All Episodes
The American Idea — 244 episodes
The Last Adieu: Lafayette and Early America
Completing the Founding: The Northwest Ordinance of 1787
Fact or Fiction? Historians Discuss Young Washington
America's First Citizen: Character Lessons from George Washington
Why Did the Founders Create a Republic?
A Sober View of Human Nature: Federalist 10 and Factions
More than a Document: Living the Declaration of Independence
Our Right to Privacy and the 4th Amendment
Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations at 250 Years
Returning to First Principles: America's Machiavellian Moment?
Religious Liberty at the Founding and Today
The Voting Rights Act and the Callais Supreme Court Decision - Context and Analysis
School Choice: The Past, Present, and Future of a Movement
"Mischievous Cousins' - A British Perspective on the American Revolution
From 1776 to Civil Rights: How the Declaration Shaped the Struggle for Equality
Ronald Reagan and the Declaration of Independence
From Madison to Modern Politics: The Separation of Powers Debate
Mobilize: How to Reboot the American Industrial Base and Prevent World War III
Missouri v. Biden: Free Speech, Coercion, and Government Power
Natural Rights: The Declaration's Central Claim
The Causes and Politics of Financial Bubbles
Did FDR Threaten the Fundamental Freedoms in the Bill of Rights?
Thomas Willing: The Revolution’s Forgotten Financier
What Can We Learn from the Antifederalists?
James Madison and The Federalist
How to Read The Federalist
George Washington - The Indispensable Founding Father
Thomas Jefferson: Essential American Founder
Huey Long - American Populist
Women’s Suffrage, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and the Declaration of Independence
What Makes Americans a "Declarational" People?
The American Revolution and the Fate of the World
2025 End of Year Message: Looking Back and Forward
Special Episode: Born American, But in the Wrong Place
How Does the Declaration of Independence Influence the Constitution?
When in the Course of Human Events: Creating the Declaration of Independence
“If they mean to have a war...”: The Causes of the American Revolution
What Did Frederick Douglass Think of Abraham Lincoln?
The Constitution and the Rule of Law
Want to Understand America? Study the Gettysburg Address
Entitlement Reform: A Problem We Can No Longer Avoid
Inside Camp David - The Private World of the Presidential Retreat
Alexander Hamilton and the Federalist
What Can We Learn from Herbert Hoover?
Taking Manhattan - The Creation of New York
The Pathfinder and the President: John C. Fremont, Abraham Lincoln, and the Civil War
Congress: What It Was Meant to Be and What It's Become5
The Constitutional Convention was a Four-Act Drama
The American Way of War
What are Capital Markets and How Do They Impact Our Economy?
Old Man Eloquent: The Life and Letters of John Quincy Adams
Frederick Douglass's Constitutional Abolitionism
The End of World War 2 in the Pacific: VJ Day at 80 Years
"A Most Fearful Evil" - What is the National Debt and Why Should You Care About It?
Mercy Otis Warren - America's Forgotten Founding Historian and Thinker
Not the Arbiter of Truth - America's Complicated History of a Free Press
Inside the Reagan White House: A Conversation with Ambassador Frank Lavin
2025 United States Supreme Court Decisions - Commentary and Analysis
America's First Core Document - The Declaration of Independence
All the Presidents' Money: How the Men Who Governed America Governed Their Money
Sir William Blackstone's Influence on the American Founding
Why and How Did Slaveholders Oppose Free Speech?
Paul Nitze - America's Cold Warrior
The Extinction of Experience - Reclaiming Our Humanity in the Face of Technology
America's Place in the World - Empire, Neighbor, or Something Else?
Trump, Trade, and Tariffs - Historical Background and Current Analysis
VE Day at 80 Years - The End of WW2 in Europe
The Challenges of Creating an American Grand Strategy
No Fun Anymore: What's Happened to the NBA?
Lexington & Concord at 250 Years: Stories from the American Revolution
Do the Democrats Have an Ideology Problem?
Lessons in Liberty: What We Can Learn From the Lives of 10 Extraordinary Americans
The Statesmanship of Ronald Reagan
Abigail Adams: John's Confidant, Partner, and Advisor
Sleep Training the American People?
A Speech That Mattered - Lincoln's Second Inaugural
Adding the Lone Star - The Annexation and Statehood of Texas
The Conductor: America's Forgotten Father of the Abolition Movement
America's Foreign Policy Challenges as of Early 2025
Lincoln and the Presidential Pardon Power
Jimmy Carter - His Presidency, Politics, and Legacy
John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Reconciliation
New Year, Same Problem: Our National Debt and Its Implications
America First - FDR vs Charles Lindbergh in the Shadow of War
Making the Presidency - John Adams and the Precedents that Forged the Republic
Born American, But in the Wrong Place - A Special Episode of The American Idea
The Work of a Press Secretary: Politics and Perceptions | Contemporary Conversations
The Nazis' Last Gasp: The Battle of the Bulge at 80 Years
The Power and the Money - When Presidents and Captains of Industry Clash
Presidential Scandals - Crimes and Moral Failings From the Founding to the Present
America's Military Recruiting Crisis
Elections of 2024 - Analysis, Commentary, and Reflections
Angry American Politics - What We Can Learn From The Election of 1800
Freedom of the Press and the Rise of the Citizen Journalist
MacArthur's Return to the Philippines at 80 Years
Chinese Malware Apps - A Trojan Horse in Your Pocket
Civics Education - A Matter of the Heart and the Mind
The Anti Discrimination Regime - What is it and what does it mean for Liberty?
Operation Market-Garden at 80 Years: WW2's Last Massive Airborne Assault
Constitution Day 2024 with Jeff Sessions
National Prosperity and Free Enterprise - Is There a Connection?
Post-Conventions 2024 Elections Analysis: Where Do Things Stand?
Leadership Lessons from Two Legendary Coaches
Do Political Party Conventions Serve a Purpose Anymore?
U.S. Energy Policy: Opportunity and Self-Inflicted Wounds
The Crisis in Civic Education - What's Wrong and What Can We Do About It?
Free Speech - The Indispensable Right, with Jonathan Turley
2024 Supreme Court Decisions - Review and Analysis
Bullets Not Ballots? Political Violence in American History
Like a Bull Moose - Theodore Roosevelt and the Impact of Third Parties
“What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” - Frederick Douglass Teaches Us About Independence Day
"Charging Forward?" The History and Current Debate Over Electric Vehicles
Deadly Experiments - Contemporary Drug Policy Fads
How Much Power Does the Constitution Really Give a President? | Documents & Debates
D-Day at 80 Years: What Operation Overlord Accomplished
Bringing Home Forgotten MIAs - Memorial Day 2024 with Project Recover
When Disaster Strikes: Presidents and Emergencies | Documents & Debates
Energy and the Environment - Are Things as Bad as We're Told?
Did Federal Officials Pressure Social Media Companies to Censor Americans?
A Conversation with Vivek Ramaswamy
Bombing Hitler's Hometown - the Untold Story of the Last Mass Bombing Raid Over Europe in WW2 | Documents & Debates
World War 1's Far-Reaching Impact on America | Documents & Debates
The Importance of Good Local Government | American Core Ideas
Servant Leadership and Building a Winning Team | American Core Ideas
Perspectives on Leadership and Current Threats to America with Congressman Jim Jordan
China's Trojan Horse? Tik Tok and the Information Wars
The Harlem Renaissance - A Uniquely American Movement | Documents & Debates
Clear and Present Danger: The Use and Abuse of Presidential War Powers
Civilian-Military Relations from the Founding to Today
Not Getting What We're Paying For: U.S. Healthcare Policy
U.S. Energy Policy - The Pursuit of Failure
The Chevron Doctrine: What is it and How Does it Challenge Our Constitutional System?
Political Parties - Not Part of the Plan But There From the Beginning | Documents & Debates
The Hostage Crisis and America's Troubles with Iran | Documents & Debates
Jefferson, Race, and Slavery: A New Perspective
Parental Rights in Education | Contemporary Conversations
Core American Ideas: The Electoral College
American Portraits - Jazz: America's Classical Music
John Brown - American Extremist | American Portraits
Documents & Debates: Shipwrecked - A True Civil War Story
All the Troubles in the World: An Update on Israel, Ukraine, and China
Documents & Debates: Nixon, China, and Ramifications for Today
Documents & Debates: JFK's Assassination at 60 Years
Documents & Debates: The Gettysburg Address at 160 Years
Documents & Debates: The Battle of Tarawa at 80 Years
Contemporary Conversations: CRT, Identitarianism, and the Struggle for America's Heart and Mind
The Battle for the Speaker's Gavel | Contemporary Conversations
Documents & Debates: Court Packing Then, and Now?
Documents & Debates: American Exceptionalism and the Civil War
Core American Ideas: Separation of Powers - Why it Matters; Why We Should Care
American Portraits: Last Summer Boys
Contemporary Conversations: Ohio Attorney General David Yost on Constitution Day 2023
Contemporary Conversations: A "Post-America" American History?
Core American Ideas: Natural Rights and Limited Government
Contemporary Conversations: A Student's Journey
Documents & Debates: The Summer of Beer & Whiskey
Documents & Debates: Oppenheimer - Hollywood and History
Documents & Debates: Reconsidering the Atomic Bombs
Documents & Debate: LBJ, Vietnam, and the Cold War
Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy Speaks About the Rule of Law
Documents & Debates: "To Address You As My Friend": African-Americans' Letters to Lincoln
American Portraits: James Garfield
Contemporary Conversations: School Censorship? It's Complicated...
Documents & Debates: The Battle of Gettysburg at 160 Years
Rapid Reaction: June 2023 Supreme Court Decisions
American Portraits: John C. Calhoun - American Heretic
Documents & Debates: FDR, Stalin, and the Rise of Russia as a World Power
Documents & Debates: Bank Failures and Federal Reserve Policy
Contemporary Conversations: Religious Liberty, the First Amendment, and the Courts
Documents & Debates: The Miracle of Lincoln's Nomination in 1860
American Portraits: Ernest Hemingway - American Icon
Documents and Debates: Don't Forget About Vicksburg
American Portraits: Alexander Hamilton
Documents & Debates: America's First Constitution - the Articles of Confederation
Contemporary Conversations: War in Ukraine
Born American, But in the Wrong Place
Documents and Debates: Stories from the American Revolution
Documents & Debates: Remember the Alamo!
Documents & Debates: The Legacy of the Progressives
Documents & Debates: Ronald Reagan and the End of the Cold War
Contemporary Conversations: Censorship and Banned Books
American Portraits: The Western in American Political Culture
Contemporary Conversations: The 1619 Project and Telling America's Story
Contemporary Conversations: War with China?
Documents and Debates: The President and the Freedom Fighter
American Portraits: Ulysses S. Grant
American Portraits: Calvin Coolidge
Documents & Debates: War - What's It Good For? The Expansion of Presidential Emergency Powers from the Founding to the Present
Contemporary Conversations: January 2023: The New Congress - Analysis and Historical Commentary
Documents and Debates: American? Or Victim of America? MLK and Malcom X
Contemporary Conversations: Back to School and the State of American Education
Documents & Debates: The Final Emancipation Proclamation
Ronald Reagan and the Fight for Freedom
Truck, Barter, and Exchange: Adam Smith’s Views on Trade, Economics, and Interpersonal Relations
Winston Churchill - Honorary American
Turning Points in World War 2
Free Speech and the State of the American University
The Great Society - A New History
Can We Save America? Abraham Lincoln and Our Troubled Politics
Elections 2022: Analysis and Commentary with UVA's Jim Ceaser
The American Idea | Secretary Mike Pompeo
The Battle for the Suburbs with Congressman Troy Balderson | Contemporary Conversations
The 2022 MIdterm Elections: Analysis and Forecasts
Upcoming Supreme Court Cases Worth Knowing About
Money is Not Wealth: What History Can Teach Us About Inflation
The Constitutional Convention of 1787 with Gordon Lloyd and Chris Burkett | Documents and Debates
Martin Luther King Jr. and Critical Race Theory with Peter Myers | Contemporary Conversations
Feminism and the #MeToo Movement | Taylor
John F. Kennedy and the Cold War with Stephen Knott | Documents and Debates
Rival Friends: The Adams-Jefferson Correspondence with Cara Rogers | Documents and Debates
The Declaration of Independence | Documents and Debates
Roe v. Wade Overturned and Other Historic Decisions of the Supreme Court's 2021-22 Term
Ralph Ellison, Juneteenth, and the Connection Between Literature, Culture, and Politics | Documents & Debates
Heroes of the Civil War | Documents and Debates
The Great Triumvirate with Jason Stevens | Documents and Debates
The Crisis of Civic Education: What Can We Do? with David Davenport | Contemporary Conversations
King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail with Greg McBrayer | Documents and Debates
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin with Chris Burkett | Documents and Debates
George W. Bush with Stephen Knott | Presidential Portraits
Thomas Jefferson and Race with Cara Rogers | Documents and Debates
George Washington with Marc Landy | Presidential Portraits
The Unbroken Thread with Sohrab Ahmari | Contemporary Conversations
The Reagan Revolution with Greg McBrayer and John Moser | Documents and Debates
A Year in Review and Donor Conversations | Special Episode
The Collapse of Civic Education with Ken Starr | Contemporary Conversations
Peter W. Schramm's "Born American, but in the Wrong Place" | Special Episode
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" with Peter Myers | Documents and Debates
FDR, the Election of 1932, and the Birth of New Deal America with John Moser | Documents and Debates
The Evolution of the Vice Presidency with Stephen Knott | Contemporary Conversations
Vice President Mike Pence | Contemporary Conversations
How Should We Interpret the Constitution? with Donald Drakeman | Contemporary Conversations
Why the Progressive Era is Still Relevant Today with Jason Stevens | Documents and Debates
Susan B. Anthony, Founding Principles, and the Women's Suffrage Movement with Natalie Taylor | Documents and Debates
Democracy and American Prophets with Daniel Gullotta | Contemporary Conversations
Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address with Lucas Morel | Documents and Debates
Free Speech and Journalism in American History with Joe Fornieri | Contemporary Conversations
Fox News Contributor Mollie Hemingway | Contemporary Conversations
The Gettysburg Address with Jason Stevens | Documents and Debates
"What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" with Lucas Morel | Documents and Debates
Jefferson's Letters to Weightman and Lee with Cara Rogers | Documents and Debates
Washington's Farewell Address with Chris Burkett | Documents and Debates
Madison's Federalist Papers with Greg McBrayer | Documents and Debates
The Declaration of Independence with Chris Burkett | Documents and Debates
What is the American Idea? | Podcast Trailer