Concepts with Shawn Whatley
Shawn Whatley
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Identity Politics as an Incomplete Religion | Joshua Mitchell: American Awakening #99
Professor Joshua Mitchell is courageous. He argues for his positions even when they go against the grain of politically acceptable thought. Mitchell says conservatives have done a good job at…
Conservatism’s Drift Toward Battle | Elizabeth Corey on Culture and the Contemplative Life #98
Professor Elizabeth Corey says conservatism is about far more than fighting. In fact, its major emphasis lies outside politics altogether. Corey offers a thick view of intellectual conservatism. She…
Free Speech in Canadian Law Schools? Tim Haggstrom on Runnymede, Rule of Law, and Tim vs U. Sask #97
Tim Haggstrom doesn't just promote theory. He bears the personal scars of legal practice. He leads an organization focussed on legal theory, while fighting (personally) for free speech. This caught…
Conservatism vs. Liberalism (and Neoconservatism) | Shawn Whatley #96
Update on the quest to define conservatism! After almost 100 episodes, I see a way to articulate conservatism coming into view. I hope to capture it all into a short book/long essay later this…
Supreme Court vs. Provinces | Jodi Bruhn: Notwithstanding Clause & Canadian First Principles #95
Jodi Bruhn offers a sobering take on Canada. Professor Bruhn is an expert on governance and constitutional thought. She says we might not appreciate the significance and potential fallout from the…
#94 Tom Flanagan: Friedrich Hayek, Spontaneous Order, Markets, Justice, and the Limits of the State
Tom Flanagan explains why we need Hayek's ideas about spontaneous order, institutions, and the limits of state control. Hayek will frustrate central planners and also anarchists. Libertarians can't…
#93 Evan Menzies: Alberta Separation. Alberta Should Be Upset, but It Should Stay in Canada
Evan Menzies shows why Albertans should be furious. As an Albertan himself, he understands. And as a political consultant, he sees even more reasons to be upset than most Albertans have heard of. He…
#92 Ashley Moyse: Techno-Ontology, Bioethics, and the “Provider” Problem in Modern Medicine
Ashley Moyse is a bioethicist and theologian at Baylor University. In America, he hails from the political left. If he was in his native Saskatchewan, he'd be centre-left or perhaps even right-wing…
#91 Matthew Rowley: Bill 21, the Notwithstanding Clause, Alberta’s Future & Canada’s Constitutional Crisis
I asked Dr. Matthew Rowley for help with questions on political theology. It turns out he's another big supporter of independence for Alberta. The current Supreme Court hearings last week are…
#90 Grant Havers: AI in Education, The Digital Cave, Great Books, and Why Dialogue Matters
Can AI replace teachers? Would students benefit? Should classical schools -- great books curricula -- use AI? I tried very hard to get Dr. Grant Havers into trouble in this episode. But he was too…
#89 Paul Gottfried: Why “Liberal Democracy” Isn’t Liberal—or Democratic
Dr. Paul Gottfried packages his writing in dynamite and grit. He uses an academic style which is now almost extinct on the political right. No one tries to provoke in order to make a point anymore.…
#88 Sam Duncan: Building a Conservative Counter-Elite: Narrative, Institutions, and Canada’s Identity Crisis
Sam Duncan has worked in government for Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Ontario Premier Doug Ford. He is current VP at Wellington Advocacy. We discuss a powerful article Sam wrote titled: Toward a…
#87 Barry Cooper: Technology, Canadian Myths, and Why Alberta Independence May Be Inevitable
Professor Barry Cooper is an Albertan. This fact transcends location. It speaks to a prairie self-understanding, a prairie myth, that stands apart and distinct from the Laurentian myth. For example,…
#86 Ron Dart: Why Philosophy Matters Now. George Grant, the Massey Report, and the Contemplative Life
Ron Dart seems to embody generosity. It's hard to find a hard edge in him. Even when he states an opinion strongly, he always works to understand your side of the issue. Ron and I approach things…
#85 Mia Hughes: Gender Medicine, WPATH Files, Ethics, Evidence-Based Medicine
Mia Hughes has no qualms about saying the Emperor has no clothes. She says what the rest of us cannot say, because we must stay within the boundaries of what our licences require. Transgender…
#84 John von Heyking: America is great! Civics, Constitutions & Liberalism
Professor von Heyking just left Lethbridge Alberta and moved to Arizona to help lead the Civics program at ASU. Our discussion pivoted around differences between USA and Canada, civics education, and…
#83 Dan Pitt: Do Ideas Still Matter in Politics? Intellectual Conservatism, Stanley Baldwin & Winning Elections
Do ideas determine elections? Or should we forget about ideas and focus on issues? Dan Pitt has experience with both theory and practice. He teaches and writes books about political theory. And he's…
#82 Ferenc Hörcher: Are conservatives afraid of intellectuals? Intellectual Conservatism
We return to a persistent challenge for conservatives. What do we do with intellectuals? Can politicians trust them? What role, if any, do intellectuals play in conservative politics? Dr. Ferenc…
#81 Franco Terrazzano: Canadian taxes. Money well spent? Unaccountable waste?
Franco Terrazzano knows taxes. As Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, he's the one in front of media calling on government for accountability on tax spending. But behind the pizzaz lies a…
#80 Barry Bussey: Freedom and Its Limits, Is the Charter Conservative? & Freedom Convoy
Barry Bussey has spent decades thinking about freedom and working around the legal edges of it. Most people don't think about freedom until it's compromised. Barry thinks about it all the…
Frequently Asked Questions
Concepts with Shawn Whatley has published 99 episodes since March 2025, covering topics in Philosophy, Society & Culture.
Concepts with Shawn Whatley is currently highly active with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 1h.
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