JAMES DAVISON HUNTER: Will America Come Apart? The Aaron Renn Show 2024-08-29 | James Davison Hunter is a renowned sociologist at the University of Virginia who introduced the term "culture war" to the US discourse. He's a leading expert on cultural change and cultural battles in America. He joins me to discuss his new book Democracy and Solidarity: On the Cultural Roots of America's Political Crisis, which tells the deep cultural story underlying today's polarized politics. Buy the book: amazon.com/Democracy-Solidarity-Cultural-Americas-Political-ebook/dp/B0CW17D3N3/?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=theurban-20 Dr. Hunter is also the publisher of the Hedgehog Review magazine: hedgehogreview.com Subscribe to my podcast: aaronrenn.com
JON ASKONAS: Building a Future in the Face of the Apocalypse The Aaron Renn Show 2024-10-19 | Jon Askonas is a professor of politics at Catholic University. He wrote an interesting piece for Comment magazine on how Americans went from seeing technology as a source of progress to viewing it as leading us to an apocalypse. He joins us to discuss: How and why did this shift take place? Why are we so anxious? How should we live in this age of anxiety? Read Building a Future in the Face of the Apocalypse: comment.org/building-a-future-in-the-face-of-the-apocalypse Subscribe to my Newsletter: aaronrenn.com
STEPHEN EIDE: Uplifting the Man Furthest Down The Aaron Renn Show 2024-10-17 | Stephen Eide is a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute who studies homelessness and mental illness. He joins me to discuss his new article in National Affairs magazine about how to help the homeless and those who struggle at the very bottom of society. Read Eide's article: nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/uplifting-the-man-farthest-down Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
DELANO SQUIRES: Manhood in the Modern Age The Aaron Renn Show 2024-10-16 | Delano Squires is a Research Fellow in Life, Religion and Family at the Heritage Foundation, and a contributor to the Blaze. He joins me today to talk about the enduring relevance of the call to manhood and family, and how to live that out in today's world. Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
OS GUINNESS: Where Is Western Civilization Heading? The Aaron Renn Show 2024-09-25 | Os Guinness is an author, social critic, and great-great-great grandson of Arthur Guinness, the Dublin brewer. He has written or edited more than 30 books that offer valuable insight into the cultural, political, and social contexts in which we all live. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of London and his D.Phil in the social sciences from Oriel College, Oxford. He joins me to provide the bigger context around my "three worlds of evangelicalism" model. If American culture today is negative or skeptical towards Christianity, how did we get here? And where is Western civilization going?
AUSTIN KNUPPE: The Fate of Middle Eastern Christians The Aaron Renn Show 2024-09-13 | Austin Knuppe is an assistant professor of political science at Utah State University specializing in Foreign Policy, International Politics, Middle East Politics, War. He's the author of a recent book on how Iraqis survived the Islamic State. He joins me to discuss Christians in the Middle East. Once sizable Christian populations there have declined noticeably in the past 100 years. He argues that America's Global War on Terror, however, has accelerated the decline of Christian communities in Middle Eastern countries. Austin Knuppe: There Are Always Consequences: americanreformer.org/2024/08/there-are-always-consequences Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
Why Hasnt the Left Won the Culture War? The Aaron Renn Show 2024-09-10 | The left controls all the powerful, culture shaping institutions of society except the Supreme Court. So why haven't they been able to simply vanquish conservatives in the culture war? I asked sociologist James Davison Hunter, who coined the term "culture war" in English, about this in our recent interview.Watch our full conversation: youtube.com/watch?v=sMR3-1pI7vcSubscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
How Do You Get Out of a Culture War? The Aaron Renn Show 2024-09-10 | Sociologist James Davison Hunter, who coined the term "culture war" in English, talks about what it would look like to escape our ongoing culture war.Watch my full interview with Hunter: youtube.com/watch?v=sMR3-1pI7vcSubscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
TIM CARNEY: Americas Family Unfriendly Culture The Aaron Renn Show 2024-08-31 | Journalist and AEI Senior Fellow Tim Carney joins me to discuss his new book Family Unfriendly: How Our Culture Made Raising Kids Much Harder Than It Needs to Be Buy the book: amazon.com/Family-Unfriendly-Culture-Raising-Harder-ebook/dp/B0C592J1TF/?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=theurban-20 Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
Covid Destroyed 70% of What Tim Keller & Others Built in NYC Church Planting in the Prev 35 Years The Aaron Renn Show 2024-08-26 | Jon Tyson, pastor of Church of the City in NYC, says that he estimates that 70% of what Tim Keller and others built in the previous 35 years in terms of New York City church plants was wiped away by Covid.Note: The context of this clip appears to be church planting. Tim Keller's core Redeemer churches are still there, and the East Side congregation is constructing its own building.Watch our full interview: youtube.com/watch?v=1CUF9X1OoIsSubscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
NYC Is Less Different from the Rest of the Country Than It Used to Be The Aaron Renn Show 2024-08-26 | Jon Tyson, pastor of Church in the City in NYC, observes that because of social media, the culture of New York City is much closer to the rest of the country than it used to be, especially for Generation Z. There's been a cultural flattening among younger people.Watch our full interview: youtube.com/watch?v=1CUF9X1OoIsSubscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
Gen Z Christians Dont Want to Plant Churches The Aaron Renn Show 2024-08-23 | Jon Tyson is the senior pastor of Church of the City in New York, which is 80% Gen Z. He explains that he encounters very few Gen Z Christians who want to plant new churches.Watch our full interview: youtube.com/watch?v=1CUF9X1OoIsVisit Church of the City: https://www.church.nyc/Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
How Do Pastors Deal with Congregational Churn in New York City? The Aaron Renn Show 2024-08-23 | Jon Tyson, senior pastor of Church of the City in New York, talks about how dealing with a transient population is a fundamental fact of running a church in New York City. He says the biggest risk to churches there is that the constant flow of people moving out causes them to run out of love.Watch our whole interview: youtube.com/watch?v=1CUF9X1OoIsChurch of the City: https://www.church.nyc/Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
JON TYSON: Urban Church in the Negative World The Aaron Renn Show 2024-08-20 | Jon Tyson, founding and senior pastor of Church of the City in New York, joins me to talk about the urban church in today's world. He discusses:- How to deal with the constant population churn in the city- The differences between pre-Covid and post-Covid New York- How Covid wiped out 70% of what Tim Keller and others built over the previous 35 years in terms of New York City church plants- The flow of church planters into New York drying up- What's unique about Generation Z? Includes that they don't want to plant churches.- Why New York is not as different from the rest of the country culturally as it used to be.- The impact of the migrant influx on Manhattan- The future of the cultural engagement model of church- What he thinks of Trumpist culture war Christianity- How he talks about flashpoint cultural issues- Advice for church planters thinking about New York City. Visit Church of the City: https://www.church.nyc/ Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
CHRIS BOLINGER: How Christian Men Can Survive Divorce The Aaron Renn Show 2024-08-17 | While divorce rates have fallen from their peak, they are still very high, with women initiating the vast majority of them. The divorce rate among American Christians is also too high. While divorce is difficult for non-religious men, Christian men face unique issues. Their churches are likely to blame them for the divorce, and they are likely to lose their friend network at church as well. Men's devotional writer and podcaster Chris Bolinger joins me to discuss what Christian men need to know to survive divorce. Buy Chris Bolinger's 400,000 copy selling men's devotional Daily Strength for Men: amazon.com/Daily-Strength-Men-365-Day-Devotional/dp/1424557534/?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=theurban-20 My article on what to do when your wife divorces you: aaronrenn.com/p/newsletter-40-what-to-do-when-your My article on how to help your friends whose wive's divorced them: aaronrenn.com/p/newsletter-41-how-to-help-our-friends Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
American Tech Companies Will Stop Offering New Products in Europe The Aaron Renn Show 2024-08-13 | With the EU determined to be a "regulatory superpower" on technology, and its general rejection of free speech, Dean Ball of the Mercatus Center argues that in the future American tech companies may choose not to roll out new services in Europe.See our full conversation: youtube.com/watch?v=mGulbhpvoDUSubscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
NATE FISCHER: The Macro Trends Shaping Tomorrows World The Aaron Renn Show 2024-08-08 | Nate Fischer, Founder and CEO of New Founding, joins us to talk about his firm's investment strategy, and particularly the macro forces that will be shaping the society and economy of tomorrow. Read the New Founding Strategy: newfounding.com/post/strategy Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
JOSHUA KLEIN: Preserving the Art of Traditional Wood Construction The Aaron Renn Show 2024-08-08 | Joshua Klein, editor of Mortise and Tenon magazine, joins me to talk about his love of traditional wood construction techniques, and the value of craftsmanship and manual work. In addition to the magazine, Klein is also an Associate Fellow in Mechanical Arts at Greystone Theological Institute. Buy Mortise and Tenon Magazine: mortiseandtenonmag.com Greystone Theological Institute: greystoneinstitute.org Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
OREN CASS: The Future of the American Worker The Aaron Renn Show 2024-08-07 | Oren Cass is founder of American Compass, a reformist center-right think tank seeking to look beyond dogmatic adherence to libertarian economics. He joins me to talk about the future of the American worker.
DEAN BALL: Tech Regulation in an AI Age The Aaron Renn Show 2024-08-01 | Dean Ball is a Research Fellow in the Artificial Intelligence & Progress Project at the Mercatus Center, who also writes a Substack on the subject. He joins me to discuss artificial intelligence and technology regulation. Subscribe to Dean Ball's Substack: hyperdimensional.co Subscribe to my Substack: aaronrenn.com
MAYOR FRANCIS SUAREZ: The Miami Model of Urbanism The Aaron Renn Show 2024-07-29 | Miami and South Florida have been booming. City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez joins me to talk about their success and the "Miami model" of urbanism. We discuss:- Miami's transition from America's most dangerous big city to one of its safest.- Why Miami is an emerging national and global business center- The inflection points that boosted Miami's trajectory- How Mayor Suarez, a Republican, and his party have found success in a big, dense, diverse, heavily Latino city.- What Miami will do next that will surprise people.Read my profile of Miami as an under-heralded urban success story: governing.com/urban/miami-the-under-appreciated-urban-success-storyRead my article on why conservatives should care about cities: americancompass.org/conservatives-should-care-about-citiesSubscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
YUVAL LEVIN: The Constitution Is the Solution The Aaron Renn Show 2024-07-20 | American Enterprise Institute scholar Yuval Levin joins me to discuss his new book American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation—and Could Again. While many today argue that the US Constitution is dead or obsolete, Levin argues that the Constitution is actually the path forward for creating unity in our deeply divided republic. Bu the book: amazon.com/American-Covenant-Constitution-Unified-Nation_and/dp/0465040748/?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=theurban-20 Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
JARED MUSGROVE and WILL PESCH: Brothers Under Christ (BYX) - The Christian Fraternity The Aaron Renn Show 2024-07-19 | BYX (Beta, Upsilon, Chi in Greek, for Brothers Under Christ and pronounced "Bucks") is a Christian college fraternity. National director Jared Musgrove and Georgia chapter member Will Pesch join me to talk about this fraternity and how it shapes young men in a campus environment. BYX Website: byx.org Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
Dont Underestimate the Long Term Consequences of Not Having a Family The Aaron Renn Show 2024-07-11 | Marriage and birth rates are down. Younger Americans often don't want a family or aren't focused on it. But people make decisions when they are young without really understanding the long term consequences - or without understanding that they may well feel very differently later in life.From my ISI talk on the Ten Pillars of Healthy Masculinity: youtube.com/watch?v=HfJP24Vcjdw&t=0sSubscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
Men - You Matter Too #masculinty The Aaron Renn Show 2024-07-11 | Men, you are important you. You matter. Your health, well-being, hopes, dreams, and plans are important. You are not just important because of what you can do for other people. You matter because you are important in your own right.#shorts
Every Man Needs a Band of Brothers The Aaron Renn Show 2024-07-11 | Every man needs a band of brothers. But too few men have any close friends today. Male fraternity is the easiest thing in the world to overlook. But we need it. We need other men to encourage us, to challenge us, and to affirm us when we measure up.From my ISI talk on The Ten Pillars of Healthy Masculinity: youtube.com/watch?v=HfJP24Vcjdw&t=0sSubscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
MILES SMITH: Lessons from Reading Exvangelical Memoirs The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-25 | Miles Smith is an assistant professor of history at Hillsdale College. He joins me to discuss what he learned from reading exvangelical memoirs and books about Christian nationalism. Miles Smith's "Reading the Exvangelicals": mereorthodoxy.com/reading-the-exvangelicals Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
MATTHEW PETERSON: The Future of Conservative Media The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-22 | Matthew Peterson, editor-in-chief of the Blaze and founding editor of the American Mind, joins me to talk about the media and conservative media landscape in America today. Visit the Blaze: theblaze.com Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
You Need to Know How the World Actually Works The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-21 | You need to know how the world works. Not just how people tell you it works, or how you would like it to work, but how it actually does work.Thirty years ago you were at the mercy of what you were told by the local newspaper, the TV networks, teachers, parents, etc. You had no choice to believe what they told you because there wasn't access to alternative sources of information. While they told us a lot of true things, they also said a lot of things that were just wrong.Today is golden age for knowledge acquisition. There's a lot of misinformation out there, but today you really can do the research in a way that was not possible a generation ago.From my ISI presentation on the 10 pillars of healthy masculinity - youtube.com/watch?v=HfJP24VcjdwSubscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
Cultivating Virtue The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-21 | Men need to cultivate virtue in their lives. This isn's just moral uprightness, although it includes that. It’s cultivating excellences across multiple dimensions of virtue: the theological virtues, the cardinal virtues, the tactical virtues, etc.From my ISI presentation on the 10 pillars of healthy masculinity - youtube.com/watch?v=HfJP24VcjdwSubscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
You Must Believe That There Is Something You Can Do to Change The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-20 | It's critical for men to have a sense of agency. You have to believe that it is possible to take action to change your circumstances to the better, to take positive steps towards progress in your mission.From my ISI lecture on the 10 Pillars of Masculinity - youtube.com/watch?v=HfJP24Vcjdw Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
JOSHUA MITCHELL: The Roots of the Great Awokening The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-20 | Georgetown Professor Joshua Mitchell, author of the book American Awakening: Identity Politics and Other Afflictions of Our Time, joins me to talk about what factors caused the rise of identity politics in America. Buy the book: amazon.com/American-Awakening-Identity-Politics-Afflictions/dp/1641771305/?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=theurban-20 Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
Every Man Needs to Have a Mission in Life The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-19 | Every many should have a mission in life, things that he's driving towards and aspiring to. My most important message to men would be: you matter. Your hopes, dreams, aspirations, and plans - your mission - are important too.From my ISI lecture on the 10 Pillars of Masculinity - youtube.com/watch?v=HfJP24VcjdwSubscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
BATYA UNGAR-SARGON: How the Elites Betrayed Americas Working Men and Women The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-19 | Newsweek opinion editor Batya Ungar-Sargon joins me to discuss her recent book Second Class: How the Elites Betrayed America's Working Men and Women. It's a look at the travails facing America's working class. Read my review of Second Class: city-journal.org/article/review-of-second-class-by-batya-ungar-sargon Buy the book: amazon.com/Second-Class-Betrayed-Americas-Working/dp/1641773618/?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=theurban-20 Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
If you dont know who you are, then you dont know what to do The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-19 | Your identity is the most foundational part of who you are as a man. If you don't know who you are, then you don't know what to do. Who are you?From my ISI talk on the 10 Pillars of Masculinity - youtube.com/watch?v=HfJP24VcjdwSubscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com#shorts
Who Are You? Your Identity Is the Foundation of Everything Else in Life The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-19 | Identity. Your identity is foundational to everything else in your life. Because if you don't know who you are, then you don't know what to do. One of the best examples of this principle is from the Walt Disney film "The Lion King," in which Simba cannot reclaim is rightful throne and restore justice and flourishing to the land until he knows who he is.The Lion King: "Remember who you are" - youtube.com/watch?v=tmWKvvXzlygFrom my ISI talk 10 Pillars of Masculinity - youtube.com/watch?v=HfJP24VcjdwSubscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
Why Wont You Christians Apply Your Standards That We Reject and Hate to Donald Trump?! The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-10 | The secular left is incensed that Christians refuse to apply Christian standards to judge Donald Trump unfit for office, when those leftists themselves completely reject and even hate those Christian values.This is part of my appearance on Dr. Al Mohler's Thinking in Public Podcast. Watch the full interview at: youtube.com/watch?v=EVwp--j12AgSubscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com#shorts
Secular Leftists Promoted the Social Changes that Made It Possible for Trump to Become President The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-10 | The secular leftists who are horrified by Donald Trump are the very people who promoted the social changes that made it possible for him to become President.This is part of my appearance on Dr. Al Mohler's Thinking in Public Podcast. Watch the full interview at: youtube.com/watch?v=EVwp--j12AgSubscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com#shorts
The Culture Wants to Make a Buck Off Your Suffering #masculinity The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-10 | Society is pushing all sorts of dangerous things like drugs, gambling, and porn so that people can make a buck off of your suffering.This is part of my appearance on Dr. Al Mohler's Thinking in Public Podcast. Watch the full interview at: youtube.com/watch?v=EVwp--j12AgSubscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com#shorts
What Used to be Mafia Activities Are Now Fully Legitimate Businesses The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-10 | Things that used to be the province of shady characters like the mob - gambling, drugs, loan sharking - are now legal, fully legitimate businesses in our society. It's easier than ever to ruin your life.This is part of my appearance on Dr. Al Mohler's Thinking in Public Podcast. Watch the full interview at: youtube.com/watch?v=EVwp--j12AgSubscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
The Negative World Puts Subtle Social Pressures on Christians The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-10 | The negative world does not operate by government coercion but by subtle, indirect social and economic pressures on American Christians to bring their beliefs into alignment with secular ideologies. This is part of my appearance on Dr. Al Mohler's Thinking in Public Podcast. Watch the full interview at: youtube.com/watch?v=EVwp--j12AgSubscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
RICHARD REEVES: The Struggles of the Modern American Male The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-08 | Richard V. Reeves is the president of the American Institute for Boys and Men. He's also the author of the acclaimed book Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about It. He joins me to discuss the problems facing today's American men. Buy the book: amazon.com/Boys-Men-modern-struggling-matters/dp/1800751036/?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=theurban-20 Visit the American Institute for Boys and Men: aibm.org Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
Theres No Bible Verse For What to Do With Your Retirement Account The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-03 | Dr. Anthony Bradley explains that when evangelicals only speak to things they can directly attach a Bible verse to, it leaves a vast field of life wide open for online influencers to take over.Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
Influencers give men really practical advice The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-03 | Unlike traditional authorities, online influencers are giving young men really practical, useful advice.Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com#shorts
Online Influences Give Men Really Practical Advice The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-03 | While churches focus on a general vision how to be a godly husband, online influencers give men really practical advice around diet, exercise, business, etc. Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
The Church Is Disconnected From the Questions Young Men Are Asking The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-03 | The church talks to men only about a handful of issues - sexual purity, being a servant leader at home - but is not addressing the actual questions that young people are turning to online influencers to find answers for.
I just dont think theres a sense that men can be good The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-03 | Dr. Anthony Bradley says that society treats men coming to power as the source of bad things in the world, rather than telling young men that if they are virtuous, then good things will happen if they come to power.Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com#shorts
When Virtuous Men Come to Power, Good Things Will Happen The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-03 | Dr. Anthony Bradley talks about how society sees men as the source of problems, rather than telling them that if they are virtuous, good things will happen when they come into power.Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
Its masculinity by negation The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-03 | Dr. Anthony Bradley says that society just tells men to be less bad, but it never gives them a positive vision of what they should be. It's masculinity by negation.#shorts
Its Masculinity By Negation The Aaron Renn Show 2024-06-03 | Dr. Anthony Bradley says that men are simply being told to be less bad, not being provided with any positive vision of what they should be doing. It's masculinity by negation.Subscribe to my newsletter: aaronrenn.com
