Conversations

The Disappearance of Rational Control (ft. Harvey Mansfield)

conversations@firstthings.com (First Things) — Mon, 6 Apr 2026 13:12:27 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Harvey C. Mansfield joins in to discuss his recent book, "The Rise and Fall of Rational Control: The History of Modern Political Philosophy."

The Real JD Vance (ft. Frank DeVito)

conversations@firstthings.com (First Things) — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 08:00:00 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Frank DeVito joins in to discuss his recent book, JD Vance and the Future of the Republican Party.

The Slow Death of Publishing (ft. Justin Lee)

conversations@firstthings.com (First Things) — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 08:00:00 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, First Things Associate Editor Justin Lee joins in to discuss his recent book, "A Prisoner's Cinema.”

How Activism Gets Funded (ft. John Sailer)

conversations@firstthings.com (First Things) — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 08:00:00 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, John Sailer joins in to discuss his recent book, "The Mellon Foundation’s Idea of ‘Social Justice.’"

Will Trump’s Coalition Last? (ft. Joseph Prud’homme)

conversations@firstthings.com (First Things) — Mon, 9 Mar 2026 08:00:00 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Joseph Prud’homme joins in to discuss his recent book, The New Conservatism and its Critics.

Politics of the Professoriate (ft. John Tomasi)

conversations@firstthings.com (First Things) — Mon, 2 Mar 2026 09:00:00 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, John Tomasi joins in to discuss his recent book, Viewpoint Diversity: What It Is, Why We Need It, and How to Get It.

Ralston College’s Human Endeavour (ft. Stephen Blackwood)

conversations@firstthings.com (Mark Bauerlein, Stephen Blackwood) — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 09:00:00 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Stephen Blackwood joins in to discuss Ralston College's unique approach to Classical Studies through immersive, spoken-language education in Ancient Greek and Latin.

A Commitment to Remembrance (ft. Andrew Zwerneman)

conversations@firstthings.com (First Things) — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 09:00:00 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Andrew Zwerneman joins in to discuss his recent article, "Stoke the Fire for America’s 250th."

Above Animal Instinct (ft. Jonathan Leaf)

conversations@firstthings.com (First Things) — Mon, 9 Feb 2026 09:00:00 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Jonathan Leaf joins in to discuss his recent book, The Primate Myth: Why the Latest Science Leads Us to a New Theory of Human Nature.

The Burning World of William Blake (ft. Mark Vernon)

conversations@firstthings.com (First Things) — Mon, 2 Feb 2026 09:00:00 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Mark Vernon joins in to discuss his recent book, Awake!: William Blake and the Power of the Imagination.

The Downfall of the Republican Establishment (ft. Daniel McCarthy)

conversations@firstthings.com (First Things) — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 09:00:00 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Daniel McCarthy joins in to discuss his recent article, "The plot against J.D. Vance."

Self-Destructive Liberalism (ft. Philip Pilkington)

conversations@firstthings.com (First Things) — Mon, 19 Jan 2026 09:00:00 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Philip Pilkington joins in to discuss his recent book, "The Collapse of Global Liberalism: And the Emergence of the Post Liberal World Order."

How Science Trumped Materialism (ft. Michel-Yves Bolloré)

conversations@firstthings.com (First Things) — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 09:00:00 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Michel-Yves Bolloré joins in to discuss his recent book, "God, the Science, the Evidence."

America’s Iron Men (ft. Matthew Spalding)

conversations@firstthings.com (Matthew Spalding, Mark Bauerlein) — Mon, 5 Jan 2026 09:00:00 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Matthew Spalding joins in to discuss his recent book, "The Making of the American Mind: The Story of our Declaration of Independence."

Restoring Breadth and Depth to Education (ft. Solveig Gold)

conversations@firstthings.com (First Things) — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 09:00:00 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Solveig Gold joins in to discuss her recent article, co-authored with Joshua Katz, entitled "Make the Ivy League Excellent Again," which will come out in a volume soon.

Artful Faith (ft. Stephen Auth)

conversations@firstthings.com (First Things) — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 09:00:00 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Stephen Auth joins in to discuss his recent book, Visions of the Divine: An Artistic Journey Into the Mystery of the Eucharist.

What Does Gen Z Want? (ft. Sohrab Ahmari)

conversations@firstthings.com (Mark Bauerlein, Sohrab Ahmari) — Mon, 8 Dec 2025 09:00:00 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Sohrab Ahmari joins in to discuss his recent articles, "MAGA Helped Elect Zohran Mamdani" and "Why Nikki Haley’s son went radical."

Abandonment of Truth (ft. George Weigel)

conversations@firstthings.com (Conversations) — Mon, 1 Dec 2025 09:00:19 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, George Weigel joins in to discuss his recent book, Pomp, Circumstance, and Unsolicited Advice: Commencement Addresses and University Lectures.

A Cancellation in San Jose (ft. Elizabeth Weiss)

conversations@firstthings.com (Conversations) — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 09:00:29 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Elizabeth Weiss joins in to discuss her recent book, On the Warpath: My Battles With Indians, Pretendians, and Woke Warriors.

Self Help from the Ancients (ft. Michael Fontaine)

conversations@firstthings.com (Conversations) — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 09:00:28 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Michael Fontaine joins in to discuss his recent book, How to Have Willpower: An Ancient Guide to Not Giving In (Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers).

Western Civilization and Augustine (ft. Chad Pecknold)

conversations@firstthings.com (Conversations) — Mon, 3 Nov 2025 09:00:58 +0000

Western Civilization and Augustine (ft. Chad Pecknold) by Conversations

Charles Murray Comes to God (ft. Charles Murray)

conversations@firstthings.com (Conversations) — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 08:00:09 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Charles Murray joins in to discuss his recent book, Taking Religion Seriously.

The Charisma of the Leader (ft. Molly Worthen)

conversations@firstthings.com (Conversations) — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 08:00:54 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Molly Worthen joins in to discuss her recent book, Spellbound: How Charisma Shaped American History from the Puritans to Donald Trump.

The Problem of Population Decline (ft. Georgina Kiss-Kozma)

conversations@firstthings.com (Conversations) — Mon, 13 Oct 2025 08:00:13 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Georgina Kiss-Kozma joins in to discuss her work with the Youth Research Institute in Budapest.

The Church's Answer to the World (ft. Carter Griffin)

conversations@firstthings.com (Conversations) — Mon, 6 Oct 2025 08:00:31 +0000

The Church's Answer to the World (ft. Carter Griffin) by Conversations

Where Is God in “The Lord of the Rings”? (ft. Douglas Estes)

conversations@firstthings.com (Conversations) — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 08:00:22 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Douglas Estes joins in to discuss his recent books, Theology and Tolkien: Practical Theology and Theology and Tolkien: Constructive Theology.

The Art of the Proof (ft. J. Jacob Tawney)

conversations@firstthings.com (Conversations) — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 08:00:26 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, J. Jacob Tawney joins in to discuss his recent book, "Another Sort of Mathematics: Selected Proofs Necessary to Finally Acquire an Education in Mathematics."

The Question of Suicide (ft. Martin Lockerd)

conversations@firstthings.com (Conversations) — Tue, 2 Sep 2025 08:00:28 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Martin Lockerd joins in to discuss his recent book, "Suicide in Modern Catholic Literature."

Conserving the Past through Education (ft. Robert Luddy)

conversations@firstthings.com (Conversations) — Mon, 25 Aug 2025 07:59:59 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Robert L. Luddy joins in to discuss his recent book, "The Thales Way."

The Real History of Black Progress (and Regress) (ft. Jason Riley)

conversations@firstthings.com (Conversations) — Mon, 18 Aug 2025 08:00:39 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Jason Riley joins in to discuss his recent book, "The Affirmative Action Myth: Why Blacks Don't Need Racial Preferences to Succeed."

Kids Need the Classics (ft. Nathan Antiel)

conversations@firstthings.com (Conversations) — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 08:00:23 +0000

The latest installment of an ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein. Nathan Antiel joins in to discuss Classical Education and Classical Academic Press.

The Heroism of Homeric Women (ft. Eirene Allen)

conversations@firstthings.com (Conversations) — Tue, 5 Aug 2025 08:00:36 +0000

The latest installment of an ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein. Eirene S. Allen joins in to discuss her recent book, "The Epic Women of Homer: Exploring Women's Roles in the Iliad and Odyssey."

Nationalism Will Save the West (ft. Yoram Hazony)

conversations@firstthings.com (Conversations) — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 08:00:46 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Yoram Hazony joins in to discuss his book, "The Virtue of Nationalism."

How to Prevent an Act of Terror (ft. Alan Dershowitz)

conversations@firstthings.com (Conversations) — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 08:00:56 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Alan Dershowitz joins in to discuss his recent book, "The Preventive State: The Challenge of Preventing Serious Harms While Preserving Essential Liberties."

NovelCon (ft. Christopher Scalia)

conversations@firstthings.com (Conversations) — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 08:00:38 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Christopher J. Scalia joins in to discuss his recent book, "13 Novels Conservatives Will Love (but Probably Haven't Read)."

The Fed and the College

conversations@firstthings.com (Conversations) — Tue, 1 Jul 2025 17:59:28 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Brad Lingo joins in to discuss Grove City College.

Subscribe to Mark's new channel on:

Spotify: tinyurl.com/mufv3xzw

Apple Podcasts: tinyurl.com/3w32d42x

Intro music by Jack Bauerlein.

Classical Education Keeps Growing

conversations@firstthings.com (Conversations) — Mon, 16 Jun 2025 20:18:37 +0000

In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Martin Cothran joins in to discuss Memoria Press and Classical Education in America.

Intro music by Jack Bauerlein.