The American Idea

Political analyst and writer Henry Olsen joins Jeff in this special episode to analyze why the 2026 midterms went the way they did and what this all means for America and each of us moving forward.Read Henry’s recent article: https://eppc.org/publication/exit-polls-reveal-the-real-reasons-for-the-republican-wreckage/Read about Pew’s political typology framework: https://www.pewresearch.org/collections/political-typology/Take Pew’s typology quiz: https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/quiz/political-typology/Host: Jeff SikkengaExecutive Producer: Jeremy GyptonSubscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanideaHomepage: https://ashbrook.org/the-american-idea-podcast/Thank you for being part of The American Idea community.Follow on Twitter https://x.com/amideapodcastFollow on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ashbrookcenter/

Famous for the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson spent the rest of his life thinking and writing with an eye toward changing public and political ideas and norms. Professor Jeremy Bailey, author of a new book on the subject, discusses with Jeff three other ‘declarations’ Jefferson made during his long public life, commenting on a free press, native lands and peoples, and slavery.Jefferson wrote knowing that his words would become public, and would likely be read for years, and continued debates over these three issues is proof of his 250-year reach through our history, politics, and culture.Get Jeremy’s new book: https://a.co/d/09xQ6e4iHost: Jeff SikkengaExecutive Producer: Jeremy GyptonSubscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanideaHomepage: https://ashbrook.org/the-american-idea-podcast/Thank you for being part of The American Idea community.

It might seem like a topic deep in the constitutional or legal weeds, but the president’s authority to fire federal officials has been controversial since the first Washington administration, and still matters today. Given the vast expansion of the scope and power of the Executive branch, a president’s power to fire officials in various agencies is a policy and enforcement tool - or a check on presidential power.Jeff is joined by Professor of Political Science Joseph Griffith to discuss the background and constitutional and legal dimensions of this important issue that often goes overlooked.Host: Jeff SikkengaExecutive Producer: Jeremy GyptonSubscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanideaHomepage: https://ashbrook.org/the-american-idea-podcast/

Do states have a constitutional right to nullify or ignore federal laws? Many in the South in the early 19th Century thought so, and argued against national tariffs on those grounds, even provoking a crisis between President Andrew Jackson and South Carolina. But the problem didn’t go away in the 1830s, rearing its head again during the Secession Crisis and in the last few years as states and cities resist federal laws and activities.Professor Dan Monroe explains the Nullification Crisis in plain language, making sense of the complex politics, culture, and economics behind that moment in history, while drawing clear parallels with today’s battles between Washington and certain states.Host: Jeff SikkengaExecutive Producer: Jeremy GyptonSubscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanideaHomepage: https://ashbrook.org/the-american-idea-podcast/Thank you for being part of The American Idea community.

We hear a lot about “The Fed,” interest rates, and America’s staggering national debt. But what do they each mean, how are they related, and how do they impact each of us today and in the future?Jeff discusses these seemingly complicated issues in clear terms with John Popeo of the Gallatin Group, unpacking how America created a national bank, how federal borrowing works, and the connection between taxing, spending, and borrowing shape our country’s economy and our individual possibilities and plans.Host: Jeff SikkengaExecutive Producer: Jeremy GyptonSubscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanideaHomepage: https://ashbrook.org/the-american-idea-podcast/Thank you for being part of The American Idea community.Follow on Twitter https://x.com/amideapodcastFollow on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ashbrookcenter/

Jeff is joined by Jonathan Turley - Georgetown University law professor, author, and constitutional law expert - to discuss the revolutionary roots of America, and how a few key distinctions between our revolution and that of France kept America from devouring itself, as so many revolutions do.Get Jonathan Turley’s new book, Rage and the Republic, on Amazon: https://a.co/d/03CmA2CUHost: Jeff SikkengaExecutive Producer: Jeremy GyptonSubscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanideaHomepage: https://ashbrook.org/the-american-idea-podcast/Thank you for being part of The American Idea community.Follow on Twitter https://x.com/amideapodcastFollow on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ashbrookcenter/

Typical civics and American Government courses teach that the Supreme Court has the final say in interpreting the Constitution - that is, determining its meaning and limits. Judicial Review, and other accepted powers of the court, are also taught as if the Founders built them that way.But what if that’s not the case? What if the court’s powers and norms are the current state of a centuries-long evolution, one that isn’t necessarily, or supposed to ever be, complete?Constitutional scholar Matthew Franck joins Jeff to discuss the evolution of the court’s powers, particularly that of judicial review, and how the view that they are a settled issue may not serve our republic well.Read Federalist 78, mentioned in the episode: https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/federalist-78/Read Federalist 81: https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/federalist-no-81/Find Matt’s articles at the Public Discourse: https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/Host: Jeff SikkengaExecutive Producer: Jeremy GyptonSubscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanideaHomepage: https://ashbrook.org/the-american-idea-podcast/Thank you for being part of The American Idea community.Follow on Twitter https://x.com/amideapodcastFollow on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ashbrookcenter/

The Marquis de Lafayette came to America at age 19, on his own dime, to earn glory on the battlefield. He quickly became one of the Revolution’s greatest believers, and spent the rest of his life admiring the spirit and goals of the American Revolution and the republic it birthed.Author Ryan Cole joins us this week to discuss his book, The Last Adieu, which chronicles Lafayette’s tour of America 40 years after the Revolution. Visiting every state, and meeting with surviving veterans and leaders, along with the next generation of prominent Americans, his experience gave him a unique perspective on the country he helped create.Read Ryan’s book: https://a.co/d/0fTFmzETHost: Jeff SikkengaExecutive Producer: Jeremy GyptonSubscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanideaHomepage: https://ashbrook.org/the-american-idea-podcast/Thank you for being part of The American Idea community.Follow on Twitter https://x.com/amideapodcastFollow on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ashbrookcenter/

Written while the Constitutional Convention was taking place in 1787, the Northwest Ordinance was adopted fully by the new government, despite being a production of the Articles of Confederation. It also laid the foundation for many of the Founders’ priorities and aspirations in terms of governance, land usage, economics, and slavery. How would the new, expanding America look, and what would it be like? The Northwest Ordinance is an essential enabler for the America that came on the heals of the Revolution.Jeff is joined by historian Peter Onuf to discuss this essential, yet largely overlooked, document.Read the document: https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/the-northwest-ordinance/Host: Jeff SikkengaExecutive Producer: Jeremy GyptonSubscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanideaHomepage: https://ashbrook.org/the-american-idea-podcast/Thank you for being part of The American Idea community.Follow on Twitter https://x.com/amideapodcastFollow on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ashbrookcenter/

Young Washington purports to tell the story of George Washington’s early life, and the choices, situations, and actions that defined him as a young man, and in the eyes of his countrymen. But how accurate is it, and considering how many people seem to get their history from films, what should we know about this movie when thinking about the story it tells?Presidential historian Stephen Knott worked as an advisor for the movie, and sits down with Dr. Cara Rogers Stevens to discuss what’s fact, where the film took creative license, and how challenging it is to make a good historical film.Read David Hackett Fischer’s book, as suggested by Steve: https://a.co/d/05GDbgbOHost: Jeff SikkengaExecutive Producer: Jeremy GyptonSubscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanideaHomepage: https://ashbrook.org/the-american-idea-podcast/Thank you for being part of The American Idea community.Follow on Twitter https://x.com/amideapodcastFollow on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ashbrookcenter/