Madison's Notes

Madison's Notes

episodes
Frontier Films for America250: On the Western Genre and Beyond with Matthew J. Franck

May 6, 2026

Frontier Films for America250

Matthew J. Franck
Hosted by Ryan Shinkel

Here in Episode 7 of Season 5, I interview Dr. Matthew J. Franck. A senior contributing fellow at Public Discourse, a visiting lecturer in the Departm…

The Crisis of American Political Economy: On the New Conservative Policy Agenda with Chris Griswold

April 22, 2026

The Crisis of American Political Economy

Chris Griswold
Hosted by Ryan Shinkel

In this sixth episode of Season 5, I interview Mr. Chris Griswold. An alum of Wheaton College and Princeton Theological Seminary, he was formerly a se…

The Gospel According to Josephus, Part 2

April 8, 2026

The Gospel According to Josephus, Part 2

Hosted by Ryan Shinkel

In this fifth episode of Season 5, I interview Professor Thomas C. Schmidt, a historian who focuses on the New Testament, Patristics, and Eastern Chr…

S5E4 The Gospel According to Josephus: A Conversation with Thomas C. Schmidt, Part 1

April 1, 2026

The Gospel According to Josephus, Part 1

Thomas C. Schmidt
Hosted by Ryan Shinkel

In this fourth episode of Season 5, I interview Professor Thomas C. Schmidt, a historian who focuses on the New Testament, Patristics, and Eastern Chr…

The Philosophy of Hope: On Immanence and Transcendence with R.J. Snell

March 25, 2026

The Philosophy of Hope

R.J. Snell
Hosted by Ryan Shinkel

In this third episode of Season 5, I interview Dr. R.J. Snell, a visiting instructor at Princeton University, the director of academic programs at the…

The Augustan Revolution: On Ancient Rome with Reece Edmends

March 11, 2026

The Augustan Revolution

Reece Edmends
Hosted by Ryan Shinkel

In this second episode of Season 5, I interview Dr. Reece Edmends, a graduate of King’s College, Cambridge, and a junior faculty member in the Classic…

S5E1 Preacher, Teacher, and Founder: On Princeton's famous President, John Witherspoon

February 26, 2026

Preacher, Teacher, and Founder

Hosted by Ryan Shinkel

Madison’s Notes is back and with a new host, Ryan Shinkel. In this episode to start off Season 5, I interview Dr. Kevin DeYoung, a popular author, P…

Interpretations of the Second Amendment: A Conversation with Joel Alicea

May 29, 2025

Interpretations of the Second Amendment

Joel Alicea
Hosted by Laura Laurent

The Supreme Court’s ruling in 2022 changed the established methodology for evaluating Second Amendment cases. What was the existing methodology, and w…

Executive Power and the President Who Would Not Be King: A Conversation with Michael McConnell

May 22, 2025

The President Who Would Not Be King

Michael W. McConnell
Hosted by Laura Laurent

In this episode of Madison’s Notes, Michael McConnell examines the gap between the Founders’ vision of a limited presidency and today’s expansive exec…

False Dawn: A Conversation with George Selgin on Recovering from the Great Depression

May 14, 2025

False Dawn: A Conversation with George Selgin on Recovering from the Great Depression

George Selgin
Hosted by Laura Laurent

Join us on Madison's Notes as we sit down with George Selgin, senior fellow and director emeritus of the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Fina…

Institutional Corruption in News Media: A Conversation with William English

April 30, 2025

Institutional Corruption in News Media

William English
Hosted by Laura Laurent

Why has trust in the news media declined? How can we combat biased reporting and the spread of misinformation? And how do these challenges compare to …

Adam Kissel et al., "Slacking: A Guide to Ivy League Miseducation" (Encounter Books, 2025)

April 23, 2025

Slacking

Adam Kissel, Madison Marino Doan, and Rachel Alexander Cambre
Hosted by Laura Laurent

What does a general education from an Ivy League mean? What structures produce the course catalogues that students can choose to customize their educa…

Constitutional Private Law: A Conversation with Garrett West

April 16, 2025

Constitutional Private Law

Garrett West
Hosted by Laura Laurent

What is constitutional private law, and how does it differ from the way we traditionally think about constitutional issues? When an individual employe…

In Covid’s Wake: How our Politics Failed Us--A Conversation with Stephen Macedo (Part 2)

March 19, 2025

In Covid’s Wake: How our Politics Failed Us--A Conversation with Stephen Macedo (Part 2)

Stephen Macedo and Frances Lee
Hosted by Laura Laurent

This week on Madison’s Notes, we continue our discussion with Stephen Macedo, co-author of In COVID’s Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us (Princeton UP, …

In Covid’s Wake: How our Politics Failed Us--A Conversation with Frances Lee (Part 1)

March 12, 2025

In Covid’s Wake: How our Politics Failed Us: A Conversation with Frances Lee

Stephen Macedo and Frances Lee
Hosted by Laura Laurent

In the first part of our two-part conversation on Madison’s Notes, we speak with Frances Lee, Professor of Politics and Public Affairs at Princeton Un…

Mountain Memories: A Conversation with Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Robert P. George

February 12, 2025

Mountain Memories

Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Robert P. George
Hosted by Laura Laurent

In this episode, Henry Louis Gates and Robert P. George share a powerful conversation about their unlikely beginnings in West Virginia. Recorded in De…

Congressional Deliberation: A Conversation with Kevin J. Burns and Jordan T. Cash

January 15, 2025

Congressional Deliberation

Jordan T. Cash and Kevin J. Burns
Hosted by Laura Laurent

In this episode, we sit down with Professors Jordan T. Cash and Kevin J. Burns to discuss their recently published book, Congressional Deliberation: M…

Cosmic Connections: A Conversation with Charles Taylor

January 8, 2025

S4E20 Cosmic Connections

Charles Taylor
Hosted by Laura Laurent

This week on Madison’s Notes, we sit down with philosopher and author Charles Taylor to discuss his latest work, Cosmic Connections: Poetry in the Age…

Free Inquiry in the Academy and Beyond

December 18, 2024

Free Inquiry in the Academy and Beyond

Amna Khalid and Jeff Snyder
Hosted by Laura Laurent

In this episode of Madison’s Notes, we’re joined by Professors Amna Khalid and Jeff Snyder for a thought-provoking discussion on the state of free spe…

Jane Austen's Darkness: A Conversation with Julia Yost

December 4, 2024

Jane Austen's Darkness

Julia Yost
Hosted by Laura Laurent

In this episode of Madison's Notes, we sit down with Julia Yost, senior editor at First Things and author of the new book Jane Austen's Darkness (Wise…