben Jacobs – “Political party crashers”

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/magazine-life-arts/3010630/political-party-crashers/

We May Dominate the World: Ambition, Anxiety, and the Rise of the American Colossus (Guest: Sean A. Mirski)

Tim Benson — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 13:15:44 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Sean A. Mirski, Visiting Scholar at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, to discuss his new book, We May Dominate the World: Ambition, Anxiety, and the Rise of the American Colossus. They discuss how the United States became a regional hegemon in the century following the Civil War, which no other great power in the modern era has managed to achieve. They also chat about what America’s rise to hegemon status can teach us about the United States faces from China, Russia, and Iran today.

Get the book here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/sean-a-mirski/we-may-dominate-the-world/9781541758438/?lens=publicaffairs

Show Notes:
The Spectator: David J. Garrow – “Visiting a forgotten chapter in American history”
https://thespectator.com/book-and-art/visiting-forgotten-chapter-american-history-sean-mirski/

Washington Examiner: Jackson Lopez – “Review: We May Dominate the World by Sean Mirski”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/2441248/review-we-may-dominate-the-world-by-sean-mirski/

An Unholy Traffic: Slave Trading in the Civil War South (Guest: Robert K.D. Colby

Tim Benson — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 15:24:42 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Robert K.D. Colby, Assistant Professor of History at the University of Mississippi, to discuss his new book, An Unholy Traffic: Slave Trading in the Civil War South. They discuss how Southerners made the internal slave trade a cornerstone of Confederate society, a bulwark of the Rebel economy, and a central part of the experience of the Civil War. They also chat about how slave trading helped Southerners survive and fight the war by using this commerce to navigate food shortages and mitigate the demands of military service and other hardships on the home front.

Get the book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/an-unholy-traffic-9780197578261?cc=us&lang=en&

Show Notes:
The Guardian: Rich Tenorio – “An Unholy Traffic: how the slave trade continued through the US civil war”
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/apr/28/robert-colby-unholy-traffic-slave-trade-civil-war

Who Is Big Brother? A Reader’s Guide to George Orwell (Guest: D.J. Taylor)

Tim Benson — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 10:51:23 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by award-winning novelist, critic, and biographer D.J. Taylor to discuss his new book, Who Is Big Brother? A Reader’s Guide to George Orwell. They discuss Orwell’s books, life and thought, including his conflicted relationship with religion to his competing anti-imperialism and fascination with empire. They also discuss Taylor’s recently released, completely overhauled biography, Orwell: The New Life.

Get the books here: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300272987/who-is-big-brother/ & https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Orwell/D-J-Taylor/9781639364510

Show Notes:

The Critic: Andrew Doyle – “The making of a modern prophet”
https://thecritic.co.uk/The-making-of-a-modern-prophet/

First Things: John Wilson – “The Lure of Orwell”
https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2023/05/the-lure-of-orwell

The Guardian: Blake Morrison – “Orwell by DJ Taylor review – a very English socialist”
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jun/01/orwell-by-dj-taylor-review-a-very-english-socialist

Law & Liberty: Theodore Dalrymple – “Orwell's Arresting Ambiguities”
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/orwells-arresting-ambiguities/

Literary Review: David Dwan – “An Unsociable Socialist”
https://literaryreview.co.uk/an-unsociable-socialist

The Spectator: Camilla Cassidy – “Will we ever know the real George Orwell?”
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/will-we-ever-know-the-real-george-orwell/

The Times: John Carey – “Orwell: The New Life by DJ Taylor review — great writer, terrible husband”
https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/orwell-the-new-life-by-dj-taylor-review-great-writer-terrible-husband-0t8w7qrlx

Wall Street Journal: Dominic Green – “‘Orwell’ Review: A Fresh Biography of Truth’s Champion”
https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/orwell-review-champion-of-an-ordinary-truth-e439ecf9

Democracy's Resilience to Populism's Threat (Guest: Kurt Weyland)

Tim Benson — Wed, 03 Jul 2024 10:59:09 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Kurt Weyland, Mike Hogg Professor in Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Austin, to discuss his new book, Democracy's Resilience to Populism's Threat: Countering Global Alarmism. They discuss how populist leaders can only destroy democracy under special, restrictive conditions, which many never face. They also chat about how left-wing populists typically suffocate democracy only when benefitting from huge revenue windfalls, whereas right-wing populists must perform the heroic feat of resolving acute, severe crises.

Get the book here: https://www.cambridge.org/us/universitypress/subjects/politics-international-relations/comparative-politics/democracys-resilience-populisms-threat-countering-global-alarmism?format=HB

Show Notes:

National Constitution Center: Democracy, Populism, and the Tyranny of the Minority (VIDEO)
https://constitutioncenter.org/news-debate/podcasts/democracy-populism-and-the-tyranny-of-the-minority

Germany in the World: A Global History, 1500-2000 (Guest: David Blackbourn)

Tim Benson — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 10:05:56 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by David Blackbourn, Cornelius Vanderbilt Distinguished Chair of History Emeritus at Vanderbilt University, to discuss his new book, Germany in the World: A Global History, 1500-2000. They discuss the existence of a distinctly German presence in the world centuries before its unification. They also chat about Germany’s leading role in creating modern universities and its sinister involvement in slave-trade economies, as well as how Germany has maintained its pivotal place for the world, even after its tragic and criminal Twentieth Century.

Get the book here: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781631491832

Show Notes:

The Guardian: Neal Ascherson – “Germany in the World by David Blackbourn review – a rich and full-throated account of the past 500 years”
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jul/02/germany-in-the-world-by-david-blackbourn-review-a-rich-and-full-throated-account-of-the-past-500-years

Literary Review: Iain Bamforth – “From Brandenburg to Brazil”
https://literaryreview.co.uk/from-brandenburg-to-brazil

London Review of Books: Richard J. Evans – “Not So Special”
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n05/richard-j.-evans/not-so-special

Hitler’s Panzer Generals (Guest: David Stahel)

Tim Benson — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 09:45:50 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by David Stahel, senior lecturer in history at the University of New South Wales, to discuss his new book, Hitler's Panzer Generals: Guderian, Hoepner, Reinhardt and Schmidt Unguarded. They discuss the significance of the unpublished wartime correspondence of these generals and what it reveals about their personalities, their private fears, and the public pressures they were under. They also chat about their response to the criminal dimension of the Nazi way of war as well as their role as leading military commanders conducting large-scale operations.

Get the book here: https://www.cambridge.org/us/universitypress/subjects/history/military-history/hitlers-panzer-generals-guderian-hoepner-reinhardt-and-schmidt-unguarded?format=HB

Show Notes:

The Past: Calum Henderson – “Hitler’s Panzer Generals: Guderian, Hoepner, Reinhardt, and Schmidt unguarded”
https://the-past.com/review/books/hitlers-panzer-generals-guderian-hoepner-reinhardt-and-schmidt-unguarded/

Ill Literacy, Episode 147: Colonialism (Guest: Nigel Biggar)

The Heartland Institute — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 10:58:45 -0500

In Episode 147 of Ill Literacy, Tim Benson talks with Nigel Biggar, author ofColonialism: A Moral Reckoning.

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Nigel Biggar, Emeritus Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at the University of Oxford, to discuss his new book, Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning. They discuss whether the British Empire was driven primarily by greed and the lust to dominate, whether we should speak of “colonialism and slavery” in the same breath, and whether the Empire was essentially racist. They also chat about whether the Empire was driven by economic exploitation, whether it was essentially violent, and whether colonial government was or was not illegitimate.

Get the book here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-World-That-Wasnt/Benn-Steil/9781982127824

Show Notes:

The Critic: Robert Lyman – “The British empire, for good and ill”

https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/march-2023/the-british-empire-for-good-and-ill/

First Things: Nigel Biggar – “A Christian Defense of American Empire”

https://www.firstthings.com/article/2022/10/a-christian-defense-of-american-empire

The Guardian: Kenan Malik – “Colonialism by Nigel Biggar review – a flawed defence of empire”

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/feb/20/colonialism-a-moral-reckoning-by-nigel-biggar-review-a-flawed-defence-of-empire

Law & Liberty: Sumantra Maitra – “Was the British Empire Really a Force for Good?”

https://lawliberty.org/book-review/was-the-british-empire-really-a-force-for-good/

Literary Review: Jonathan Sumption – “Cruel Britannia?”

https://literaryreview.co.uk/cruel-britannia

National Post: Peter Shawn Taylor – “Peter Shawn Taylor: Colonialism contained 'good things as well as bad.' Why can’t we just accept that?”

https://nationalpost.com/opinion/colonialism-contained-good-things-as-well-as-bad-why-cant-we-just-accept-that

National Review: Andrew Roberts – “The Upside of Empire”

https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2023/07/31/the-upside-of-empire/

The New Statesman: Tomiwa Owolade – “Nigel Biggar’s whitewashing of empire”

https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2023/03/nigel-biggar-whitewashing-empire

Public Discourse: Samuel Gregg – “Reckoning with Colonialism”

https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2023/05/88467/

Quadrant: Matthew White – “A Moral Reckoning of the British Empire”

https://quadrant.org.au/magazine/2023/05/a-moral-reckoning-of-the-british-empire/

Quillette: John Lloyd – “Colonialism and Its Discontents”

https://quillette.com/2023/02/06/colonialism-and-its-discontents/

The Spectator: David Crane – “Failing to denigrate Britain’s entire colonial record has become a heinous crime”

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/failing-to-denigrate-britains-entire-colonial-record-has-become-a-heinous-crime/

The Telegraph: Tim Stanley – “Colonialism by Nigel Biggar review: defending the British empire, this book is spoiling for a fight”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/colonialism-nigel-biggar-review-defending-british-empire-book/

Times Literary Supplement: David Arnold – “In defence of empire”

https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/colonialism-nigel-biggar-book-book-review-david-arnold/

Wall Street Journal: Tunku Varadarajan – “‘Colonialism’ Review: Empire Without Apology”

https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/colonialism-review-empire-without-apology-80ecc195

Washington Free Beacon: Douglas Murray – “The Upsides of Empire”

https://freebeacon.com/culture/the-upsides-of-empire/

Ill Literacy, Episode 146: Arabella (Guest: Scott Walter)

The Heartland Institute — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 11:01:34 -0500

In Episode 146 of Ill Literacy, Tim Benson talks with Scott Walter, author ofArabella: The Dark Money Network of Leftist Billionaires Secretly Transforming America.

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Scott Walter, president of the capital Research Center, to discuss his new book, Arabella: The Dark Money Network of Leftist Billionaires Secretly Transforming America. They chat about what is the Arabella Advisors network, who its chief backers are, how it functions, and what exactly is “dark money.” They also discuss why Arabella is different than right-wing “dark money” networks, and what impact it has on American politics and policy.

Get the book here: https://www.encounterbooks.com/books/arabella/

Show Notes:

Wall Street Journal: Scott Walter – “Inside the Left’s Web of ‘Dark Money’”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/inside-the-lefts-web-of-dark-money-11603408114

Ill Literacy, Episode 145: The Myth of Left and Right (Guest: Hyrum Lewis)

The Heartland Institute — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 15:07:23 -0500

In Episode 145 of Ill Literacy, Tim Benson talks with Hyrum Lewis, co-author ofThe Myth of Left and Right: How the Political Spectrum Misleads and Harms America.

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Hyrum Lewis, associate professor of history at Brigham Young University-Idaho, to discuss his new book (co-authored with his brother, Verlan), The Myth of Left and Right: How the Political Spectrum Misleads and Harms America. They chat about how, the book declares, there is no enduring philosophy, disposition, or essence uniting the various positions associated with the “liberal” and “conservative” ideologies of today—there is nothing other than tribal loyalty holding together the many disparate positions that fly under the banners of "liberal" and "conservative." They also discuss how the political spectrum came to the United States from Europe in the 1920s, and how the left and right have evolved in so many unpredictable and contradictory ways.

Get the book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-myth-of-left-and-right-9780197680629?lang=en&cc=us

Show Notes:

Acton Institute: Jonathan Leaf – “Getting Beyond Right-Wing and Left-Wing”

https://rlo.acton.org/archives/124983-getting-beyond-right-wing-and-left-wing.html

Deseret Magazine: Hyrum Lewis – “The myth of left and right”

https://www.deseret.com/2024/1/15/24002083/the-myth-of-left-and-right-politics/

The Public Discourse: Andrew Busch – “The Tribal, and Philosophical, Basis of the Left and Right in American Politics”

https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2023/05/88878/

Reason: Jesse Walker – “The Left-Right Spectrum Is Mostly Meaningless”

https://reason.com/2023/05/21/the-left-right-spectrum-is-mostly-meaningless/

The University Bookman: Lee Trepanier – “Essentially Lying About the Left and Right”

https://kirkcenter.org/reviews/essentially-lying-about-the-left-and-right/

Washington Examiner: Oliver Traldi – “Busting the myth of Left and Right”

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/education/2573215/busting-the-myth-of-left-and-right/

Ill Literacy, Episode 144: The Ecology of Nations (Guest: John M. Owen IV)

The Heartland Institute — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 10:59:26 -0500

In Episode 144 of Ill Literacy, Tim Benson talks with John M. Owen IV, author ofThe Ecology of Nations: American Democracy in a Fragile World Order.

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by John M. Owen IV, Ambassador Henry J. and Mrs. Marion R. Taylor Professor of Politics, and a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture and the Miller Center of Public Affairs, at the University of Virginia, to discuss his new book, The Ecology of Nations: American Democracy in a Fragile World Order. They chat about “ecosystem engineering”, how liberalism may have evolved in ways that are no longer conducive to its own survival, and the ways Owen believes liberalism should be reimagined to better confront the autocratic threat coming from China, Russia, and others.

Get the book here: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300260731/the-ecology-of-nations/

Show Notes:

American Enterprise Institute: “Discussing American Democracy and a Fragile World Order with John M. Owen IV” (VIDEO)

https://www.aei.org/events/discussing-american-democracy-and-a-fragile-world-order-with-john-m-owen-iv/

The Hedgehog Review: John M. Owen IV – “To Make the World Select for Democracy”

https://hedgehogreview.com/issues/america-on-the-brink/articles/to-make-the-world-select-for-democracy

Ill Literacy, Episode 143: The Middle Kingdoms (Guest: Martyn Rady)

The Heartland Institute — Tue, 28 May 2024 11:19:40 -0500

In Episode 143 of Ill Literacy, Tim Benson talks with Martyn Rady, author ofThe Middle Kingdoms: A New History of Central Europe.

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Martyn Rady, Masaryk Professor Emeritus of Central European History at University College London, to discuss his new book, The Middle Kingdoms: A New History of Central Europe. They chat about how Central Europe has been more than just a fault line between the east and west and how the region developed its own cohesive identity and produced tremendous accomplishments in politics, society, and culture. They go on to discuss how Central Europeans launched the Reformation and Romanticism, developed the philosophy of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, and advanced some of the twentieth century’s most important artistic movements.

Get the book here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/martyn-rady/the-middle-kingdoms/9781541619784/?lens=basic-books

Show Notes:

The Critic: Victor Sebestyen – “Why central Europe has always mattered”

https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/august-september-2023/why-central-europe-has-always-mattered/

Financial Times: Ivan Krastev – “Shadowlands of empire: central Europe’s nervous east-west gaze”

https://www.ft.com/content/bb9fbe29-00bc-47bf-946b-456ab77e3fa1

Literary Review: Tim Blanning – “Emperors, Mystics & Tomcats”

https://literaryreview.co.uk/emperors-mystics-tomcats

The New Criterion: Jeremy Black – “Middle march”

https://newcriterion.com/article/middle-march/

The Spectator: Peter Frankopan – “Central Europe has shaped our culture for centuries – yet we still find the region baffling”

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/central-europe-has-shaped-our-culture-for-centuries-yet-we-still-find-the-region-baffling/

The Telegraph: Noel Malcolm – “Fish, tobacco and bureaucrats: a mad, marvellous history of central Europe”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/the-middle-kingdoms-by-martyn-rady-review-a-mad-marvellous/

Times Literary Supplement: Larry Wolff – “Among the dogmen”

https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/the-middle-kingdoms-martyn-rady-book-review-larry-wolff/

The Wall Street Journal: Robert D. Kaplan – “‘The Middle Kingdoms’ Review: Europe’s Eternal Battlefield”

https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/the-middle-kingdoms-review-europes-eternal-battlefield-1a0d92a2

The Washington Free Beacon: Jakub Grygiel – “From World Wars to the Cold War to Ukraine: How Central Europe Survives”

https://freebeacon.com/culture/from-world-wars-to-the-cold-war-to-ukraine-how-central-europe-survives/

Ill Literacy, Episode 142: To The End of the Earth (Guest: John C. McManus)

The Heartland Institute — Wed, 22 May 2024 10:48:48 -0500

In Episode 142 of Ill Literacy, Tim Benson talks with John C. McManus, author ofTo the End of the Earth: The US Army and the Downfall of Japan, 1945.

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by John C. McManus, Curators’ Distinguished Professor of U.S. military history at Missouri University of Science and Technology, to discuss his new book, To the End of the Earth: The US Army and the Downfall of Japan, 1945. They chat about the Philippines campaign, Okinawa, and the increasingly fanatical zeal and suicidal determination of the Japanese imperial forces. They also discuss major characters like MacArthur, Kreuger, Eichelberger, and Buckner as well as the incredible logistical hoops entailed in fielding a major army in the far-flung reaches of the Pacific.

Get the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/702467/to-the-end-of-the-earth-by-john-c-mcmanus/

Show Notes:

Wall Street Journal: Jonathan W. Jordan – “‘To the End of the Earth’ Review: Defeating Japan”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/to-the-end-of-the-earth-review-defeating-japan-1df44c74

Ill Literacy, Episode 141: Christendom (Guest: Peter Heather)

Tim Benson — Mon, 13 May 2024 05:36:00 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Peter Heather, chair of medieval history at King's College, London, to discuss his new book, Christendom: The Triumph of a Religion, AD 300-1300. They chat about how a small sect of isolated and intensely committed congregations became a mass movement centrally directed from Rome, the Church’s chameleonlike capacity for self-reinvention, and how nothing was inevitable about Christianity’s rise and dominance in Europe.

Get the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/546307/christendom-by-peter-heather/

Show Notes:

City Journal: Edward Short – “Fair Triumph, or Foul?”

https://www.city-journal.org/article/fair-triumph-or-foul

Literary Review: Costica Bradatan – “Onward Christian Emperors”

https://literaryreview.co.uk/onward-christian-emperors

New York Times: Paul Elie – “Looking at Early Christianity Through a Different Lens”

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/31/books/review/christendom-peter-heather.html

Public Discourse: Robert Wilken – “ The History behind the Formation of Christendom”

https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2023/07/89727/

The Spectator: Eleanor Myerson – “The rocky path to Christian dominance in Europe”

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-rocky-path-to-christian-dominance-in-europe/

The Telegraph: Peter Stanford – “How 4th-century Christianity radically reinvented itself from a marginal sect to a world power”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/how-4th-century-christianity-radically-reinvented-marginal-sect/

Times Literary Supplement: Diarmid MacCulloch – “Kingdom of God”

https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/the-formation-of-christendom-judith-herrin-christendom-peter-heather-book-review-diarmaid-macculloch/

Washington Examiner: Diane Scharper – “How Christianity Happened”

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/magazine-life-arts/376645/how-christianity-happened/

Ill Literacy, Episode 140: Founding Partisans (Guest: H.W. Brands)

Tim Benson — Wed, 01 May 2024 10:25:25 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is once again joined by friend of the podcast H.W. Brands, the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin, to discuss his new book, Founding Partisans: Hamilton, Madison, Jefferson, Adams and the Brawling Birth of American Politics. They chat about how, while the Framers viewed political parties a fatal threat to republican virtues, parties emerged even before the ink on the Constitution was dry. They then discuss all things Federalist vs. Antifederalist/Republican, how contentious the political battles between them were, but yet how, despite all this, peaceful transfers of power continued.

Get the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/713058/founding-partisans-by-h-w-brands/

Show Notes:
Wall Street Journal: Adam Rowe – “‘Founding Partisans’ and ‘A Republic of Scoundrels’: Opportunists and Patriots”
https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/founding-partisans-and-a-republic-of-scoundrels-opportunists-and-patriots-b61dbf2f

Washington Post: C.W. Goodyear – “American political discord is as old as America itself”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/12/06/founding-partisans-political-book-review/

Ill Literacy, Episode 140: The Collaborators (Guest: Ian Buruma)

Tim Benson — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 16:34:57 -0500

The Heartland Institute's Tim Benson is joined by Ian Buruma, Paul W. Williams Professor of Human Rights and Journalism at Bard College, to discuss his new book, The Collaborators: Three Stories of Deception and Survival in World War II. They chat about the backstory behind the three subjects of the book—Felix Kersten, Yoshiko Kawashima, and Friedrich Weinreb—and why all three have been vilified and mythologized. They also discuss the three subjects’ varying levels of culpability for the crimes committed by the people and regimes they served.

Get the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/659322/the-collaborators-by-ian-buruma/

Show Notes:

The Guardian: Matthew Reisz – “The Collaborators by Ian Buruma review – intriguing study of the frenemy within”

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/mar/12/the-collaborators-three-stories-of-deception-survival-world-war-ii-by-ian-buruma-review-intriguing-study-of-the-frenemy-within

New York Times: Lesley M.M. Blume – “Amoral Traitors? War Heroes? Survivors? Depends Whom You Ask.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/11/books/review/the-collaborators-ian-buruma.html

The Times: Ben McIntyre – “The Collaborators by Ian Buruma review — three stories of deception and survival in the Second World War”

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-collaborators-by-ian-buruma-review-jljr2msmd

Times Literary Supplement: Josh Ireland – “Unholy compromises”

https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/the-collaborators-ian-buruma-book-review-josh-ireland/

Wall Street Journal: Diane Cole – “‘The Collaborators’ Review: They Dealt With the Devil”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-collaborators-book-review-world-war-ii-history-they-dealt-with-the-devil-8a1cad6b

Washington Post: Scott Martelle – “For three liars during WWII, deception proves to be both good and evil”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/05/03/world-war-ii-collaborators-book/

Ill Literacy, Episode 139: On Great Fields (Guest: Ronald C. White)

Tim Benson — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 18:17:52 -0500

In Episode 139 of Ill Literacy, Tim Benson talks with Ronald C. White, author ofOn Great Fields: The Life and Unlikely Heroism of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by return guest Ronald C. White, senior fellow at the Trinity Forum, to discuss his new book, On Great Fields: The Life and Unlikely Heroism of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. They chat about Chamberlain’s early days in Maine, his studying to become a minister, and a how a childhood stutterer ended up being fluent in nine languages. They also discuss his Civil War heroism, his turn as governor of Maine, and how he made a civilian life of meaning after having experienced the extreme highs and lows of war.

Get the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/566059/on-great-fields-by-ronald-c-white/

Show Notes:

C-SPAN: On Great Fields (VIDEO)

https://www.c-span.org/video/?531806-2/on-great-fields

HistoryNet: Dave Kindy – “This Son of Maine Was Much More Than a Civil War Hero”

https://www.historynet.com/interview-on-great-fields-chamberlain/

Wall Street Journal: Randall Fuller – “‘On Great Fields’: Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Professor and Hero”

https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/on-great-fields-joshua-lawrence-chamberlain-professor-and-hero-af8c509c

Outro music: Aswad, Warrior Charge, War Ina Babylon: An Island Reggae Anthology, 2009

The House of Dudley: A New History of Tudor England (Guest: Joanne Paul)

Tim Benson — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 16:29:03 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Joanne Paul, Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History at the University of Sussex, to discuss her new book, The House of Dudley: A New History of Tudor England. They chat about who were the Dudleys, how they gained prominence, then lost it all, then gained prominence once again, and then finally lost it all again. They also discuss how the family’s fortunes seemed to mirror those of their Tudor benefactors, why the Dudley men would want to play such a dangerous game, and how the Dudley women kept the family together when family fortunes had fallen.

Get the book here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-House-of-Dudley/Joanne-Paul/9781639366125

Show Notes:

Literary Review: Mathew Lyons – “They courted trouble”

https://literaryreview.co.uk/they-courted-trouble

The Spectator: Elizabeth Goldring – “The machinations of the Dudleys make Game of Thrones look tame”

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-machinations-of-the-dudleys-make-game-of-thrones-look-tame/

The Telegraph: Noel Malcolm – “How the Dudleys played Tudor snakes and ladders – and lost spectacularly”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/dudleys-played-tudor-snakes-ladders-lost-spectacularly/

The Times: Gerard DeRoot – “The House of Dudley by Joanne Paul review — how to get ahead (or lose your head) in Tudor England”

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-house-of-dudley-by-joanne-paul-review-jg3rvf0zs

Wall Street Journal: Catherine Ostler – “‘The House of Dudley’ Review: Tudor Game of Thrones”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-house-of-dudley-review-playing-the-tudor-game-of-thrones-8d74f2a6

Oscar Hammerstein II and the Invention of the Musical (Guest: Laurie Winer)

Tim Benson — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 18:30:16 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Laurie Winer, founding editor of the Los Angeles Review of Books, to discuss her new book, Oscar Hammerstein II and the Invention of the Musical. They chat about why Winer believes Hammerstein more than anyone else invented the musical. They also discuss his relationship with collaborators Jerome Kern and Richard Rodgers and how Hammerstein’s optimistic humor, openness to strangers, and rejection of bitterness contributed to a vision that orchestrated a collective reimagining of America.

Get the book here: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300223798/oscar-hammerstein-ii-and-the-invention-of-the-musical/

Show Notes:

Los Angeles Review of Books: Tim Riley – “A Poet of the Anticipation of Joy: On Laurie Winer’s ‘Oscar Hammerstein II and the Invention of the Musical’”
https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/a-poet-of-the-anticipation-of-joy-on-laurie-winers-oscar-hammerstein-ii-and-the-invention-of-the-musical/

New York Times: Brad Leithauser – “A Cockeyed Optimist: Oscar Hammerstein Was No Stephen Sondheim”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/08/books/review/oscar-hammerstein-ii-and-the-invention-of-the-musical-laurie-winer.html

The World That Wasn't: Henry Wallace and the Fate of the American Century (Guest: Benn Steil)

Tim Benson — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 10:45:42 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Benn Steil, senior fellow and director of international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations, to discuss his new book, The World That Wasn't: Henry Wallace and the Fate of the American Century. They discuss Wallace’s brilliance as a geneticist, his odd obsession with mysticism, and his naivete toward the true nature of the Soviet Union and Soviet communism. They also chat about his collusion with Stalin during his run for the presidency in 1948 and how frequently he was manipulated by Soviet agents and assets during his entire tenure in government service.

Get the book here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-World-That-Wasnt/Benn-Steil/9781982127824

Show Notes:

National Review: Amity Shlaes – “What if Henry Wallace Had Been President?”
https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2024/04/what-if-henry-wallace-had-been-president/

Wall Street Journal: Michael Barone – “‘The World That Wasn’t’ Review: When FDR Dumped Wallace”
https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/the-world-that-wasnt-review-when-fdr-dumped-wallace-9f93bb24

Washington Examiner: Mark Melton – “Henry Wallace: The man who was almost (an awful) president”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/premium/2892932/henry-wallace-the-man-who-was-almost-an-awful-president/

Washington Free Beacon: Richard Norton Smith – “Midwest Mystic or Manchurian Candidate?”
https://freebeacon.com/democrats/midwest-mystic-or-manchurian-candidate/

Washington Post: George F. Will – “Roosevelt fixed his serious VP mistake. Will Biden?”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/02/23/franklin-roosevelt-changed-running-mates/

Ill Literacy, Episode 135: The Race to Zero (Guest: Paul H. Tice)

Tim Benson — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 16:00:59 -0500

In Episode 134 of Ill Literacy, Tim Benson talks with Paul H. Tice, author of The Race to Zero: How ESG Investing Will Crater the Global Financial System.

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Paul H. Tice, retired Wall-Streeter and adjunct professor of finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business, to discuss his new book, The Race to Zero: How ESG Investing Will Crater the Global Financial System. They chat about why ESG and “sustainable investing” has swept across Wall Street, why it has received so little pushback so far, and what the consequences of this new scheme will mean for the global financial system. They also discuss what can be done to push back on this attempted ESG orthodoxy.

Get the book here: https://www.encounterbooks.com/books/the-race-to-zero/

Ill Literacy, Episode 134: Drums & Demons (Guest: Joel Selvin)

Tim Benson — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 17:50:54 -0500

In Episode 133 of Ill Literacy, Tim Benson talks with Joel Selvin, author ofDrums & Demons: The Tragic Journey of Jim Gordon.

Heartland’s Tim Benson is once again joined by Joel Selvin, long-time rock critic at the San Francisco Chronicle, to discuss his new book, Drums & Demons: The Tragic Journey of Jim Gordon. They chat about why Selvin thinks Gordon is the greatest rock drummer of all time, what makes Gordon so unique as a musician, the impact he’s had on American popular music, and his undiagnosed schizophrenia and the tragic second half of his life.

Get the book here: https://diversionbooks.com/books/drums-demons/

Beyond the Wall: A History of East Germany (Guest: Katja Hoyer)

Tim Benson — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 10:20:56 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is once again joined by Katja Hoyer, research fellow at King’s College London, to discuss her new book, Beyond the Wall: A History of East Germany. They chat about the political, social, and cultural landscape that existed in East Germany, the oppressions and hardships implemented and placed on the East German population by the communist regime, and why East Germans were so into blue jeans.

Get the book here: https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/katja-hoyer/beyond-the-wall/9781541602571/

Show Notes:
Commentary: Clare McHugh – “East of Eden”
https://www.commentary.org/articles/clare-mchugh/east-germany-katja-hoyer-matthew-longo/

The Critic: David Goodhart – “The country that went to the wall”
https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/may-2023/the-country-that-went-to-the-wall/

The Economist: “Beyond the Wall adds depth to caricatures of East Germany”
https://www.economist.com/culture/2023/03/23/beyond-the-wall-adds-depth-to-caricatures-of-east-germany

The European Conservative: Jonathon Van Maren – “The Personal Narratives of Hoyer’s Beyond the Wall”
https://europeanconservative.com/articles/reviews/the-personal-narratives-of-hoyers-beyond-the-wall/

Financial Times: Frederick Studemann – “Katja Hoyer: we need to hear ‘the whole story’ about East Germany”
https://www.ft.com/content/3f26324f-081c-47de-a168-4fdf03a1e4ed

Foreign Policy: Allison Meakem – “A Tale of Two Germanies”
https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/10/01/germany-east-west-reunification-book-review-katja-hoyer-michael-kater/

The Guardian: Jacob Mikanowski – “Beyond the Wall by Katja Hoyer review – the human face of the socialist state”
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/apr/02/beyond-the-wall-by-katja-hoyer-review-far-from-the-gdr-of-the-western-imagination-east-germany-1949-1990

Literary Review: John Kampfner – “Honecker’s Hidden Pleasures”
https://literaryreview.co.uk/honeckers-hidden-pleasures

Los Angeles Review of Books: Matthew Longo – “Ostalgie: Revisiting East Germany”
https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/ostalgie-revisiting-east-germany/

The New Republic: Samuel Clowes Huneke – “The Lost History of East Germany”
https://newrepublic.com/article/175286/lost-history-east-germany-katya-hoyer-beyond-wall-book-review

New York Times: Kati Marton – “Life During Cold Wartime in East Berlin”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/05/books/review/beyond-the-wall-katja-hoyer.html

The Telegraph: Saul David – “Willkommen to the GDR! A warts-and-all history of East Germany”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/beyond-wall-katja-hoyer-review-brilliant-warts-and-all-history/

The Times: Dominic Sandbrook – “Beyond the Wall by Katja Hoyer review: real life in East Germany”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/beyond-the-wall-by-katja-hoyer-review-real-life-in-east-germany-qjzx603rt

Times Literary Supplement: Karen Leeder – “Goodbye, GDR!”
https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/beyond-the-wall-katja-hoyer-book-review-karen-leeder/

Klan War: Ulysses S. Grant and the Battle to Save Reconstruction (Guest: Fergus M. Bordewich)

Tim Benson, Fergus M. Bordewich — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 13:47:14 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is once again joined by Fergus M. Bordewich to discuss his new book, Klan War: Ulysses S. Grant and the Battle to Save Reconstruction. They chat about the formation of the Ku Klux Klan and the terroristic violence they committed against both new freed blacks and white Republicans, and how Grant and a Republican Congress went about destroying the Klan and protecting civil rights for newly freedmen in the postbellum South.

Get the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/647165/klan-war-by-fergus-m-bordewich/

Show Notes:

The Guardian: Rich Tenorio – “Klan War: how Ulysses S Grant took the fight to the extreme right”
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/oct/08/klan-war-ulysses-s-grant-book-fergus-bordewich

National Review: Kevin R. Kosar: “Ulysses S. Grant’s Final Battle”
https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2024/01/ulysses-s-grants-final-battle/

New York Times: Jennifer Szalai – “The President vs. the Klan”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/11/books/review/klan-war-fergus-bordewich.html

Wall Street Journal: Roger Lowenstein – “‘Klan War’ Review: The Agony After Appomattox”
https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/klan-war-review-the-agony-after-appomattox-957ed319

My Day with Abe Lincoln (Guest: Jonathan W. White)

The Heartland Institute — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 17:42:28 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is once again joined by Jonathan W. White, professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University and winner of the 2023 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize, to discuss his new children’s book, My Day with Abe Lincoln. They chat about why he wanted to write a children’s book, where he drew his inspiration from, and whether he has plans for any more books in the series.

Get the book here: https://www.reedypress.com/shop/my-day-with-abe-lincoln/

The Beloved Vision: A History of Nineteenth Century Music

Tim Benson — Thu, 11 Jan 2024 15:23:32 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Stephen Walsh, Emeritus Professor of Music at Cardiff University, to discuss his book, The Beloved Vision: A History of Nineteenth Century Music. They chat about the music of the nineteenth century and the Romantic tradition and how it has moved generations of musicians and resonated with countless listeners. They also talk about the ideas that lay behind Romanticism and how Romantic music has become the mainstay of the twentieth and twenty-first century concert and operatic repertoire.

Get the book here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Beloved-Vision/Stephen-Walsh/9781639362363

Show Notes:

Wall Street Journal: Barton Swaim – “‘The Beloved Vision’ Review: The Age of Musical Amateurs”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-beloved-vision-book-review-the-age-of-musical-amateurs-11673629786

Ill Literacy, Episode 129: The New Deal’s War on the Bill of Rights (Guest: David T. Beito)

Tim Benson — Tue, 02 Jan 2024 13:44:35 -0600

In Episode 129 of Ill Literacy, Tim Benson talks with David T. Beito, author ofThe New Deal’s War on the Bill of Rights: The Untold Story of FDR’s Concentration Camps, Censorship, and Mass Surveillance.

Heartland’s Tim Benson joined by David T. Beito, Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute and Professor Emeritus at the University of Alabama, to discuss his new book, The New Deal’s War on the Bill of Rights: The Untold Story of FDR’s Concentration Camps, Censorship, and Mass Surveillance. They chat about Roosevelt’s intellectual roots, his willingness to put the New Deal regulatory and welfare state apparatus at the service of big city machine bosses to quash civil liberties, and his and his allies’ attacks on the speech rights of newspaper publishers and radio stations. They also discuss FDR’s true role in the internment of Japanese Americans and whether the Second World War was a “good war” for free speech and civil liberties compared to the Great War.

Get the book here: https://www.independent.org/store/book.asp?id=142

Show Notes:

National Review: Timothy Sandefur – “FDR’s Campaign of Intimidation”

https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2023/10/16/fdrs-campaign-of-intimidation/

Reason: David T. Beito – “How FDR Emasculated the Black Press in World War II”

https://reason.com/2023/12/27/how-fdr-emasculated-the-black-press-in-world-war-ii/

Reason: David T. Beito – “When the Left and Right Came Together To Applaud Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”

https://reason.com/2023/09/23/when-the-left-and-right-came-together-to-applaud-mr-smith-goes-to-washington/

Final Resting Places: Reflections on the Meaning of Civil War Graves (Guest: Jonathan W. White)

Tim Benson — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 11:34:34 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is once again joined by Jonathan W. White, professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University and winner of the 2023 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize, to discuss his new co-edited book, Final Resting Places: Reflections on the Meaning of Civil War Graves. They chat about how he and co-editor Brian Matthew Jordan thought up the project and how they went about gathering contributors. They also discuss how each gravesite tells a unique story of how someone lived, how they died, how they were mourned, and how they were remembered. They also delve into what death and memorialization meant to the Civil War generation and how those meanings still influence Americans today.

Get the book here: https://ugapress.org/book/9780820364551/final-resting-places/

Shipwrecked: A True Civil War Story of Mutinies, Jailbreaks, Blockade-Running, and the Slave Trade (Guest: Jonathan W. White)

Tim Benson — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 11:35:50 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is once again joined by Jonathan W. White, professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University and winner of the 2023 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize, to discuss his book, Shipwrecked: A True Civil War Story of Mutinies, Jailbreaks, Blockade-Running, and the Slave Trade. They chat about Appleton Oaksmith, sea captain and probable slave trader, and how his life intersected with some of the most important moments, movements, and individuals of the mid-19th century. They also discuss the extraordinary lengths the Lincoln Administration went to destroy the illegal trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Get the book here: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538175019/Shipwrecked-A-True-Civil-War-Story-of-Mutinies-Jailbreaks-Blockade-Running-and-the-Slave-Trade

Show Notes:

Lincoln Presidential Foundation: “Four Score Speaker Series: Dr. Jonathan W. White” (VIDEO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzWiJYWTXpA

New York Times: Dorothy Wickenden – “The Sea Captain Who Ran From Abraham Lincoln”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/01/books/review/shipwrecked-jonathan-w-white.html

U.S. National Archives: “Shipwrecked: A True Civil War Story of Mutinies, Jailbreaks, Blockade-Running, and the Slave Trade” (VIDEO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQsTUdOFrC8

The Last Campaign: Sherman, Geronimo and the War for America (Guest: H.W. Brands)

Tim Benson — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 15:48:42 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is once again joined by H.W. Brands, Dickson Allen Anderson Centennial Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin, to discuss his book, The Last Campaign: Sherman, Geronimo and the War for America. They chat about what made both Sherman and Geronimo keen strategists and bold soldiers and how, over the course of the 1870s and 1880s, these two war chiefs would confront each other in the final battle for what the American West would be.

Get the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/677161/the-last-campaign-by-h-w-brands/

Show Notes:

The Economist: “’The Last Campaign’ chronicles the final American frontier wars”
https://www.economist.com/culture/2022/11/22/the-last-campaign-chronicles-the-final-american-frontier-wars

Law & Liberty: Ralph L. DeFalco III – “The Last War for America”
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/the-last-war-for-america/

Literary Hub: H.W. Brands – “How Grief and Revenge Made Geronimo Into a Legendary War Chief”
https://lithub.com/how-grief-and-revenge-made-geronimo-into-a-legendary-war-chief/

Wall Street Journal: Andrew R. Graybill – “‘The Last Campaign’ Review: Battles of Sherman and Geronimo”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-last-campaign-review-the-battles-of-sherman-and-geronimo-433f814e

The Lincoln Miracle: Inside the Republican Convention That Changed History (Guest: Edward Achorn)

Tim Benson — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 13:16:22 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Edward Achorn to discuss his book, The Lincoln Miracle: Inside the Republican Convention That Changed History. They chat about what the scene looked like in Chicago at the GOP convention in 1860, Lincoln’s quiet strategy as a dark horse and the team that maneuvered him to the nomination, and the broader political landscape in America that fateful year.

Get the book here: https://groveatlantic.com/book/the-lincoln-miracle/

Show Notes:

The Epoch Times: Anita L. Sherman – “Book Review: ‘The Lincoln Miracle: Inside the Republican Convention That Changed History’”
https://www.theepochtimes.com/bright/book-review-the-lincoln-miracle-inside-the-republican-convention-that-changed-history-5202713

Literary Hub: Edward Achorn – “How One Week in Chicago Changed Abraham Lincoln’s Life—and the Fate of the United States”
https://lithub.com/how-one-week-in-chicago-changed-abraham-lincolns-life-and-the-fate-of-the-united-states/

Wall Street Journal: Roger Lowenstein – “‘The Lincoln Miracle’ Review: How a Longshot Won”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-lincoln-miracle-book-review-how-a-longshot-won-1c3b0574

State of the Schools: Unpacking Donald P. Nielsen's Roadmap for Educational Transformation

Tim Benson — Tue, 12 Sep 2023 13:04:33 -0500

In this edition of the Heartland Daily Podcast, Tim Benson talks to successful entrepreneur and Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute Donald P. Nielsen about the updated version of his book Every School: One Citizen’s Guide to Transforming Education. Nielsen draws on his business career and two decades as a school activist to offer innovative solutions to the educational challenges facing our public school system. He argues that lasting change in American public education will only come at the state level, through state legislative action that empowers school administrators to make choices in the interests of their students.

Get the book here: https://www.discovery.org/store/product/every-school-2019/

Woke Proof Your Life (Guest: Teresa Mull)

Tim Benson, Teresa Mull — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 09:59:50 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Teresa Mull, assistant editor of the Spectator World, to discuss her book, Woke-Proof Your Life: A Handbook on Escaping Modern, Political Madness and Shielding Yourself and Your Family by Living a More Self-Sufficient, Fulfilling Life. They chat about how what exactly “woke” means, how to avoid “toxic empathy”, and how to cultivate community and grow faith. They also discuss the three tenants to focus on when you feel trapped in a maze of woke culture.

Get the book here: https://sophiainstitute.com/product/how-to-woke-proof-your-life/

Show Notes:

Fox News: Christine Rousselle – “To 'woke-proof' your life, join a church, drop the tech and talk to people, says Pennsylvania writer”
https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/woke-proof-life-join-church-drop-tech-talk-people-pennsylvania-writer

The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink (Guest: William Inboden)

Tim Benson — Mon, 14 Aug 2023 11:29:50 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by William Inboden, executive director of the Clements Center for National Security and associate professor of public policy and history at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, both at the University of Texas at Austin, to discuss his book, The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink. They chat about how Reagan waged the Cold War while also managing multiple crises around the globe, how and why Reagan remade the four-decade-old policy of containment to challenge the Soviets in an arms race that pushed them toward economic and political collapse, all while extending an olive branch of diplomacy as he sought a peaceful end to the conflict.

Get the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/617503/the-peacemaker-by-william-inboden/

Show Notes:

City Journal: Tevi Troy – “The Last Great President”
https://www.city-journal.org/article/the-last-great-president

The Critic: Angus Reilly – “The man who tamed the Russian bear”
https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/march-2023/the-man-who-tamed-the-russian-bear/

National Review: Alvin S. Felzenberg – “The Strategic Vision behind Reagan’s Cold War Victory”
https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2023/05/15/the-strategic-vision-behind-reagans-cold-war-victory/

Wall Street Journal: Matthew Continetti – “‘The Peacemaker’ Review: Ronald Reagan’s Cold War”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-peacemaker-book-review-ronald-reagans-cold-war-11669396368

Washington Free Beacon: Steven F. Hayward – “The Clear-Headed Ronald Reagan”
https://freebeacon.com/culture/the-clear-headed-ronald-reagan/

Washington Post: Geoffrey Kabaservice – “‘The Peacemaker’ holds up Ronald Reagan as the Cold War’s victor”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/02/24/reagan-cold-war-book-inboden/

Napoleon at Peace: How to End a Revolution (Guest: William Doyle)

Tim Benson — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 15:04:12 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by William Doyle, professor emeritus of history and a senior research fellow at the University of Bristol, to discuss his book, Napoleon at Peace: How to End a Revolution. They chat about how Napoleon ended the French Revolution by winning peace on the battlefield, repairing relations with the Catholic Church, and making himself monarch. This also discuss Bonaparte’s attempts to restore France’s colonial empire.

Get the book here: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/N/bo184798345.html

Show Notes:

The Critic: Ruth Scurr – “The regal rise of le petit caporal”
https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/november-2022/the-regal-rise-of-le-petit-caporal/

Engelsberg Ideas: Katherine Bayford – “Napoleon: the revolutionary who made himself an emperor”
https://engelsbergideas.com/reviews/napoleon-the-revolutionary-who-made-himself-an-emperor/

Literary Review: John Adamson – “His Majesty the First Consul”
https://literaryreview.co.uk/his-majesty-the-first-consul

Times Literary Supplement: Alan Forrest – “The road to St Helena”
https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/napoleon-michael-broers-napoleon-at-peace-william-doyle-book-review-alan-forrest/

Oliver Stone's Film-Flam: The Demagogue of Dealey Plaza (Guest: Fred Litwin)

Tim Benson — Wed, 05 Jul 2023 16:53:12 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Fred Litwin to discuss his book Oliver Stone's Film-Flam: The Demagogue of Dealey Plaza. They chat about what Oliver Stone has been up to on the JFK assassination conspiracy beat since his blockbuster 1991 film. They also chat about how much we should trust the Warren Commission report, what happened with Kennedy’s autopsy, the chain of custody of the bullet found at Parkland Hospital, and how the unsuccessful prosecution of Clay Shaw for Kennedy’s murder by New Orleans DA Jim Garrison was little more than homophobic persecution.

Get the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Oliver-Stones-Film-Flam-Demagogue-Dealey/dp/0994863063

On a Knife Edge: How Germany Lost the First World War (Guest: Holger Afflerbach)

Tim Benson — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 14:51:33 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Holger Afflerbach, Professor of Modern European History at the University of Leeds, to discuss his book, On a Knife Edge: How Germany Lost the First World War. They chat about how Sly changed the face of black music, the impact and influence his music had on his peers, and the symbolism of the interracial and intergender Family Stone. They also discuss Sly’s prolific drug use and increasing paranoia and how everything came crashing down.

Get the book here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691165400/kennan

Show Notes:

The Critic: Ruth Scurr – “The regal rise of le petit caporal”
https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/november-2022/the-regal-rise-of-le-petit-caporal/

Engelsberg Ideas: Katherine Bayford – “Napoleon: the revolutionary who made himself an emperor”
https://engelsbergideas.com/reviews/napoleon-the-revolutionary-who-made-himself-an-emperor/

Literary Review: John Adamson – “His Majesty the First Consul”
https://literaryreview.co.uk/his-majesty-the-first-consul

Times Literary Supplement: Alan Forrest – “The road to St Helena”
https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/napoleon-michael-broers-napoleon-at-peace-william-doyle-book-review-alan-forrest/

Kennan: A Life Between Worlds (Guest: Frank Costigliola)

Tim Benson — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 17:30:52 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Frank Costigliola, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Connecticut, to discuss his new book, Kennan: A Life between Worlds. They chat about why George Kennan was one of the most important, and complex, figures in the history of American foreign policy, his diplomatic career in the Soviet Union, his rise to fame and preeminence, and his swift fall from power and influence. They also discuss how Kennan was impossible to classify and whether his diplomatic vision holds any lessons for today.

Get the book here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691165400/kennan

Show Notes:

Financial Times: Anatol Lieven – “Kennan: A Life Between Worlds — lessons for the containment of Russia”
https://www.ft.com/content/76231e54-063a-4366-acd1-cecd314c470e

First Things: Patrick Porter – “Cold War Contradictions”
https://www.firstthings.com/article/2023/04/cold-war-contradictions

Foreign Affairs: Fredrik Logevall – “The Ghosts of Kennan”
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/ghosts-george-kennan-lessons-cold-war

Foreign Policy: Michael Hirsh – “Is Cold War Inevitable?”
https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/01/23/cold-war-george-kennan-diplomacy-containment-united-states-china-soviet-union/

The New Republic: Patrick Iber – “George Kennan’s False Moves”
https://newrepublic.com/article/169557/george-kennans-false-moves

Times Literary Supplement: Harold James – “Kissing Stalin on the mouth”
https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/kennan-frank-costigliola-book-review-harold-james/

Washington Examiner: Damir Marusic – “The divided George Kennan”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/the-divided-george-kennan

The Jeffersonians: The Visionary Presidencies of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe (Guest: Kevin R.C. Gutzman)

Tim Benson — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 14:42:31 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Kevin R.C. Gutzman, Professor of History at Western Connecticut State University, to discuss his new book, The Jeffersonians: The Visionary Presidencies of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. They discuss the foreign policy, domestic, and constitutional agenda of the Virginia Dynasty, their successes and failures, and what the presidential administrations of these three Founders meant for the history of the country.

Get the book here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250135452/thejeffersonians

Show Notes:

Law & Liberty (AUDIO): “The Jeffersonian Republic” (AUDIO)
https://lawliberty.org/podcast/the-jeffersonian-republic/

U.S. National Archives: “The Jeffersonians: The Visionary Presidencies of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe” (VIDEO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrUBnbZaZGY

Wall Street Journal: David O. Stewart – “‘The Jeffersonians’ Review: Virginia Dynasty
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-jeffersonians-review-virginia-dynasty-11671057455

Washington Free Beacon: Luke Thompson – “Reality Mugs a Founder”
https://freebeacon.com/culture/reality-mugs-a-founder/

Democracy Erodes From the Top (Guest: Larry M. Bartels)

Tim Benson — Tue, 23 May 2023 14:12:30 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Larry M. Bartels, University Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Law and May Werthan Shayne Chair of Public Policy and Social Science at Vanderbilt University, to discuss his new book, Democracy Erodes from the Top: Leaders, Citizens, and the Challenge of Populism in Europe. They discuss the myth that there is a populist wave in contemporary European public opinion, and Bartels argues the real crisis stems not from an increasingly populist public but from political leaders who exploit or mismanage the chronic vulnerabilities of democracy.

Get the book here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691244501/democracy-erodes-from-the-top

Show Notes:

Salon: Paul Rosenberg – “What crisis of democracy? Scholar Larry Bartels says the real crisis is corrupt leaders”

https://www.salon.com/2023/04/02/what-of-democracy-scholar-larry-bartels-says-the-real-is-corrupt-leaders/

Scalia: Rise to Greatness (Guest: James Rosen)

Tim Benson — Mon, 08 May 2023 11:22:32 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by James Rosen, chief White House correspondent for Newsmax, to discuss his new book, Scalia: Rise to Greatness, 1936 to 1986. They discuss his Catholic upbringing and education, his stints in academia and his published works, his service in the Nixon and Ford administrations, and his time on the D.C. District Court of Appeals. They also chat about his personality, the importance of his Catholic faith, and what made such a special character in American history.

Triumph Regained: The Vietnam War (Guest: Mark Moyar)

Tim Benson — Wed, 03 May 2023 14:24:21 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Mark Moyar, William P. Harris Chair in Military History at Hillsdale College, to discuss his new book, Triumph Regained: The Vietnam War, 1965-1968. Moyar discusses why the war was a strategic necessity, how American operations gave the South Vietnamese government some breathing space, and how the war could possibly been brought to a satisfactory conclusion if LBJ had heeded more advice from his generals. They also chat about how, contrary to public perception, the Tet Offensive was an unmitigated disaster for the North Vietnamese militarily and, also contrary to public perception, American culture sustained public support for the war through the end of 1968.

Get the book here: https://www.encounterbooks.com/books/triumph-regained/

Show Notes:

American Greatness: Victor Davis Hanson – “Refighting the Vietnam War”
https://amgreatness.com/2023/02/27/refighting-the-vietnam-war/

The American Spectator: Francis P. Sempa – “Who Lost Vietnam? Mark Moyar’s New Book Spreads the Blame”
https://spectator.org/who-lost-vietnam-mark-moyars-new-book-spreads-the-blame/

Washington Examiner: Avi Woolf – “The eternal reexamination of Vietnam”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/the-eternal-reexamination-of-vietnam

Sly & the Family Stone (Guest: Joel Selvin)

Tim Benson — Mon, 01 May 2023 11:08:30 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Joel Selvin, former columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, to discuss the new paperback edition of his book, Sly & the Family Stone: An Oral History. They chat about how Sly changed the face of black music, the impact and influence his music had on his peers, and the symbolism of the interracial and intergender Family Stone. They also discuss Sly’s prolific drug use and increasing paranoia and how everything came crashing down.

A Short History of War (Guest: Jeremy Black)

Tim Benson — Tue, 25 Apr 2023 10:22:50 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Jeremy Black, emeritus professor of history at the University of Exeter, to discuss the new paperback edition of his book, The Short History of War. They chat about how warfare has transformed the social, political, cultural, and religious aspects of humanity across time, the significance of warfare more broadly, and the ways in which cultural understandings of conflict have lasting consequences in societies across the world. They also discuss the fundamental impact of weaponry on modes of war and what the future of warfare will look like.

Get the book here: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300267075/a-short-history-of-war/

Show Notes:

Wall Street Journal: Crawford Gribben – “‘A Short History of War’ Review: Fighting the Battles”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-short-history-of-war-review-fighting-the-battles-11636583345

Religious Liberty and the American Founding (Guest: Vincent Phillip Muñoz)

Tim Benson — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 15:46:27 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Vincent Phillip Muñoz, the Tocqueville Associate Professor of Political Science and Concurrent Associate Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame, to discuss his new book, Religious Liberty and the American Founding: Natural Rights and the Original Meanings of the First Amendment Religion Clauses. They chat about how the Founding Fathers understood religious liberty to be an inalienable natural right, what we can and cannot determine about the original meanings of the Religion Clauses, and how a re-adoption of the Founders’ understanding would lead to a minimalist church-state jurisprudence delivering neither consistently conservative nor consistently liberal results.

How the Court Became Supreme: The Origins of American Juristocracy (Guest: Paul D. Moreno)

Tim Benson — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 14:17:18 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Paul D. Moreno, professor of history at Hillsdale College, to discuss his new book, How the Court Became Supreme: The Origins of American Juristocracy. They chat about how the U.S. Supreme Court has emerged as the most powerful judiciary unit in the history of the world, how the Court got to that point, and what exactly “judicial primacy” means.

Napoleon: The Decline and Fall of an Empire (Guest: Michael Broers)

Tim Benson — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 12:19:02 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Michael Broers, Professor of Western European History at Oxford University, and to discuss his new book, Napoleon: The Decline and Fall of an Empire: 1811-1821. They chat about how Napoleon went from the colossus of Europe to a prisoner on tiny St. Helena in just four short years, how exactly he was brought to defeat, and how Tsar Alexander of Russia was Bonaparte’s perfect foil. They also talk about whether Napoleon actually did some good for Europe and the carnage of the Napoleonic Wars.

Get the book here: http://pegasusbooks.com/books/napoleon-9781639361779-hardcover

Show Notes:

Times Literary Supplement: Alan Forrest – “The road to St Helena”
https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/napoleon-michael-broers-napoleon-at-peace-william-doyle-book-review-alan-forrest/

Wall Street Journal: Dominic Green – “‘Napoleon’ Review: The Road to Waterloo”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/napoleon-review-the-road-to-waterloo-11659477197

Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America (Guest: David E. Bernstein)

Tim Benson — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 15:27:35 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by David E. Bernstein, University Professorship chair at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, to discuss his new book, Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America. They chat about the development and history of the completely absurd and arbitrary racial classification system in the United States, whether the federal government should even be classifying people by race at all, and what system, if any, should replace our current one.

Get the book here: https://posthillpress.com/book/classified-the-untold-story-of-racial-classification-in-america

Show Notes:

Cato Institute: “Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification In America” (VIDEO)
https://www.cato.org/multimedia/events/classified-untold-story-racial-classification-america

Law & Liberty: Scott Gerber – “Separating Race and State”
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/separating-race-and-state/

Manhattan Institute for Policy Research: “Classified: The Untold Story Of Racial Classification In America” (VIDEO)
https://www.manhattan-institute.org/classified-untold-story-racial-classification-america

Washington Post: George F. Will – “How racial preferences feed grasping grievance groups and grow ever more absurd”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/30/racial-preferences-absurd-identity-politics/

The British Way of War (Guest: Andrew Lambert)

Tim Benson — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 11:34:24 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Andrew Lambert, Laughton Professor of Naval History at King’s College, London, to discuss his new book, The British Way of War: Julian Corbett and the Battle for a National Strategy. They chat about who Julian Corbett was and what exactly entailed his “maritime strategy.” They also discuss how that strategy, unheeded during the Great War to disastrous consequences, proved critical to Allied success in the Second World War and shaped Winston Churchill’s conduct of the conflict.

Get the book here: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300250732/the-british-way-of-war/

Show Notes:
The National Interest: William Anthony Hay – “Julian Corbett and the Rebirth of British Strategy”
https://nationalinterest.org/feature/julian-corbett-and-rebirth-british-strategy-201295

Superabundance: The Story of Population Growth, Innovation, and Human Flourishing on an Infinitely Bountiful Planet (Guest: Marian L. Tupy)

Tim Benson — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 13:58:40 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Marian L. Tupy, editor of HumanProgress.org and senior fellow at the Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity at the Cato Institute, to discuss his new book (co-authored with Gale L. Pooley), Superabundance: The Story of Population Growth, Innovation, and Human Flourishing on an Infinitely Bountiful Planet. They chat about “time prices,” why apocalyptic predictions about overpopulation and resource exhaustion won’t die, why human beings are actually the Earth’s most important resource, and what we can learn on the subject from Marvel’s Avengers.

Get the book here: https://store.cato.org/products/superabundance

Show Notes:
American Institute for Economic Research: Art Carden – “Review of Superabundance by Marian L. Tupy and Gale L. Pooley”
https://www.aier.org/article/review-of-superabundance-by-marian-l-tupy-and-gale-l-pooley/

City Journal: Yael Levin Hungerford – “Affirmations”
https://www.city-journal.org/review-of-superabundance

RealClearMarkets: Eric Grover – “Book Review: Marian Tupy & Gale Pooley's 'Superabundance'”
https://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2022/12/01/book_review_marian_tupy_and_gale_pooleys_superabundance_867669.html

Coming to Terms with John F. Kennedy (Guest: Stephen F. Knott)

The Heartland Institute — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 22:18:50 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Stephen F. Knott, professor of national security affairs at Naval War College, to discuss his new book, Coming to Terms with John F. Kennedy. They chat about the mystique around JFK and why it still continues to hold, in some form, almost 60 years after his assassination. They also talk about Kennedy’s approach to civil rights, what would have happened with Vietnam if he had survived his fatal trip to Dallas and won a second term, and what his legacy should be today.

Get the book here: https://kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700633654/

Rome: Strategy of Empire (Guest: James Lacey)

The Heartland Institute — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 16:54:43 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by James Lacey, Horner Chair of War Studies and Professor of Strategic Studies and Political Economy at Marine Corps War College, to discuss his new book, Rome: Strategy of Empire. They chat about whether the Roman Empire really did have a grand strategy, what that grand strategy might have been, and whether it had the bureaucratic apparatus necessary to put that strategy into effect. They also discuss why it took the Roman Empire such a long time to collapse, and the importance of the Pax Romana to the Mediterranean world.

Get the book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/rome-9780190937706?cc=us&lang=en&

Give Me Liberty: The True Story of Oswaldo Payá and His Daring Quest for a Free Cuba (Guest: David E. Hoffman)

The Heartland Institute — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 12:41:16 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by David E. Hoffman, contributing editor and member of the editorial board of The Washington Post, to discuss his new book, Give Me Liberty: The True Story of Oswaldo Payá and his Daring Quest for a Free Cuba. They chat about how democracy for Cuba became Payá’s life work, the remarkable achievement of the Varela Project, and whether Payá’s death really was an accident or if Castro’s regime had a part in it.

Get the book here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Give-Me-Liberty/David-E-Hoffman/9781982191191

Show Notes:

National Endowment for Democracy: “Give Me Liberty: Examining the Legacy of Oswaldo Payá” (VIDEO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T4o7VLXI84

Times Literary Supplement: Anthony DePalma – “‘We are not afraid’”
https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/give-me-liberty-david-e-hoffman-book-review-anthony-depalma/

Washington Free Beacon: Flagg Taylor – “The Courage to Counter Castro”
https://freebeacon.com/culture/the-courage-to-counter-castro/

The Washington Post: Vanessa Garcia – “The Legacy for which this Cuban dissident fought is still unfolding”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/07/01/legacy-which-this-cuban-dissident-fought-is-still-unfolding/

The End of Solitude: Selected Essays on Culture and Society (Guest: William Deresiewicz)

The Heartland Institute — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 14:33:35 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by award-winning essayist and critic William Deresiewicz to discuss his new book, The End of Solitude: Selected Essays on Culture and Society. They chat about how social media is changing the nature of our interaction with others, addressing West Point plebes about leadership, why he left academia, and why they love essay collections.

Get the book here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250858641/the-end-of-solitude

Show Notes:

The Chronicle of Higher Education: William Deresiewicz – “The End of Solitude”
https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-end-of-solitude/

Unherd: William Deresiewicz – “Escaping American tribalism”
https://unherd.com/2022/03/escaping-american-tribalism/

Law & Liberty: Theodore Dalrymple – “A Lament for the Lost University”
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/a-lament-for-the-lost-university/

Quillette: William Deresiewicz – “Why I Left Academia (Since You're Wondering)”
https://quillette.com/2022/08/17/why-i-left-academia-since-youre-wondering/

From Breakthrough to Blockbuster: The Business of Biotechnology (Guest: Donald L. Drakeman)

The Heartland Institute — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 14:38:20 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Donald L. Drakeman, Fellow in Operations and Technology Management at the Cambridge Judge Business School, Distinguished Research Professor in the Program on Constitutional Studies at the University of Notre Dame, and a Venture Partner at Advent Life Sciences, to discuss his new book (co-authored with Lisa Drakeman and Nektarios Oraiopoulos), From Breakthrough to Blockbuster: The Business of Biotechnology. They chat about how medical innovation happens, specifically how biotech companies have created 40 percent more of the most important treatments for previously unmet medical needs than the major pharmaceutical companies at a lower cost. Benson and Drakeman also discuss the crucial roles played by academic research, venture capital, contract research organizations, the capital markets, and the pharmaceutical companies in creating medical breakthroughs.

Get the book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/from-breakthrough-to-blockbuster-9780195084009?cc=us&lang=en&

Progressive Conservatism: How Republicans Will Become America's Natural Governing Party (Guest: F.H. Buckley)

The Heartland Institute — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 13:33:59 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by F.H. Buckley, Foundation Professor at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, to discuss his new book, Progressive Conservatism: How Republicans Will Become America's Natural Governing Party. They chat about what Buckley means exactly by “progressive conservative,” why the Republican Party must return to its roots as a progressive conservative party, and why the GOP must reject the illiberalism of extremists on the Right as well as the Left.

Get the book here: https://www.encounterbooks.com/books/progressive-conservatism/

Show Notes:

Law & Liberty: George Hawley – “The Mythical Progressive-Conservative Voter”
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/the-mythical-progressive-conservative-voter/

Law & Liberty: F.H. Buckley – “The Permanence of Progressive Conservatism”

https://lawliberty.org/the-permanence-of-progressive-conservatism/

National Affairs: F.H. Buckley – “The Next Republican Party”

https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/the-next-republican-party

Spectator World: William Murchison – “Frank Buckley’s right direction”

https://thespectator.com/book-and-art/the-right-direction-progressive-conservatism/

Washington Times: Brandon J. Weichert – “BOOK REVIEW: Progressive Conservatism: How Republicans Will Become America’s Natural Governing Party”

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/jul/21/book-review-progressive-conservatism-how-republica/

In Defense of German Colonialism (Guest: Bruce Gilley)

The Heartland Institute — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 14:22:21 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Bruce Gilley, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at Portland State University, to discuss his new book, In Defense of German Colonialism: And How Its Critics Empowered Nazis, Communists, and the Enemies of the West. They chat about the reasons why Gilley contends German colonialism was overall a force for good in the world, how development was encouraged and native governance flourished, and why critics of German colonialism helped destabilize the country and played into the hands of the Nazis and communists.

Get the book here: https://www.regnery.com/9781684512379/in-defense-of-german-colonialism/

Show Notes:

Law & Liberty: Jesse Russell – “Colonialism Reconsidered”

https://lawliberty.org/book-review/colonialism-reconsidered/

A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland (Guest: Troy Senik)

The Heartland Institute — Wed, 07 Dec 2022 15:55:24 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Troy Senik, cofounder of Kite & Key, to discuss his new book, “A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland.” They chat about Cleveland’s meteoric political career and how his stubbornness and his incorruptibility became the key to his political appeal, as well as to his political fall. They also place the context behind Cleveland’s frequent yielding of the veto pen, discuss whether the personal scandals that dogged him were true, and if there are any lessons his presidency can offer us in the 21st Century.

Get the book here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/A-Man-of-Iron/Troy-Senik/9781982140748

Show Notes:

City Journal: Stephen Eide – “Ironbound Liberalism”

https://www.city-journal.org/review-of-a-man-of-iron-by-troy-senik

Law & Liberty: Paul Moreno – “The Last President Worth Voting For?”

https://lawliberty.org/book-review/the-last-president-worth-voting-for/

National Review: Colin Dueck – “Not Over Grover: Reconsidering Cleveland”

https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/10/not-over-grover-reconsidering-cleveland/

The Wall Street Journal: Roger Lowenstein – “‘A Man of Iron’ Review: Grover Cleveland, Honest to a Fault”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-man-of-iron-book-review-biography-grover-cleveland-honest-to-a-fault-11663340565

Washington Free Beacon: Tevi Troy – “Cleveland Rocks”

https://freebeacon.com/politics/cleveland-rocks/

The Man Who Understood Democracy: The Life of Alexis de Tocqueville (Guest: Olivier Zunz)

The Heartland Institute — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 16:24:35 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Olivier Zunz, the James Madison Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Virginia, to discuss his new book, The Man Who Understood Democracy: The Life of Alexis de Tocqueville. They chat about Tocqueville’s dedication to achieving a new kind of democracy at the center of his life and work, why America remained central to his thought and actions throughout his life, and his fears that the democratic experiment might yet fail. They also discuss his harrowing family story, his commitment to abolitionism, and his attempts to apply the lessons of Democracy in America to French politics.

Get the book here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691173979/the-man-who-understood-democracy

Show Notes:

Commentary: Michael M. Rosen – “Citizen Tocqueville”

https://www.commentary.org/articles/michael-rosen/tocqueville-democracy/

The Hedgehog Review: Jay Tolson – “Following Alexis de Tocqueville: A Conversation with Historian and Biographer Olivier Zunz”

https://hedgehogreview.com/issues/the-use-and-abuse-of-history/articles/following-alexis-de-tocqueville-a-conversation-with-historian-and-biographer-olivier-zunz

Law & Liberty: Theodore Dalrymple – “The Life of Democracy's Interpreter”

https://lawliberty.org/book-review/the-life-of-democracys-interpreter/

Library of America: “Olivier Zunz on Alexis de Tocqueville, ‘The Man Who Understood Democracy’”

https://www.loa.org/news-and-views/1969-olivier-zunz-on-alexis-de-tocqueville-the-man-who-understood-democracy

Literary Review: Alan Ryan – “Oui, the People”

https://literaryreview.co.uk/oui-the-people

The New York Review of Books: Lynn Hunt – “‘A Great Democratic Revolution’”

https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2022/12/08/a-great-democratic-revolution-alexis-de-tocqueville/

Times Literary Supplement: Stephen W. Sawyer – “He chose democracy”

https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/the-man-who-understood-democracy-olivier-zunz-book-review-stephen-w-sawyer/

The Wall Street Journal: Barton Swaim – “‘The Man Who Understood Democracy’ Review: Tocqueville’s Dilemma”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-man-who-understood-democracy-book-review-history-politics-notes-from-america-11651245341

Victory at Sea: Naval Power and the Transformation of the Global Order in World War II (Guest: Paul Kennedy)

The Heartland Institute — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 06:00:00 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Paul Kennedy, J. Richardson Dilworth Professor of History at Yale University, to discuss his new book, Victory at Sea: Naval Power and the Transformation of the Global Order in World War II. They chat about the six major naval powers of the war and their individual strengths, weaknesses, and challenges, and how the war was won and lost in the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Mediterranean. They also talk about how the strategic landscape for naval affairs was completely altered by the war and the rise of American economic and military hegemony.

Get the book here: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300219173/victory-at-sea/

Show Notes:

Engelsberg Ideas: Lincoln Paine – “A marriage of the geopolitical, the military and the material”
https://engelsbergideas.com/books/a-marriage-of-the-geopolitical-the-military-and-the-material-victory-at-sea-naval-power-and-the-transformation-of-the-global-order-in-world-war-ii-by-paul-kennedy-review/

Foreign Policy: Alexander Wooley – “The Navy Made America a Superpower Once. Can It Again?”
https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/05/30/us-navy-victory-at-sea-review-paul-kennedy-history/

The New Criterion: Jeremy Black – “A new ruler of the waves”
https://newcriterion.com/issues/2022/9/a-new-ruler-of-the-waves

The Sunday Times: Max Hastings – “Victory at Sea by Paul Kennedy review — did the navy win the Second World War?”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/victory-at-sea-by-paul-kennedy-review-did-the-navy-win-the-second-world-war-bd7tft0l9

Wall Street Journal: Brendan Simms – “‘Victory at Sea’ Review: Ruling the Waves in World War II”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/victory-at-sea-book-review-ruling-the-waves-in-world-war-ii-11650634290

Washington Free Beacon: Mike Watson – “How We Achieved Naval Supremacy—And How We Could Lose It”
https://freebeacon.com/culture/how-we-achieved-naval-supremacy-and-how-we-could-lose-it/

Washington Post: Robert D. Kaplan – “How the naval battles of World War II reshaped the global order”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/05/20/how-naval-battles-world-war-ii-reshaped-global-order/

Music and Mystique in Muscle Shoals (Guest: Christopher M. Reali)

The Heartland Institute — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 06:00:00 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Christopher M. Reali, assistant professor of music at Ramapo College, to discuss his new book, Music and Mystique in Muscle Shoals. They chat about the Muscle Shoals music scene in the 1960’s and 1970’s, what exactly is the “Muscle Shoals Sound,” and how that sound became such a potent cultural power that still means something even up to the present day. They also talk about the overlooked history of Muscle Shoals' impact on country music and describes the region's recent transformation into a tourism destination and something of a pilgrimage stop for musicians from all over the world.

Get the book here: https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=45zfd3qs9780252044519

Blues Blast Magazine: Mark Thompson – “Christopher M Reali – Music And Mystique In Muscle Shoals | Book Review”|
https://www.bluesblastmagazine.com/christopher-m-reali-music-and-mystique-in-muscle-shoals-book-review/

Deep South Magazine: Erin Z. Bass – “Music and Mystique in Muscle Shoals”
https://deepsouthmag.com/2022/07/19/music-and-mystique-in-muscle-shoals/

Southern Review of Books: Lacey Lyons – “Music and Mystique in Muscle Shoals” Chronicles a Legendary Music Scene
https://southernreviewofbooks.com/2022/08/08/music-and-mystique-in-muscle-shoals-christopher-reali-interview/

The Surfer and the Sage: A Guide to Survive and Ride Life's Waves (Guest: Shaun Tomson)

The Heartland Institute — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 06:00:00 -0600

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by all-time surf god Shaun Tomson to discuss his new book with Noah benShea, “The Surfer and the Sage: A Guide to Survive and Ride Life's Waves.” They chat about purpose, loss, hope, faith, the importance of doing nothing, what lessons surfing has to give about living a fulfilling life, and the power of “I Will.” Tim also tries to not geek out and ask too many surf fanboy questions about Pipeline.

Get the book here: https://www.familius.com/book/the-surfer-and-the-sage/

To Address You as My Friend: African Americans' Letters to Abraham Lincoln (Guest: Jonathan W. White)

The Heartland Institute — Wed, 02 Nov 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Jonathan W. White, professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University, to discuss his new book, To Address You as My Friend: African Americans' Letters to Abraham Lincoln. They chat about the personal connection many blacks felt to Abraham Lincoln and how that gave them confidence to write to the president and to seek redress of their grievances. They also talk about how the act of writing to Lincoln for blacks was, in a small way, an act of civic participation and allowed them to claim the rights of American citizenship in a wide range of circumstances.

Get the book here: https://uncpress.org/book/9781469665078/to-address-you-as-my-friend/

America's Book: The Rise and Decline of a Bible Civilization (Guest: Mark A. Noll)

The Heartland Institute — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Mark A. Noll, Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame, to discuss his new book, America's Book: The Rise and Decline of a Bible Civilization, 1794-1911. They chat about how the Bible decisively shaped American national history even as that history influenced the use of Scripture, and how a strongly Protestant Bible civilization was fractured by debates over slavery, contested by growing numbers of non-Protestants, and torn apart by the Civil War. They also talk about how the more religiously plural period from Reconstruction to the early 20th Century saw Scripture become a much more fragmented, though still significant, force in American culture.

Get the book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/americas-book-9780197623466?q=america%27s%20book&lang=en&cc=us

Show Notes:

Wall Street Journal: D.G. Hart – “‘America’s Book’ Review: The Word Out of Season”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/americas-book-review-the-word-out-of-season-11651009649

Distrust of Institutions in Early Modern Britain and America (Guest: Brian P. Levack)

The Heartland Institute — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Brian P. Levack, John E. Green Regents Professor Emeritus in History at the University of Texas at Austin, to discuss his new book, Distrust of Institutions in Early Modern Britain and America. They chat about how distrust in institutions was an important theme of public discourse in Britain and colonial America during the early modern period, why trust in these institutions is more tenuous and difficult to restore once it has been betrayed than trust in one's family, friends, and neighbors, and how this distrust shaped the political, legal, economic, and religious of Britain and its American colonies.

Get the book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/distrust-of-institutions-in-early-modern-britain-and-america-9780192847409?q=distrust%20in%20institutions&lang=en&cc=us

Tearing Us Apart (Guest: Ryan T. Anderson)

The Heartland Institute — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Ryan T. Anderson, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, to discuss his new book, co-authored with Alexandra DeSanctis, “Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing.” They discuss how the post-Roe experiment with unlimited abortion has harmed everyone and corrupted our political system, medicine, and the media, while undermining the rule of law. They also chat about what abortion in the United States will look like post-Dobbs, and what abortion opponents can do to help foster a culture of life.

Get the book here: https://www.regnery.com/9781684513505/tearing-us-apart/

Show Notes:

The American Conservative: Emile Doak – “Abortion and the Clash of Moral Visions”
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/abortion-and-the-clash-of-moral-visions/

The Heritage Foundation: Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing (VIDEO)
https://www.heritage.org/life/event/tearing-us-apart-how-abortion-harms-everything-and-solves-nothing

National Review: Ryan T. Anderson & Alexandra DeSanctis – “We Must Acknowledge That Abortion Harms Women”
https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/06/we-must-acknowledge-that-abortion-harms-women/

The Public Discourse: Charles C. Camosy – “A Clarion Call for the Pro-Life Movement’s Heavy Lift”
https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2022/07/83558/

Washington Free Beacon: Nicholas Tomaino – “A Post-Roe Playbook”
https://freebeacon.com/culture/a-post-roe-playbook/

The State of Black America: Progress, Pitfalls, and the Promise of the Republic (Guest: William B. Allen)

The Heartland Institute — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by William B. Allen, resident scholar and the former chief operating officer of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE) and emeritus dean of James Madison College at Michigan State University, to discuss CURE’s new book, “The State of Black America: Progress, Pitfalls, and the Promise of the Republic.” They discuss the character, shape, and tendencies of life for black Americans, their astounding success in integrating into mainstream American culture, and why black patriotism is the key to overcoming what problems remain.

Get the book here: https://www.encounterbooks.com/books/state-black-america/

Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington (Guest: James Kirchick)

The Heartland Institute — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by James Kirchick, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and columnist for Tablet, to discuss his new book, “Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington.” Benson and Kirchick discuss how homosexuality came to be seen as potential national security threat, the Lavender Scare, the irresponsible homophobia of Oliver Stone’s film JFK, the tragedy of the closet, and how gay Washingtonians fought a multi-decade fight for civil rights.

Get the book here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781627792332/secretcity

Show Notes:

Commentary: Bruce Bawer – “A Capital History”
https://www.commentary.org/articles/bruce-bawer/gay-washington-james-kirchick/

New York Times: Alexandra Jacobs – “‘Secret City,’ an Epic Narrative History of the Closet in the Capital”
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/22/books/review-secret-city-history-gay-washington-james-kirchick.html

The New Yorker: Michael Waters – “What Made Washington, D.C., the ‘Gayest and Most Antigay City in America’”
https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/what-made-washington-dc-the-gayest-and-most-antigay-city-in-america

Reason: Walter Olson – “Secret City Recounts the Gay History of D.C.”
https://reason.com/2022/06/01/gay-history-in-the-city-of-secrets/

The Spectator World: David J. Garrow – “The rise of gay Washington”
https://spectatorworld.com/book-and-art/queer-streets-secret-city-gay-washington-james-kirchick/

Washington Examiner: River Page – “James Kirchick's history of gay power”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/james-kirchicks-history-of-gay-power

Washington Free Beacon: Douglas Murray – “Life in a Closeted Capital”
https://freebeacon.com/culture/life-in-a-closeted-capital/

The Invention of International Order: Remaking Europe after Napoleon (Guest: Glenda Sluga)

The Heartland Institute — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Glenda Sluga to discuss her new book, “The Invention of International Order: Remaking Europe after Napoleon.” Sluga is the professor of international history and capitalism at the European University Institute as well as a Kathleen Fitzpatrick Laureate Fellow and professor of international history at the University of Sydney. They discuss how the Congress of Vienna planted the seeds for today's international order, how new conceptions of the politics between states were the work not only of European statesmen but also of politically ambitious aristocrats and bourgeoisie, and how the leading statesmen of the age operated in the context of social networks often presided over by influential women who had their ear.

Get the book here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691208213/the-invention-of-international-order

Show Notes:

Lapham’s Quarterly: Glenda Sluga – “Only That I Were an Official Person!”
https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/only-i-were-official-person

London School of Economics: Glenda Sluga – “The invention of an international order: Lessons from 1814”
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2022/02/01/the-invention-of-an-international-order-lessons-from-1814/

Times Literary Supplement: Biancamaria Fontana – “A Europe of free peoples”
https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/the-invention-of-international-order-glenda-sluga-book-review-biancamaria-fontana/

Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China (Guest: Michael Beckley)

The Heartland Institute — Mon, 29 Aug 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Michael Beckley of Tufts University and the American Enterprise Institute to discuss his new book, co-authored with Hal Brands, “Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China.” They discuss how China’s rise in global power is over, its leadership is insecure about its future, and how that insecurity about China’s coming decline could lead to a violent challenge to the existing global order. They also chat about how the United States can maintain a smart, sustainable approach to make sure it comes out ahead in this protracted global crisis.

Get the book here: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324021308

Show Notes:

American Enterprise Institute: Hal Brands – Getting Ready for a Long War with China: Dynamics of Protracted Conflict in the Western Pacific

https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/getting-ready-for-a-long-war-with-china-dynamics-of-protracted-conflict-in-the-western-pacific/

The Atlantic: Hal Brands and Michael Beckley – “What Will Drive China to War?”

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/11/us-china-war/620571/

Bloomberg: Hal Brands – “Economic Chaos of a Taiwan War Would Go Well Past Semiconductors”

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-06-23/economic-chaos-of-a-taiwan-war-would-go-well-past-semiconductors

Foreign Affairs: Hal Brands and Michael Beckley – “The Return of Pax Americana?”

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/russia-fsu/2022-03-14/return-pax-americana

Foreign Policy: Hal Brands and Michael Beckley – “What Does China Want?”

https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/08/13/what-china-wants-us-conflict/

Journal of Applied Corporate Finance: Michael Beckley – “China’s Economy Is Not Overtaking America’s”

https://www.aei.org/research-products/journal-publication/chinas-economy-is-not-overtaking-americas/

National Public Radio: “'Danger Zone' author warns of growing tension between China and the U.S.”

https://www.npr.org/2022/08/24/1119214761/danger-zone-author-warns-of-growing-tension-between-china-and-the-u-s

Wall Street Journal: Hal Brands and Michael Beckley – “The Coming War Over Taiwan”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-coming-war-over-taiwan-11659614417

Woodrow Wilson International Center: Michael Beckley – Desperate Times, Desperate Measures: Slowing Growth Is Making China More Dangerous

https://www.aei.org/articles/desperate-times-desperate-measures-slowing-growth-is-making-china-more-dangerous/

Authority and Freedom: A Defense of the Arts (Guest: Jed Perl)

The Heartland Institute — Wed, 24 Aug 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Jed Perl of the New School of Social Research and long-time art critic for The New Republic to discuss his new book, “Authority and Freedom: A Defense of the Arts”. They discuss how the interplay between authority and freedom are the lifeblood of the arts, how the essence of the arts is their ability to free us from fixed definitions and categories, and what is the future of the arts in a democratic society.

Get the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/673724/authority-and-freedom-by-jed-perl/

Show Notes:

The Bulwark: Daniel Lelchuk – “A Defense of Art for Art’s Sake”
https://www.thebulwark.com/a-defense-of-art-for-arts-sake/

First Things: Kyle Smith – “Great Art Can Be Propaganda”
https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2022/02/great-art-can-be-propaganda

Law & Liberty: Mark Judge – “Art Without Tradition is Dead”
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/art-without-tradition-is-dead/

Literary Hub: Jed Perl – “How Artists Navigate the Interplay of Authority and Freedom”
https://lithub.com/how-artists-navigate-the-interplay-of-authority-and-freedom/

The New Criterion: Michael Mosbacher – “Art versus anachronism”
https://newcriterion.com/issues/2022/3/art-versus-anachronism

The New York Review of Books: John Banville – “The Imaginative Imperative”
https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2022/04/21/the-imaginative-imperative-authority-and-freedom-jed-perl/

The New York Times: John Adams – “Does Art Have to Be Relevant? One Prominent Critic Says No.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/12/books/review/authority-and-freedom-a-defense-of-the-arts-jed-perl.html

Quillette: Franklin Einspruch – “Authority and Freedom: A Defense of the Arts—A Review”
https://quillette.com/2022/01/12/authority-and-freedom-a-defense-of-the-arts-a-review/

Blood and Ruins: The Last Imperial War, 1931-1945 (Guest: Richard Overy)

The Heartland Institute — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Richard Overy, Professor of History at the University of Exeter, to discuss his new book, “Blood and Ruins: The Last Imperial War, 1931-1945.” They discuss why the Second World War should be considered the last imperial war, why the war needs to be looked at with a broader, more global perspective, and why it’s protracted, messy aftermath goes far beyond 1945.

Get the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/529350/blood-and-ruins-by-richard-overy/

Show Notes:

The Atlantic: Daniel Immerwahr – “A New History of World War II”
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/05/world-war-ii-empire-colonialism/629371/

The Critic: Rana Mitter – “Truly global view of World War II”
https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/october-2021/truly-global-view-of-world-war-ii/

Irish Times: Geoffrey Roberts – “Blood and Ruins: Masterly overview of the ‘long’ second World War”
https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/blood-and-ruins-masterly-overview-of-the-long-second-world-war-1.4643053

Literary Hub: Andrew Keen – “Has the Second World War Ended Yet? Richard Overy in Conversation” (AUDIO)
https://lithub.com/has-the-second-world-war-ended-yet/

Literary Review: Adam Zamoyski – “The World Ablaze”
https://literaryreview.co.uk/the-world-ablaze

New York Times: Josef Joffe – “World War II, Ukraine and the Future of Conflict”
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/04/books/blood-and-ruins-richard-overy.html

The Times: Saul David – “Blood and Ruins by Richard Overy review — the Second World War began in 1931. Discuss”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/blood-and-ruins-by-richard-overy-review-bkfhbslvx

Times Literary Supplement: John Darwin – “End of empires”
https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/blood-and-ruins-richard-overy-book-review-john-darwin/

Wall Street Journal: Michael F. Bishop – “‘Blood and Ruins’ Review: World War II and the Ends of Empires”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/blood-and-ruins-book-review-history-world-war-ii-and-the-ends-of-empires-11648217702

Splintered: Critical Race Theory and the Progressive War on Truth (Guest: Jonathan Butcher)

The Heartland Institute — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Jonathan Butcher, the Will Skillman Fellow in Education in the Center for Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation, to discuss his new book, “Splintered: Critical Race Theory and the Progressive War on Truth”. They discuss the hijacking of K–12 education by Critical Theorists, what exactly is and what isn’t Critical Race Theory, and how this battle over our national identity is a cultural battle. They also chat about the best methods for parents and policymakers to fight back against CRT.

Get the book here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Splintered/Jonathan-Butcher/9781637582664

Show Notes:

C-SPAN: “Discussion on Critical Race Theory and Victimhood” (VIDEO)
https://www.c-span.org/video/?519180-1/discussion-critical-race-theory-victimhood#!

The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal: George Leef – “The Origins and Impact of Racially Divisive Curricula”
https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2022/07/the-origins-and-impact-of-racially-divisive-curricula/

Washington Free Beacon: Alex Nester – “The Plot To Undermine America’s Institutions”
https://freebeacon.com/culture/the-plot-to-undermine-americas-institutions/

The Georgians: The Deeds and Misdeeds of 18th-Century Britain (Guest: Penelope J. Corfield)

The Heartland Institute — Wed, 03 Aug 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Penelope J. Corfield, professor emeritus of history at Royal Holloway, London University and president of the International Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, to discuss her new book, “The Georgians: The Deeds and Misdeeds of 18th-Century Britain.” They discuss many aspects of Georgian life, including politics and empire, culture and society, love and violence, religion and science, and industry and towns. They also discuss the elements of deep continuity that persisted even within major changes in Georgian society.

Get the book here: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300253573/the-georgians/

Show Notes:

Financial Times: Ruth Scurr – “The Georgians — the age that shaped Britain, for good and bad”
https://www.ft.com/content/5802c43c-5548-4a96-a527-b8b55dd16e95

History Today: Penelope J. Corfield – “The Lure of the Georgian Age”
https://www.historytoday.com/archive/lure-georgian-age

Lapham’s Quarterly: Penelope J. Corfield – “What Driveling Times Are These!”
https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/what-driveling-times-are-these

Literary Review: Freya Johnston – “Squalor & Sublimity”
https://literaryreview.co.uk/squalor-sublimity

The Spectator: Wynn Wheldon – “The Georgians feel closer to us now than the Victorians”
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-georgians-feel-closer-to-us-now-than-the-victorians

Sunday Times: Dominic Sandbrook – “The Georgians by Penelope J Corfield review — a colourful history of life in Georgian England”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-georgians-by-penelope-j-corfield-review-a-colourful-history-of-life-in-georgian-england-2tz92lpmd

Times Literary Supplement: Judith Hawley – “The age of light, libel, levity and lead”
https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/the-georgians-penelope-corfield-book-review-judith-hawley/

Gin, Jesus, and Jim Crow (Guest: Brendan J.J. Payne)

The Heartland Institute — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Brendan J.J. Payne, chair of the Department of History at North Greenville University, to discuss his new book, “Gin, Jesus, and Jim Crow: Prohibition and the Transformation of Racial and Religious Politics in the South.” They discuss how prohibition helped realign the racial and religious order in the South by linking restrictions on alcohol with political preaching, the disfranchisement of black voters, and how prohibition only retreated from the region once the racial and religious order it helped enshrine had been secured.

Get the book here: https://lsupress.org/books/detail/gin-jesus-and-jim-crow/

The Rise of the New Puritans: Fighting Back Against Progressives' War on Fun (Guest: Noah Rothman)

The Heartland Institute — Tue, 12 Jul 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Noah Rothman, associate editor of Commentary magazine to discuss his new book, “The Rise of the New Puritans: Fighting Back Against Progressives' War on Fun.” They discuss how progressives have returned to their shrewish and humorless norm after an interregnum of free-spirited hippiedom. They also chat about how progressives are sucking the joy out of food, sports, hobbies, fashion, movies, and television in their pursuit of a better world. Limiting happiness is a feature, not a bug, of 21st Century progressivism.

Get the book here: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-rise-of-the-new-puritans-noah-rothman?variant=39727623471138

A House Built by Slaves: African American Visitors to the Lincoln White House (Guest: Jonathan W. White)

The Heartland Institute — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Jonathan W. White, associate professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University, to discuss his new book, A House Built by Slaves: African American Visitors to the Lincoln White House. They discuss how Lincoln’s unprecedented welcoming of African American men and women to the White House transformed the trajectory of race relations in the United States and how African Americans used the White House as a national stage to amplify their calls for equality.

Get the book here: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538161807/A-House-Built-by-Slaves-African-American-Visitors-to-the-Lincoln-White-House

Show Notes:

Claremont Review of Books: Lucas Morel – “Overcoming the House Divided”
https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/overcoming-the-house-divided/

C-SPAN: A House Built by Slaves (VIDEO)
https://www.c-span.org/video/?519281-1/a-house-built-slaves

The Guardian: Martin Pengelly – “Why Abraham Lincoln’s meetings with Black Americans matter”
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/feb/12/abraham-lincoln-race-slavery-black-americans-jonathan-white-book-michell-obama

Law & Liberty: Andrew F. Lang – “Meeting Mr. Lincoln”
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/meeting-mr-lincoln/

Los Angeles Review of Books: Ronald White – “Calling on Lincoln”
https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/calling-on-lincoln/

National Review: Allen C. Guelzo – “Guests of the Great Emancipator”
https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2022/04/04/guests-of-the-great-emancipator/

Smithsonian Magazine: Jonathan W. White – “Black Lives Certainly Mattered to Abraham Lincoln”
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/black-lives-certainly-mattered-abraham-lincoln-180976963/

U.S. National Archives: A House Built by Slaves: African American Visitors to the Lincoln White House (VIDEO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqUgsyeeWyE

White House Historical Association: A House Built by Slaves - African American Visitors to the Lincoln White House (VIDEO)
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/videos/a-house-built-by-slaves-african-american-visitors-to-the-lincoln-white-house

The Fall of Robespierre: 24 Hours in Revolutionary Paris (Guest: Colin Jones)

The Heartland Institute — Tue, 05 Jul 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Colin Jones, Professor of History at Queen Mary University of London and Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago, to discuss his new book, The Fall of Robespierre: 24 Hours in Revolutionary Paris. They discuss how Maximilien Robespierre went from completely secure in his person to awaiting the guillotine in the course of a day, who were the major players in the plot against him, and how they achieved their coup. They also discuss what everyday life in Paris was like during the Terror for the average Parisian and how many of those people would have to make a fateful choice on 9 Thermidor.

Get the book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-fall-of-robespierre-9780198715955?q=fall%20of%20robespierre&lang=en&cc=us

Show Notes:

Financial Times: Tony Barber – “The Fall of Robespierre by Colin Jones — a revolutionary end”
https://www.ft.com/content/12f33c91-5b7b-45fa-a295-afdfea735eec

History Today: Colin Jones – “The Fall of Robespierre”
https://www.historytoday.com/archive/fall-robespierre

Literary Review: John Adamson – “Night of the Guillotine”
https://literaryreview.co.uk/night-of-the-guillotine

London Review of Books: Caroline Webber – “Much more than a Man”
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v44/n06/caroline-weber/much-more-than-a-man

New York Review of Books: David A. Bell – “The End of the Terror”
https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2022/03/10/the-end-of-the-terror-robespierre-jones-bell/

The Spectator: Ruth Scurr – “The men of blood get their comeuppance in Revolutionary France”
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-men-of-blood-get-their-comeuppance-in-revolutionary-france

The Sunday Times: Dominic Sandbrook – “The Fall of Robespierre by Colin Jones review — the day he met the guillotine”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-fall-of-robespierre-by-colin-jones-review-the-day-he-met-the-guillotine-bljwsjx0k

Savage Journey: Hunter S. Thompson and the Weird Road To Gonzo (Guest: Peter Richardson)

The Heartland Institute — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Peter Richardson to discuss his new book, “Savage Journey: Hunter S. Thompson and the Weird Road To Gonzo.” They discuss how Thompson’s literary formation occurred in San Francisco in the mid- ‘60’s, how his celebrity has obscured his literary achievements, and why Richardson believes Thompson was one of the most important American voices in the second half of the Twentieth Century.

Get the book here: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520304925/savage-journey

Show Notes:

Alta: Sophia Stewart – “The Weird Turn Pro”
https://www.altaonline.com/books/nonfiction/a38804340/peter-richard-savage-journey-book-review/

Houston Press: Tom Richards – “Plenty of Fear, Plenty of Loathing in New Hunter S. Thompson Biography”
https://www.houstonpress.com/arts/new-bio-analyzes-the-legend-of-hunter-s-thompson-12789622

Literary Hub: Peter Richardson – “On the Legacy of Hunter S. Thompson and Gonzo Journalism”
https://lithub.com/on-the-legacy-of-hunter-s-thompson-and-gonzo-journalism/?fbclid=IwAR2R_VdzBb47DKBmXSXfkX_oXqRpKzgSr0jyxct1WMaMvlY-algv-Feb-AA

Los Angeles Review of Books: Peter Richardson – “Strange Rumblings: The Prickly but Productive Friendship Between Hunter Thompson and Oscar Acosta”
https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/strange-rumblings-the-prickly-but-productive-friendship-between-hunter-thompson-and-oscar-acosta/

The Nation: Peter Richardson – “5 Lessons From Hunter S. Thompson”
https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/hunter-thompson-rolling-stone/

The New Republic: Peter Richardson – “Hunter S. Thompson and the Four Secrets to Gonzo Journalism’s Success”
https://newrepublic.com/article/165172/hunter-s-thompson-gonzo-journalisms-four-secrets

Times Literary Supplement: Matt Sturrock – “Not-so-micro-aggressions”
https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/savage-journey-hunter-s-thompson-peter-richardson-book-review-matt-sturrock/

Wall Street Journal: Benjamin Shull – “‘Savage Journey’ Review: Hunter S. Thompson’s Wild Ride”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/savage-journey-book-review-hunter-s-thompson-biography-wild-ride-hells-angels-fear-loathing-11646321130

Washington Independent Review of Books: Daniel de Visé – “Savage Journey: Hunter S. Thompson and the Weird Road to Gonzo”
https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/index.php/bookreview/savage-journey-hunter-s-thompson-and-the-weird-road-to-gonzo

Washington Post Magazine: Jason Vest – “The gonzo journalist who forever changed political campaign coverage”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2022/05/10/hunter-thompson-campaign-coverage/

The Economics of the Parables (Guest: Father Robert Sirico)

The Heartland Institute — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Father Robert Sirico, co-founder of the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, to discuss his new book, The Economics of the Parables. They discuss the enduring financial truths of the parables, whether Jesus intended the parables to have an economic message, and why they prefer the King James Version even though they’re both Catholic.

Get the book here: https://www.regnery.com/9781684512423/the-economics-of-the-parables/

Show Notes:

Acton Line (AUDIO): “The Economics of the Parables”
https://www.acton.org/audio/economics-parables

Law & Liberty: Clara Piano – “Economics as an Antidote to Envy”
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/economics-as-an-antidote-to-envy/

Inflation: What It Is, Why It's Bad, and How to Fix It (Guest: Nathan Lewis)

The Heartland Institute — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Nathan Lewis of the Discovery Institute to discuss his new book with Steve Forbes and Elizabeth Ames, Inflation: What It Is, Why It's Bad, and How to Fix It. They discuss how we’ve gotten into the inflationary predicament we’re in, what remedies are available to decrease inflation, and why we should ignore calls to pursue heedless money-printing economic policies like Modern Monetary Theory.

Get the book here: https://www.encounterbooks.com/books/inflation/

Show Notes:

Manhattan Institute for Policy Research: How to Fix Inflation (VIDEO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJuItmnRr14

National Review: George Leef – “The Book to Read If You Want to Understand Inflation”
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-book-to-read-if-you-want-to-understand-inflation/

The Spectator (U.S.): Steve Forbes, Nathan Lewis, & Elizabeth Ames – “The moral cost of inflation”
https://spectatorworld.com/topic/the-moral-cost-of-inflation/

Sir Alan Burns' Epic Defense of the British Empire (Guest: Bruce Gilley)

The Heartland Institute — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Bruce Gilley, professor of political science at Portland State University and member of the board of the National Association of Scholars, to discuss his new book, The Last Imperialist: Sir Alan Burns' Epic Defense of the British Empire. They discuss Burns’ important role at the United Nations, his many appointments in different British colonies, his views on the benefits of British imperialism, and Gilley’s view that decolonization was incredibly mismanaged and executed far too hastily.

Get the book here: https://www.regnery.com/9781684512171/the-last-imperialist/

Show Notes:

The Caravan Notebook: Bruce Gilley – “The Case for Colonialism in the Middle East”
https://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/research/docs/gilley_webreadypdf.pdf

Claremont Review of Books: Helen Andrews – “Rule, Britannia!”
https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/rule-britannia/

The New Criterion: Barnaby Crowcroft – “Good faith impugned”
https://newcriterion.com/issues/2022/4/good-faith-impugned

Third World Quarterly: Bruce Gilley – “The Case for Colonialism”
https://www.nas.org/academic-questions/31/2/the_case_for_colonialism/pdf

Wall Street Journal: Bruce Gilley – “The Cancel Mob Comes Back for More”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-cancel-mob-comes-back-for-more-11602091733

The Statesman as Thinker: Portraits of Greatness, Courage, and Moderation (Guest: Daniel J. Mahoney)

The Heartland Institute — Thu, 26 May 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Daniel J. Mahoney, professor emeritus at Assumption University and a senior fellow with the RealClear Foundation, to discuss his new book, The Statesman as Thinker: Portraits of Greatness, Courage, and Moderation. They discuss a number of statesmen who struggled to preserve freedom in times of crisis, what qualities make a great statesman and what defines statesmanship, how the study of it has fallen on hard times, and how we can revive it.

Get the book here: https://www.encounterbooks.com/books/the-statesman-as-thinker/

The (In)visible Hand (Guest: Matthew Hennessey)

The Heartland Institute — Mon, 23 May 2022 07:00:00 -0500

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Matthew Hennessey of the Wall Street Journal to discuss his new book, Visible Hand: A Wealth of Notions on the Miracle of the Market. They discuss why a new book explaining the beauty of the free market to people who normally blanche at all things economics was needed, detour into some Jersey inside baseball, and chat about a very valuable life lesson Hennessey learned in middle school from his science teacher.

Get the book here: https://www.encounterbooks.com/books/visible-hand/

Show Notes:

Forbes: John Tamny – “Book Review: Matthew Hennessey’s Very Enjoyable ‘Visible Hand’”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/johntamny/2022/03/02/book-review-matthew-hennesseys-very-enjoyable-visible-hand/?sh=71fbcf677048

Law & Liberty: Alexander William Salter – “Economics for Everyone”
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/economics-for-everyone/

Wall Street Journal: Matthew Hennessey – “An Economics Lesson From a Science Teacher”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/an-econ-lesson-from-a-science-teacher-choices-trade-offs-capitalism-economics-high-school-parenting-11650917230

Washington Free Beacon: Dominic Pino – “The Proof Is All Around Us”
https://freebeacon.com/culture/the-proof-is-all-around-us/