Whether it’s foreign-policy hawks on the right, cultural conservatives on the left, or fiscal conservatives anywhere, the reductive binary of today’s electoral options can be deeply frustrating for intraparty minority groups. Considering how various 19th-century movements combined to form the Republican Party offers some paths out of that frustration.

Guest Jennifer Dresden joins us to discuss the forgotten history of fusion voting and how it might serve disaffected voters today.

Jennifer Dresden is a policy strategist at Protect Democracy, a non-profit and non-partisan group dedicated to promoting “free and fair elections, the rule of law, fact-based debate, and a better democracy for future generations.”

This podcast discusses themes from Jennifer’s essay in the Spring 2025 issue of National Affairs, “Strategic Fusion and the GOP.”

The left in America has long accused the right of advancing minority rule and rejecting the principles of democracy. Though there is some truth to that charge, it applies as much to the left itself as it does to the right. A closer look at housing and infrastructure regulations, public-employee unions, professional licensing, and the governance of higher education suggests that “minoritarianism” pervades our politics.

Guest Steve Teles joins us to discuss the bipartisan penchant for minority rule and how lawmakers might restore a more majoritarian, democratic politics.

Steve Teles is a professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University and a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center. He’s the author of several books about topics such as economic inequality, welfare, and the conservative legal movement.

This podcast discusses themes from Steve’s essay in the Spring 2025 issue of National Affairs, “Minoritarianism Is Everywhere.”

Books and Essays Mentioned:

-Neighborhood Defenders: Participatory Politics and America’s Housing Crisis

-Special Interest: Teachers Unions and America’s Public Schools

-“The Strength of a Weak State: The Rights Revolution and the Rise of Human Resources Management Divisions”

-“Professionalization 2.0: The Case for Plural Professionalization in Education”

-“Beyond Academic Sectarianism”

-In Covid’s Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us

-“The Rise of the Abundance Faction”

-“The Future Is Faction”

Technology is a force for change in the world, both positive and negative. Its ability to rapidly transform our way of life poses an inherent challenge to families. If conservatives wish to restore the family as the foundation of our civilizational order, they must develop a comprehensive theory of technological change. Without it, new technologies will continue to heap disaster on the American family. But if properly guided, technological innovation can help uplift the family and usher it into a new era of flourishing.

Guest Jon Askonas joins us to discuss what a new conservative technology agenda might look like.

Jon Askonas is assistant professor of politics at the Catholic University of America and a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation.

This podcast discusses themes from Jon’s essay in the Winter 2025 issue of National Affairs, “Technology for the American Family.”

For more on this subject, see “A Future for the Family: A New Technology Agenda for the Right” in First Things, as well as “Stop Hacking Humans” in The New Atlantis. Additionally, AEI will host an event on Monday, February 24, 2025 at 11:10 a.m. titled “Dignity and Dynamism: The Future of Conservative Technology Policy.”