National Treasures, October Surprises, And Silly Walks With Michael Auslin 

Much like the fragile parchment on which a new republic’s principles and grievances were outlined, America’s Declaration of Independence endures to this day – quite the accomplishment given a Continental Congress struggling to help George Washington wage war and a few Founding Fathers who’d rather not have been in Philadelphia that summer (beginning with Thomas Jefferson). But does the America of today – a republic featuring a vast federal government, overseen by career politicians – embody “the spirit of ’76” and the late-18^th Century’s push for liberty? After that: the fellows address the possibility of a disruptive “October Surprise” in advance of America’s November election – if such a shock comes in the form of a terrorist event (would it make political sense for Iran to try to embarrass an already-struggling President Trump?) or a financial crisis (October historically a time of market panics and crashes)? Finally, in the “Lightning Round”: the Chicago-born Pope employs a little divine intervention to boost the White Sox’s playoff chances; are a few comforting words by industry leaders the beginning of a more optimist AI “vibe shift”?; U.S. War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s criteria for joining America’s fighting forces (“beardos” and “weirdos” need not apply); Tucker Carlson’s curious take on Germany’s invasion of Poland; on the 57^th anniversary of the first televised episode of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, the question of what happened to the longstanding tradition of British satire and comedy (our resident Boomers recalling a few of their favorite Python skits that most  Gen-Zers probably won’t understand or appreciate).

RELATED SOURCES

• National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America by Michael Auslin
• The Declaration of Arbroath
• The Age of the Democratic Revolution by R.R. Palmer
• The Patowmack Packet, Substack by Michael Auslin 
• Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe by Niall Ferguson