Not Dead Yet

Clint Black, multi-platinum country singer-songwriter and producer, reflects on instant stardom and staying humble. He discusses songwriting craft, balancing touring with parenting, choosing sobriety onstage, and protecting artistic integrity. Conversations touch on venue intimacy, acting, and why gratitude and faith shape his outlook.

Clayton Anderson, astronaut and aerospace professor who spent 167 days aboard the ISS and did multiple spacewalks, shares vivid stories. He talks about long training, the moment of stepping into the void, and living and working on the International Space Station. He reflects on exploration’s pull, international teamwork, and the hurdles to getting humans to Mars.

Walter Russell Mead, historian and foreign-policy thinker and Alexander Hamilton Professor of Strategy and Statecraft, discusses history and grand strategy. He maps America’s four foreign-policy traditions and contrasts Whig and Jacksonian politics. Conversations cover tech firms, IP, geopolitics, Iran’s future, and how education and leadership shape national direction.

Nicholas Eberstadt, political economist and demographer at the American Enterprise Institute, known for work on birth-rate decline and labor-market trends. He unpacks global fertility collapse and why fewer births matter. He explores why many prime-age men are out of the workforce, links to crime, disability, and screen time. He discusses community remedies and the pressures of automation on jobs.

Ellie Holcomb, a Contemporary Christian singer-songwriter and children’s author. Drew Holcomb, Americana singer-songwriter and touring frontman. They discuss family rhythms on the road. They tell the story of launching solo work and breakthrough songs. They talk about songwriting as embodied prayer, music as longing for home, and how to raise kids on great records.

Jonah Goldberg, conservative commentator and author known for books on politics and culture, discusses nostalgia vs technological change. He explores how screens shape tribalism and the loss of human depth. He talks about vulnerability in public life, how institutions form character, the line between journalism and commentary, and why institutions can learn and course-correct.

Chris Pratt, actor and producer known for Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World, shares stories from a blue-collar upbringing and early hustle. He talks about resilience from door-to-door sales, the role of faith through highs and lows, protecting family time, and his plans to return to comedy and stay grounded on his ranch.

Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and former Notre Dame law professor known for originalism. She discusses her writing process and use of clerks. She talks about balancing parenting with a demanding career. She stresses the need for better civics education and corrects common media misreads of the Court.

Mike Rowe, TV host and trades advocate known for Dirty Jobs and the Mike Rowe Works Foundation, talks about work ethic, gratitude, and vocational pride. He shares wild on-set stories and why physical work gives satisfying completion. Conversation explores stoicism, curiosity, the theft of wonder in schooling, and mixing practical skills with intellectual life.

Caitlin Flanagan, journalist and cultural critic known for long-form essays and candid writing, shares her cancer timeline and choice to write openly about illness. She talks about prioritizing family over career, the value of disagreeability in protecting convictions, shifting cultural roles for men and women, and why California both fascinates and worries her.