Josh Bowman talks with Theodore Madrid, a Ph.D. candidate studying politics at Hillsdale College's Graduate School of Statesmanship. This episode begins a series interviewing our first ever cohort of conference fellows. Theodore is specifically a “Nisbet Fellow,” and our conversation ranges over the work of John Carroll, Montesquieu, Adam Smith, religious liberty, and the role of commercialism and republicanism at the American Founding. We also both mention, and strongly recommend, this related book: Our Dear-Bought Liberty: Catholics and Religious Toleration in Early America , by Michael D. Breidenbach. ( https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674247239 ) Visit our website to learn more about our conference fellowship program, and come back in Fall 2025 to learn how to apply for our 2026 cohort of conference fellows. https://ciceroniansociety.org/conference/conference-fellowships/ To learn more about us, our events, this Podcast, our journal, Pietas, to sign up for our newsletter, and make your tax deductible gift, please go to https://ciceroniansociety.org/ 0:00 Introduction 7:20 Dissertation on John Carroll 11:59 Research 16:36 Conference 19:46 Nisbet Fellowship 21:37 Paper 28:24 1st point Independence 33:57 2nd point Pluralism 38:33 3rd point Luxury 47:10 4th point Dependence 54:30 Fasting
