A tragic encounter in Minneapolis has reignited national debate over law enforcement, activism, and the rule of law.

In this episode, Dan McCarthy examines the killing of Renee Good during an ICE operation and places it in the broader context of post-2020 policing, judicial leniency, and organized efforts to obstruct law enforcement. He explores how activist tactics, sympathetic judges, and political pressure have reshaped enforcement of immigration and criminal law, often with deadly consequences.

This episode argues that when law enforcement is undermined and criminal behavior is excused, the result is not justice but disorder. Minneapolis offers a clear warning about the costs of politicizing the rule of law.

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Did the capture of Nicolás Maduro mark a return to America’s original foreign policy or a new era of U.S. interventionism?

In this episode, we examine the so-called “Donroe Doctrine” and ask whether President Trump’s decisive operation in Venezuela aligns more closely with the Founders’ restrained vision of foreign policy than with the ideological interventionism of the 20th and 21st centuries. By revisiting the Monroe Doctrine and the historical limits America once placed on its use of force, we explore what distinguishes Trump's realism from regime-change wars.

As America approaches its 250th anniversary (the Semiquincentennial), we return to the Declaration of Independence and its most debated phrase: “all men are created equal.” Why created equal? Why not merely born equal?

In this episode, Dan McCarthy argues that the Declaration’s logic depends on a Creator: rights are not inventions of the state or products of social consensus, but endowments grounded in God and that foundation produces a radically different view of liberty, property, justice, and political authority than modern secular “rights talk.”

We also revisit what “revolution” meant to the American founders. For them, it was less a radical rupture and more a restoration of legitimate authority back to the people. From Locke to Jefferson, from Calhoun to modern ideologies, this is a philosophical primer on the competing foundations of political order and why recovering the Founding requires recovering what “created” truly implies.

Modern Age is published by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Visit modernagedjournal.com for new essays and archival classics, and subscribe to the quarterly print journal founded in 1957.

During the Christmas season, it’s natural to think about joy, generosity, and prosperity. But it’s also a moment to reflect on restraint, discipline, and the long-term health of our economy.

In this episode of Modern Age, Dan McCarthy examines President Trump’s plan to lower interest rates and appoint a Federal Reserve chair who would pursue easier credit. While lower rates can give the economy a short-term boost, they also carry serious risks including inflation, reckless investment, and long-term instability.

Drawing on economic history, conservative political thought, and the lessons of the Christmas season itself, Dan explains why prosperity cannot be built on cheap money alone, and why discipline and sound credit matter more than quick fixes.

Modern Age looks beyond the headlines to explore the deeper philosophical questions behind today’s economic debates.

What does it really mean to be a conservative?

As the 250th anniversary of American independence approaches, Dan McCarthy traces the deeper origins of American conservatism, not just to 1980s Reaganism or 1950s fusionism, but back to the political battles of Whigs and Tories in 18th-century England.

This episode offers a sweeping intellectual history that places today’s debates over populism, foreign policy, and national identity in long historical context.

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How well do Americans really understand monarchy, constitutionalism, and the actual causes of the American Revolution?

In this episode of Modern Age, editor Dan McCarthy peels back the mythology to explore the deep historical roots of the American system—going back to the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the rise of the Whigs and Tories, and what those debates teach us about executive power, liberalism, and today’s populist backlash.

With the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaching in 2026, now is the time to confront the foundational question:
Was America founded as a liberal nation?

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What explains the growing divide between older and younger conservatives?

In this episode, Modern Age editor Dan McCarthy explores the ideological, cultural, and economic rifts between the Reagan-Buckley generation and Gen Z conservatives.

Is this a generational clash or the start of a new conservative movement?

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On the centennial of William F. Buckley Jr.’s birth, Dan McCarthy revisits the towering legacy of the man who shaped postwar American conservatism.

From founding National Review and leading ISI, to defining the modern Right’s anti-communist and anti-statist battles, Buckley was instrumental in reshaping American political discourse. But what did he truly conserve—and how should today’s conservatives evaluate his legacy?

In this episode of Modern Age, Dan explores:

-Buckley's early America First views and Cold War transformation
-The founding of ISI and National Review
-His battles against the New Deal and welfare state
-The culture wars in higher education
-Buckley's complex role in defining conservative orthodoxy
-His later reflections on Reagan, foreign policy, and conservatism's direction

Was Buckley a gatekeeper—or a unifier? And what can we learn from his successes and shortcomings in today’s very different political landscape?

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https://firstthings.com/the-rights-thirty-year-war/

https://modernagejournal.com/the-last-word-on-william-f-buckley-jr-sam-tanenhaus-review/253620/