About Annika Nordquist

Annika Nordquist is the Communications Coordinator of Princeton University’s James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions and host of the Program’s podcast, Madison’s Notes. She graduated from Stanford University in 2021, where she studied Classics and Linguistics. She was also Editor-in-Chief of the Stanford Review and a member of the varsity fencing team. Previously, she was a Research Assistant in Education Policy at the American Enterprise Institute.

NBN Episodes hosted by Annika:

Meet the New Host of "Madison's Notes"

August 7, 2024

Meet the New Host of "Madison's Notes"

Laura Laurent
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

Who is the new host of Madison's Notes? Season 2 and 3 host Annika Nordquist interviews the host of Season 4, Laura Laurent. They chat about her backg…

Faith, Business, and the Nature of Desire: Luke Burgis on René Girard and Mimetic Desire

June 26, 2024

Faith, Business, and the Nature of Desire

Luke Burgis
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

Why do we want what we want? Philosopher, theologian, and literary critic René Girard posits that we draw our desires largely from the people around u…

What and Why are Political Beliefs? A Conversation with Oliver Traldi

June 12, 2024

What and Why are Political Beliefs?

Oliver Traldi
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

What are political beliefs and how do we form them? Oliver Traldi, a current John and Daria Barry Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the James Madison Pr…

Citizen Soldiers, Republican Virtues, and the Roman Way of War: A Conversation with Steele Brand

June 6, 2024

Citizen Soldiers, Republican Virtues, and the Roman Way of War

Steele Brand
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

How was the Roman way of war unique, and what were the virtues that defined the Roman Republic? Are there lessons for modern Republics from the Roman …

The History of Washington D.C., America’s New Rome: A Conversation with Michael Auslin

May 29, 2024

The History of Washington D.C., America’s New Rome

Michael Auslin
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

Renowned Asia expert Michael Auslin is pivoting from Asia instead of towards it: today, he joins Madison's Notes to discuss his new project on the his…

American Innovation, American Vitality: A Conversation with Chris Buskirk

May 22, 2024

American Innovation, American Vitality

Christopher Buskirk
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

How can we restore America's frontier spirit, foster innovation, and stave off decay? Chris Buskirk sits down to discuss his new book America and the …

Can the Constitution Still Unite Us?: A Conversation with Yuval Levin

May 14, 2024

Can the Constitution Still Unite Us?

Yuval Levin
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

During an era of broad political dissatisfaction, what is the history and role of the Constitution? Does the Constitution still have the power to unit…

Battlefield to Big Sky

May 8, 2024

Battlefield to Big Sky: A Conversation with Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy

Tim Sheehy
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

Veteran and entrepreneur Tim Sheehy has led an action-packed life: a 2008 graduate of the Naval Academy, as a Navy SEAL he completed deployments in Ir…

The Contagion of Covid Policy: Dr. Jay Bhattacharya on Freedom of Speech

May 3, 2024

The Contagion of Covid Policy

Jay Bhattacharya
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

After a storied career as a health policy expert, Stanford Medicine's Dr. Jay Bhattacharya's work became a political focal point during the COVID-19 p…

Plutarch as Philosopher and Political Thinker: A Conversation with Hugh Liebert

April 18, 2024

Plutarch as Philosopher and Political Thinker

Hugh Liebert
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

Plutarch is one of history's most influential authors: his insights were foundational to thinkers ranging from William Shakespeare to Alexander Hami…

Hume, the Epicureans, and the Origins of Liberalism: A Conversation with Aaron Zubia

April 10, 2024

Hume, the Epicureans, and the Origins of Liberalism

Aaron Alexander Zubia
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

Enlightenment philosopher David Hume enjoyed a tremendous influence on intellectual history. What did Hume believe, why was it so controversial at the…

Marie de Vignerot, Richelieu's Forgotten Advisor and Heiress: A Conversation with Bronwen McShea

April 2, 2024

Marie de Vignerot, Richelieu's Forgotten Advisor and Heiress

Bronwen McShea
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

Despite being one of the most influential women of 17th century France, Marie de Vignerot has been largely forgotten. The niece, heiress, and advisor …

Why, How, and Who to Marry: A Conversation with Brad Wilcox *01

March 26, 2024

Why, How, and Who to Marry

Brad Wilcox
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

University of Virginia sociologist Brad Wilcox *01 delves into some of the popular wisdom surrounding marriage and tells us what the data has to say: …

How to Be a Good Statesman: Johnny Burtka on Political Leadership from Xenophon to Churchill

March 19, 2024

How to Be a Good Statesman

John A. Burtka IV
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

We have a preponderance of books on leadership in business; yet, despite broad dissatisfaction with our political leaders, almost none on how to be a …

Foster Care, Family, and Social Class: A Conversation with Rob Henderson

March 14, 2024

Foster Care, Family, and Social Class

Rob Henderson
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

Robert Kim Henderson, a recently-minted psychology PhD from Cambridge and prominent essayist, had a troubled childhood. A victim of child abuse, he wa…

Freedom in the Academy: A Conversation with Niall Ferguson

March 5, 2024

Freedom in the Academy

Niall Ferguson
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

Finishing off our series on freedom of speech, renowned historian Niall Ferguson discusses ideological conflict both between America and China and wit…

Leadership in Business, Leadership Abroad: A Conversation with Dave McCormick *96

February 28, 2024

Leadership in Business, Leadership Abroad

David McCormick
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

Dave McCormick *96 has enjoyed incredible success in a wide variety of arenas: after graduating from West Point, where he competed as a varsity wrestl…

Jewish War Ethics, Ancient to Contemporary: A Conversation with Rabbi Shlomo Brody

February 13, 2024

Jewish War Ethics, Ancient to Contemporary

Shlomo Brody
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

How should we think about violent accounts in the Bible? Why did Gandhi urge the Jews to turn a blind eye to anti-Semitism during World War II? What i…

Colorblindness and the Classics: A Conversation with Andre Archie

January 30, 2024

Colorblindness and the Classics

Andre Archie
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

Why has Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision of a color-blind society suffered so many recent setbacks? Classical philosopher Andre Archie argues that we n…

Free to Investigate: Dr. Scott Atlas on the Freedom in the Sciences

January 16, 2024

Free to Investigate

Scott W. Atlas
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

Can we have science without freedom of speech? Dr. Scott Atlas's professional work and personal experiences bring to light an important and often unde…

Roman Politics, Familiar Yet Foreign: A Conversation with Jed Atkins

January 2, 2024

Roman Politics, Familiar Yet Foreign

Jed W. Atkins
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

How are Roman political assumptions similar to versus different from our own? What did the Founding Fathers get right and wrong about the Ancients? Ho…

Speech Unbound: A Conversation with Nadine Strossen

December 19, 2023

Speech Unbound

Nadine Strossen
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

What (and why) can and can't we say? What do empirical examples both at home and abroad tell us about how we should protect freedom of speech? How do …

The Adversity of Diversity: A Conversation with Carol Swain

December 12, 2023

The Adversity of Diversity

Carol M. Swain
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

Today, we have a BONUS episode of Madison's Notes: the Madison Program's Executive Director Dr. Shilo Brooks sits down with Dr. Carol Swain to talk ab…

Unwoke: A Discussion with Senator Ted Cruz

December 5, 2023

Unwoke

Ted Cruz
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

How do we defeat woke ideology and the threat it poses to free speech? Senator Ted Cruz '92 joins Madison's Notes to discuss his latest book, Unwoke: …