Project Cosmos: Conversations on the Future of Civilization
Project Cosmos: Conversations on the Future of Civilization
Podcast Description
Project Cosmos is a new series from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) that brings together leading thinkers for candid, in-depth conversations about politics, culture, history, and the fate of the American regime.Hosted in an informal, living-room setting, each episode feels less like a panel discussion and more like stepping inside a private exchange among some of today’s most influential intellectuals. Together, they explore urgent questions:What is the common good in 21st-century America?Has liberalism failed, and what comes after it?Can the administrative state be reformed—or must it be dismantled?Should Americans embrace a stronger executive power?What lessons can we learn from Rome, the Founders, and modern history?From executive authority and Caesarism to community, culture, and the role of elites, Project Cosmos offers unfiltered discussions at the highest level.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on critical themes in politics, culture, and history, addressing urgent questions such as the role of executive power in the common good and the future of liberalism. Examples of episodes include discussions on the administrative state, the implications of bureaucracy, and historical lessons from American founders. Central topics also delve into community and cultural dynamics, exploring the lessons of Rome and the contemporary elite's role.
Project Cosmos is a new series from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) that brings together leading thinkers for candid, in-depth conversations about politics, culture, history, and the fate of the American regime.
Hosted in an informal, living-room setting, each episode feels less like a panel discussion and more like stepping inside a private exchange among some of today’s most influential intellectuals. Together, they explore urgent questions:
- What is the common good in 21st-century America?
- Has liberalism failed, and what comes after it?
- Can the administrative state be reformed—or must it be dismantled?
- Should Americans embrace a stronger executive power?
- What lessons can we learn from Rome, the Founders, and modern history?
From executive authority and Caesarism to community, culture, and the role of elites, Project Cosmos offers unfiltered discussions at the highest level.
Join host Johnny Burtka with Yuval Levin, Sarah Gustafson, Vincent Munoz, and Sohrab Ahmari for an in-depth conversation about Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America and its relevance to contemporary American politics. This roundtable explores Congress and democratic governance, the administrative state, religion in democracy, and the formation of democratic citizens in our modern age.
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Why Congress must predominate in a republic
7:22 – Andrew Jackson and the paradox of executive power
20:50 – Who was Alexis de Tocqueville?
27:18 – Tocqueville's reception in America through history
36:14 – The pathologies of democracy and soft despotism
51:37 – The bank war and Hamiltonian vs. Jacksonian visions
1:11:00 – The New Deal, progressivism, and centralized power
1:25:25 – Markets, government, and the problem of centralization
1:29:27 – The democratic soul and forming citizens
1:40:30 – Religion, morality, and American democracy today
1:50:25 – Reforming institutions and educating the next generation
Featured Topics: Tocqueville, Congress, separation of powers, Andrew Jackson, administrative state, progressive era, federalism, subsidiarity, religious liberty, democratic soul, education, virtue ethics, institutional reform, aristocracy vs. democracy
A production of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute | isi.org
ProjectCosmos #Tocqueville #Democracy #Congress #PoliticalPhilosophy #AmericanGovernment #ISI
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