Madison's Notes has a new episode: "The Supernatural Public Square." Academics used to say that as science progressed, supernatural claims would disappear from society. However, certain maverick scholars today are arguing for the legitimate study of religious experiences. One of them is Dale Allison, a New Testament historian and Princeton Theological Seminary Professor (@ptseminary), who joins host @RyanShinkel in S6E8 to discuss modern religious experiences. Drawing on his book, Encountering Mystery (2022), they dig into events such as mystical encounters, responses to prayers, out-of-body & near-death experiences, and visions of angels and dead loved ones. Along the way, they also discuss David Hume, William James, and George Harrison, current research into psychedelics, Jesus Christ's post-mortem appearances, and the emerging study of supernatural phenomenon. Please like, subscribe, share, and enjoy!

In 2025, while the LA fires smouldered, David Lynch died. Countless people mourned a director who only made just ten movies and one TV series. Why? Because, says @JamesPoulos, his filmmaking offered a spiritual perspective for religious skeptics: "It’s very American to want to peek over the abyss & see what’s inside without getting any abyss on you. Instead, David Lynch showed that if you want to see, but not be touched by, the dark side, then you are spiritually kidding yourself." But could his ethos lead to a religious orientation? Listen to the full interview to find out.

Years ago a Marylin Manson music video showed riot cops dressed in pink & dancing in a big circle. It inspired the writer @JamesPoulos to posit a theory about the post-1990s American political regime which he dubbed, "The Pink Police State." Do we still live under one? How does his theory hold up now? Listen to his interview on Madison's Notes with host @RyanShinkel to find out:

Traveling to sustaining a human presence on the Moon is far easier than doing so on Mars. Yet for all that, could colonies on red planet be long-term safer for humankind than on the lunar surface? @JamesPoulos thinks so. Listen to his Madison's Notes interview to find out how.

Our Visiting and Postdoctoral Fellows had Tuesday Coffee this morning. They discussed @GregoryConti19's @Compact essay, "The AI Apocalypse Is Already Here," which made for a rich and wide-ranging talk. Please share and comment below.

Elites are now racing to control new technology. But for whoever emerges victorious, who is ruling them? The quest to rule technology, says @jamespoulos, leads to the question: "what is self-mastery?" "The minute you master yourself, you start asking if it’s really you that’s doing the mastering," he asks. "How do you find a kind of mastery that preserves the self without becoming a snake eating its own tail?" Listen to his Madison's Notes interview with host @RyanShinkel to find out:

Four big camps are fighting to control digital technology and American politics, says philosopher @JamesPoulos: • Vitalists who want to optimize the human body in reaction to technology like AI outperforming humans. • Rationalists who want to supervise and slow things like accelerating AI with proper safety regulations. • Post-rationalists who want to weaponize AI to implement a final purification of the social order. • Nihilists who believe AI will replace humanity, which is a good or bad thing depending on whom you ask. All these camps and cults are seeking mastery, but, says Poulos, what is mastery? How should we think about it? Listen to Madison's Notes with host @RyanShinkel to find out.

An American ship captain once bragged to Alexis de Tocqueville not only about how fast he could travel to Asia and back, but also how quickly he replaced his current ship with a better model. This story inspired Tocqueville to depict Americans' love of technology and the pride they take in it. But does his analysis have any lessons for how we should deal with technology today? Listen to Madison's Notes with guest @JamesPoulos to find out:

Digital technology has overthrown the dream of a politically united and economically integrated world. In reaction, civilizational states are on the rise in Russia, China, Turkey, and India. How should the U.S. respond with our own constitutional traditions? Listen to Madison's Notes with guest @jamespoulos and host @RyanShinkel to find out.

What is the digital catastrophe? On Madison's Notes, author @JamesPoulos explains why all of our elite political expectations were overturned by the modern technology designed to fulfill them. What are our ruling expectations now? Listen to his interview with host @RyanShinkel to find out:

Congratulations to Vincent Phillip Muñoz (@VPhillipMunoz) for receiving one of the 2026 Teaching Excellence Awards from the Jack Miller Center (@JackMillerCtr). As the Senior Scholar Winner, Phillip Muñoz is the Tocqueville Professor of Political Science and Concurrent Professor of Law at @NotreDame and founded the University's Center for Citizenship & Constitutional Government (@NDConStudies). He was also a 2008-2009 Visiting Fellow with the James Madison Program and is a cherished member of the James Madison Society. Well done, Professor! Please like, comment, and share with your friends.

The transcript for the episode, "How to Stay Human Forever," with guest @jamespoulos and host @RyanShinkel is now available on Madison's Footnotes.

As the first in our Spotlight Series highlighting our current Visiting and Postdoc Fellows, this week we introduce you to Reece Edmends, a 2026-27 Postdoctoral Research Associate. Reece explored Roman forts in England with his family as a kid, and his passion for ancient history led him to his current research in the politics and philosophy of ancient Rome. He is currently working on a monograph, "Augustan Liberty," exploring the meaning of 'liberation' during the reign of the emperor Augustus. Alongside that, he is studying how Cicero's natural-law republicanism was informed by the late Republic, and how the idea of sovereignty sprang up within medieval jurisprudence. After receiving his PhD in Classics at Princeton in 2026, Reece then served as a postdoc and lecturer in the Princeton Classics Department. On the personal side, he is soon to get married to his fiancée Claire, and aspires to take up golf.

Check out the latest Madison's Notes conversation with host @RyanShinkel interviewing the author, philosopher, and magazine editor @jamespoulos on "How to Stay Human Forever."

Madison's Notes has a new episode on "How To Stay Human Forever." With every new digital technology rolled out, many Americans face a greater sense of impending doom. But what if it has already happened? To talk about that digital catastrophe and America's religious and political future, in S6E7 host @RyanShinkel interviews the philosopher, author, and @frontier_mag_ editorial director @JamesPoulos. They discuss McLuhan & Baudrillard, Lincoln, civilizational states, crypto, AI, & digital sovereignty, effective altruists vs. vitalists vs. gnostics vs. post-humanists, the Pink Police State, Mars colonies, and David Lynch. Link is below. Please share and enjoy.

A driver's license often requires an eye exam. But should citizenship in a republic also require an "eyeball test"? @Princeton political philosopher Philip Pettit thinks so, but it's not what you might think. Freedom, he says, means non-domination, that anyone can look anyone else in the eye without fear or deference. But what happens when we don't look other in the eye because our eyes are glued to our phones? Could we still be called free? Listen to Pettit's full interview on Madison's Notes to find out: apple.co/4ye1QBt