At the end of 2024, Ryan Rogers joined the show to share his experiences with fanatical wokism as a graduate student.  He later had Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis on his new podcast, Reality Therapy, for a wide ranging discussion on conservatism, the challenges of the modern conservative movement, what conservatism offers that other political ideologies do not, and much more.  This episode is a re-podcast of that original conversation.

About Ryan Rogers

Ryan Rogers is a graduate student in clinical mental health counseling. He has a bachelors degree in psychology and a work history in addiction treatment.  His latest book, The Woke Mind, is the sixth book in his series on social justice fanaticism.

Comedian, author, and political satirist Andrew Heaton joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to explore where our political tribalism comes from, why it’s gotten out of hand, and what to do about it.

About Andrew Heaton

From mightyheaton.com

Andrew Heaton is a comedian, author, and political satirist. He’s the host of “The Political Orphanage” comedy and news podcast, and scifi deep dive podcast “Alienating the Audience.” He’s a frequent Reason TV contributor and hosted the popular webseries “Mostly Weekly.” He’s performed standup comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as a finalist in the China International Standup Competition, and throughout the United States and Europe. A former congressional staffer, he’s the best-selling author of “Laughter is Better Than Communism,” as well as two funny novels. He once opened for William Shatner, who said he’s “very funny.” So there.

As a UCB-trained sketch writer and improviser Andrew Heaton comprises half of the comedy duo Lost History, which has performed improvised historical reenactments at the Del Close Marathon and Austin’s Out of Bounds Comedy Festival. He’s a founding member of the popular New York indie improv team Lumberon, and an alumni of the sketch troupes 17:38 and First Runner Up.

As a political comedian Andrew Heaton has entertained numerous think tanks and advocacy groups, student associations, and sinister political action committees. He’s a regular at Electoral Dysfunction at the People’s Improv Theater in New York, and the Totally Dishonest Media Show at Stand Up New York. He hosted the award-winning series EconPop, a comedy show which explained economics through popular culture.

Andrew Heaton is the author of the best-selling work of political satire Laughter is Better Than Communism, and two funny paranormal novels: Frank Got Abducted (about aliens) and Happier as Werewolves (a tender coming of age novel involving werewolves).  His latest book is Tribalism is Dumb, detailed below.

About Tribalism is Dumb

 Tribalism has made politics so awful I was forced to write a book about it. Well, fine. Fine.

This book explores the evolutionary roots of loving our team and hating the enemy team, and why groupish caveman instincts linger in our minds today. It answers: If tribalism is hardwired into us, what changed in the last twenty years? How did partisanship get so loud, toxic, and obnoxious, and ruin last Thanksgiving? Finally, it says what we can do about it as individuals navigating relationships, and as society as a whole.

"Tribalism is Dumb" will make you less flummoxed by partisanship, political loudmouths, and dogmatic pundits. It will make you taller, slimmer, and more attractive to everyone you could legally hit on. And it will make you better equipped to navigate tribalism in the wild.

With the 2024 elections in rearview both parties are trying to grapple with what lessons they should learn.  Who better to offer unsolicited advice than Josh Lewis and Blake Fischer, the respective hosts of the Saving Elephants and The Homeless Conservative podcasts?  As two Trump-skeptical conservatives on the outside looking in, sure both parties are eager to hear their thoughts on how both parties should proceed in the elections ahead.

In this episode, Josh and Blake take a deep dive into what went wrong and what went right for the Republicans in 2024 and what might help them secure their newfound majorities for elections to come.

But wait, there’s more!  This episode is the first in a two-part series.  In part 2 Blake puts Josh on the hot seat to ask what lessons the Democratic party should take from their 2024 losses.  But you won’t find that conversation on the Saving Elephants podcast.  Instead, it appears as a special cross-over episode on Blake’s The Homeless Conservative, which you can listen to here.

About Blake Fischer and the Homeless Conservative

Blake Fischer is a political junkie, so you don't necessarily have to be. A lifelong conservative, Blake covers conservative policies, current politics, and the historical context of today's events. With a unique blend of media critique and a focus on the big issues that often go unaddressed, Blake offers insightful solutions to pressing problems without the fear-mongering or populist outrage used in mainstream political media.

Blake says, “I know a lot of people who would consider themselves more conservative than liberal, but don’t like Trump and feel like there’s nowhere for them in the Republican party. Welcome to the club! But if that’s you, I’d encourage you to not check out completely because we need reasonable citizens in this country to pay attention and vote accordingly if we want to change the direction of government and politics.”

Blake lives in Oklahoma and is the creator of The Homeless Conservative.

“I do not believe,” wrote F. A. Hayek in his book The Fatal Conceit, “that the widely held conception of ‘social justice’ either describes a possible state of affairs or is even meaningful.”  Hayek would complain “social” was a sort of “weasel word” that carried a lot of unexamined prescriptions.  To call something “social justice” is to advocate for something without bothering to fully explore what that something might even be.

What are the philosophical underpinnings of social justice?  What does it practically mean, and how could it practically apply.  And what ought we to do when the goals of “social justice” conflict with actual justice?

Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by Ryan Rogers who shares his story of experiencing the social justice movement in graduate school and his efforts to fully understand it origins, merits, and faults.

About Ryan Rogers

Ryan Rogers is a graduate student in clinical mental health counseling. He has a bachelors degree in psychology and a work history in addiction treatment.  His latest book, The Woke Mind, will be available in early 2025.  It is the sixth book in his series on social justice fanaticism.

“The biggest takeaway from the 2024 election,” writes Justin Longo of the Independence Center, is that “independents have officially broken the duopoly and now share the title of America’s largest political group with Republicans.”  But what is an independent, exactly?  What do they want and how are they different from those who proudly affiliate with the Republican or Democratic parties?  And what might this portend for the future of American politics?

Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by pollster Brett Loyd to make sense of the rise of the independents in the electorate.

About Brett Loyd

President and CEO of The Bullfinch Group, Brett Loyd is a leading researcher and campaign strategist, being one of the few political operatives to accurately forecast the 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections.

With his methods unswayed by external influences, Brett has built a reputation as a trusted and insightful partner to presidential, senatorial, congressional, and gubernatorial candidates; national political committees; and corporate and issue campaigns. His unbiased and data-first approach has delivered research, insights, analysis, and recommendations that have led to wins from the highest levels of U.S. campaign politics to local policy initiatives, and among his trade association, NGO, and Fortune 500 clients’ efforts.

This extensive experience also allows Brett to serve as a reputable advisor to DC’s embassy and foreign relations community, advising international government relations firms as well as ambassadors and their diplomatic staff in Washington and abroad.

Brett Loyd began his career in statistics and political science after graduating from Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa. Following his start in state politics, Brett moved to Washington, DC in 2007 where he and his wife still reside with their dog Falkor and goldfish Doug.

About The Independence Center 

The Independence Center is an organization dedicated to building a movement of independent-thinkers with Leaders who support centrist common sense compromise. The Independent Center’s mission is advocate for the millions of Americans who believe we share common ground and to promote and support candidates who share those values through research and outreach.

Have you heard?  Saving Elephants is now on YouTube! 

Saving Elephants now has YouTube channel, featuring full-length episodes, exclusive shorts, and even live events! Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/@savingelephants

Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis flies this election day episode solo to offer his thoughts on how your vote is more likely to impact yourself than it is the races, having grace for those who choose to vote differently than we do, and why conservatives should take courage in a profoundly discouraging time.

Special Election Night Livestream

You’re already staying up late to watch the election results.  Why not watch them with another august cross-partisan panel brought to you by Saving Elephants?  Join us, beginning 9PM CST, as we analyze the results in real time.  Sure, the national networks have professional pundits, but how likely are any of them to seriously discuss what Burke, Kirk, or Buckley would think about our political developments?

Here’s the link for YouTube and another for Facebook where we’ll be livestreaming.

Saving Elephants meticulously avoids many cringeworthy tropes in today’s “conservative” media and opts instead for deeper conversations on the conservative worldview and what it can offer Millennials.  As such, there is much low-hanging-fruit among the fruitier parts of the Left that isn’t as vigorously explored as it is in the aforementioned “conservative” media.  But that doesn’t mean these topics are off limits—just that they’re to be approached with conviction and clarity.

Josh Lewis welcomes Kimberly Ross back to the podcast for a wide-ranging discussion on what it means to be a woman, the place of feminism in conservatism, how both the Left and Right get the differences in the sexes wrong, and whether Andrew Tate is the “conservative’s” answer to Che Guevara.

About Kimberly Ross

Kimberly Ross is a freelance conservative writer. Her work regularly appears in The Washington Examiner, both online and the print magazine, and The Mirror magazine, a monthly publication from Aid to the Church in Need.  She is a freelance columnist at The Freemen News-Letter and co-host of The Right Thoughts podcast.  Her archive of published work can be found at RedState, Arc Digital, The Bulwark, Rare, and USA Today. 

As a mother of two and self-described "first wave feminist", she is most passionate about the rights of children, women, and the issue of abortion. She considers herself an independent conservative (not to be confused with conservative independent) and is beholden to no politician. 

Kimberly has a B.A. in history with graduate work in political science. You can follow Kimberly on Twitter @SouthernKeeks

In a world where both political parties are moving away from free market oriented policy solutions, a robust defense of our international allies, and traditional social norms, where does the conservative go from here?

Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by special returning guests Cal Davenport, Erik Kohn, and Justin Stapley for a roundtable discussion on what the future holds for the conservative movement.

Saving Elephants is now on YouTube!

This episode first dropped as a livestream on the new Saving Elephants YouTube channel., featuring full-length episodes, exclusive shorts, and even live events! Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/@savingelephants

The Declaration of Independence audaciously declares certain “truths” to be “self-evident”.  And, in so doing, offered a justification for not only a break with Great Britain and Revolutionary War, but the foundation upon which a new nation could be built.  But how uniformly were these “truths” held and understood by the Founding Fathers?  Were they disparate views that were ultimately incoherent or inconsistent?  Did the divergent cultures of the American North and South have fundamentally different ideas of what they conceived of America to be?  Were the Founders simply protecting their material interests and reaching for any argument at hand that seemed useful to that end?

Who was most responsible for the ideas of the American founding?  John Locke?  Scottish Enlightenment thinkers?  Egalitarianism?  Modernity?  Scientific rationalism?  Christian teachings?  Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is historian Hans Eicholz who argues it was actually a harmonization of many of these different, but not incompatible, sentiments that lead to the founding of America.

About Hans Eicholz

Hans Eicholz is a historian and Senior Fellow at Liberty Fund.  Much of his work has been in the history of economic thought, looking initially at the influence of market ideas in the American founding period, but also extending up through the 19th century.

Hans is the author of Harmonizing Sentiments: The Declaration of Independence and the Jeffersonian Idea of Self-Government (2001; Second Edition, 2024), and a contributor to The Constitutionalism of American States (2008).