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The official podcast of Princeton University’s James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions.

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes174Founded6 years ago
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Society & CultureNewsPolitics

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Artwork for Madison's Notes

Latest Episodes

The old story in the academy was that as science and technology progressed, western society would grow more secular while the supernatural would disappear permanently from the public square. But nowadays re-enchantment is the new byword, from renewed... more

Many Americans have a constant dread of impending doom. Glued to the screens of our computers and smartphones, we sense that some total catastrophe is just around the corner. But what if our anxiety stems from an event that’s already completely destr... more

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What is freedom? Benjamin Constant and Isaiah Berlin divided the answers to that question into two categories: the positive conception of the ancients (freedom to participate in political life) and the negative conception of the moderns (freedom from... more

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Debates about AI typically deal with its immediate material consequences, from cybersecurity and infrastructure to plagiarism and copyright. Yet most people deal with AI as a generative consumer product that raises longer-term questions about its cul... more

YouTube

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Recent Guests

Matthew Gasda
Writer and cultural critic; author of The Sleepers and Strange Beauty
Author, playwright, and professor/associate figure discussed in the episode
Episode: S6E5 Writing Against the Machine: On Artistic Culture in the AI Age with Matthew Gasda
Ivan Kenneally
Essayist who contributed to The Hedgehog Review, The New Atlantis, and First Things
Author and essayist
Episode: S6E4 The Political Philosophy of Mark Twain: On His Absurd, Noble Americans with Ivan Kenneally
Anthony Grafton
Professor of History, emeritus Henry Putnam University Professor of History at Princeton University
Princeton University
Episode: S6E3 Divining the Past: How to Do Conjectural History with Anthony Grafton
Ian Marcus Corbin
Philosopher, essayist and author; senior fellow at Capita; director of Public Culture Project at Harvard University
Capita; Harvard University
Episode: S6E2 A Cure for Loneliness: On Homecoming with Ian Marcus Corbin
Walter Russell Mead
American political analyst and author, expert on foreign policy
Hudson Institute; author of Special Providence
Episode: S5E12 250 Years of Special Providence: On American Grand Strategy Since the Declaration with Walter Russell Mead
Michael C. Hawley
Assistant professor in the School of Civic Life and Leadership at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Episode: S5E11 The Once and Future Republic: On Cicero, Locke, and the Making of America with Michael C. Hawley
Josiah Ober
Professor of Political Science and Classics; Mitsutake Chair at Stanford; co-creator of the Stanford Civics Initiative
Stanford University
Episode: S5E10 Legacy of the Ancient Greeks: On Classical and Modern Democracy with Josiah Ober
Rob Long
Hollywood writer and producer; author and podcaster; Master of Divinity student
Ricochet, Martini Shot, GLoP Cultural Podcast
Episode: S5E9 A Divine Comedy: On Hollywood, Creativity, and Religion with Rob Long
Sherif Girgis
Professor of Law with Princeton and Notre Dame affiliations; author and speaker on originalism
Princeton University; Notre Dame Law School
Episode: S5E8 Debating the Constitution: On Originalism's Most Pressing Quarrels with Sherif Girgis

Host

Ryan Shinkel
Host of Madison's Notes

Reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars from 126 ratings
  • Where is Laura???

    You squandered her didn’t you?

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    Lymeryk
    United Statesa year ago
  • I’m curious

    Take a shot every time the host says, “I’m curious”.

    Apple Podcasts
    3
    petey-11
    United States2 years ago
  • This is a really good podcast for hearing diverse viewpoints, both modern and historical.

    Podcast Addict
    5
    Mr.Albert
    3 years ago
  • Conservative bs

    Podcast Addict
    1
    jd
    3 years ago
  • Really enjoyed this podcast until one guest

    Rating One Star for Robert Doar. The guy and his think tank is everything wrong with conservatives. They cause and ignore the real problems facing their voters and then shill for Ukraine and free markets and saying that helping people have children is bad. What an absolute joke he was and it was a total disgrace hearing him denigrate social conservatives. Also he says that previous wars in the Middle East were a mistake, even though he and his people clearly advocated for them, and then has the ... more

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    Kevin Pulliam
    United States4 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Thoughtful, rigorous discussions that reward careful listening.
Across episodes, the show maintains high intellectual standards and credible sources.
Guests span scholars and policy thinkers, delivering nuanced takes on complex topics.
Questions elevate the discourse; hosts show deep knowledge of economic and political history.

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Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

S6E5 Writing Against the Machine: On Artistic Culture in the AI Age with Matthew Gasda
Q: Can you tell me a bit about your Ted Talk and training a model on your own writings?
Gasda discusses training an LLM on his own writings, the implications for authorship, and how this experiment reveals both the power and the limits of current AI in mimicking human creative processes.
S6E4 The Political Philosophy of Mark Twain: On His Absurd, Noble Americans with Ivan Kenneally
Q: If you were interviewing Mark Twain right now, you could ask him one thing—what would you want to know from him?
The guest would want to hear Twain reflect on the books themselves and how their enduring, imperfect conversations illuminate the ongoing moral challenges of democracy, rather than seeking definitive answers about his life or intentions.
S6E4 The Political Philosophy of Mark Twain: On His Absurd, Noble Americans with Ivan Kenneally
Q: If Jim represents nobility, what does Twain say nobility is in a definition?
The response emphasizes that Twain refuses to reduce nobility to a rigid term; instead, nobility is a phenomenology that cannot be neatly defined, best grasped through lived experience and literary portrayal rather than formal linguistic categories.
S6E4 The Political Philosophy of Mark Twain: On His Absurd, Noble Americans with Ivan Kenneally
Q: Please tell me more about this conflict between convention and nature. What is Twain saying?
Kenneally explains that Twain stages a tension between settled, external moral conventions and a more fluid, nature-based understanding of virtue, suggesting that true morality requires balancing communal norms with an authentic sense of human nature rather than blindly adhering to scripts.
S6E4 The Political Philosophy of Mark Twain: On His Absurd, Noble Americans with Ivan Kenneally
Q: Can you tell me a bit about some of the modern reactions to Huck Finn and the attempts to criticize and rehabilitate the novel?
The guest notes that criticism shifts across generations, with bans and debates reflecting changing sensibilities about race and authority, while arguing that Twain's deeper purpose was to lampoon and critique the very conventions that underlie racial hierarchy and democracy.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About Madison's Notes

What is Madison's Notes about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A rigorously curated dialogue mix that ties classic political philosophy, constitutional theory, and historical scholarship to contemporary policy debates. Episodes frequently explore how ancient ideas about liberty, republican virtue, and natural law inform modern governance, alongside deep dives into American grand strategy, constitutional interpretation, and frontier cinema. Notable is the blend of academic rigor with practical policy discussion, featuring guests who illuminate long-standing debates with fresh historical or theoretical context, and a host who steers through complex topics with probing, well-prepared questions.

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These podcasts share a similar audience with Madison's Notes:

1. The Editors
2. Uncommon Knowledge
3. GLoP Culture
4. The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg
5. The Ricochet Podcast

How many episodes of Madison's Notes are there?

Madison's Notes launched 6 years ago and published 174 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Madison's Notes?

Recent guests on Madison's Notes include:

1. Matthew Gasda
2. Ivan Kenneally
3. Anthony Grafton
4. Ian Marcus Corbin
5. Walter Russell Mead
6. Michael C. Hawley
7. Josiah Ober
8. Rob Long

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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