The Aaron Renn Show
Episodes
JOSH ABBOTOY: The Big Sort
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Josh Abbotoy joins me to discuss his projects to built intentional communities of likeminded people in Kentucky and Tennessee.Ridgerunner USA: https:/...
Smashing the Status Hierarchy (Newsletter #85)
12 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
One of the key events in the Christianization of the Roman Empire was when the children of the existing Roman elites turned aside from the status syst...
DWIGHT GIBSON: How to Be an Explorer
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Management is about the known. Exploration is about the unknown. Dwight Gibson has studied the techniques of the explorers from the great age of explo...
JOHN BURTKA: Statesmanship and Masculinity
29 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
John Burtka, president of ISI, joins me to discuss his new book Gateway to Statesmanship: Selections from Xenophon to Churchill. It's a collectio...
ALEXANDRA HUDSON: The Soul of Civility
22 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Lexi Hudson joins me to discuss her recent book The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves. Buy the book: https://www.a...
Why You Need a Positive Vision (Newsletter #84)
15 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Too many people today have negative identities - they are defined by what they oppose not by what they are for or hope to create. Negative identities ...
DARREN DOCHUK: How Christianity and Crude Oil Made Modern America
08 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Notre Dame professor Darren Dochuk joins me to discuss his book Anointed with Oil: How Christianity and Crude Made Modern America. Every aspect of mod...
The Case Against Pragmatism (Newsletter #83)
18 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Pragmatism is about what we can do with our own two hands with the material we see in front of us. It's an important perspective on the world - b...
BRAD LITTLEJOHN and CHRIS CASTALDO: Why Protestants Convert to Catholicism
11 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Brad Littlejohn and Chris Castaldo join me to discuss their book Why Do Protestants Convert?, which examines the psychological, theological, and socio...
BEN MERKLE: Is Big Ed Too Big to Fail?
04 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ben Merkle, president of New St. Andrews College, joins me to discuss the broken financial model of higher education in America.Read Big Ed, Too Big t...
NANCY PEARCEY: The Toxic War on Masculinity
27 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Nancy Pearcey, a professor at Houston Christian University, joins me to discuss her book The Toxic War on Masculinity: How Christianity Reconciles the...
A Handyman's Guide to Masculinity (Newsletter #82)
20 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For this month's newsletter, John Seel shares an essay on masculinity and the quest to become a "holy man." He examines who a holy man ...
JOHN SEEL: Cultural Engagement in the Negative World
07 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
John Seel joins me to discuss his thoughts on cultural engagement in today's negative world. Dr. Seel holds a Ph.D from the University of Maryl...
ANDREW BRUNSON: God's Faithfulness While Suffering Unjustly
30 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Long time missionary Andrew Brunson joins me to talk about his two year nightmare in a Turkish jail after being falsely imprisoned by the government f...
JOHN LOVELL: The Warrior Poet Way
23 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
John Lovell joins me to discuss his new book The Warrior Poet Way: A Guide to Living Free and Dying Well. Lovell is a former Army Ranger, combat veter...
The Problem With Servant Leadership (Newsletter #81)
16 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Why do men turn to online influencers instead of the church? One reason is that evangelicals promote a vision of masculinity that is so bleak and unap...
REDEEMED ZOOMER: Can Mainline Denominations Be Saved?
09 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Gen Z Youtuber "Redeemed Zoomer," a member of the PCUSA, joins me to discuss his case for why Christians should not abandon mainline denomin...
ERIC LEFEVRE: When Lutherans Reversed Liberalism
03 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Eric Lefevre joins us to discuss the Concordia-Seminex Affair, in which the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod reversed a trend towards liberal theology i...
SEN. MARCO RUBIO: The Importance of Working Men
25 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida joins me to discuss his new report, "The State of the Working (and Non-Working) Man," issued by his office as pa...
DANIEL HOWE: The Christian Sabbath
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Presbyterian minister Daniel Howe joins us to discuss his new book Worship, Feasting, Rest, Mercy: The Christian Sabbath.Link to Buy: https://crownand...
The Maternal Instinct Will Not Be Suppressed (Newsletter #80)
11 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This month's newsletter looks at lessons from two contemporary novels, Guadalupe Nettel's Still Born and Vigdis Hjorth's Will and Testa...
SOHRAB AHMARI: How Private Power Crushed American Liberty
28 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sohrab Ahmari joins me to discuss his book Tyranny, Inc: How Private Power Crushed American Liberty - and What To Do About It. Buy the book: https://w...
CHRISTINE EMBA: Man Troubles
21 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Washington Post columnist Christine Emba joins me to discuss her viral feature essay, "Men are lost. Here’s a map out of the wilderness."&...
The Teachings of Neo-Pagan Masculinity (Newsletter #79)
14 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This month's audio newsletter looks at the teachings of two online men's influencers whose work reflects something of a neo-pagan sensibilit...
DENNY BURK: Evangelical Gender Wars
31 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Denny Burk is the President of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, the organization charted with advancing complementarian gender theology....
Big Eva Says Out with Complementarianism, In with Anti-Fundamentalism (Newsletter #78)
17 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As the evangelical world begins to crack up and realign, a segment of "big eva" elites is promoting the idea of redefining the boundary of t...
PAUL VANDERKLAY: What is the Future of the Christian Reformed Church?
10 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Christian Reformed Church (CRC), a quasi-mainline denomination originating in the Dutch Reformed tradition, had been trending in a more liberal di...
You Have to Be Able to Speak Up For Yourself
26 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Conservatives have a strong preference to have other people make their points for them. Hence they love liberals who criticize wokeness, or Muslims wh...
"Structural" Forces Do Affect Individual and Group Outcomes
19 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The left frequently argues that "structural racism" and other factors dominate our societies. While conservatives rightly recognize these as...
Mark Driscoll's Gender Teachings (Newsletter #77)
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The now disgraced Mark Driscoll was once one of America's hottest "bad boy" pastors. His church had 14,000 attendees, and he had a mass...
Culture Warring Is Also Obsolete
05 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There's been a lot of discussion of the limits of the "winsome" model of cultural engagement in the evangelical world, and how it is no...
Why Conservative Boycotts Don't Work - And Why the Bud Light One Did
30 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Liberal pressure campaigns frequently work. Conservative ones are typically a failure. But the largely spontaneous Bud Light boycott was an exception....
Mainline Reconquista?
23 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A mainline presbyterian Gen-Z videocaster and Episcopal priest recently discussed whether mainline denominations can ever be retaken by the theologica...
A Critical Shortfall of Courage (Newsletter #76)
15 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Peter Thiel says that "brilliant thinking is rare, but courage is in even shorter supply than genius." We see that on display in the way t...
Conservatives Need to Learn How to Govern
08 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Conservative insurgents have won elections in a number of places. But as we've seen in cases ranging from Ottawa County, Michigan to North Idaho ...
Understanding How the American System Is Different
01 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
American's view of what an oppressive, authoritarian society looks like is shaped by models like Naziism, Communism, George Orwell's 1984, o...
Kathy Keller's Skin in the Game
24 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Very few people have sacrificed as much personally or absorbed as much pain for the sake of defending and living their life in alignment with their ge...
The Toxic Dynamics of a Post-Familial Society (Newsletter #75)
17 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This month's newsletter is a look at what post-familialism hath wrought in South Korea: toxic gender relations, roiled politics, and an emerging ...
DR. NICHOLAS ELLIS: Christian Halls and the Future of Christian Higher Education
10 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Nicholas Ellis was raised and home schooled on the mission field in Brazil. He then went to England, where he obtained his doctorate at Oxford. No...
America's Unjust and Illegitimate System
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Recent events such as the school shooting in Nashville, the indictment of President Trump, and the conviction of Douglas Mackey shouldn't surpris...
The Rise of the Influencer Class
27 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
An article in the Guardian argues that online influencers will be more important to conservative discourse in the US going forward in America. This is...
The Case for Saying Yes
20 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The standard self-improvement advice is to say No more often. That's frequently good advice. A lot of times we want to say No but are just too sc...
Great Literature is Right Wing (Newsletter #74)
13 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
People involved in the arts, literature, or other creative fields are generally politically left wing - even far left. It’s much rarer to see someon...
If There's a Shortage of Good Men, What Does That Mean for Men?
27 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We see any articles about the so-called shortage of good men. That is, we've seen many articles in the major media about how women are delaying o...
Re-Editing Old Books
20 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The estate of Roald Dahl (author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), has engaged so-called "sensitivity readers" to re-write portions of ...
Ten Theses on Marriage and Family (Newsletter #73)
13 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's a free country and people are entitled to live however they want. But it's important to put forth and advocate for general patterns of ...
Societal Fragmentation Creates Perverse Incentives
06 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the mid-century era from World War II (or even before that) to around 1990, America had a mass market common consumer culture. With the fragmentati...
The Productive Urban Household (with Eric Brende)
30 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Eric Brende spent a year living with the Amish, and also time trying to live a similar homesteader life in a small town environment. He decided that t...
Spotlight on American Reformer
23 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
President Nate Fischer and Executive Director Josh Abbotoy join me to talk about American Reformer, a non-profit focused on reinvigorating Protestant ...
Why You Shouldn't Play the Heel (Newsletter #72)
16 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In pro wrestling, the "face" is the hero and the "heel" is the villain. The incentive structures of our society are willing to per...
Where Should I Live?
09 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With remote work giving people flexibility on where to live, and people moving because of politics and other social factors, where should we live pers...
The Return to Normal
02 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I will look forward at potential trends for 2023, including the theme of the return to normal.
Why Evangelicals Are Not Leaders in Our Society
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Returning to the theme of deficits in the American leadership and elite classes, I will examine some of the reasons why evangelicals in particular see...
A Primer On Doxxing (Newsletter #71)
12 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Doxxing is the internet practice of revealing the identity of an anonymous social media account and/or digging up controversial or offensive social me...
The Non-Linearity of Change
05 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Change, whether in personal self-improvement or social evolution, is not linear. There are quantum leaps and discontinuities. This can be deeply unset...
Asymmetric Financial Warfare
28 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Companies have long used aggressive sales tactics to maximize units sold and prices charged. Customers have long tried to get the best deal. With the ...
American Elites Prey on the Poor By Promoting Vice
21 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Gambling, drugs, loan sharking, and sex used to be the province of the mob and other shady characters. Now they are big business, legally sanctioned b...
Why You Should Be Careful About How Online Critiques Affect You and Others (Newsletter #70)
14 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Online or other criticism, combined with receiving support from unexpected quarters, is one of the most powerful dynamics promoting political realignm...
Get Out and Vote This Election Day
07 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Thoughts on the midterm elections in 2022 and why you should get out and vote.
What Is an Evangelical?
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
With the ongoing flight from the label "evangelical", I will discuss the various meanings of this term and why, rightfully understood, there...
Accountability for Failure on the Covid Response
24 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There's an increasing consensus that elements of the Covid response went way too far - especially long term school closures. It's also clear...
The Vocation of Masculinity (Newsletter #69)
17 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The question of the vocation of masculinity today is not what it is but whether it exists. I examine how traditional societies, and texts like the Bib...
The Lost America of the 1980s
10 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Videos from the 1980s show a vanished America. You see the near total absence of the detached, ironic, cynical tone that characterizes the country tod...
You Didn't Build That
03 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Conservatives bristled when President Obama said "You didn't build that." But they should understand that theologically and practically...
Understanding the Media's Reporting on Foreign Countries
26 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Conservatives tend to view the media as leftist. Due to certain experiences of the Reagan and Bush II administrations, they also seem to believe the m...
Beware of the Contagiousness of Divorce (Newsletter #68)
19 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There's an element of social contagion in divorce. We are more likely to get divorced if our friends and associates are divorced. Hence, we shoul...
The Corruption of American Competence
12 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A Dutch soldier in Indianapolis for training exercises was murdered downtown, creating an international incident with global press and cabinet level o...
The Rise of Influence and the Decline of Authority
29 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Andrew Tate, Kevin Samuels (RIP), the FaZe Clan and many others online figures most Americans have never heard of have no become the decisive influenc...
The History of Violence
22 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Some observations on the way evangelicals leaders have been speaking of "violence" as distinct from injustice, and present it as if it were ...
BENJAMIN MABRY: A New American Aesthetic
17 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Benjamin Mabry joins me to discuss his essay on anti-managerial aesthetics. We will discuss what aesthetics are, why the approach promoted by &quo...
Anti-Mangerial Aesthetics (Newsletter #67)
15 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this month's newsletter, Dr. Benjamin L. Mabry discusses the importance of aesthetics, as well as sharing perspectives on what an aesthetic th...
Why We Should Use Authentically American Language
01 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Much of the language we use today can be divided into two categories: compliant and defiant. Compliant language - like DEI or ESG - signals agreement ...
In Praise of the Private Good (Newsletter #66)
18 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This month's newsletter explains why American Christians, in particular evangelicals, having been reduced to a disfavored minority in the negativ...
Important and Feasible: Tools for Strategic Decision Making
11 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I review a few perspectives on strategic decision making, including Jim Wilson's application of the "strategic point." As a bonus, we&a...
Thoughts on the Reversal of Roe v. Wade
27 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Some thoughts about the reversal of Roe. vs. Wade. This includes observations on the unintended consequences of violating norms, why the moral visio...
Why I Don't Use the Hero's Journey
20 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Online men's gurus typically use a version of the "hero's journey" or the "rags to riches" to sell you on their produc...
The Missing Heroic Feminine (Newsletter #65)
13 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This month's newsletter is a repost from a new Substack called Kennaquhair on the missing heroic feminine. The author explores the nature of arch...
The State of the Church (with Paul Vanderklay and Bethel McGrew)
08 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Paul Vanderklay and Bethel McGrew join me to discuss my three worlds of evangelicalism framework and their perspectives on the current state of the ev...
The Quest for Legacy
06 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The desire for a transcendent connection to the past and future is a primal human desire. We want to know where we came from. We want to know that we ...
Conservatives Don't Fund Art
23 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Anton has a new essay talking about conservative funding of art and journalism. I discuss this, as well as reiterate my points about conservat...
This Is Your Country (Newsletter #64)
16 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The idea of American exceptionalism has long blinded us to our country's legitimate faults. Having said that, activists attempt to use America&ap...
Life at the Cultural Center
09 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Reflections on the differing perspectives of people at the cultural center and the cultural periphery. Very successful people and those in the cultura...
Only the Paranoid Survive
02 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Evangelicals often take a dismissive or even smug attitude towards the decline of the mainline denominations. They'd be will served instead to as...
Managerialism vs. Localism
25 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If, as I laid out in newsletter #63, we live in a managerial society in which power resides in large institutions, how should we think about localism ...
ANDREW CRAPUCHETTES: Navigating the Woke Job Market
19 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Andrew Crapuchettes founded the job board Red Balloon to connect employees with jobs at companies that did not have a Covid vaccine mandates. It'...
Outsider Cultural Change
18 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Many people subscribe to James Davison Hunter's view that cultural change is driven by elites and institutions in the cultural center. That'...
Understanding the Managerial Revolution (Newsletter #63)
11 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
An introduction to James Burnham's concept of the managerial revolution, or how managers and bureaucrats came to dominate society (vs. old school...
Immigration, Chaos and Order
04 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Many things in life are a product of dualisms like chaos and order, yin and yang, hot and cold, change and preservation. Unlike with good vs. evil, th...
STEPHEN B. CLARK: The Making of Man and Woman in Christ
29 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Stephen B. Clark, author of the landmark book Man and Woman in Christ, joins me to talk about that work and its creation. We will also discuss the Cat...
America's Demographic Winter
28 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
New Census Bureau population estimates for 2021 show the lowest year of population growth on record, with 3/4ths of counties having more deaths than b...
Can You Be a Conservative in the City?
21 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A reader who lives in cities and likes living in the city wrote to ask whether it is possible to be a conservative in the city given all the rhetoric ...
Building the Virtue of Self-Mastery (Newsletter #62)
14 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is the audio edition of the March 2022 newsletter. It is about the oft-overlooked virtue of self-mastery. We cannot allow ourselves to be...
You Can't See Into My Heart
07 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week's short podcast looks at one of the biggest "gotchas" people try to use in response to criticism, namely that it's impos...
The Third Worldization of America
28 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
People frequently say, obviously with hyperbole, that America is becoming a Third World country. Yet if we look at one of the stereotypes of the Third...
THE BENHAM BROTHERS: Expert Ownership for a Hostile World
22 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
David and Jason Benham, entrepreneurs and investors, join to discuss their book Expert Ownership - and their own journey to business success after bei...
How to Build Local Community
21 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Creating community and social capital is a frequent topic of conversation in our world, one in which we sense the decline of our existing community bu...
MATT HENNESSEY: Generation X's Moment of Truth
17 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Generation X has been something of a lost generation. Sandwiched between the much larger Baby Boomer and Millennial generations, Generation X has ofte...
JULIUS KREIN: Can Conservatism Be More Than a Grudge?
15 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Julius Krein is the editor of American Affairs magazine, a reformist conservative policy journal, joins me to discuss why the Republican Party as curr...
LYMAN STONE: Lutheranism in America
09 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Demographer and Lutheran Lyman Stone joins us to discuss Lutheranism in America. What are the distinctives of Lutheranism? How did Lutheranism get est...
The Case Against the Case Against Bill Hybels
07 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Since listeners expressed an interest in hearing about this, I revisit the sexual harassment and abuse accusations made against against former Willow ...