The Brion McClanahan Author & Historian Blog

I paused today on my “listener generation episode week”–I had one of the four last week–so I could talk with Kevin Gutzman about his new book, The Jeffersonians. This is the first real interview on The Brion McClanahan Show, and it corresponds with Episode 750. I won’t do another one for a long time, but this was fun. To make a long story short, you …more

I’m kicking off my “listener generated episode week” with a discussion of decentralization. My Podcast theme is “Think locally, Act locally,” so much of the show covers this topics, but this particular listener wanted to know if I think we are seeing any progress in decentralization in the United States. I had a lot to say about this, both positive and negative. Much has changed …more

Politico reporter Joshua Zeitz thinks Joe Biden could learn something from James K. Polk. I hope not. Polk has become a popular president among the American monarchists. I get it. I used to be a Polk fan, too, back when I thought Bob Dole was a conservative. It’s embarrassing, but we all start somewhere. I used to agree with Mr. Zeitz on Polk’s record. He …more

When will the next American civil war begin? This has become a popular question over the last decade as people on both the left and the right calculate the value of Union. It’s also a poor question because it relies on the incorrect assumption that secession must bring war. We have no one but Lincoln–and the Righteous Cause Lincolnian Myth–to blame for that. Regardless, the …more

Pat Buchanan changed the Republican Party in 1992. That’s what the Washington Post thinks, and they hate it. Or did he? If you consider the fact that the Republican Party still acts like the Grand Old Stupid Party as Sam Francis called it, I would argue not much has changed. But Pat’s 1992 “Culture War” speech had been brewing for decades. Long before his indictment …more

If you listen to the Righteous Cause Lincoln Mythologists, the “Lost Cause” was invented after the War by evil Southerners eager to provide cover for their immoral war. In other words, they lied. Pushing this narrative has become a cottage industry for historically challenged individuals, from tenured professors and high school history teachers to YouTube amateurs who measure their impact by “views.” Their entire narrative …more

The political left is the single most destructive force in the history of the West. It’s not even close. But they would be powerless without certain myths that give their positions the supposed moral high ground. Most of this involves “emotivism.” Equity, equality, fairness, justice, rights, etc. are all based on an emotional concept of moral righteousness. In some cases, this is justified, like when …more

Let me welcome all of the recent subscribers from my appearance on the Chad Prather Show. That episode corresponded nicely with my own episode of The Brion McClanahan Show today, “The Left’s War on Culture.” I’ve talked about the Arlington National Cemetery Confederate Monument on both my show and through this email list, but Catesby Leigh ran a nice piece at The City Journal detailing …more