The Law & Liberty Podcast

Making American Citizens

Civics centers have made significant inroads in public universities over the past decade, a significant source of hope for American conservatives. In their conversation with James Patterson, Professors Lee Strang and Pau

An Independent and Originalist Court

Senior Writer John McGinnis joins the podcast to discuss the latest term of the Supreme Court. From cases on presidential removal power to birthright citizenship, he concludes that the originalist majority is reshaping i

The Harmony of the American Founding

Is America the product of a long line of constitutionalism dating back to the Magna Carta, or a radical break with this tradition? Is it liberal or classical? Scholars and statesmen have been debating these questions sin

What Made Them Patriots

Hillsdale's Bradley J. Birzer joins James Patterson to talk about the Declaration of Independence. They discuss the American colonies' devout Protestantism, their love of the classics, and their identification with the A

Tinfoil Hats in the White House

Conspiracy theories have always played a role in American politics, especially at the presidential level. In his new book, Stephen F. Knott explores the history of this phenomenon from the Jefferson administration to the

The Versatile John Witherspoon

Who was John Witherspoon? The only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence, Witherspoon was a well-known fixture of political and religious discourse. Today he is, in Dr. Jeffry Morrison's words, "the most inte

The Future of Dynamism

Talking to guest host Pat Lynch, Virginia Postrel discusses her 1998 book, The Future and Its Enemies, and its relevance to today's political landscape. They also discuss potential impacts of AI, the cultural significanc

The Lies People Tell

The originalist majority on the Supreme Court is perhaps more open than ever to overturning what it considers to be bad precedents. In his new book, Carson Holloway argues that the justices should train their crosshairs

Conservatism's Lamentable Drift

There is enormous pressure today for traditional conservatives (or anyone critical of progressivism) to write their names in the black book of the New Right and acquiesce to a politics of populist rage and federal overre

Mercy from on High

Why do presidents have the power to pardon, and how is it typically used and abused? Sai Prakash and James Patterson discuss the pardon power's origins in British law, its usefulness in ending rebellions, and the unfortu

Democracy's Patrons

Law & Liberty senior writer John O. McGinnis joins the podcast this week to discuss his new book, Why Democracy Needs the Rich . Although they may be the focus of populist ire from the left and right alike, McGinnis cont

Boomer Entitlement?

Young Americans, and especially young men, are feeling economically disenchanted. As the national debt soars and interest rates remain high, the prospect of providing for a family (let alone buying a home) seems impossib

A Forgotten Freedom?

Law & Liberty is pleased to welcome our newest Contributing Editor, Luke C. Sheahan. To mark the occasion, Sheahan joined L&L Editor John Grove to talk about the central theme of his work: the freedom of association. The

From Communist to Conservative

Frank Meyer was the father of fusionism and one of the key builders of the conservative movement in the mid-twentieth century. That's despite spending his early years as a serious communist agitator. James Patterson and

Living the Unadjusted Life

In his recent book, Religious Freedom: A Conservative Primer , John Wilsey looks back to the writing of Peter Viereck and other great conservative minds to understand what it means to live a worthy life in a culture gone

The End of the Eco-Tyrants?

When environmental policies were first enacted, they were often supported by staunch conservatives like Richard Nixon and then-governor Ronald Reagan. Why do so many today now view environmental conservation as belonging

Israel, America and the End of the World

What is Christian Zionism? Is it, as figures like Tucker Carlson claim, a relatively recent development in America's cultural history, or does a general support for the Jewish state have a longer history in America? The

The Recent History of Free Speech

The English-speaking world has long enjoyed free speech rights unheard of in other parts of the world. But where did this legal regime come from? And as partisan strife becomes more heated on both sides of the Atlantic,

Decline and Fall?

For most of the twentieth century, conservatives argued for a strong Congress whose closer connection to voters could check the grand delusions of presidential administrations. Now, however, everyone seems to have opted

Byzantines, Bishops, and Bolsheviks