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All Episodes

The American Idea — 231 episodes

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Title
1

"Mischievous Cousins' - A British Perspective on the American Revolution

2

From 1776 to Civil Rights: How the Declaration Shaped the Struggle for Equality

3

Ronald Reagan and the Declaration of Independence

4

From Madison to Modern Politics: The Separation of Powers Debate

5

Mobilize: How to Reboot the American Industrial Base and Prevent World War III

6

Missouri v. Biden: Free Speech, Coercion, and Government Power

7

Natural Rights: The Declaration's Central Claim

8

The Causes and Politics of Financial Bubbles

9

Did FDR Threaten the Fundamental Freedoms in the Bill of Rights?

10

Thomas Willing: The Revolution’s Forgotten Financier

11

What Can We Learn from the Antifederalists?

12

James Madison and The Federalist

13

How to Read The Federalist

14

George Washington - The Indispensable Founding Father

15

Thomas Jefferson: Essential American Founder

16

Huey Long - American Populist

17

Women’s Suffrage, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and the Declaration of Independence

18

What Makes Americans a "Declarational" People?

19

The American Revolution and the Fate of the World

20

2025 End of Year Message: Looking Back and Forward

21

Special Episode: Born American, But in the Wrong Place

22

How Does the Declaration of Independence Influence the Constitution?

23

When in the Course of Human Events: Creating the Declaration of Independence

24

“If they mean to have a war...”: The Causes of the American Revolution

25

What Did Frederick Douglass Think of Abraham Lincoln?

26

The Constitution and the Rule of Law

27

Want to Understand America? Study the Gettysburg Address

28

Entitlement Reform: A Problem We Can No Longer Avoid

29

Inside Camp David - The Private World of the Presidential Retreat

30

Alexander Hamilton and the Federalist

31

What Can We Learn from Herbert Hoover?

32

Taking Manhattan - The Creation of New York

33

The Pathfinder and the President: John C. Fremont, Abraham Lincoln, and the Civil War

34

Congress: What It Was Meant to Be and What It's Become5

35

The Constitutional Convention was a Four-Act Drama

36

The American Way of War

37

What are Capital Markets and How Do They Impact Our Economy?

38

Old Man Eloquent: The Life and Letters of John Quincy Adams

39

Frederick Douglass's Constitutional Abolitionism

40

The End of World War 2 in the Pacific: VJ Day at 80 Years

41

"A Most Fearful Evil" - What is the National Debt and Why Should You Care About It?

42

Mercy Otis Warren - America's Forgotten Founding Historian and Thinker

43

Not the Arbiter of Truth - America's Complicated History of a Free Press

44

Inside the Reagan White House: A Conversation with Ambassador Frank Lavin

45

2025 United States Supreme Court Decisions - Commentary and Analysis

46

America's First Core Document - The Declaration of Independence

47

All the Presidents' Money: How the Men Who Governed America Governed Their Money

48

Sir William Blackstone's Influence on the American Founding

49

Why and How Did Slaveholders Oppose Free Speech?

50

Paul Nitze - America's Cold Warrior

51

The Extinction of Experience - Reclaiming Our Humanity in the Face of Technology

52

America's Place in the World - Empire, Neighbor, or Something Else?

53

Trump, Trade, and Tariffs - Historical Background and Current Analysis

54

VE Day at 80 Years - The End of WW2 in Europe

55

The Challenges of Creating an American Grand Strategy

56

No Fun Anymore: What's Happened to the NBA?

57

Lexington & Concord at 250 Years: Stories from the American Revolution

58

Do the Democrats Have an Ideology Problem?

59

Lessons in Liberty: What We Can Learn From the Lives of 10 Extraordinary Americans

60

The Statesmanship of Ronald Reagan

61

Abigail Adams: John's Confidant, Partner, and Advisor

62

Sleep Training the American People?

63

A Speech That Mattered - Lincoln's Second Inaugural

64

Adding the Lone Star - The Annexation and Statehood of Texas

65

The Conductor: America's Forgotten Father of the Abolition Movement

66

America's Foreign Policy Challenges as of Early 2025

67

Lincoln and the Presidential Pardon Power

68

Jimmy Carter - His Presidency, Politics, and Legacy

69

John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Reconciliation

70

New Year, Same Problem: Our National Debt and Its Implications

71

America First - FDR vs Charles Lindbergh in the Shadow of War

72

Making the Presidency - John Adams and the Precedents that Forged the Republic

73

Born American, But in the Wrong Place - A Special Episode of The American Idea

74

The Work of a Press Secretary: Politics and Perceptions | Contemporary Conversations

75

The Nazis' Last Gasp: The Battle of the Bulge at 80 Years

76

The Power and the Money - When Presidents and Captains of Industry Clash

77

Presidential Scandals - Crimes and Moral Failings From the Founding to the Present

78

America's Military Recruiting Crisis

79

Elections of 2024 - Analysis, Commentary, and Reflections

80

Angry American Politics - What We Can Learn From The Election of 1800

81

Freedom of the Press and the Rise of the Citizen Journalist

82

MacArthur's Return to the Philippines at 80 Years

83

Chinese Malware Apps - A Trojan Horse in Your Pocket

84

Civics Education - A Matter of the Heart and the Mind

85

The Anti Discrimination Regime - What is it and what does it mean for Liberty?

86

Operation Market-Garden at 80 Years: WW2's Last Massive Airborne Assault

87

Constitution Day 2024 with Jeff Sessions

88

National Prosperity and Free Enterprise - Is There a Connection?

89

Post-Conventions 2024 Elections Analysis: Where Do Things Stand?

90

Leadership Lessons from Two Legendary Coaches

91

Do Political Party Conventions Serve a Purpose Anymore?

92

U.S. Energy Policy: Opportunity and Self-Inflicted Wounds

93

The Crisis in Civic Education - What's Wrong and What Can We Do About It?

94

Free Speech - The Indispensable Right, with Jonathan Turley

95

2024 Supreme Court Decisions - Review and Analysis

96

Bullets Not Ballots? Political Violence in American History

97

Like a Bull Moose - Theodore Roosevelt and the Impact of Third Parties

98

“What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” - Frederick Douglass Teaches Us About Independence Day

99

"Charging Forward?" The History and Current Debate Over Electric Vehicles

100

Deadly Experiments - Contemporary Drug Policy Fads

101

How Much Power Does the Constitution Really Give a President? | Documents & Debates

102

D-Day at 80 Years: What Operation Overlord Accomplished

103

Bringing Home Forgotten MIAs - Memorial Day 2024 with Project Recover

104

When Disaster Strikes: Presidents and Emergencies | Documents & Debates

105

Energy and the Environment - Are Things as Bad as We're Told?

106

Did Federal Officials Pressure Social Media Companies to Censor Americans?

107

A Conversation with Vivek Ramaswamy

108

Bombing Hitler's Hometown - the Untold Story of the Last Mass Bombing Raid Over Europe in WW2 | Documents & Debates

109

World War 1's Far-Reaching Impact on America | Documents & Debates

110

The Importance of Good Local Government | American Core Ideas

111

Servant Leadership and Building a Winning Team | American Core Ideas

112

Perspectives on Leadership and Current Threats to America with Congressman Jim Jordan

113

China's Trojan Horse? Tik Tok and the Information Wars

114

The Harlem Renaissance - A Uniquely American Movement | Documents & Debates

115

Clear and Present Danger: The Use and Abuse of Presidential War Powers

116

Civilian-Military Relations from the Founding to Today

117

Not Getting What We're Paying For: U.S. Healthcare Policy

118

U.S. Energy Policy - The Pursuit of Failure

119

The Chevron Doctrine: What is it and How Does it Challenge Our Constitutional System?

120

Political Parties - Not Part of the Plan But There From the Beginning | Documents & Debates

121

The Hostage Crisis and America's Troubles with Iran | Documents & Debates

122

Jefferson, Race, and Slavery: A New Perspective

123

Parental Rights in Education | Contemporary Conversations

124

Core American Ideas: The Electoral College

125

American Portraits - Jazz: America's Classical Music

126

John Brown - American Extremist | American Portraits

127

Documents & Debates: Shipwrecked - A True Civil War Story

128

All the Troubles in the World: An Update on Israel, Ukraine, and China

129

Documents & Debates: Nixon, China, and Ramifications for Today

130

Documents & Debates: JFK's Assassination at 60 Years

131

Documents & Debates: The Gettysburg Address at 160 Years

132

Documents & Debates: The Battle of Tarawa at 80 Years

133

Contemporary Conversations: CRT, Identitarianism, and the Struggle for America's Heart and Mind

134

The Battle for the Speaker's Gavel | Contemporary Conversations

135

Documents & Debates: Court Packing Then, and Now?

136

Documents & Debates: American Exceptionalism and the Civil War

137

Core American Ideas: Separation of Powers - Why it Matters; Why We Should Care

138

American Portraits: Last Summer Boys

139

Contemporary Conversations: Ohio Attorney General David Yost on Constitution Day 2023

140

Contemporary Conversations: A "Post-America" American History?

141

Core American Ideas: Natural Rights and Limited Government

142

Contemporary Conversations: A Student's Journey

143

Documents & Debates: The Summer of Beer & Whiskey

144

Documents & Debates: Oppenheimer - Hollywood and History

145

Documents & Debates: Reconsidering the Atomic Bombs

146

Documents & Debate: LBJ, Vietnam, and the Cold War

147

Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy Speaks About the Rule of Law

148

Documents & Debates: "To Address You As My Friend": African-Americans' Letters to Lincoln

149

American Portraits: James Garfield

150

Contemporary Conversations: School Censorship? It's Complicated...

151

Documents & Debates: The Battle of Gettysburg at 160 Years

152

Rapid Reaction: June 2023 Supreme Court Decisions

153

American Portraits: John C. Calhoun - American Heretic

154

Documents & Debates: FDR, Stalin, and the Rise of Russia as a World Power

155

Documents & Debates: Bank Failures and Federal Reserve Policy

156

Contemporary Conversations: Religious Liberty, the First Amendment, and the Courts

157

Documents & Debates: The Miracle of Lincoln's Nomination in 1860

158

American Portraits: Ernest Hemingway - American Icon

159

Documents and Debates: Don't Forget About Vicksburg

160

American Portraits: Alexander Hamilton

161

Documents & Debates: America's First Constitution - the Articles of Confederation

162

Contemporary Conversations: War in Ukraine

163

Born American, But in the Wrong Place

164

Documents and Debates: Stories from the American Revolution

165

Documents & Debates: Remember the Alamo!

166

Documents & Debates: The Legacy of the Progressives

167

Documents & Debates: Ronald Reagan and the End of the Cold War

168

Contemporary Conversations: Censorship and Banned Books

169

American Portraits: The Western in American Political Culture

170

Contemporary Conversations: The 1619 Project and Telling America's Story

171

Contemporary Conversations: War with China?

172

Documents and Debates: The President and the Freedom Fighter

173

American Portraits: Ulysses S. Grant

174

American Portraits: Calvin Coolidge

175

Documents & Debates: War - What's It Good For? The Expansion of Presidential Emergency Powers from the Founding to the Present

176

Contemporary Conversations: January 2023: The New Congress - Analysis and Historical Commentary

177

Documents and Debates: American? Or Victim of America? MLK and Malcom X

178

Contemporary Conversations: Back to School and the State of American Education

179

Documents & Debates: The Final Emancipation Proclamation

180

Ronald Reagan and the Fight for Freedom

181

Truck, Barter, and Exchange: Adam Smith’s Views on Trade, Economics, and Interpersonal Relations

182

Winston Churchill - Honorary American

183

Turning Points in World War 2

184

Free Speech and the State of the American University

185

The Great Society - A New History

186

Can We Save America? Abraham Lincoln and Our Troubled Politics

187

Elections 2022: Analysis and Commentary with UVA's Jim Ceaser

188

The American Idea | Secretary Mike Pompeo

189

The Battle for the Suburbs with Congressman Troy Balderson | Contemporary Conversations

190

The 2022 MIdterm Elections: Analysis and Forecasts

191

Upcoming Supreme Court Cases Worth Knowing About

192

Money is Not Wealth: What History Can Teach Us About Inflation

193

The Constitutional Convention of 1787 with Gordon Lloyd and Chris Burkett | Documents and Debates

194

Martin Luther King Jr. and Critical Race Theory with Peter Myers | Contemporary Conversations

195

Feminism and the #MeToo Movement | Taylor

196

John F. Kennedy and the Cold War with Stephen Knott | Documents and Debates

197

Rival Friends: The Adams-Jefferson Correspondence with Cara Rogers | Documents and Debates

198

The Declaration of Independence | Documents and Debates

199

Roe v. Wade Overturned and Other Historic Decisions of the Supreme Court's 2021-22 Term

200

Ralph Ellison, Juneteenth, and the Connection Between Literature, Culture, and Politics | Documents & Debates

201

Heroes of the Civil War | Documents and Debates

202

The Great Triumvirate with Jason Stevens | Documents and Debates

203

The Crisis of Civic Education: What Can We Do? with David Davenport | Contemporary Conversations

204

King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail with Greg McBrayer | Documents and Debates

205

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin with Chris Burkett | Documents and Debates

206

George W. Bush with Stephen Knott | Presidential Portraits

207

Thomas Jefferson and Race with Cara Rogers | Documents and Debates

208

George Washington with Marc Landy | Presidential Portraits

209

The Unbroken Thread with Sohrab Ahmari | Contemporary Conversations

210

The Reagan Revolution with Greg McBrayer and John Moser | Documents and Debates

211

A Year in Review and Donor Conversations | Special Episode

212

The Collapse of Civic Education with Ken Starr | Contemporary Conversations

213

Peter W. Schramm's "Born American, but in the Wrong Place" | Special Episode

214

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" with Peter Myers | Documents and Debates

215

FDR, the Election of 1932, and the Birth of New Deal America with John Moser | Documents and Debates

216

The Evolution of the Vice Presidency with Stephen Knott | Contemporary Conversations

217

Vice President Mike Pence | Contemporary Conversations

218

How Should We Interpret the Constitution? with Donald Drakeman | Contemporary Conversations

219

Why the Progressive Era is Still Relevant Today with Jason Stevens | Documents and Debates

220

Susan B. Anthony, Founding Principles, and the Women's Suffrage Movement with Natalie Taylor | Documents and Debates

221

Democracy and American Prophets with Daniel Gullotta | Contemporary Conversations

222

Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address with Lucas Morel | Documents and Debates

223

Free Speech and Journalism in American History with Joe Fornieri | Contemporary Conversations

224

Fox News Contributor Mollie Hemingway | Contemporary Conversations

225

The Gettysburg Address with Jason Stevens | Documents and Debates

226

"What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" with Lucas Morel | Documents and Debates

227

Jefferson's Letters to Weightman and Lee with Cara Rogers | Documents and Debates

228

Washington's Farewell Address with Chris Burkett | Documents and Debates

229

Madison's Federalist Papers with Greg McBrayer | Documents and Debates

230

The Declaration of Independence with Chris Burkett | Documents and Debates

231

What is the American Idea? | Podcast Trailer