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About Uncommon Knowledge

For more than a decade the Hoover Institution has been producing Uncommon Knowledge with Peter Robinson, a series hosted by Hoover fellow Peter Robinson as an outlet for political leaders, scholars, journalists, and today’s big thinkers to share their views with the world. Guests have included a host of famous figures, including Paul Ryan, Henry Kissinger, Antonin Scalia, Rupert Murdoch, Newt Gingrich, and Christopher Hitchens, along with Hoover fellows such as Condoleezza Rice and George Shultz.

Uncommon Knowledge takes fascinating, accomplished guests, then sits them down with me to talk about the issues of the day,” says Robinson, an author and former speechwriter for President Reagan. “Unhurried, civil, thoughtful, and informed conversation– that’s what we produce. And there isn’t all that much of it around these days.”

The show started life as a television series in 1997 and is now distributed exclusively on the web over a growing network of the largest political websites and channels. To stay tuned for the latest updates on and episodes related to Uncommon Knowledge, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

August 11, 2008 | Recorded on July 14, 2008

The Founders and Us

Richard Brookhiser, senior editor for the National Review

Should we care what the founders would say about modern-day America? Richard Brookhiser says yes. If so, how should we consider some of our thornier contemporary issues in light of what the founders thought, such as “originalism” in constitutional matters, America as a “religious” nation if not a Christian nation, or even the fundamental principles of U.S. foreign policy? Even the bruising political battles currently being waged in Washington may be better understood in the context of the political wars our founders fought when the Republic was born. (32:55) Video transcript