I don’t know about you, but I’m fascinated by the history of American conservatism and libertarianism. That’s probably why I enjoyed today’s program with Brad Birzer so much. We talked about Russell Kirk, a central intellectual of the postwar conservative movement. I don’t always agree with what I read of his, but he was a fascinating man, and to discuss his life is to discuss a great many important things.
Professor Birzer and I spent some time on the conflict between Kirk and Hayek — I hadn’t realized Hayek’s essay “Why I Am Not a Conservative” had essentially been directed at Kirk, and was delivered as a speech with Kirk in the room! Lots of gems like this. I really hope you enjoy this episode. (It was Brad’s recent article in The American Conservative that got my attention.)
Brad Birzer, by the way, is a professor at Hillsdale College and the author of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle Earth, American Cicero: The Life of Charles Carroll, and Sanctifying the World: The Augustinian Life and Mind of Christopher Dawson. He is co-founder of The Imaginative Conservative, and is one of the founders of Progarchy, a site dedicated to progressive rock!
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