Matthew Continetti, author of The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism, joins prize-winning biographer Sam Tanenhaus to discuss Tanenhaus’s new book, Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America, and to trace American conservatism’s evolution from the Progressive Era, through the rise of William F. Buckley Jr., to today. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
This conversation was originally streamed live as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Hall program series on December 11th, 2025.
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Today’s episode was produced by Bill Pollock and Griffin Richie. It was recorded by Scott Bomboy and Greg Scheckler, and mixed by Bill Pollock. Research was provided by Griffin Richie, Anna Salvatore, Trey Sullivan, and Tristan Worsham.
Participants
Matthew Continetti is the director of domestic policy studies and the inaugural Patrick and Charlene Neal Chair in American Prosperity at the American Enterprise Institute, where his work is focused on American political thought and history, with a particular focus on the development of the Republican Party and the American conservative movement in the 20th century.
Sam Tanenhaus is the author of the national bestseller Whittaker Chambers: A Biography, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and a finalist for both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. His most recent book, Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America (2025), tells the full story of William F. Buckley, Jr. and his relevance with the modern conservative party. Tanenhaus is currently a contributing writer for the Washington Post.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.
Additional Resources
- Sam Tanenhaus, Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America (2025)
- Matthew Continetti, The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism (2022)
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