
53 episodes

The General Eclectic The American Conservative
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- Society & Culture
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5.0 • 57 Ratings
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A new podcast from The American Conservative, presented by Kale Zelden and bestselling author Rod Dreher, exploring faith, culture, and public affairs.
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Being Human in the Shadows of the Machine
Kale sits down with Tara Ann Thieke to discuss The Machine, Spirits, Technology and the struggle to be human.
In the first half of the show they talk about what it could mean to be in a "post-Christian" world and the limits of the liberal order, and in particular what the implications are for people raised in this order and the reality of the meaning crisis. In the second half they talk about spirits.
Topics covered:
Ellul and Illich Edith Stein paying attention to the face as an antidote to memes human person as Icon rather than thing or instrument curating your own social media game Spirits and compulsion Millennials have been lied to Benedict Option for those who have "timed out" the spirit of Ahriman Buffered and Porous models no neutrality in the spirit world -
Eclipse of Authority, Myth of Control
The guys discuss the aftermath of yet another mass shooting, the rush to assign blame and score it, and the need to create a sense of control in the face of American nihilism. They move on to talk about the world given to us by our elites, and the loss of the wisdom of "how to live."
In the second part they get into things more personal, in the context of the breakdown of authority, and Rod's own "domicide."
Links:
Jonathan Pageau on Sacrifice Joshua Mitchell's America's Awakening Auron MacIntyre TWEET Alison in New Orleans -
Matt Walsh: The Body Doesn't Lie
Rod and Kale are joined by filmmaker, podcaster, and best-selling children’s author Matt Walsh of DailyWire.com to discuss his new hit movie “What is a Woman?”
The interview is the first half, followed by a debrief between Rod and Kale in the second. -
Yoram Hazony & The Next Conservatism
Rod and Kale have Yoram Hazony on to talk about his just released book "Conservatism: A Rediscovery."
They discuss:
- Can Conservatives learn to Conserve?
- Post-fusionism and Cultural Transmission
- Public and Personal realms
- No real "Neutrality"
- Honor creates a world
- Freedom above all and the dissolution of Family
- Woke as a placeholder for the loss of tradition
- Post WW2 cultural trauma
- The Bible's centrality
- The successes of Enlightenment Rationalism
- Institutional capture
- False nazi smears and "postures versus arguments"
- Fight for restoration not revolution
- Yoram's personal turn to Conservatism through lived tradition
Read Rod at his blog at The American Conservative
More from Rod at roddreher.substack.com
More from Kale at kalezelden.substack.com -
The Return of the Eclectic
Rod and Kale return after a 6 week sabbatical to cover what has been going on politically, culturally, and personally in the past six weeks.
The talk:
-Jerusulem
-Russia and Ukraine
-Orban
-Media Class Blindness
-Enemies as Parasites
-our New Media Disinformation Tsar
-Roe v. Wade
-Spanish Civil War
-Statecraft
-Purity Politics
-Pilgrimage and physical reality
Kale has started "The Underneath," a new Substack at: kalezelden.substack.com
Links:
Prelude to a Tragedy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu5f9hp0IP4
The Subversive Podcast: https://alexkaschuta.com/subversive-podcast -
Waiting for the Barbarians
In their warm up, Kale and Rod talk about the Slap Heard 'Round the World at this year's Oscars and the snoozefest it has become. They move into a discussion of the deeper implications of the question: "what is a woman?"
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson professed her inability to answer the question at the confirmation hearings, and they talk about the deeper implications of why this matters, especially in our current moment.
They then talk about the NatCon Conference in Brussels, and especially the bold speech of Eva Vlaardingerbroek as well as Alex Kaschuta, host of The Subversive Podcast and their critiques of Western Liberalism. The question is serious: will it hold?
Have we lost Western Civilization's "default settings"? Or are we doomed to continue to toil in the world of Crowley?
They move on to discuss Iain McGilchrist and his vision of purpose encoded in the natural world. Can we rediscover our purpose, or are we simply waiting for the barbarians to take us? Are we stuck in Necropolis?
They finish up on a conversation about the prophetic role of the church, and the need for moral leadership. What do we do when these, too, are captured?
Links:
KJB and What is a Woman?: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/woman-man-ketanji-brown-jackson-woman-gender-ideology-fight-against-evil/ The Vicar's Wife's Lament: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/frustrated-laywoman-to-anglican-leaders-find-your-spines/ Subversive Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AORn2H3hCSs TGE Show with Helena: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52WFFekjcSc&t=4s The City in History: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_City_in_History
Customer Reviews
Good stuff but please stop interrupting guests
This is a great podcast, but the episodes with guests are hard to listen to. Kale should stop interrupting guests and give them space to talk.
Right on the mark
Really an excellent podcast. Kale and Rod are way ahead of most of thier conservative peers in articulating how today’s social and cultural changes threaten the best elements of our character.
The Other Side
Kale Zelden and Rod Dreher do the research to bring the listener the other side of the story. They “swim against the current” to bring Catholics and Christians information they need to understand and make decisions on current events.
Their guest list includes people whose boots are on the ground dealing with secular issues that are important to the theologically inclined.
If you can be patient with Mr. Zelden talking over and interrupting guests the content is listen worthy.