In the wake of the 2024 election, former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels joins James Patterson to talk about the one issue politicians all try to avoid: the national debt. Though we have an impending debt disaster, both sides of the aisle avoid the hard choices that will eventually need to be made. Today, Daniels worries, it may be too late for a soft landing. We chose not to find solutions, and we'll start living with consequences very soon. Daniels and Patterson also touch on the state of higher education, the election, and our evolving partisan dynamics.

Further Reading:

Mitch Daniels, "The Day the Dollar Died," Washington Post
Mitch Daniels, "I'm Talking to You," Law & Liberty (2022 Purdue University Commencement Remarks)
Vance Ginn and Thomas Savidge, "Two Rules to Tackle America's Debt," Law & Liberty
Samuel Gregg, "David Hume and America's Debt Disaster," Law & Liberty

The past five years have been tumultuous ones for elite higher education. Campuses have been rocked by plagiarism scandals, ugly and violent protests, and revelations about admissions discrimination that went on under the guise of affirmative action. Meanwhile, reformers are trying out new approaches, from civics institutes to more robust legislative oversight of public universities to brand new private institutions. How pivotal will these years turn out to be? And what strategies are most likely to revive the mission of the university? Law & Liberty senior writer James Hankins has hope for a higher-ed renaissance.

When conservatives debate fundamentals, it does not take long for "fusionism" to come up. But it's not always clear what it is. Is it a philosophical stance or a practical coalition? Was it a historically contingent response to the Cold War or an integral part of any conservative disposition? An all-star panel joins host James Patterson to discuss and debate what fusionism really is and what the prospects are for its future. Charles C. W. Cooke, Samuel Goldman, and Stephanie Slade consider fusionism's origins in mid-century America, its culmination in the 1980s and its current status.

Charles C. W. Cooke is a senior editor at National Review and the host of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast.

Samuel Goldman is an associate professor of political science and executive director of the Loeb Institute for Religious Freedom at George Washington University. He is author of God’s Country: Christian Zionism in America, and After Nationalism: Being American in an Age of Division, and has written for many publications. He is the editor of FUSION.

Stephanie Slade is a senior editor at Reason and a fellow in liberal studies at the Acton Institute.

Related Links:
Charles C. W. Cooke, "A Roadmap—If We Want It" (Law & Liberty)
Stephanie Slade, "Is There a Future for Fusionism?" (Reason)
FUSION: In the Tradition of Liberty, (Samuel Goldman, Editor)
Charles C. W. Cooke, The Conservatarian Manifesto