Madison's Notes

Does God need politics? What does it mean to be free? Why should we care about tradition? Sohrab Ahmari, op-ed editor of the New York Post, joins Madison's Notes to discuss his new book, The Unbroken Thread: Discovering the Wisdom of Tradition in an Age of Chaos.

Why is education so important in a democracy? Are democracies capable of producing the citizens they need? What do John Locke and Alexis de Tocqueville have to teach us about education in a liberal democracy? Jeffrey Sikkenga, Executive Director of the Ashbrook Center, joins Madison's Notes to answer these questions and more. 

Helen Andrews, senior editor at The American Conservative, joins Madison's Notes to discuss her new book, Boomers: The Men and Women Who Promised Freedom and Delivered Disaster. 

Was Socrates guilty? What is the relationship between the philosopher and the city? What does it mean to live an "examined life"? Marcus Gibson, John and Daria Barry Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Princeton University's James Madison Program, returns to the show to discuss The Apology of Socrates in this second episode of our series on the Platonic dialogues.

For 40 months, Wang Xiyue was imprisoned in Iran on false charges of espionage. A doctoral candidate in history at Princeton University, Wang Xiyue joins the show to discuss his imprisonment and U.S.-Iranian relations. Xiyue's essay "What I learned in an Iranian prison" is here. His essay "Don’t let Iran’s human rights be sacrificed at the altar of a nuclear deal is here.   

Born in Somalia, Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a women’s rights activist, free speech advocate, and New York Times bestselling author. She joins the show to discuss her new book, Prey: Immigration, Islam, and the Erosion of Women's Rights. [Note: This conversation includes discussion of sensitive topics related to sexual violence.]

What is postmodernism? Does the Biden Administration support Critical Race Theory? How might a recommitment to classical liberal principles help fight "Woke-ism"? James Lindsay joins the show to answer these questions and more and discuss his book (co-written with Helen Pluckrose), Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything About Race, Gender, and Identity—and Why This Harms Everybody. About the "Grievance Studies Affair," here.

Why and how should we read Plato? Why did Plato write dialogues? Is Plato a friend to democracy? Dr. Marcus Gibson, John and Daria Barry Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Princeton University's James Madison Program, joins Madison's Notes to provide an introduction to Plato in preparation of a series of episodes on individual Platonic dialogues.

John Cribb is the author of Old Abe, an historical novel which former Vice President Mike Pence says is the "best book on President Lincoln" he has ever read. John joins to show to discuss the book, the importance of heroes, the "great man" approach to history, Facebook's attempts to "cancel" his book, and more! You can find Cribb's essay "Facebook Cancels Abe Lincoln" here.

What does the future hold for the Republican Party? What are the greatest challenges facing America today? How many pull-ups should a young man be able to do? Congressman Mike Gallagher joins Madison's Notes to answer these questions and more.