E512 - Brad Birzer Wonders if Russell Kirk’s Conservative Movement Has a Future

In this episode, Dan Hugger speaks with Bradley J. Birzer, Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies and professor of history at Hillsdale College, about Russell Kirk and the American conservative movement. What role did Kirk play in the conservative intellectual ferment of the early 1950s? How does the biographical framing of the Conservative Mind point to its humanistic nature? Who entered and left The Conservative Mind during its revisions? How did Kirk’s relationships and conflicts shape the evolution of his thought? Why did Kirk get involved with the Goldwater campaign and how did it affect his reputation? What i...