The Power Line Show, Ep 216: The Recovery of Family Life, with Scott Yenor

We’re delighted to bring Scott Yenor to the show this week to discuss his important new book, The Recovery of Family Life: Exposing the Limits of Modern Ideologies, which is being officially released tomorrow from Baylor University Press. Unlike many other fine books on the family today that rely chiefly on social science, Scott brings his immense learning in political philosophy to bear on family questions, from Plato and Aristotle through to de Tocqueville—and even Russian novels.

Yenor takes us through a grand tour of the “rolling revolution” wrought by the ideologies of sexual liberation and unlimited individual autonomy over recent decades, which has led to, among other things, the degradation of love, and a civilization-threatening collapse in the birth rate. Scott has some thoughts on what policy makers can do to reinforce strong family life.

Our conversation ranges widely over the controversies Scott has had to weather on campus at Boise State, and also how the left has attempted to purge him from Idaho’s State Advisory Commission on Civil Rights—an episode you can read about here. Also be sure to take in his essays at The American Mind, the new commentary website of the Claremont Institute. And there’s even a little something for college football fans in this episode!

You know what to do now: listen here, or download the episode from our hosts at Ricochet or from your favorite podcast platform.

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