CATEGORY: HISTORY (80 MIN)

A president’s past

In the years after his presidency, Barack Obama has continued to try and influence matters across the board in America. He tweets on various issues he considers important and generally proposes increasingly leftist views on the hot-button questions of the day. But not many people discuss his years before the presidency.

In a wide-ranging piece for Tablet magazine, David Samuels reviews a biography of Obama by historian David Garrow. Samuels interviews Garrow and discusses his own thoughts on Garrow’s 2017 book, Rising Star. The work focuses on Obama’s career prior to his time in the White House. 

Samuels discusses Garrow’s tales of Obama’s relationships with his early girlfriends, in which Garrow points out strange inconsistencies between the former president’s accounts and these women’s accounts. Garrow also criticizes mainstream reporters’ lack of curiosity in relation to Obama’s life.

Samuels writes on what he took away from Garrow’s work, ultimately concluding that Obama looks like an enigma. He was a charismatic with a campaign built on hope and yet an avid rejector of American exceptionalism. And when interviewed, Garrow muses on Obama’s odd refusal to answer certain questions about his life.

Discover Samuels’ in-depth dive right here.

CATEGORY: PODCAST EPISODE

CRT, DEI, and the Leftist Takeover of America | Chris Rufo

In this episode, acclaimed journalist and activist Christopher Rufo joins the podcast to discuss:

• his new book, America’s Cultural Revolution: How the Radical Left Conquered Everything
• why language is an essential tool in driving social and political change
• what the Right can do to reform and change the institutions that have been captured by Leftist priorities

Texts mentioned:

• America’s Cultural Revolution: How the Radical Left Conquered Everything by Christopher F. Rufo
• “The Three Worlds of Evangelicalism” by Aaron Renn
• rufo.substack.com

ISI’s 70th Anniversary Gala &
Linda L. Bean Center Dedication​​

September 28th, 2023

This fall, join us at our 70th Anniversary Gala featuring Tucker Carlson, Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation, and Linda Bean, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Together these are some of the most influential figures in America today. 

We will also host a pre-event panel featuring longtime friends of ISI including Annette Kirk (Russell Kirk Center), Gene Meyer (The Federalist Society), Ed Feulner (The Heritage Foundation), and Dan McCarthy (ISI), discussing the 70th anniversary of three conservative classics: Russell Kirk’s The Conservative Mind, Leo Strauss’ Natural Right and History, and Robert Nisbet’s The Quest for Community.  

We will have a lobster dinner in honor of Tucker and Linda’s mutual connection to the state of Maine, and seating will be limited to 150 guests. Our VIP ticket holders will have the chance to meet ISI trustees and event speakers in a private reception beforehand.  

Reserve your tickets here!

Join us in Wilmington, DE >>>

Because our student editors and writers are bravely bringing conservative ideas to their campuses, we’re highlighting their efforts here.

Colleges to implement required anti-racism classes by 2024-25 via The Cornell Review
“​​​​​​In a long-delayed response to the murder of George Floyd, Cornell is reallocating financial resources away from existing academic instruction to create new for-credit classes in ‘anti-racism.’”

CATEGORY: CULTURE (43 MIN) 

Liberty, then and now

In many scholars’ view, Edmund Burke represents the power of tradition against the excesses of the mob. He stands for an institutionally conservative school of thought, not one based on the will of the people as such. But other scholars trace substantial links between the thought of Burke and the rise of modern populism—a connection which takes some research to find.

In this week’s Intercollegiate Review archive, Ian Crowe suggests that Burke’s writings communicate a strong sense of patriotism, a belief which connects in some ways to the nationalist populism in America today. Crowe argues that Burke’s patriotism actually urged transformation rather than mere consistency. And both thought systems had a derogatory view of “party,” Crowe writes.

Crowe also believes Burke (if in America today) would push for a reduction in national congressional power and a return of power to state and local authorities. 

But Crowe still notes important differences between modern populism and Burke’s beliefs. Crowe admits the connection he claims is somewhat tenuous, but he at least declares that Burke’s writing contributed to the “undercurrents driving the events of 2016.”

Read Crowe’s well-researched article right here.​​​​​

Join ISI’s new Alumni Giving Club

It’s never been easier for you to support our mission—and stay part of our community—with ISI’s new Alumni Giving Club! 

For just $19.53 a month, you can join the fight and “pay it forward” by educating the next generation for ordered liberty.