Talking to guest host Pat Lynch, Virginia Postrel discusses her 1998 book, The Future and Its Enemies, and its relevance to today's political landscape. They also discuss potential impacts of AI, the cultural significance of glamour, cheap clothes, and the Abundance movement. Lynch ends with the question: Will market liberals eventually find a home in America's political landscape?

The Fabric of Civilization by Virginia Postrel
The Future and Its Enemies by Virginia Postrel
The Power of Glamour by Virginia Postrel
The Substance of Style by Virginia Postrel

The originalist majority on the Supreme Court is perhaps more open than ever to overturning what it considers to be bad precedents. In his new book, Carson Holloway argues that the justices should train their crosshairs on New York Times v. Sullivan, the 1964 decision that means statements about public officials are rarely considered libelous. He joins James Patterson to discuss the book, the history of free speech, and the future of originalism.

There is enormous pressure today for traditional conservatives (or anyone critical of progressivism) to write their names in the black book of the New Right and acquiesce to a politics of populist rage and federal overreach. Elizabeth Corey explains to James Patterson why she will instead engage in the quieter, more respectable task of cultural transmission and tending to her little platoon.

"A Quiet Refusal to Compromise," by Elizabeth Corey, Law & Liberty
"Beautiful Losers," by Elizabeth Corey, Public Discourse
"Interpreting the New Right," by John Grove, Law & Liberty

Why do presidents have the power to pardon, and how is it typically used and abused? Sai Prakash and James Patterson discuss the pardon power's origins in British law, its usefulness in ending rebellions, and the unfortunate tendency of more recent presidents to use the pardon power to reward friends and donors, protect underlings, or generate political support.

The Presidential Pardon by Sai Prakash
"The Personal Pardon Power" by Philip Hamberger, Law & Liberty
"Is It Too Late to Recover the Founders' Presidency?" by Gary L. Gregg II, Law & Liberty

Law & Liberty senior writer John O. McGinnis joins the podcast this week to discuss his new book, Why Democracy Needs the Rich. Although they may be the focus of populist ire from the left and right alike, McGinnis contends that wealthy Americans play a vital role in counterbalancing majoritarian excess and serving as entrepreneurial "social prospectors" who can revitalize civil society.

Why Democracy Needs the Rich by John O. McGinnis
"Blessed Are the Rich," book review by James E. Hartley, Law & Liberty
"Liquidate the Rich?" by John O. McGinnis
"Mother's Milk of the Revolution" by John O. McGinnis

Young Americans, and especially young men, are feeling economically disenchanted. As the national debt soars and interest rates remain high, the prospect of providing for a family (let alone buying a home) seems impossibly far off. Russ Greene explains part of the problem: "Total Boomer Luxury Communism," or a host of policies at all levels of government that generously provide for senior citizens while leaving the youth to pick up the tab. Greene talks about how we got here, what's needed to give millennials and Gen Z a chance, and why there's reason to be optimistic.

"What Is Total Boomer Luxury Communism?" by Russ Greene
"Debt Politics" with Mitch Daniels (Law & Liberty Podcast)
"What Social Security Should Do—and What It Shouldn't" by Sita Slavov (Law & Liberty)
"Slashing Tax Rates and Cutting Loopholes" by Adam N. Michel (Cato Institute)

Law & Liberty is pleased to welcome our newest Contributing Editor, Luke C. Sheahan. To mark the occasion, Sheahan joined L&L Editor John Grove to talk about the central theme of his work: the freedom of association. They discuss the thought of Robert Nisbet, the relationship between civil society and the state, and the way the Supreme Court has treated association over the years.