The American Idea Podcast

A podcast on the documents and debates that define American history and government. From @AshbrookCenter; on all major podcast apps and at the link below.

[The American Idea Podcast @amideapodcast]

250 years ago today, Americans declared not just independence but the reasons for it. On this Fourth of July, revisit The American Idea with Jeff Sikkenga and Dr. Jason Stevens on what the Declaration still asks of us. Listen: https://t.co/hp7Z5bCfjG

[The American Idea Podcast @amideapodcast]

New episode of The American Idea is live. Jeff Sikkenga and Dr. Jason Stevens on why Jefferson, Lincoln, Coolidge, King, and Reagan all went back to the Declaration in moments of crisis, and what that pattern asks of us at 250. Listen: https://t.co/hp7Z5bCfjG

[The American Idea Podcast @amideapodcast]

New episode of The American Idea drops this week. Jeff Sikkenga and Dr. Jason Stevens on why Jefferson, Lincoln, Coolidge, King, and Reagan all kept returning to the same document, and why hope still lives there.

[The American Idea Podcast @amideapodcast]

New episode out today. The Fourth Amendment was born from colonial outrage over general warrants. Two centuries later, what does it mean for drones, dog sniffs, and your email?
Listen: https://t.co/R6ObanQsJz

[The American Idea Podcast @amideapodcast]

What does the Fourth Amendment actually protect: your property, your privacy, or both? New episode Wednesday with constitutional scholar Jeff Sikkenga on the amendment born from a colonial revolt against general warrants.
https://t.co/WRmcYBAEmD

[The American Idea Podcast @amideapodcast]

Out today: Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations 250 years ago, and most of what people think he said about markets and self-interest is wrong. Prof. Brie Wolf joins Jeff Sikkenga to set the record straight.
https://t.co/tn62WJ0mON

[The American Idea Podcast @amideapodcast]

Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations 250 years ago. Most of what people think he said about markets, self-interest, and competition is wrong. New episode of The American Idea drops Wednesday with Prof. Brie Wolf. Subscribe: https://t.co/WRmcYBAEmD

[The American Idea Podcast @amideapodcast]

Republics decay. That was Machiavelli's warning, and the American founders took it seriously. Is the U.S. in a "Machiavellian moment" now? AEI's Jay Cost joins the new episode of The American Idea to make the case.

Listen: https://t.co/yKYtekGkBb

[The American Idea Podcast @amideapodcast]

One word divided two theories of government. In 1776, Madison changed "toleration" to "free exercise," and American religious liberty has never been the same. New episode out today.
https://t.co/DNvg9oLRBF

[The American Idea Podcast @amideapodcast]

The Supreme Court just rewrote how the Voting Rights Act applies to redistricting. Louisiana v. Callais may reshape American elections for a generation. New episode unpacks what changed and what comes next. https://t.co/WRmcYBAEmD

[The American Idea Podcast @amideapodcast]

School choice has roots going back to colonial America. Today's episode traces the full history — from Horace Mann to Milwaukee to a Texas program with 220,000 families on the waitlist.
https://t.co/Q4oOXQ6gX4

[The American Idea Podcast @amideapodcast]

Most Britons know almost nothing about the American Revolution. Not by accident. A British podcaster explains what that reveals about empire, identity, and the stories nations choose to tell. Listen: https://t.co/VHrQYkkeTd

[The American Idea Podcast @amideapodcast]

How did the Declaration of Independence become the backbone of the civil rights struggle? Professor Peter Myers follows that thread from 1776 through Frederick Douglass, Lincoln, MLK, and beyond. Listen and let us know what stands out to you.
https://t.co/yyhwnWyIf0

[The American Idea Podcast @amideapodcast]

Reagan called his presidency not a revolution but a "great rediscovery" — a return to founding principles he believed America had drifted from. Find out what he meant in today's episode.
https://t.co/hd8jbK7QeJ

[The American Idea Podcast @amideapodcast]

Was Reagan a serious student of the American founding, or just a sunny optimist with good timing? This week on The American Idea, host Jeff Sikkenga examines Reagan's lifelong case for the Declaration of Independence. https://t.co/WRmcYBAEmD

[The American Idea Podcast @amideapodcast]

The founders didn't separate the powers just to prevent tyranny. They did it because legislating, executing, and judging are fundamentally different activities that break down when you force one institution to do all three.
https://t.co/eTzhNuNzxI

[The American Idea Podcast @amideapodcast]

The Constitution says almost nothing about how a president fires someone. That silence has fueled a constitutional fight that started in 1789 and still isn't settled. New episode of The American Idea drops this week.
https://t.co/WRmcYBAEmD

[The American Idea Podcast @amideapodcast]

Interesting WSJ article on this same topic -

https://t.co/yMuTE0Pu5a

[The American Idea Podcast @amideapodcast]

If you missed this week's American Idea with @Madeline_Zimm, fix that. The U.S. defense base can't build fast enough, can't replace what it uses, and hasn't designed a new weapon in over 15 years. This episode explains why.
https://t.co/SRt744TZgf

[The American Idea Podcast @amideapodcast]

The U.S. can't replace munitions fast enough, hasn't fielded a new weapon design in over 15 years, and its newest drone was copied from Iran. New episode of The American Idea explores what went wrong. https://t.co/SRt744TZgf