The Brass Spittoon

Os Guinness on Liberty and Hope

Prolific author and social critic Os Guinness discusses the current challenges for liberty and his hopes for the future. The Chinese-born, English-educated, Irish-rooted scholar...

Grace Olmstead on Uprooted, Place, Idaho, and Prairie Lupines

Fidelity to place needn’t (and shouldn’t) result in stuckness, a condemnation of ever moving at all. But we must beware falling into that second trap: rejecting roots altogether.

John de Graaf, Affluenza, and Stewart Udall

Summary Filmmaker John de Graaf pulls up a chair to discuss his 1997 documentary Affluenza; a forthcoming project on Arizona politician and JFK/LBJ’s Secretary of...

Prospects for Localism (and a New Podcast)

This recording also serves as the inaugural episode of the Brass Spittoon, a new podcast from the Front Porch Republic. We’ll chew on issues timeless and timely, with a focus on place, limits, and liberty.

Lead for America: Encouraging Graduates to Return Home

Jackson, MI. As a college professor and reader of Wendell Berry, I've long been concerned about the dominant narrative of "upward (and lateral) mobility"...

Joel Kotkin on American Neo-Feudalism

There needs to be a concentration of the real: skills training, middle class and upwardly mobile working class jobs. Replace symbolism with real improvements.

Braver Angels and Civil Conversation across Partisan Divides

If you resonate with the conversation below and the aims of Braver Angels, consider signing their new letter: What We Will Do to Hold...

Brass Spittoon: Bradley Birzer on Christian Humanism

Bradley Birzer on Christian humanism, judging the past, memory, and gratitude.

Brass Spittoon: Ken Myers on Three Decades (almost) of Mars Hill...

Ken Myers of Mars Hill Audio on place, the evangelical mind, and classical music.

Brass Spittoon: Wall Street vs. Main Street, 2020

Chris Arnade, Jared Woodard, and Sarah Hamersma on Wall Street versus Main Street.