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M. Stanton Evans

Series

3 Whisky Happy Hour2 episodes

Recent Episodes

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

More Stan Evans, on Theology and Internal Security

The penultimate chapter of my recent biography, M. Stanton Evans: Conservative Wit, Apostle of Freedom, summarizes the enduring literary, philosophical, and historical contributions of his last two books, The Theme Is Freedom, and Blacklisted by History: The Untold Story of Sen. Joseph McCarthy. Digging into the audio archives of the Philadelphia Society, I found two talks Stan gave—one in 1994 that displays his theological insight, and a second around 2004 that reviews some of the untold history about Soviet penetration of American government during World War II, and its legacy for today (including how and why we no longer take internal security seriously). In addition to some history you've never heard, you'll get yet another sampler of Stan's great dry wit, including his explanation of "why it's bad to have Communists in your government." More of these to come. Stay tuned.
Host:
Steve Hayward
Organization
Ricochet

April 2022

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

Stan Evans in His Own Words

Now that my biography of M. Stanton Evans is out, time to go back and take in Stan in his own words in podcast form. A previous podcast featured several of Stan's greatest comedy chops, so this one highlights some of his serious work. I decided to highlight here just four aspects of many that draw chiefly from one of his enduring books that everyone should have on their shelf of indispensable books: The Theme Is Freedom. In the first segment here from a speech in the 1980s, Stan lays out his critique of the "standard liberal history" of Western Civilization which he thinks too many conservatives (especially neoconservatives) have bought into. In the second segment, I draw out an excerpt of his emphasis on the importance of the common law in England in the Middle Ages. In the third segment, drawn from a speech in 1977, he presciently notes the potential of reaching out to the working class in ways that anticipate Trump's appeal in 2016, but with a warning about mistakes to avoid, and he also measures up the rising neoconservatives, though concluding that while "Kristol is great, but Friedman is greater." Finally, an excerpt from a speech in 1984 that describes what everyone today knows as "the administrative state" (Evans calls it "the alternative government," but it is clear he means the same thing).
Host:
Steve Hayward
Organization
Ricochet