Jeff discusses the inner workings of the Reagan White House with former AMB Frank Lavin, who had a front-row seat to many of Reagan’s key decisions and actions while president. Get to know Reagan as both a person and a leader; and read Frank’s book on the topic, linked below.

Amazon link: https://a.co/d/fRQPTsh

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Jeff is joined by constitutional law scholar Dr. Joshua Dunn to discuss the recently ended 2025 US Supreme Court term and some of the more interesting and potentially important decisions, as well as what seem like some friction between some of the justices.

Get a free copy of Josh’s primary documents reader about the Judiciary: https://teachingamericanhistory.org/product/the-judiciary/

Get a free copy of Jeff’s primary documents reader about the Supreme Court: https://teachingamericanhistory.org/product/the-supreme-court/

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Presidents are people, too, and fallible, short-sighted, disciplined, daring - and all the other traits we humans share. How have our presidents handled, or mishandled, their own money? What can we learn from them now?

Cara Rogers Stevens welcomes author and wealth management expert Megan Gorman to this show this week to discuss some of the highs and lows of presidential personal finance.

Read Megan's book on the topic: https://a.co/d/faRlCmT

Host: Cara Rogers Stevens

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Who was William Blackstone? What did he contribute to English law, and how did his contributions directly impact the ideas in the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution? How is it that a British noble who opposed the American Revolution ended up serving as a major source of inspiration to the American Founders? Learn the details from this episode of The American Idea.

#blackstone #williamblackstone #commonlaw #americanfounding

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Americans have faced, unfortunately, a number of movements and moments in our history where free speech - especially of a political nature - has been challenged and even quashed. Power-wielding opponents of free expression and debate have often sought to prevent debates and discussions from happening, in order to protect their interests. In this week's episode we explore a lesser-known example of this, in how slaveholders before the Civil War deliberately worked to deny free speech to both whites and African-Americans, enslaved and free.

Dr. Cara Rogers Stevens, our host this week, is joined by Dr. Jonathan W. White to discuss his recent article on the topic. You can reach Jonathan and find his books at the links below.

#slavery #freespeech #freepress #abolition

Article: https://tinyurl.com/5n6s22b7

Jon's website: http://www.jonathanwhite.org/

Jon's Amazon page: https://tinyurl.com/4zn7kpej

Host: Cara Rogers Stevens

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Paul Nitze served under eight different U.S. presidents, from during World War 2 through the end of the Cold War, and it was his thinking, laid down in NSC-68, that provided some of the most foundational ideas for how America dealt with the Soviet Union, eventually bringing about its collapse.

This week Jeff welcomes State Department historian and author James Graham Wilson to discuss Nitze, and his book about the man.

Read the book: https://a.co/d/eV0zC2O

Read NSC-68: https://tinyurl.com/bdz8zmsm

#cold war #ussr #containment

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Technology, especially social media and the near ubiquity of mobile devices, has changed our world, our personal lives, and interpersonal relations. A great many people are waking up to the mountain of evidence suggesting that this change has not been all, or even mostly, for the better.

American Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow and author Christine Rosen joins Jeff this week to discuss the impact of technology and our supposedly "connected" world this week. If you're concerned about human relations between individuals and at the social level - and our political discourse - don't miss this thoughtful discussion.

You can get Christine's book here: https://a.co/d/6TtOsBj

Read her profile: https://www.aei.org/profile/christine-rosen/

#socialmedia #mobiledevices #internet #interpersonaldynamics

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea