Former U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm discusses his book The Myth of American Inequality: How Government Biases Policy Debate, which he co-authored with statistician John Early and economist Robert Ekelund. The book details how faulty government data has led to a massive misperception about wealth and poverty in the U.S. The Myth of American Inequality won the 2024 Hayek Book Prize awarded by the Manhattan Institute. In politics, Phil Gramm served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, initially as a Democrat, and later as a Republican. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1985 and retired from office in 2002. Before entering politics, Phil Gramm taught economics at Texas A&M University.

Donald Trump's May 23 address in The Bronx, New York, will prove to be one of the most significant speeches of the 2024 campaign — so predicts social commentator Roger Kimball, editor of The New Criterion. "Among other things, it will be seen to mark the moment when Trump's gathering momentum became unstoppable," Mr. Kimball argues in an article posted at American Greatness. The former president gave a wide-ranging address to several thousand enthusiastic supporters at an early evening rally held in Crotona Park, a public park in the South Bronx. A full transcript is available at https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/trump-speaks-at-rally-in-the-bronx

The cultural ideology of "wokeism" isn't new. It has a pedigree traceable to philosophers of previous centuries, including René Descartes, Immanuel Kant, Karl Marx, and Jacques Derrida. In this address, Catholic Bishop Robert Barron, one of America's most influential religious leaders, describes how the ideas of such philosophers have formed the foundations of "critical theory" and "woke" ideology. Bishop Barron serves the diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota and founded Word on Fire Catholic Ministries. He delivered this address on June 21, 2023, at a conference sponsored by the Acton Institute in Grand Rapids, Mich.

This episode features the second inaugural address of Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, delivered outdoors to a crowd of several thousand gathered at the Florida State Capital Building in Tallahassee on Jan. 3, 2023. After narrowly winning the governor's seat in 2018, he won a resounding re-election victory in 2022. Although Gov. DeSantis (R) has not announced any intention to run for president in 2024, many political observers speculate that he will do so. Mr. DeSantis, a Florida native, is a Navy veteran, a former federal prosecutor, and a former Congressman. A transcript of his second inaugural address is available here.

Viktor Orbán, Europe's longest-serving Prime Minister, visited the U.S. in early August to speak at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, held in Dallas, Texas. He said Western civilization, which defeated the enemies of freedom in the past, is now "at war with itself." But "we Hungarians know how to defeat the enemies of freedom on the political battlefield." Mr. Orbán described several policies his government has implemented, including a successful border-protection system, tax laws that reward marriage and larger families, and a law-and-order approach to public safety that has made Hungary "the safest country in Europe." If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

In July, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito spoke at a Religious Liberty Summit hosted by the University of Notre Dame Law School's Religious Liberty Initiative. "We can't lightly assume that the religious liberty enjoyed today in the United States, in Europe, and in many other places will always endure," he said at the Summit's evening gala on July 21. "Religious liberty is fragile, and religious intolerance and persecution have been recurring features of human history." The 2022 Religious Liberty Summit was held in Rome, Italy, where Notre Dame has one of its overseas campuses. The gala event took place at Rome's centuries-old Palazzo Colonna. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

This episode features an address by Dr. Kristen Collier, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and director of the school's Program on Health, Spirituality & Religion.  She spoke on July 24, 2022, at Michigan Medicine's annual White Coat Ceremony welcoming new med students Dr. Collier's address generated controversy, not because of her remarks but because of her views on abortion. She is pro-life. Some students walked out rather than listen to her remarks. This podcast presents her speech in full. She spoke about the need for physicians to focus on patients as human beings, not simply as "cases." If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

On March 24, 2022, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki addressed the National Conservatism Conference meeting in Brussels, Belgium. Speaking via video, Mr. Morawiecki urged support for Ukraine in the wake of Russia's invasion and he said "we must rebuild the Western world worthy of Ukraine's heroism." "Ukrainians have resurrected the idea that freedom and independence are values worth living and even dying for," he said. Mateusz Morawiecki has been the Prime Minister of Poland since 2017. He is a member of the Law and Justice party. Early in this address, he mentions his recent visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, together with his Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński, Slovenia's Prime MinisterJanez Janša, and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Outspoken freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has been a lightning rod for criticism in the press and on social media. In a Feb. 25, 2022, address to the America First Political Action Conference, she articulated and defended her views on a range of issues, including the responsibility Christians have to "stand up for the unborn" and to resist social experimentation in the area of human sexuality.  She also spoke about combating illegal immigration, warned of the dangers posed by current U.S. energy policy, and criticized "identity politics."  If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

"It is our job to stop giving ear to political arsonists who would burn down our institutions and intensify our divisions," said Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) in a Senate floor speech on Jan. 13, 2022.  He spoke during a debate on eliminating the filibuster, a long-standing Senate rule designed to prevent highly controversial bills from being passed on slim majorities. "Getting rid of the filibuster means you don't have to try to talk to people on the other side of the aisle," he said. Sen. Sasse criticized the "disastrous leadership" of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and he accused President Joe Biden of "violating the Ninth Commandment" by suggesting that those who disagree with his legislative aim of "federalizing elections" are bigots and racists. The president, Sasse said, has "surrender[ed] to the angriest voices on social media." Sen. Ben Sasse's remarks have been abridged slightly for this podcast. A complete transcript of his speech is at https://www.sasse.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=CEF0C9C2-7399-4B2D-A1D8-C3C6DFCE3586

Our most-listened-to podcast of 2021 featured a speech from 1865: President Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address. Many historians consider it to be one of the best inaugural speeches in U.S. history. The speech was delivered five weeks before the end of the U.S. Civil War and six weeks before Mr. Lincoln was assassinated. Portions of the address are etched in stone in the Lincoln Memorial. The recording used on this podcast, by Lincoln impersonator Walter Trumbull, attempts to re-create what the speech likely would have sounded like, as Mr. Lincoln spoke to a large outdoor crowd without amplification. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

This week, we are re-posting our Top 5 programs of 2021 — those that garnered the most "listens." The second-most-listened-to program featured a speech that continues to be a focus of interest months later: President Donald Trump's speech to a massive "Save America" rally near the White House on January 6. In that address, Mr. Trump vigorously disputed that former Vice President Joe Biden had won the 2020 presidential election.  He urged the crowd to "peacefully and patriotically" support the U.S. senators who had pledged to object to accepting disputed electoral votes. Mr. Trump also presented a rundown of voting irregularities in swing states that Mr. Biden claimed by narrow margins. The Trump speech occurred not long before several hundred protesters breached the U.S. Capitol building. Congressional Democrats, joined by a handful of Republicans, later alleged — in an article of impeachment — that Mr. Trump used his address to incite the crowd to "interfere with [Congress’s] solemn constitutional duty to certify the results of the 2020 Presidential election." The U.S. Senate acquitted Mr. Trump. This podcast features Mr. Trump's entire address at the January 6 rally, save for the first few seconds when his microphone wasn't working. A transcript of his remarks is at https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/donald-trump-speech-save-america-rally-transcript-january-6 If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

This week, we are re-posting our most-listened-to podcasts of 2021. Today, our third-most-popular program, featuring an address by U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Speaking at the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference, Sen. Hawley said conservatives are "facing a fight for the republic itself." He warned that an alliance of "radical liberals" and large corporations "want[s] to run this country, and if we don't do something, they are going to."  Sen. Hawley, a former state attorney general, called for federal action to "break those corporations up and cut them down to size." A transcript of his speech is at https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/josh-hawley-2021-cpac-speech-transcript-february-26 If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

During this final week of the year, we are re-posting our five most-popular podcasts of 2021. Our fourth most-listened-to episode featured a speech by Flordia Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), delivered July 14, 2021, at an event sponsored by the legal group Alliance Defending Freedom. Mr. DeSantis talked about his conservative approach to governing and his willingness to push back against critics and naysayers. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

This week, we are re-posting our five most-listened-to podcasts of 2021. We begin with the fifth most-popular program, which featured an address by U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. On September 16, Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the 2021 Tocqueville Lecture sponsored by the University of Notre Dame's Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government. In his remarks, he described the U.S. Declaration of Independence as America's "national North Star." "While we have failed the...ideals of the Declaration time and again, I know of no time when [those] ideals have failed us," he said. The Declaration reflects the noble understanding of the justice of the Creator...and the enlightened belief that nothing stamped with the divine image and likeness was sent into the world to be trodden on and degraded."  If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Paul Harvey was one of America's most popular radio personalities for more than half a century. Millions tuned in for his daily broadcast via ABC Radio, Paul Harvey News and Comment. On his Christmas program each year, Mr. Harvey would tell a modern-day parable, "The Man and the Birds." The version here is from Dec. 25, 2004.  If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected]. Merry Christmas!

Speaking via video link to the Congress of Catholics and Public Life in Madrid, Spain, Archbishop Gomez, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, described recent "social justice" movements as "political religions" that offer a different "story of salvation" than the Christian faith. "Whatever we call these movements — 'social justice,' 'wokeness,' 'identity politics,' 'intersectionality,' 'successor ideology' — they claim to offer what religion provides," the archbishop noted. Regrettably, "these strictly secular movements are causing new forms of social division, discrimination, intolerance, and injustice," he said. Archbishop Gomez spoke in Spanish. An English transcript of his remarks is at https://archbishopgomez.org/blog/reflections-on-the-church-and-americas-new-religions José Gomez was born in Mexico and educated in Mexico and Spain. He has served as the Archbishop of Los Angeles since 2011 and was elected president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2019. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

This edition of the Notable Speeches podcast features U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley's October 31 keynote address at the National Conservatism Conference in Orlando, Fla. "America needs good men," the Missouri Republican said. "We need men who will shoulder responsibility, men who will start and provide for families, men who will enter the covenant of marriage and then honor it."   He decried leftist attacks on "toxic masculinity" and argued that decades of "government policy has helped destroy the kind of economy that gave meaning to generations of men."  The text of Sen. Hawley's remarks is available at https://www.hawley.senate.gov/senator-hawley-delivers-national-conservatism-keynote-lefts-attack-men-america  If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Russian President spoke at the annual meeting of the Moscow-based Valdai Discussion Club. The four-day gathering, held in the Russian resort city of Sochi, focused on the theme, "Global Shake-Up in the 21st Century: The Individual, Values, and the State." In his remarks, Mr. Putin talked about challenges common to nations worldwide — including the coronavirus pandemic, social discontent, and ethical considerations related to new technologies. He also spoke about the "re-alignment of the balance of power" between nations and the challenges of fostering a "stable world order."  Mr. Putin emphasized the "importance of a solid support [from national governments] in the sphere of morals, ethics, and values." He criticized so-called woke progressives in the United States and Europe, saying their "fight for equality and against discrimination has turned into aggressive dogmatism bordering on absurdity." He derided "cancel culture" and the "demand to give up the traditional notions of mother, father, family and even gender." Vladimir Putin delivered his remarks in Russian. This Notable Speeches podcast features an English translation. His address, which ran 35 minutes, has been abridged for this podcast. An English transcript of Mr. Putin's entire remarks, including a post-speech question-and-answer session, is available at https://valdaiclub.com/events/posts/articles/vladimir-putin-meets-with-members-of-the-valdai-discussion-club-transcript-of-the-18th-plenary-session/

On Oct. 1, 2021, author, columnist, and editor Sohrab Ahmari spoke at a symposium in Warsaw, Poland, titled "The Place of Truth in the Age of Cancel Culture."  The event, sponsored by the Polish university Collegium Intermarium, featured speakers from the U.S., France, Poland, Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Sweden, and Italy. The venue was the lecture hall at Warsaw's National Institute of Culture and Rural Heritage. Mr. Ahmari, the op-ed page editor for The New York Post, is the author of From Fire, by Water: My Journey to the Catholic Faith (Ignatius Press, 2019) and The Unbroken Thread: Discovering the Wisdom of Tradition in an Age of Chaos (Convergent Books, 2021). If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Speaking to European political, religious, and corporate leaders meeting in Hungary, former U.S. Vice President said that helping to "preserve the strength of the family" was their "most important task." Mr. Pence spoke last month at the 4th Demographic Summit in Budapest, along with leaders from Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Serbia, and other nations. "For our civilization to prosper, if we're to pass on the rights and the freedoms and the values that we cherish to the next generation, our highest priority must be to preserve, renew, and strengthen the families upon which our nations and our civilizations have been built," he said. The late September summit took place at Budapest's Várkert Bazár (Castle Garden Bazaar), an exhibition and meeting center built in the 1870s and 80s and renovated in 2013.  If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

On September 16, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the 2021 Tocqueville Lecture sponsored by the University of Notre Dame's Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government. In his remarks, he described the U.S. Declaration of Independence as America's "national North Star." "While we have failed the...ideals of the Declaration time and again, I know of no time when [those] ideals have failed us," he said. The Declaration reflects the noble understanding of the justice of the Creator...and the enlightened belief that nothing stamped with the divine image and likeness was sent into the world to be trodden on and degraded."  If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

On September 14, California voters will decide whether to replace current governor Gavin Newsom (D). If Newsom is recalled, the candidate who appears most likely to succeed him is Republican Larry Elder, a Los Angeles-based radio talk show host and documentary filmmaker. In this address, Mr. Elder focuses on the issues of crime, education, and homelessness. He also talks about racial strife in America and discusses his upbringing in South Central Los Angeles. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

In this address, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) talks about his conservative approach to governing and his willingness to push back against critics and naysayers. Mr. Santis spoke on July 14, 2021, at an event sponsored by the legal group Alliance Defending Freedom. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

On July 7, 2021, former President Donald Trump announced he would be the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against Facebook, Google, and Twitter. The suit alleges the tech companies' "broad, vague, and ever-shifting" content-moderation policies effectively violate the constitutional guarantee of free speech. You can see the filing against Facebook at https://aboutblaw.com/Yur?campaign=2CEA049A-DF37-11EB-81DA-26B84F017A06. Learn more about the lawsuit takeonbigtech.com. Mr. Trump, and several others who have joined the class-action suit, spoke at a news conference in New Jersey. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

During a June 22, 2021, floor debate on the confirmation of Kiran Ahuja, President Joe Biden's nominee to head the U.S. government's Office of Personnel Management, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) spoke out against critical (race) theory.  Critical theorists, he said, "pit whiteness and blackness against each other in a manner that reduces every American, no matter their character or their creed, to their racial identity alone." In light of Ahuja's previous writings and comments that appear to support such a view, Hawley warned that as the head of personnel she could usher in a "new era of racial engineering" within the federal workforce.   "I'm concerned that as the federal government's HR director, Ms. Ahuja could use her platform to promote radical ideologies that seek to divide rather than unite the American people," he said. Ultimately, Ahuja was confirmed, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting a tie-breaking vote. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Speaking at a May 18 event sponsored by the Claremont Institute's Center for the American Way of Life, author J.D. Vance warned that "the biggest businesses, the most powerful institutions, the most powerful banks in this country have aligned themselves against [political and social conservatives]." He urged conservatives to fight back and outlined a plan for doing so. "We’re never going to beat them unless we go after them," he said. Mr. Vance is the best-selling author of Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis (Harper Press, 2016). He is also the co-founder of Narya, a venture capital firm based in Ohio. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Speaking at the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said conservatives are "facing a fight for the republic itself."   He warned that an alliance of "radical liberals" and large corporations "want[s] to run this country, and if we don't do something, they are going to."  Sen. Hawley, a former state attorney general, called for federal action to "break those corporations up and cut them down to size." Although he named Google, Facebook, and Twitter in particular, he said his remarks also applied to "all of the huge multinational corporations that have sold us out to China, that have sold out our workers, that have sold out our jobs." A transcript of his speech is at https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/josh-hawley-2021-cpac-speech-transcript-february-26 If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, a key figure in American political discourse for more than three decades, died this month following a battle with lung cancer. In this excerpt from a 1995 broadcast, he explained one aspect of how he would use ludicrous humor to make serious points. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Speaking on the Senate floor on January 26, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) decried the upcoming impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, calling it a "sham" and a "kangaroo court." He said such a trial would be at odds with the impeachment criteria set forth in the U.S. Constitution. Further, Sen. Paul argued that Democrats, who have accused President Trump of inciting an attack on the Capitol building, are much more culpable than Mr. Trump for using inflammatory language. He cited specific remarks made by Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and former Sen. (now Vice President) Kamala Harris (D-Calif.). Sen. Paul spoke after raising a "point of order" about the planned impeachment trial. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Addressing a massive "Save America" rally near the White House on Jan. 6, 2021, President Donald Trump vigorously disputed that former Vice President Joe Biden had won the 2020 presidential election.  He urged the crowd to "peacefully and patriotically" support the U.S. senators and House members who had pledged to object to accepting disputed electoral votes. Mr. Trump also presented a rundown of voting irregularities in swing states that Mr. Biden claimed by narrow margins. The Trump speech occurred not long before a relatively small group of protesters breached the U.S. Capitol building in an apparent attempt to stop the counting and certification of electoral votes. Congressional Democrats, joined by a handful of Republicans, later alleged — in an article of impeachment — that Mr. Trump used his address to incite the crowd to "interfere with [Congress’s] solemn constitutional duty to certify the results of the 2020 Presidential election." This week's podcast features Mr. Trump's speech in full.  A transcript of his remarks is at https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/donald-trump-speech-save-america-rally-transcript-january-6 If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

President Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural address, considered by many historians to be one of the best inaugural speeches in U.S. history, came five weeks before the end of the U.S. Civil War and six weeks before Mr. Lincoln was assassinated. Portions of this address are etched in stone in the Lincoln Memorial. The recording used on this podcast, by Lincoln impersonator Walter Trumbull, attempts to re-create what the speech likely would have sounded like, as Mr. Lincoln spoke to a large outdoor crowd without amplification. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Our most-listened-to podcast of 2020 featured this address by President Donald Trump, delivered at South Dakota's 2020 Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration on the eve of Independence Day. Mr. Trump honored the four presidents whose images are presented on Mount Rushmore: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. Citing the "radical ideology attacking our country," he said "the United States of America is the most just and exceptional nation ever to exist on Earth.... [O]ur country was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, and...these values have dramatically advanced the cause of peace and justice throughout the world." A transcript of Mr. Trump's remarks is at www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-south-dakotas-2020-mount-rushmore-fireworks-celebration-keystone-south-dakota/ If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Our second most-listened-to podcast of 2020 featured a graduation speech by Antonin Scalia, a member of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1986 until his death in 2016. This 2015 address, presented at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, Md., pokes fun at the platitudes often offered in graduation speeches, such as "follow your star" and "never compromise your principles." Justice Scalia's remarks have been abridged slightly for this podcast. A transcript of this address, under the title "Platitudes and Wisdom," is included in the 2017 book, Scalia Speaks: Reflections on Law, Faith, and Life Well Lived (Crown Forum). If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Our third most-listened-to podcast of 2020 featured British-born philosopher Roger Scruton, once hailed as “the most influential conservative thinker since Edmund Burke.” Mr. Scruton died Jan. 12, 2020, at the age of 75. His books include The Meaning of Conservatism (1980, 2001), An Intelligent Person's Guide to Modern Culture (1998, 2005), and The West and the Rest: Globalization and the Terrorist Threat (2002). Roger Scruton delivered this address at a lecture-and-discussion event titled "Beauty in a World of Ugliness" held at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. The October 2018 event was sponsored by the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project.  His remarks have been abridged slightly for this podcast. Have a comment or a suggestion about the Notable Speeches podcast? Email [email protected].

Our fourth most-listened-to podcast of 2020 featured a 1981 graduation speech by President Ronald Reagan. On May 17, 1981, just six weeks after being shot and wounded by a would-be assassin, President Reagan delivered the commencement address at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. "[I hope] that you will always be able to speak of an America that is strong and free," he told the graduates, "to find in your hearts an unbounded pride in this much-loved country, this once and future land, this bright and hopeful nation whose generous spirit and great ideals the world still honors." You can read the full text of Mr. Reagan's remarks at https://ovalpike.com/text-ronald-reagans-notre-dame-commencement-address-from-1981/. If you have a comment or question, email [email protected].

This was our 5th most-listened-to podcast of 2020 — a speech by then-Attorney General Bill Barr. The Chinese Communist Party "seeks to...overthrow the rules-based international system and to make the world safe for dictatorship," he warned in an address delivered July 16, 2020. "How the United States responds to this challenge...will determine whether the United States and its liberal democratic allies will continue to shape their own destiny or whether the CCP and its autocratic tributaries will control the future," he said. Mr. Barr spoke at Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Mich. A transcript of his address (as prepared for delivery) is at https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-william-p-barr-delivers-remarks-china-policy-gerald-r-ford-presidential His remarks were abridged slightly for this podcast.

For more than half a century, Paul Harvey was one of America's most popular radio personalities.  Millions of listeners tuned in for his daily mid-day broadcast via ABC Radio, Paul Harvey News and Comment. On his Christmas program each year, Paul Harvey re-told a modern-day parable, "The Man and the Birds." This episode features his re-telling from Dec. 25, 2004.  If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected]. Merry Christmas!

This episode features an address by Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn (Ret.), recently pardoned by President Donald Trump.  Gen. Flynn served briefly as Mr. Trump's National Security Adviser in 2017. He resigned in the wake of allegations that he had held unlawful policy-related discussions with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. during the presidential transition in late 2016.  In this address, at a Dec. 12, 2020, rally in Washington, D.C., Gen. Flynn said the U.S. faces "a historic constitutional crisis" in the wake of voting irregularities in the 2020 general election. "Our rule of law is at risk," he said. During his military career, Gen. Flynn earned the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Bronze Star Medal, and Legion of Merit. He holds an MBA in Telecommunications, as well as graduate degrees in Military Art and Science (U.S. Army Command and General Staff College), and National Security and Strategic Studies (Naval War College). The D.C. rally was sponsored by the group Jericho March. According to the group's website, the mission of Jericho March is "to call upon people of faith to prayer, fasting, and peaceful protest in the service of God, and in defense of life, liberty, and justice."  If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Walter Hooper, an American who spent his life helping preserve and promote the literary legacy of British writer C.S. Lewis, died Dec. 7, 2020, at age 89. In this address from 2007, Mr. Hooper talks about how he met C.S. Lewis and eventually came to manage the writer's literary estate following Lewis's death in 1963. Walter Hooper went on to edit many collections of C.S. Lewis's essays, poems, and letters, and he worked to keep Lewis's writings in print. In 1997, Christianity Today wrote that "Hooper's knowledge of Lewis's writings (both published and unpublished) is unsurpassed."  Mr. Hooper presented this address at a conference sponsored by Southeastern Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C. The audio has been condensed for this podcast. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

In this Nov. 12, 2020, address, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito said "the COVID crisis has highlighted constitutional fault lines."  Speaking to a virtual gathering of the Federalist Society's annual National Lawyers Convention, he reflected on "emerging trends in the assessment of individual rights." In particular, he spoke of a "growing hostility" to First Amendment guarantees of religious liberty and freedom of speech.  Samuel Alito has served on the Supreme Court since 2006. Before that, he was a judge on the U-S Third Circuit Court of Appeals. He also has served as the United States Attorney for New Jersey. Justice Alito's remarks have been condensed for this podcast. A transcript of his full address is at https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/samuelalitofederalistsociety.htm Have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast? Email [email protected].

Influential author, philosopher, theologian, Jonathan Sacks died November 7, 2020, at age 72. Baron Sacks, a member of the British House of Lords, served as the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom (United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth) from 1991-2013. He held degrees from the University of Cambridge and The University of London (King's College). His books include The Politics of Hope (2000) and Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times (2020). In 2016, the John Templeton Foundation awarded Rabbi Sacks the prestigious Templeton Prize for his "decades [of] bringing spiritual insight to the public conversation through mass media, popular lectures, and more than two dozen books." Rabbi Sacks presented this address on May 26th, 2016, on the occasion of receiving the Templeton Prize. The audio has been abridged slightly for this podcast. The full text of his remarks (as prepared for delivery) is at https://rabbisacks.org/danger-outsourcing-morality-read-rabbi-sacks-speech-accepting-templeton-prize/ Have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast? Email [email protected].

In an October 19 speech at Michigan's Hillsdale College, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos urged returning K-12 educational decisions to parents and families via school choice and other initiatives.  "We want parents to have the freedom, the choices, and the funds to make the best decisions for their children," she said. "We must...reorder everything about education around what the family wants and what the family needs." Besty DeVos has served as U.S. Education Secretary since early 2017. The audio of her address has been abridged slightly for this podcast. The full text of her remarks (as prepared for delivery) is at https://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/prepared-remarks-secretary-devos-hillsdale-college Have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast? Email [email protected].

Was it an abuse of presidential power for Donald Trump to ask the president of Ukraine to "look into" potential corruption involving Hunter Biden and Ukrainian oil company Burisma? That was the key issue in President Trump's impeachment trial earlier this year. Burisma hired Hunter Biden to serve on its board in 2014, while his father — Joe Biden — was vice president of the United States and tasked with overseeing U.S. policy toward Ukraine. Speaking in defense of Mr. Trump at the January impeachment trial, attorney Pam Bondi noted that multiple news organizations, including The New York Times and ABC News, had raised conflict-of-interest questions related to Biden/Burisma arrangement. She also pointed out that Burisma was the target of multiple investigations, including by the UK's Serious Fraud Office, during the time Hunter Biden was on the board. Ms. Bondi spoke in the U.S. Senate chamber on Jan. 27, 2020. The audio has been abridged slightly for this podcast. Before serving on the White House legal team for the impeachment trial, Pam Bondi was the attorney general of Florida. 

During the Senate Judiciary Committee's confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) presented a "civics lesson."  "[Somewhere along the way,] we decided to forget what civics are and allow politics to swallow everything," Sasse said in his opening statement. He noted that Democrats on the committee were focusing on political matters unrelated to the confirmation process. "Huge parts of what we're doing in this hearing would be really confusing to eighth-graders [in civics classes].... So, I think it would be very useful for us to do our civic duty to eighth-graders to help them realize why Judge Barrett is sitting before us today and what the job is she’s being evaluated for." Before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2014, Ben Sasse served as the president of Midland University in Fremont, Neb. He holds degrees in government and American history. You can read a partial transcript of his October 12 remarks at https://www.bostonherald.com/2020/10/14/sasse-gives-senate-civics-lesson-during-high-court-hearing/ Have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast? Email [email protected].

On Oct. 13, 2016, weeks before scoring one of the biggest political upsets in U.S. history, Donald J. Trump delivered a "closing argument" speech before an enthusiastic crowd in West Palm Beach, Fla. The Republican nominee pledged that, if elected, he would work to "remove from our politics the special interests who have betrayed our workers, our borders, our freedoms, and our sovereign rights as a nation." He also decried what he called a "campaign of destruction" being waged by his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, and he took aim The New York Times and other "media enablers" who "[do] not even attempt to confirm the most basic facts." "Join me in taking back our country," he urged voters. "We will make America great again."  On Election Day, Donald Trump was elected the 45th president of the United States, winning 30 states and earning 306 electoral votes.  This speech has been abridged slightly for this podcast. The text of Mr. Trump's remarks (as prepared for delivery) is available at https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-south-florida-fair-expo-center-west-palm-beach-florida Have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast? Email [email protected].

In this address, the U.S. Secretary of State calls on Catholic leaders, as well as other religious leaders, to exercise a "bold moral witness" against religious persecution — especially persecution in China. The secretary spoke at a symposium titled "Advancing and Defending International Religious Freedom through Diplomacy," sponsored by the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See. That event was held in Rome on Sept. 30, 2020. Earlier in September, Mr. Pompeo wrote an article for the religious magazine First Things in which he argued that the Vatican would endanger its moral authority if it renews a cooperation deal with Beijing signed in 2018. The deal is set to expire later this year. "The Church’s hope was that it would improve the condition of Catholics in China by reaching agreement with the Chinese regime on the appointment of bishops," Mr. Pompeo wrote. "Two years on, it’s clear that the Sino-Vatican agreement has not shielded Catholics from the [Communist] Party's depredations, to say nothing of the Party's horrific treatment of...other religious believers." Secretary Pompeo's address has been condensed slightly for this podcast. A transcript his full remarks is at https://www.state.gov/moral-witness-and-religious-freedom/ Have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast? Email [email protected].

The late Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson (a former U.S. Attorney General) once said,  "The prosecutor has more control over life, liberty, and reputation than any other person in America." In this address, current Attorney General Bill Barr argues that career federal prosecutors must not only be committed to even-handed justice, but they also must be accountable to the attorney general, the president, and ultimately to the voters. He spoke at a Constitution Day event, on Sept. 16, 2020, at the Hillsdale College Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship in Washington, D.C. For a text of this address (as prepared for delivery), go to https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/remarks-attorney-general-william-p-barr-hillsdale-college-constitution-day-event Mr. Barr's remarks have been condensed slightly for this podcast. Have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast? Email [email protected].

The battle against "political correctness" isn't new. In this 1999 address presented at Harvard Law School, actor and social activist Charlton Heston decried political correctness as a kind of "cultural war...in which, with Orwellian fervor, certain accepted thoughts and speech are mandated." He called on his audience to not "let America's universities continue to serve as incubators for this rampant epidemic of new McCarthyism." Mr. Heston also criticized the media company Time/Warner for its role in selling and promoting a recording titled "Cop Killer," which celebrated the ambushing and of murdering police officers. Charlton Heston appeared in nearly 100 films over the course of a 60-year career. In 1959, he won the Academy Award for best actor for his performance in Ben-Hur. From 1998 to 2003, he served as president of the National Rifle Association. Charlton Heston died in 2008 at age 84. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Many Americans think the American Civil War was solely about slavery, but the cultural, political, and economic dynamics leading to war were multi-faceted. In this address, Donald Livingston, founder of the Abbeville Institute, argues that the historical record undercuts oversimplified explanations and common mischaracterizations.  Mr. Livingston also speculates that slavery in the Confederate states likely would have ended even if the South had won the war and become an independent nation. Donald Livingston is the editor of Rethinking the American Union for the Twenty-First Century (Pelican Publishing Company, 2012). He is a Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Atlanta's Emory University. The Abbeville Institute is an organization of scholars that seeks to "preserve and present what is truly valuable in the Southern tradition."  Mr. Livingston's remarks, condensed for this podcast, were recorded at an Abbeville Institute gathering for graduate students in 2015. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Voddie Baucham, a native of Los Angeles, is a former pastor and church planter who is now Dean of Theology at African Christian University in Lusaka, Zambia. In this address, he warns of a "cultural Marxism" that is driving America by dividing people by race and other forms of identity.  While acknowledging the deleterious impact of multi-generational national sins, Mr. Baucham argues that racial resentments can be overcome through the grace of God. His remarks, recorded at a Founders Ministries conference in 2019, have been condensed for this podcast. Voddie Baucham's books include The Ever-Loving Truth: Can Faith Thrive in a Post-Christian Culture? (B&H Books, 2004) and Expository Apologetics: Answering Objections with the Power of the Word (Crossway, 2015). Have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast? Email [email protected].

In a Senate Floor address on July 30, 2020, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said he would not support any Supreme Court nominee who hasn't explicitly acknowledged that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided. "How long before we ask our nominees to the Supreme Court of the United States to recognize Roe as the outrage that it is?" he said. "Roe is an illegitimate decision. It has no basis in the Constitution. None. It has no basis in the law." A transcript of Sen. Hawley's remarks is at https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2020/07/69236/ If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

The Chinese Communist Party "seeks to...overthrow the rules-based international system and to make the world safe for dictatorship," U.S. Attorney General William Barr warned in this address delivered July 16, 2020. "How the United States responds to this challenge...will determine whether the United States and its liberal democratic allies will continue to shape their own destiny or whether the CCP and its autocratic tributaries will control the future," he said. Mr. Barr spoke at Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Mich. A transcript of his address (as prepared for delivery) is at https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-william-p-barr-delivers-remarks-china-policy-gerald-r-ford-presidential His remarks have been abridged slightly for this podcast.

This bonus episode features an address by President Donald Trump at South Dakota's 2020 Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration. Mr. Trump honored the four presidents whose images are presented on Mount Rushmore: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. Citing the "radical ideology attacking our country," he said "the United States of America is the most just and exceptional nation ever to exist on Earth.... [O]ur country was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, and...these values have dramatically advanced the cause of peace and justice throughout the world." A transcript of President Trump's remarks is at www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-south-dakotas-2020-mount-rushmore-fireworks-celebration-keystone-south-dakota/

One day after the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its controversial decision in the case of Bostock v. Clayton County (and companion cases Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. EEOC and Altitude Express, Inc. v. Zarda), Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) denounced the decision during a speech on the Senate floor. "If you can invoke textualism and originalism in order to reach such a decision...then textualism and originalism and all of those phrases don’t mean much," he said. "[This is] exactly the opposite of what we [legal conservatives] thought we were fighting for."  A transcript of Sen. Hawley's June 16 remarks is at https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2020/06/65043/ If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

In the wake of protests that swept the nation following the death of George Floyd during an arrest in Minneapolis, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) delivered this speech on the Senate floor. "Until we heal this divide, we will never, ever have the kind of society we want," Mr. Rubio warned. "The only way forward is to treat each other with the empathy and respect required of a people who have decided to share a nation — and a future." A transcript of his remarks is at https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2020/06/64688/ If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

On May 17, 1981, just six weeks after being shot and wounded by a would-be assassin, President Ronald Reagan delivered the commencement address at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. "[I hope] that you will always be able to speak of an America that is strong and free," he told the graduates, "to find in your hearts an unbounded pride in this much-loved country, this once and future land, this bright and hopeful nation whose generous spirit and great ideals the world still honors." You can read the full text of Mr. Reagan's remarks at https://ovalpike.com/text-ronald-reagans-notre-dame-commencement-address-from-1981/. The Notable Speeches podcast will be on hiatus for the next several weeks. During that time, we hope you will listen to any episodes you've missed. If you have a comment or question, email [email protected].

Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington delivered this brief speech in May 2015 at Dillard University in New Orleans.  Mr. Washington, a native of Mount Vernon, New York, holds a degree in theater (1977) from Fordham University in New York City. He also studied at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. Denzel Washington won Oscars for his performances in Glory (Best Supporting Actor – 1989) and Training Day (Best Actor – 2001). His remarks have been abridged slightly for this podcast. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Peggy Noonan, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and former presidential speechwriter (for Ronald Reagan), presented this address one year ago at the University of Notre Dame near South Bend, Ind. She addressed the question, "How does conservatism find its best expression now, in the 21st century?"  Peggy Noonan's books include What I Saw at the Revolution: A Political Life in the Reagan Era (Random House 1990) and Patriotic Grace: What It Is and Why We Need It Now (Harper, 2008.) She has written a regular column for The Wall Street Journal since 2000. Her commencement address has been abridged slightly for this podcast. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Antonin Scalia served as an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1986 until his death in 2016. In this 2015 address, presented at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, Md., he poked gentle fun at the platitudes often offered in graduation speeches, such as "follow your star" and "never compromise your principles." Justice Scalia's remarks have been abridged slightly for this podcast. A transcript of this address, under the title "Platitudes and Wisdom," is included in the 2017 book, Scalia Speaks: Reflections on Law, Faith, and Life Well Lived (Crown Forum). If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Dr. Anthony Fauci, a lead member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a post he has held since 1984.  He has advised six U.S. presidents on domestic and international health-policy matters. Dr. Fauci presented this address in January 2017 at an event hosted by the Center for Global Health Science and Security in Washington, D.C. His remarks have been condensed for this podcast. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

This episode features an address by Ken Myers, host of the long-running Mars Hill Audio Journal, a bimonthly audio magazine that "encourag[es] conversations about faith, faithfulness, and culture." Mr. Myers is also the author of All God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes: Christians and Popular Culture (Crossway redesign edition, 2012). Earlier in his career, he was the arts and humanities editor for NPR's Morning Edition.  Ken Myers presented this address in April 2019 at a Christ and Culture lecture event sponsored by the Gospel Alliance of Maine. His remarks have been condensed for this podcast. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

In a Nov. 1, 2005, speech at the National Institutes of Health, President George W. Bush laid out a plan to prepare the U.S. for a possible pandemic.  The Bush strategy called for detecting outbreaks as early as possible anywhere in the world, stockpiling existing vaccines and antiviral drugs, speeding up the process of making new vaccines for a pandemic virus, and improving general readiness at the federal, state, and local levels. Although the preparedness plan never reached full fruition, elements of the Bush plan formed the foundation for the U.S. response to the current coronavirus pandemic. Mr. Bush's remarks have been condensed slightly for this podcast. A transcript of his complete address is online at georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/11/20051101-1.html. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Many churches will be empty this Easter, as the world continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. In this troubled time, this episode presents words of comfort and challenge from the One who rose from the grave on Easter: Jesus the Messiah. Actor Alexander Scourby (1913-1985) reads three chapters from the Gospel According to John. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Most people living today have never seen anything like the current coronavirus pandemic. But an even worse pandemic struck just over a century ago: the 1918 Spanish Flu. It claimed an estimated 50-to-100 million lives worldwide, including more than 600,000 in the U.S. Dr. Jeremy Brown is the author of Influenza: The Hundred Year Hunt to Cure the Deadliest Disease in History (Atria Books, 2018). He is also the director of Emergency Care Research at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. Dr. Brown presented this address at a March 2019 event hosted by the National Archives in Washington, D.C. His remarks have been condensed for this podcast. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Clive Staples Lewis, a professor of English literature at the UK's University of Oxford (and later at Cambridge University), became one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, with works ranging from fiction to philosophy to Christian apologetics. This radio address, presented on the BBC on March 21, 1944, later formed the basis for a chapter in his book, Mere Christianity, first published in 1952. C.S. Lewis died on Nov. 22, 1963, one week before his 65th birthday. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Attorney General Bill Barr presented this address in Nashville, Tenn., on Feb. 26, 2020, at the annual convention of National Religious Broadcasters. His remarks have been condensed slightly for this podcast. For a text of this address (as prepared for delivery), go to https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-william-p-barr-delivers-remarks-2020-national-religious-broadcasters Have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast? Email [email protected].

Marvin Olasky, editor in chief at WORLD News Group, is the author Reforming Journalism (P&R Publishing, 2019). He taught journalism at the University of Texas at Austin from 1983-2007 and later held the distinguished chair in journalism and public policy at Virginia's Patrick Henry College. His earlier books include The Tragedy of American Compassion (original edition 1992, republished in 2007) and Prodigal Press: Confronting the Anti-Christian Bias of the American News Media (2013), co-authored with Warren Cole Smith.  This address was presented on January 22, 2020, at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. It has been condensed slightly for this podcast. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Journalist/blogger Rod Dreher is the author of The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation (Sentinel, 2017).  He presented this address Feb. 4, 2020, at an event titled "God, Honor, Country: President Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II, and the Freedom of Nations — A National Conservatism Conference." The conference, sponsored by conservative groups from Hungary, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the U.S., was held in Rome, Italy. Mr. Dreher's remarks have been abridged slightly for use on this podcast. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Arthur C. Brooks, a Harvard University professor and president emeritus of the American Enterprise Institute, was the keynote speaker at this year's National Prayer Breakfast, held February 6 in Washington, D.C. The breakfast is an annual event, attended more than 3,000 leaders from the U.S. and around the world. Mr. Brooks is the author of 11 books, including Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt (Broadside Books, 2019) and The Conservative Heart: How to Build a Fairer, Happier, and More Prosperous America (Broadside Books, 2015). Earlier in his career, Arthur Brooks was a professional musician, playing french horn with the Annapolis Brass Quintet in Maryland and the City Orchestra of Barcelona in Spain. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

The United Methodist Church, America's second-largest Protestant denomination, seems likely to split this year — a decision to be voted on at the denomination's General Conference this spring. One prominent plan would divide the UMC into at least two denominations — one adhering to historic Christian teaching, the other taking a "progressive" doctrinal stance. In this address, Professor William J. "Billy" Abraham, a proponent of "traditional" Methodist theology, says United Methodists face "a stark and inescapable choice" about the future of the Methodist movement. Dr. Abraham teaches at Southern Methodist University's Perkins School of the Theology, where he is the Albert Cook Outler Professor of Wesley Studies. His most recent book is Methodism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2019). This address was recorded at the November 2019 gathering of the Wesleyan Covenant Association in Tulsa, Okla. It has been abridged slightly for use on this podcast. A magazine article adapted from Dr. Abraham's address is available here. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

One day after this year's March for Life in Washington, D.C., Heritage Foundation president Kay Coles James spoke to about 3,000 pro-life activists gathered for the National Pro-Life Summit. Before becoming the president of Heritage in 2018, Kay Coles James served as the director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (2001-2005) and as dean of the Roberston School of Government at Virginia's Regent University (1996-1999). She is the founder of The Gloucester Institute, an organization that offers leadership training programs for African-American college students. This address, recorded January 25, has been abridged slightly for use on this podcast. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

On Jan. 23, 2020, dozens of world leaders gathered in Jerusalem to commemorate the Holocaust, the genocide of European Jews during World War II.  The Forum coincided with the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.  The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, claimed an estimated six million lives,  This edition of Notable Speeches features the World Holocaust Forum address presented by Charles, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne.  You can read the official transcript of his remarks here. Others in attendance included Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, and about 100 Holocaust survivors. If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

British-born philosopher Roger Scruton, once hailed as “the most influential conservative thinker since Edmund Burke,” died Jan. 12, 2020, at the age of 75. His books include The Meaning of Conservatism (1980, 2001), An Intelligent Person's Guide to Modern Culture (1998, 2005), and The West and the Rest: Globalization and the Terrorist Threat (2002). Mr. Scruton delivered this address at a lecture-and-discussion event titled "Beauty in a World of Ugliness" held at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. The October 2018 event was sponsored by the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project.  His remarks have been abridged slightly for this podcast. Have a comment or a suggestion about the Notable Speeches podcast? Email [email protected].

Hadley Arkes, the founder of the James Wilson Institute on Natural Rights and the American Founding, was the architect of the Born-Alive Infants’ Protection Act, signed into law in 2002.  A follow-up bill, known as the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, passed the House in 2018 but was not taken up in the Senate during that session of Congress. Mr. Arkes is a professor emeritus at Amherst College and the author of Natural Rights and the Right to Choose (2002) and Constitutional Illusions and Anchoring Truths: The Touchstone of the Natural Law (2010), both published by Cambridge University Press. This address was recorded at a November 2019 event hosted by the American Principles Project Foundation. It has been abridged slightly for this podcast. Comments or suggestions about the Notable Speeches podcast? Email [email protected]

Historian Gertrude Himmelfarb passed away Dec. 30, 2019, at age 97.  In an editorial tribute, The Wall Street Journal wrote that she was "known for rigorous scholarship, brilliant essays, and her forceful defense of morality in democratic politics,"  Her books include Poverty and Compassion: The Moral Imagination of the Late Victorians (Knopf, 1991) and The De-Moralization of Society: From Victorian Virtues to Modern Values (Knopf, 1995). Gertrude Himmelfarb was born in 1922 in Brooklyn, New York. She went on to study at England's Cambridge University and New York's Jewish Theological Seminary before earning her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1950. Himmelfarb (also known as Bea Kristol) was married to the influential editor and essayist Irving Kristol from 1942 until his death in 2009. The address was recorded in March 1996 at Ashland University in Ohio. It has been condensed slightly for this podcast. Comments or suggestions about the Notable Speeches podcast? Email [email protected]

New York Times columnist Ross Douthat is the author of Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics (Free Press, 2012) and The Decadent Society: How We Became the Victims of Our Own Success (Simon & Schuster, 2020). He presented this address in September 2019 as part of the Archdiocese of Denver's Saint John Paul II Lecture Series, "a quarterly event which features intellectually stimulating talks," according to the Archdiocese's website. Mr. Douthat's remarks have been abridged slightly for this podcast. Comments or suggestions about the Notable Speeches podcast? Email [email protected]

Patrick Trueman led the U.S. Justice Department's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Criminal Division, from 1988 to 1993. Today, he serves as president and CEO of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, an organization that seeks to "expos[e] the links between all forms of sexual exploitation — such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health crisis of pornography." The Center's website is endsexualexploitation.org Mr. Trueman's remarks, abridged slightly for this podcast, were recorded at a February 2019 conference titled "Pornography: The New Drug," hosted by Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash.  The conference was sponsored by the Catholic Medical Association.  Comments or suggestions about the Notable Speeches podcast? Email [email protected]

In this Oval Office address from Dec. 23, 1981, President Reagan speaks about  the "sense of wonder" that is renewed when "recalling the story of the first Christmas in Bethlehem nearly two thousand years ago." He also decries the Polish government's recent martial-law crackdown on political opponents, including leaders of the trade union Solidarity. He warns Polish leaders and "their totalitarian allies" that they "should prepare themselves for serious consequences." A transcript of Mr. Reagan's remarks is available at https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/research/speeches/122381e

In this episode, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) describes the "breakdown of community" in the USA and the corresponding "rise of a new oligarchy of wealth and education." He argues that the nation's cultural moment requires "a new politics of family and neighborhood...of love and belonging...[and] of home." Sen. Hawley, the U.S. Senate's youngest member, presented this speech on Nov. 19, 2019, at the 6th Annual Gala hosted by the American Principles Project Foundation. The full text of his remarks (as prepared for delivery) is available at https://www.hawley.senate.gov/senator-josh-hawleys-speech-6th-annual-american-principles-project-gala Have comments or suggestions about the Notable Speeches podcast? Email [email protected]

This speech by U.S. Attorney General William Barr was presented Oct. 11, 2019, at the University of Notre Dame Law School in Indiana. In his remarks, Mr. Barr criticized "militant secularists” who are "not content to leave religious people alone to practice their faith." Instead, "they seem to take delight in compelling people to violate their conscience,” he said. The full text of the attorney general's speech (as prepared for delivery) is available at https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-william-p-barr-delivers-remarks-law-school-and-de-nicola-center-ethics Comments or suggestions about the Notable Speeches podcast? Email [email protected]

On Nov. 5, 2019, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) delivered his address, “Catholic Social Doctrine and the Dignity of Work” to students at the Busch School of Business in Washington, D.C., part of the Catholic University of America.   The text of his remarks (as prepared for delivery) is available at https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/6d09ae19-8df3-4755-b301-795154a68c59/C58480B07D02452574C5DB8D603803EF.final---cua-speech-11.5.19.pdf Comments or suggestions about the Notable Speeches podcast? Email [email protected]

A short (45 seconds!) introduction to the forthcoming Notable Speeches podcast. Subscribe via your favorite podcast app — search "Notable Speeches." Comments or suggestions? Email [email protected]