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PODCAST

Concepts with Shawn Whatley

Uncovering the concepts behind current events. Challenging accepted thinking. Offering solutions. shawnwhatley.substack.com

society & culture philosophy

All Episodes

65:25

#64 Ray Pennings: Religion in the Public Square....

Concepts with Shawn Whatley ·

2025/11/18

Want to be active in the public square? Join the symphony. Get involved in what you love. Be public about your pursuit of the true, the good, and the beautiful.Ray Pennings has spent his life building a winsome and articulate defence of religion in the pubic square. It is not weird to admit we have religious beliefs (including non belief); it's weird to pretend we do not have them. Canada and USA differ with respect to our approach to religion in the public square. We discuss the latest research

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85:00

#63 Ron Dart: Is Toryism Dead in Canada? The Red Tory...

Concepts with Shawn Whatley ·

2025/11/11

Toryism has faded in Canada, but it still gets blamed for backsliding and bad behaviour in Conservative Party politics.(Full disclosure: I have never seen myself as a Tory, neither High, Low, Red, Blue, or traditional.) Political labels, especially old ones, mean nothing without definition. Even with working definitions, labels often bleed into each other at the edges, especially upon application to policy and law. Since Toryism continues to get blamed for influencing how Canadian Conservatives

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65:40

#62 Sam Routley: Unpacking Canadian Conservative...

Concepts with Shawn Whatley ·

2025/11/04

Conservative voters around the world are leaning into culture and away from economic issues. Sam Routley's research found that Canadian conservatives cling to the 1980's fusionism of traditional social policies and libertarian economics.Can the 1980's fusionism hold? Will economic determinism help Conservatives to win elections today? Links to articles Decoding Canada's Conservative Coalition Sam's Substack: The Country of Our Defeat John Gray: Why I Am Not a Post-liberal AI Summary In this

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57:19

#61 Alexander Brown: Young Voters, Culture, and...

Concepts with Shawn Whatley ·

2025/10/30

Young conservatives aren't falling in line.Alex says, "We don't care. I'm not incentivized to look the other way. I don't need an invite to a table of six at Terroni in the back room to talk about continuing the status quo." In a world when young voters can't afford a house in Canada, you'd think they'd obsess about economics. They don't. They care as much about culture as being able to afford a home. Alexander Brown works at the front of this young conservative uprising. Enjoy! Links: Without

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57:17

#60 Alexander Rosenthal-Pubul: Conservative Humanism...

Concepts with Shawn Whatley ·

2025/10/28

Is secular humanism a distortion of an older conservative humanism? And why are conservatives so obsessed with international trade? The French Enlightenment philosopher Montesquieu argued that international trade promotes peace. He called it doux commerce, gentle commerce. In what sense is this a conservative idea? Fascinating and somewhat subversive discussion with Alexander Rosenthal-Pubul! AI Summary: In this episode of Concepts, host Shawn Whatley interviews Dr. Alexander Rosenthal-Pubul about

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58:12

#59 Tim Sargent: Can Economics Save Canada? Does...

Concepts with Shawn Whatley ·

2025/10/21

What guides politics? What matters most in political decision making?Since the 1980s, conservatives have looked to economics for guidance: economic growth, tax cuts, and decreased government spending capture the heart of political thought in North American Conservative political parties. This sparks two questions. 1) How well did this approach perform? and 2) Will this approach address current social concerns, such as infertility, mass immigration, ethnic unrest, drug supply, public safety, or

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60:00

#58 Ross Upshur: AI in Medicine, Limits of Evidence...

Concepts with Shawn Whatley ·

2025/10/14

This episode is (ostensibly) about medicine, not politics.What does human-centred care mean in a world of AI? Are doctors becoming obsolete, when it comes to decision making? When should we hand over our clinical judgement to AI? I asked Ross Upshur for his thoughts on logical positivism. Are most doctors positivists? "Despite it being... as a philosophical and epistemological doctrine... been rather thoroughly discarded... a long time ago. It's the self understanding of our profession," Ross

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80:49

#57 Grant Havers: Understanding Marshall McLuhan's...

Concepts with Shawn Whatley ·

2025/10/07

"Politics offers yesterday's answers to today's questions."Grant Havers has been reading McLuhan for 30 years, and it shows in his new book "The Medium is Still the Message: Marshall McLuhan for Our Time." It's rare to find a book so applicable to our time, especially one written by a philosophy prof! This book is excellent. I expect it will become THE book to reference when you write about McLuhan. AI Summary: In this episode of Concepts, host Shawn Whatley and guest Professor Grant Havers, chair

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81:38

#56 Calum Nicholson: Boomers are Frozen in Fortune &...

Concepts with Shawn Whatley ·

2025/09/30

Boomers have a worldview "frozen by fortune, not forged in fire." Through no fault of their own, the boomer generation remains blind to aspects of current reality from their experiences growing up in the post-WWII era. That era has ended.For more on this, check out Dr. Nicholson's guest post on Peter Boghossian: The Boomerang Our discussion tackles Trump, scientism, climate change, 'masculinity crisis' (Calum says it's an immaturity crisis), and much more. Links below and AI summary follows at

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66:48

#55 Paige MacPherson: Smartphones, Canadian Education...

Concepts with Shawn Whatley ·

2025/09/25

Canada is libertarian on student cell phones in classrooms and statist on school choice (in most provinces).We get a poor return on investment when it comes to education in Canada. Our math and reading scores are several years behind (even before Covid). Students are distracted by over 100 messages on their cellphones each day. And teachers cannot control their own classrooms. We can do better, and Paige MacPherson shows how to do it. AI summary: In this episode of 'Concepts,' host Shawn Whatley

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57:41

#54 Étienne-Alexander Beauregard - Gen-Z Conservatism...

Concepts with Shawn Whatley ·

2025/09/23

Gen Z sits at the cusp of major change in conservatism. Young people do not feel a warmth and longing for Reagan or Thatcher. Sure, they value freedom, but they also what to know where the guardrails stand. Étienne-Alexandre speaks clearly for a new generation of non-left thinkers. He asks what might be the role of conservatism in the near future. He says we need to look beyond economic issues and start rebuilding culture. Our episode ended a bit abruptly, but we only missed a formal goodbye. Check

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48:17

#53 Tristin Hopper: Extremism in Canadian...

Concepts with Shawn Whatley ·

2025/09/18

Once again, Canadian university professors show their extremism in response to Charlie Kirk, a mirror of their praise for Oct 7. Professors shape opinion; they shape culture. Do we want the kind of culture they promote? Turning to his book, Tristin argues that Canada's world-famous policy failures are self-inflicted. He believes we could recover, if we would simply "stop punching ourselves in the n*ts." Links How Canadian universities became cheering sections for political violence. Don't be

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69:50

#52 Josh Lewis: Conservatism, Saving Elephants,...

Concepts with Shawn Whatley ·

2025/09/16

Josh Lewis is a traditional conservative who has worked in 'government' in America, has served in retail politics, and has interviewed hundreds of leading thinkers in American conservatism.Josh has a unique ability to bridge the gap between politics and life, philosophy and culture. His developed his skill comes from a deep discomfort with what he saw around him in the Republican Party. If you want to understand conservatism, American politics, the US constitution, and Burkean conservatism, have a

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22:53

#51 Reflecting on Charlie Kirk. Are we tired of being...

Concepts with Shawn Whatley ·

2025/09/11

I couldn't stay silent and sane. Once again, the AI summary is scarily accurate, so I will let is stand.Let me know what you think. Shawn AI Summary: Responding to Tragedy: Honouring Charlie Kirk & Challenging Silence In this deeply reflective episode of Concepts, host Shawn Whatley breaks from his usual avoidance of current events to address a tumultuous week marked by significant global incidents and the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Whatley details the week's harrowing

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69:54

#50 George Nash: The Conservative Intellectual Movement

Concepts with Shawn Whatley ·

2025/09/09

If you find conservatism confusing, you are not alone! Dr. George Nash has spent 50 years explaining all the strands that weave together into the collection of ideas we call conservatism. The AI summary is surprisingly good, so I will simply point out the book links below: The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America since 1945 Russel Kirk's Concise Guide to Conservatism AI Summary: Join us as we delve into the multifaceted world of conservatism with esteemed historian and author Dr. George

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63:00

#49 Yuval Levin: Unity, Citizenship, and American...

Concepts with Shawn Whatley ·

2025/09/02

How can we live together when we don't t all think alike? Are there nothing but power struggles, or is there a better way? Dr. Yuval Levin explains that we don't need to disagree less; we need to learn to disagree better. Unity does not mean unanimity. We should be hopeful, not simply optimistic. Yuval has spent several decades trying to persuade conservatives to think beyond our favourite topics of limited government, liberty, and patriotism. He argues that we also need healthy institutions. He

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01:08:01

#48 Nico Lagan: Political Orphans, Masculinity, and...

Concepts with Shawn Whatley ·

2025/08/26

The non-left in Canada includes an interesting and often overlooked group. They promote a mix of exercise, martial arts, masculinity, self defence, freedom, self sufficiency, honour, Christianity, and more.This group baffles academics and exasperates leftists. Both left and right seeks to dismiss and minimize their impact. But they represent a large (and growing) demographic with a loose collection of ideas that cannot be ignored. Nico Lagan offers a case in point. He is a popular and successful

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01:10:51

#47 Andy Crooks: Moral Courage and the Heart of...

Concepts with Shawn Whatley ·

2025/08/19

Andy captures the heart of conservatism unlike anything I've found elsewhere. He has lived it. He embodies it. And he welcomes others to enjoy it.Andy Crooks spelled out what's at stake for Canada, and he explained what we must do to save it. Stark, fun, inspirational, and tragic. I can't think of a better embodiment of the heart an soul of conservatism. You cannot seriously listen to Andy and walk away unchanged. AI summary: In this episode, Andy Crooks, a lawyer, author, and right-wing community

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01:08:19

#46 Marco Navarro-Genie: Red Toryism, Canadian...

Concepts with Shawn Whatley ·

2025/08/12

Marco packages powerful barbs in (slightly) softened academic polish. It makes his writing and speaking fun to consume and hard to forget.Do check out his Substack https://substack.com/@navarrogenie Looking forward to hearing what you think! Thanks again! AI summary: Special guest Dr. Marco Navarro-Genie, VP of Research at Frontier Center for Public Policy and founding president of the Haultain Research Institute, delves deep into Canadian political thought and identity. The conversation spans

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53:48

#45 Sean Walsh: The Hard Problem of Consciousness,...

Concepts with Shawn Whatley ·

2025/08/05

Sean has a PhD in the philosophy of artificial intelligence. He writes well and thinks deeply. He's also experienced more grit than the average academic. This was not a light discussion, but I think you will find it well worth your time. Articles mentioned: Wandering Thoughts Artificial, human and angelic intelligence Sean is Associate Editor of Country Squire Magazine AI summary: Exploring Consciousness and AI: A Deep Dive with Sean Walsh In this thought-provoking episode of Concepts, host

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64 results

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