Peter Robinson Unbridled

A Philosopher Looks at America's Founding Document - Dan Bonevac

Dan Bonevac has been a professor of philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin for a few years short of half a century. In honor of America's 250th birthday, Peter and Dan discuss the philosophical and intellectual underpinnings of the Declaration of Independence, the basic truths about human nature, and pivotal chapters of the American story. Two hundred and fifty years later, the Declaration still raises the questions worth asking — and Bonevac has spent a career thinking through the answers. Timestamps 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:01:00 - Unpacking "Self-Evident" Truths 00:04:00 - Natural Rights: Jefferson vs. Rousseau on Locke 00:06:40 - "All Men Are Created Equal" — What Does That Mean? 00:10:00 - The Creator and the Ground of Rights 00:13:00 - Were the Founders Really Believers? Deists, Christians, and the Minimal God 00:17:00 - Who Was John Locke? The Philosopher Behind the Declaration 00:28:00 - Consent of the Governed — Why It's Foundational 00:31:00 - Slavery and the Declaration's Internal Contradiction 00:43:00 - Religious Conservatives, Natural Law, and Limited Government 00:49:00 - The Shepherd Metaphor — Bureaucrats vs. Citizens 00:53:00 - Woodrow Wilson and the Administrative State 00:57:00 - What Are Students Thinking Today? 01:06:00 - The Case for a Core Curriculum 01:13:00 - Is America Broken? Optimism vs. Realism Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Host: Peter Robinson Peter Robinson Unbridled is a podcast of the Civitas Institute of the University of Texas at Austin Executive Producers: Mat Hames Beth Hames Researcher: John Masko Producer: Laura Utt Editor: Jacob Estrada Camera: Josh Hardwick, Mike Lloyd Music by Brandon Shufflebarger

George Will: On Politics, Baseball and the American Spirit

In his career, George Will has written 7,000 newspaper columns. Twice a week since 1974, his biweekly commentary has run in The Washington Post. Today on Unbridled, Peter and George discuss just about everything: George's decision to get a doctorate in philosophy, why a doctor of philosophy would then become a newspaper columnist, the role of the columnist in American life, the meaning of politics, conservatism after Donald Trump, "Will's Amendment" to the Constitution, whether there can even be a such thing as artificial intelligence, and the designated hitter in National League baseball, among numerous other topics. Timestamps 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:04:50 - The craft of writing newspaper columns 00:08:40 - Reinvigorating the universities 00:19:55 - The two party system's relationship with America 00:24:38 - The purpose and philosophy of politics 00:34:34 - How should Conservatives orient themselves today? 00:39:24 - Characteristics of the ideal presidential candidate in 2028 00:44:51 - Artificial intelligence 00:46:38 - China 00:53:24 - Literacy today 01:03:08 - Cards! Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Host: Peter Robinson Peter Robinson Unbridled is a podcast of the Civitas Institute of the University of Texas at Austin Executive Producers: Mat Hames Beth Hames Researcher: John Masko Producer: Laura Utt Technical Director: Zachary Daly Associate Producer: Rachel Walker Editor: Josh Meyers Post Production: Jacob Estrada Camera: Danny Plitt Music by Brandon Shufflebarger

Leonard Leo: The Conservative Fundraiser Remaking American Culture

As a long-time chair of the Federalist Society, Leonard Leo played a leading role in bringing half of today's Supreme Court to the Bench. Today, as one of the conservative movement's premier fundraisers and strategists, he has dedicated himself to "crushing liberal dominance" in politics, media, and culture. On today's Unbridled, Peter and Leonard discuss Leonard's formative political experiences, his approach to philanthropy, his fight to gain a foothold for traditional conservatism in movies and TV, and how to find great, affordable wines. Timestamps 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:02:55 - Leonard Leo's background 00:05:22 - Why Leo joined the Federalist Society 00:07:01 - "Crushing" Liberal dominance 00:11:28 - The Left and Right operationalizing their views 00:18:18 - Thinking about philanthropy 00:24:10 - What happened to American universities? 00:27:21 - Suggestions for Conservative philanthropy 00:37:44 - Leonard Leo's funding 00:40:43 - Conservatism today 00:53:59 - Positive cultural changes 01:02:47 - Cards! Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Host: Peter Robinson Peter Robinson Unbridled is a podcast of the Civitas Institute of the University of Texas at Austin Executive Producers: Mat Hames Beth Hames Researcher: John Masko Producer: Laura Utt Editor: Josh Meyers Post Production: Jacob Estrada Camera: Josh Harwick, Nathan Jennings Music by Brandon Shufflebarger

American Neo-Feudalism and How to Escape It - Joel Kotkin

On episode 3 of Unbridled, Peter sits down with writer and demographer Joel Kotkin. Joel is one of the most incisive interpreters of America's social and economic fabric. He is also politically close to unclassifiable--equal parts old-time liberal and contemporary conservative. Joel and Peter talk immigration, automation, affordability and unaffordability, the decline of California and the Coasts, and the rise of Texas and the Heartland. Timestamps 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:04:12 - The new aristocracy: consolidation of power in Big Tech 00:06:40 - The new clerisy: the educated managerial class 00:09:07 - The rest of us: the yeomanry and serf class 00:12:15 - Alienation driven by AI 00:15:05 - Counterarguments for Joel 00:19:55 - Does the gap between the poor and rich matter? 00:24:45 - Modern opportunities outside of large cities 00:30:55 - The oligarchy's response to Trumpism 00:36:44 - The change in the cultural zeitgeist despite Trump's narrow victory 00:42:07 - Red State vs. Blue State governance 00:48:44 - Young people dedicating themselves to their political inheritance 00:53:26 - Card game! Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Host: Peter Robinson Peter Robinson Unbridled is a podcast of the Civitas Institute of the University of Texas at Austin Executive Producers: Mat Hames Beth Hames Researcher: John Masko Producer: Laura Utt Editor: Josh Meyers Post Production: Jacob Estrada Camera: Josh Hardwick, Nathan Jennings Music by Brandon Shufflebarger

The Happy Warrior Remaking Higher Education - Will Inboden

Over recent decades, the American university has been on a conveyor belt toward higher costs, less intellectual diversity, and less relevance to contemporary American life. Will Inboden, a decorated historian of foreign policy and newly appointed provost of the University of Texas at Austin, is here to change that. Will and Peter discuss how higher education got into a rut, how universities can lead us out of it, the point of Shakespeare, and how to build lifelong friendships. Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:30 - Why choose a career in academia 00:05:00 - Shaken public trust in institutions of higher learning 00:13:00 - The role of a university 00:16:50 - Academic freedom 00:20:26 - STEM research and the CCP 00:29:00 - Decline of the liberal arts 00:40:15 - The pursuit of truth 00:42:30 - Viewpoint diversity 00:48:00 - Life as provost Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Host: Peter Robinson Peter Robinson Unbridled is a podcast of the Civitas Institute of the University of Texas at Austin Executive Producers: Mat Hames Beth Hames Researcher: John Masko Producer: Laura Utt Editor: Josh Meyers Post Production: Jacob Estrada Camera: Josh Harwick, Nathan Jennings Music by Brandon Shufflebarger