Politics with Paul

Approachable, nonpartisan, and nonideological analysis of various political topics by nonpartisan political analyst, writer, researcher, and speaker Paul Rader.

Connecting Historical Thinkers to the Present w/ Crom Carmichael | Politics with Paul #65

E66 • Nov 4, 2025 • 80 mins

Although it sounds cliché, it is true that those who do not know history are condemned to repeat the mistakes of the past. But it is also important to look at the positive contributions to history, especially from classic political thinkers. Here to talk about those historical contributions is Crom Carmichael, co-founder of the Giants of Political Thought audio program series. Included in our discussion are the positive historical lessons and thinkers we can look to for guidance in the face of political challenges, why those lessons are still relevant today, and how to apply those lessons.

Key Points

The importance of understanding historical political thought lies in its continued relevance to today's political and economic challenges.
While many people feel that historical thinkers' philosophies are irrelevant, boring, illegitimate, outdated, etc., there are still plenty of interesting, relevant, and timeless lessons they have for today's issues.
Effective political education should include the context of historical thinkers' lives and the circumstances that shaped their ideas to make the material more accessible and engaging.

Crom's Links:

Giants of Political Thought: https://giantsofpoliticalthought.com/
From Our Generation Podcast: https://fromourgeneration.com/
Personal website: https://cromcarmichael.com/

My links:

Download my FREE 5-day educational email course on how to fight polarization: https://detoxifyamericanpolitics.com/
Buy my book on Amazon (ebook and paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Independents-Rarely-Win-Elections-ebook/dp/B09K8PYM5J/
My website: https://paulrader.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/
Medium: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/
Email: [email protected]

Speakers

Paul Rader

Host • 25%

Crom Carmichael

Guest • 75%

Chapters

0:00	Introduction to History's Connection to Today, Crom Carmichael
1:40	The Origins of Crom's Interest in Historical Thinkers
6:26	The Creation of Giants of Political Thought
14:03	Making Historical Thinkers Understandable for the Public Today
22:19	How to More Effectively Teach About These Historical Thinkers
31:19	How These Historical Figures are Interesting and Relevant to Today
37:52	The Importance of Having the Same Rules for Everyone in Politics
41:20	How the Classic Thinkers Peer Into Human Nature
46:53	Who Does Crom Want to Add to Giants of Political Thought?
55:24	The Importance of Studying Historical Collapses, Opinions on Their Causes
1:02:02	Should Politicians Make Campaign Promises and When?
1:09:46	What Thinkers Can We Look to for How to Overcome Polarization?
1:15:28	New chapter: Food Ingredients You Can't Stand
1:19:26	Closing and Our Media Links

Transcript

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