Higher education has a civic mission. The public knows that, but faculty and administrators seem to have lost sight of it. Instead of transmitting shared civic principles, universities often frame civics through polarized partisan lenses. Restoring civic education to its unifying role would require teaching democratic practices and constitutional ideals in ways that encourage pluralism rather than entrench division.

Guest Daniel DiSalvo joins us to discuss how civic education can help university students and the broader public disagree better and act together.

Daniel DiSalvo is professor and associate dean of the School of Civic Life and Leadership at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. He serves on the Public Scholars Advisory Committee of the Moynihan Center and was previously professor of political science at the City College of New York-CUNY.

This podcast discusses themes from an essay by DiSalvo and Carlo Invernizzi Accetti in the Fall 2025 issue of National Affairs: “Civics, Partisanship, and the Academy.”

Has artificial intelligence advanced to the point where robots possess creative abilities and impulses? If so, or if that moment comes, what could it mean for humanity, and what would it demand of us? These are questions at the cutting edge of innovation. Yet to best address them, we need to look to the deepest roots of our society’s moral wisdom.

Guest Michael Rosen joins us to discuss how Jewish tradition and legend can inform our approach to technology.

Michael Rosen is an attorney and writer in Israel, a non-resident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and author of Like Silicon from Clay: What Ancient Jewish Wisdom Can Teach Us about AI.

This podcast discusses themes from Michael’s essay, which was adapted from his book for the Summer 2025 issue of National Affairs: “Ancient Wisdom, Modern Tools.”

Whether it’s foreign-policy hawks on the right, cultural conservatives on the left, or fiscal conservatives anywhere, the reductive binary of today’s electoral options can be deeply frustrating for intraparty minority groups. Considering how various 19th-century movements combined to form the Republican Party offers some paths out of that frustration.

Guest Jennifer Dresden joins us to discuss the forgotten history of fusion voting and how it might serve disaffected voters today.

Jennifer Dresden is a policy strategist at Protect Democracy, a non-profit and non-partisan group dedicated to promoting “free and fair elections, the rule of law, fact-based debate, and a better democracy for future generations.”

This podcast discusses themes from Jennifer’s essay in the Spring 2025 issue of National Affairs, “Strategic Fusion and the GOP.”

The left in America has long accused the right of advancing minority rule and rejecting the principles of democracy. Though there is some truth to that charge, it applies as much to the left itself as it does to the right. A closer look at housing and infrastructure regulations, public-employee unions, professional licensing, and the governance of higher education suggests that “minoritarianism” pervades our politics.

Guest Steve Teles joins us to discuss the bipartisan penchant for minority rule and how lawmakers might restore a more majoritarian, democratic politics.

Steve Teles is a professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University and a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center. He’s the author of several books about topics such as economic inequality, welfare, and the conservative legal movement.

This podcast discusses themes from Steve’s essay in the Spring 2025 issue of National Affairs, “Minoritarianism Is Everywhere.”

Books and Essays Mentioned:

-Neighborhood Defenders: Participatory Politics and America’s Housing Crisis

-Special Interest: Teachers Unions and America’s Public Schools

-“The Strength of a Weak State: The Rights Revolution and the Rise of Human Resources Management Divisions”

-“Professionalization 2.0: The Case for Plural Professionalization in Education”

-“Beyond Academic Sectarianism”

-In Covid’s Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us

-“The Rise of the Abundance Faction”

-“The Future Is Faction”

Technology is a force for change in the world, both positive and negative. Its ability to rapidly transform our way of life poses an inherent challenge to families. If conservatives wish to restore the family as the foundation of our civilizational order, they must develop a comprehensive theory of technological change. Without it, new technologies will continue to heap disaster on the American family. But if properly guided, technological innovation can help uplift the family and usher it into a new era of flourishing.

Guest Jon Askonas joins us to discuss what a new conservative technology agenda might look like.

Jon Askonas is assistant professor of politics at the Catholic University of America and a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation.

This podcast discusses themes from Jon’s essay in the Winter 2025 issue of National Affairs, “Technology for the American Family.”

For more on this subject, see “A Future for the Family: A New Technology Agenda for the Right” in First Things, as well as “Stop Hacking Humans” in The New Atlantis. Additionally, AEI will host an event on Monday, February 24, 2025 at 11:10 a.m. titled “Dignity and Dynamism: The Future of Conservative Technology Policy.”

At first glance, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Russell Kirk do not have all that much in common. Yet it is striking that King and Kirk converged on certain first principles that rightfully mark King himself as part of a broader tradition of philosophical conservatism in America — one from which today’s left and right could both stand to learn.

Guest John Wood, Jr., joins us to discuss how both King and Kirk’s philosophical conservatism transcended ideology.

John Wood, Jr., is national ambassador for Braver Angels, a columnist for USA Today, and a former Republican nominee for Congress.

This podcast discusses themes from John’s essay in the Fall 2024 issue of National Affairs, “Martin Luther King’s Transcendent Conservatism.”

Democracy is a central feature of Democrats’ 2024 electoral campaign. The party has worked to present its proposals on that front as designed to reject Donald Trump’s authoritarian narcissism and make government more responsive and accountable. But what the Democrats have in mind when they refer to “democracy” is a lengthy manifesto designed to transform American life should they take real control of the policy process. Guest Andy Taylor joins us to discuss the history of the modern Democratic Party, and why Democrats are now blurring the line between “saving” democracy and implementing their own policy goals.

Andrew J. Taylor is professor of political science at North Carolina State University.

This podcast discusses themes from Andy’s essay in the Fall 2024 issue of National Affairs, “The Democrats and Democracy.”