The Orthodox Christian faith is a growing yet tiny minority in the Christendom body in the United States. Yet they are growing in strength and numbers on the broader American Right. Which suggests that Orthodoxy may exert its influence on the conservative movement of the future. What traditions does the faith hold that may bolster and modify conservatism? What challenges are there in seeking to fuse a predominantly Eastern religion with the politics of the West? How do practicing Orthodox view Russia’s war in Ukraine? Can Orthodoxy be a gateway for those who become radicalized on the Right? Returning guest and Greek Orthodox practitioner Christopher Chesny joins Josh to answer all this and more.

About Christopher Chesny

Christopher Chesny is a conservative activist who has been involved in Republican and conservative politics for almost two decades. After his political awakening at a young age after the 2000 Election and 9/11, he began to engage in the public policy process in a myriad of ways before graduating high school, and that engagement has continued through college up to the present day. This has included academic public policy research, journalism covering state governmental bodies including legislatures and executive and judicial branch agencies, being elected to various party offices and as an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention, lobbying legislators for conservative causes both in an activist and professional capacity, managing social media accounts for conservative groups, and most significantly volunteering and sometimes professionally managing and consulting political campaigns in multiple states across the country.

Currently living in Virginia outside of Washington, D.C., Christopher was born in Oklahoma City and grew up outside Tulsa, and received his B.A. with a Major in Political Science and Minors in History and Economics from Arizona State University, and later his Master's Degree in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma. Besides specializing in American political history and psephology (the study of elections) since the Second World War, he is a fan of history and geography from most every era in most every part of the world, especially the history of different religious faiths. Besides keeping up with current events, he is also an armchair cinephile and an avid fan of both classical music and rock 'n roll, especially alternative rock and its offshoots from the 1980s through to the present day.

You can find Chris on Twitter at @ChrisChesny89

Fellow geriatric millennial Eric Kohn joins Josh to discuss what keeps the Acton Institute anchored in turbulent political waters, the proper role for libertarian ideas in conservatism, the dangers of religious zeal in political ideologies, and what’s wrong with conservative kids these days.

About Eric Kohn

Eric Kohn is director of marketing and communications at the Acton Institute. In that role, he works to bring Acton's vision of a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles to a wider audience. Every week he hosts Acton Unwind, Acton's roundtable podcast, and he's a part-time host of Acton Line, Acton's weekly interview podcast.

He's an associate producer of the award-winning THE HONG KONGER: JIMMY LAI'S EXTRAORDINARY STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM, the newest documentary feature film from the Acton Institute, released in 2022.

Prior to joining Acton, Eric was director of community management at the Illinois Policy Institute, one of the nation's premier state-based think tanks. He was also the founder and CEO of Curious Task Strategies, a public affairs consulting firm. For more than 10 years, Eric led the Chicago chapter of America’s Future Foundation, an organization dedicated to developing the next generation of classical liberal leaders in Chicago.

From 2019 to 2021, Eric co-hosted Sources with Knowledge along with Joe Kaiser on News/Talk 560 The Answer in Chicago. He previously hosted The Eric Kohn Program on 1530-AM WJJG, and has guest-hosted the nationally syndicated The Guy Benson Show, Illinois Watchdog Radio on Cities 92.9FM in Bloomington-Normal, and Chicago’s Morning Answer on News/Talk 560 The Answer. He has appeared as a guest host and commentator on Beyond the Beltway with Bruce DuMont, Extension 720 with Milt Rosenberg, The Michael Koolidge Show, WTTW’s Chicago Tonight, and numerous news broadcasts in the Chicagoland area. Eric’s writings have appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, The Detroit News, the Belleville News-Democrat, and other publications.

Eric grew up in Belleville, Ill., and is a graduate of Millikin University in Decatur, Ill. He lives in Grand Rapids, Mich., with his wife and two children. You can follow Eric on Twitter @iEricKohn

Introducing the Are We Right? Podcast

If you like Saving Elephants you’ll love the new podcast Are We Right? featuring Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis along with three other co-hosts: Cal Davenport, Brooke Medina, and Calvin Moore. Cal, Josh Brooke, and Calvin debate a wide range of topics from politics to religion to culture and invite the audience to weigh in on whether or not they’re right. You can find the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen, find us on Twitter @ TheAWRPodcast, and email us at [email protected].