JWI Presents: Anchoring Truths Podcast

Statistics on marriage and family formation in modern America seem to get worse year after year. Why is this the case, and what can be done about it? Prominent sociologist Brad Wilcox joins host Garrett Snedeker for a in-depth discussion of Wilcox's new book "Get Married." The book describes why America’s most fundamental institution matters for our civilization more than ever. And for men and women looking to establish strong, stable, and happy unions for themselves and their children. Brad Wilcox is a professor of sociology and the director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, the Future of Freedom Fellow at the Institute for Family Studies, and a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He studies marital quality; marital stability; and the impact of strong and stable marriages upon men, women, and children. The author and editor of six books, Wilcox has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, and National Review, as well as for scientific journals such as the American Sociological Review and the Journal of Marriage and Family. A Connecticut native, he now lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, with his wife and family. Purchase the book here. Learn more about the Institute for Family Studies.

JWI Founder & Co-Director Hadley Arkes celebrates the advent and arrival of new JWI Co-Director Gerry Bradley at a conference JWI co-hosted with First Liberty Institute in March 2024. Prof. Arkes details and praises Prof. Bradley's intellectual contributions over a lifetime of teaching constitutional law.

Popular columnist, radio host, lawyer, and legal commentator Josh Hammer returns to the Anchoring Truths Podcast to discuss his latest piece of legal scholarship in the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, Common Good Originalism and Common Good Constitutionalism: a Convergence? Host Garrett Snedeker, who has co-written several times with Hammer, draws Hammer out on debates animating legal conservatism such as originalism, legal positivism, and the moral ground of law. Hammer is the Senior Editor-at-Large of Newsweek, where he also hosts "The Josh Hammer Show" podcast, "America on Trial" podcast, a syndicated radio show, and writes a weekly newsletter, "The Josh Hammer Report." Hammer is also a syndicated columnist through Creators Syndicate, host of the "America on Trial" podcast for The First, a fellow at the Edmund Burke Foundation and the Palm Beach Freedom Institute, and a popular campus speaker. He was a John Marshall Fellow with the Claremont Institute. Prior to Newsweek, Hammer previously worked as an editor and writer at a different publication, and before that he practiced law as an attorney and clerked for Judge James Ho of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He is a graduate of Duke University and the University of Chicago Law School. In addition to Newsweek, Josh has been published by dozens of other leading outlets, both lay and academic. Finally, Hammer was a 2021 James Wilson Fellow and currently the Contributing Editor of Anchoring Truths. READ: Common Good Constitutionalism and Common Good Originalism: a Convergence? LISTEN: Josh Hammer Show, America on Trial

For Minisode 3, Host Garrett Snedeker & JWI Program Director Daniel Osborne discuss their recent visit to Harvard Law School for the Federalist Society National Student Symposium. The theme of the symposium was "Why Separate Powers." Snedeker and Osborne share how two panels in particular focused on topics central to JWI's work, as well as sharing observations about the student interactions they enjoyed.

Nate Fischer of the venture firm New Founding joins host Garrett Snedeker for a Mini-Sode to discuss Fischer's provocative essay in The American Mind "Meritocracy Must *Not* Be Our Goal." Fischer provides some fascinating angles on why common understandings of merit in 21st-century America undermine a flourishing society. Read the piece here: https://americanmind.org/salvo/meritocracy-must-not-be-our-goal/ Nate Fischer on X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/NateAFischer New Founding: https://www.newfounding.com/

Professor Aaron Zubia joins Anchoring Truths Podcast host Garrett Snedeker to discuss his new book analyzing David Hume’s political theory with its implications on liberalism. Professor Zubia gives a glimpse into what the state of affairs was in the age of the Scottish Enlightenment, the ancient and Epicurean roots Hume has, and the modern applications and ramifications of his political theory. In a time of ever growing political turmoil, Zubia’s renewal of David Hume’s thought and proposal of a “politics of truth” is well worthy of listening. Aaron Zubia is Assistant Professor of Humanities at the Hamilton Center for Classical and Civic Education at the University of Florida. He specializes in the moral and political philosophy of the Scottish Enlightenment and the American founding. His first book, The Political Thought of David Hume: The Origins of Liberalism and the Modern Political Imagination (ND Press) is available now. His scholarly work has appeared in Hume Studies and Interpretation: A Journal of Political Philosophy. He has also written in The Wall Street Journal, National Review, First Things, Law & Liberty, Washington Examiner, and Public Discourse. He is the winner of the first annual Hume Studies Essay Prize for his paper, “Hume's Transformation of Academic Skepticism," and he was a runner up for the Jack Miller Center's Excellence in Civic Education Award in 2021. Previously, Zubia was a Postdoctoral Fellow with The Tocqueville Program in the Department of Politics and International Affairs at Furman University. In 2019-20, he was a Thomas W. Smith Postdoctoral Research Associate in the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions in the Department of Politics at Princeton University. He holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University, an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a B.B.A. in Marketing from the University of Texas at El Paso Follow Prof. Zubia's work here https://www.aaronzubia.com/

In this special "minisode," JWI Deputy Director Garrett Snedeker and Programs Director Daniel Osborne sit down to talk a bit about the ideas and debates that came to characterize 2023. They discuss Mere Natural Law, Originalism, Historicism, and Courage.

Catherine Glenn Foster (James Wilson Fellowship Alumna '16) joins Anchoring Truths Podcast host Garrett Snedeker to discuss the state of the pro-life movement in America. They discuss recent developments in the movement, and Foster conveys the challenges that arise from outlawing abortion, encouraging pro-lifers to help and redirect young moms and families in their communities. The podcast also delves into Foster's personal experience as a post-abortive woman and how that experience provides her with conviction to build a culture of life from natural birth to natural death. Catherine Glenn Foster, M.A., J.D., is a constitutional attorney and a mother. She is the former President and CEO of Americans United for Life. She writes, speaks, and testifies around the country on all issues related to building a culture of life. You may follow Catherine Glenn Foster on Twitter/X at @cateici and at CatherineGlennFoster.com

Join the Anchoring Truths Podcast team for our first episode of 2024, featuring an extended episode. Our guest is the distinguished political scientist Prof. W.B. "Bill" Allen, who chatted with us about his new translation, fifty years in the making, of Montesquieu's Spirit of the Laws. JWI Founder & Co-Director Hadley Arkes paid a surprise visit to the podcast to join the discussion.

For the final episode of the year, Anchoring Truths presents a special episode featuring Professor David Bernstein of the Scalia Law School at George Mason University. Prof. Bernstein delivered remarks on the American Law of Race post the Harvard cas, Students for Fair Admissions, delivered at our James Wilson Senior Seminar on October 20th. Host Garrett Snedeker served as a research assistant on Prof. Bernstein's book Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America.