Host [Host Name] discusses the evolution of ReImagining Liberty and introduces the upcoming podcast, The Inner Life of Liberalism.
18 Mar 2026
098: The Practice and Inner Life of Liberalism (w/ Jason Canon)
It’s been a hot minute since the last episode. So let me start by telling you what’s been going on, because it actually tees up today’s conversation. The short version is, I’ve been neck deep in getting a very cool new project ready for launch. It’s called Liberalism.org (https://Liberalism.org) and is an online magazine of liberal ideas, which I’m leading in collaboration with my colleagues at the Institute for Humane Studies. It launched on March 12.
As part of this project, I’m hosting a new bi-weekly podcast called The (https://pod.link/aHR0cHM6Ly9hcGkucml2ZXJzaWRlLmZtL2hvc3RpbmcvdDRoeDlyNkIucnNz)Liberalism.org (https://Liberalism.org) Show (https://pod.link/aHR0cHM6Ly9hcGkucml2ZXJzaWRlLmZtL2hvc3RpbmcvdDRoeDlyNkIucnNz). It’ll be half hour interviews with contributors to the site, which means interviews with some of the most interesting minds in liberalism today. You can look for that wherever you get your podcasts. (https://pod.link/aHR0cHM6Ly9hcGkucml2ZXJzaWRlLmZtL2hvc3RpbmcvdDRoeDlyNkIucnNz)
All of this just swamped me, and I had to take a step back from ReImagining Liberty. I’m glad you stuck around through the hiatus.
And to bring us back, I’m actually joined today by one of those colleagues on Liberalism.org (https://Liberalism.org), Jason Canon. He’s Director of Public Scholarship at the Institute for Humane Studies, and for at least the last year, he and I have been talking non-stop about a shared intellectual project about what it means to think of liberalism as a practice. Or a set of practices. You’ve heard me discuss versions of this in quite a lot of prior episodes, but today I wanted to bring Jason on for a deep dive, and to establish a foundation for future conversations.
We talk about what it means to view something as a practice, how practice theory plugs holes in liberal theorizing, why this approach is largely overlooked by contemporary philosophers of liberalism, and what that oversight means missing out on. I loved this conversation with Jason.
Join the ReImagining Liberty (https://www.patreon.com/AaronRossPowell) Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/AaronRossPowell) to get episodes a week early, listen ad-free, and become part of the Discord community. Learn more here: https://www.patreon.com/AaronRossPowell (https://www.patreon.com/AaronRossPowell)
Produced by (https://landryayres.com/?_bhlid=04c818b8847197e37f2ef125d751d30bc9dc7f56)Landry Ayres (https://landryayres.com/?_bhlid=04c818b8847197e37f2ef125d751d30bc9dc7f56) (https://landryayres.com/?_bhlid=04c818b8847197e37f2ef125d751d30bc9dc7f56). Podcast art by (https://www.instagram.com/sergiormduarte/?_bhlid=ea08418d67d4b92e13ee8001fe4b235ec55588ac&hl=en)Sergio R. M. Duarte (https://www.instagram.com/sergiormduarte/?_bhlid=ea08418d67d4b92e13ee8001fe4b235ec55588ac&hl=en) (https://www.instagram.com/sergiormduarte/?_bhlid=ea08418d67d4b92e13ee8001fe4b235ec55588ac&hl=en). Music by (https://filmmusic.io/song/3755-finding-the-balance?_bhlid=5fe910376c6711c1d790bea1e179ed78d36ca99c)Kevin MacLeod (https://filmmusic.io/song/3755-finding-the-balance?_bhlid=5fe910376c6711c1d790bea1e179ed78d36ca99c) (https://filmmusic.io/song/3755-finding-the-balance?_bhlid=5fe910376c6711c1d790bea1e179ed78d36ca99c).
11 Mar 2026
[PREVIEW] Early Access 098: The Practice and Inner Life of Liberalism (w/ Jason Canon)
It’s been a hot minute since the last episode. So let me start by telling you what’s been going on, because it actually tees up today’s conversation. The short version is, I’ve been neck deep in getting a very cool new project ready for launch. It’s called Liberalism.org (https://Liberalism.org) and is an online magazine of liberal ideas, which I’m leading in collaboration with my colleagues at the Institute for Humane Studies. Depending on when you’re listening to this, it might already have launched, because it’s scheduled to go live on March 12th. Regardless, you can get on the mailing list by heading to Liberalism.org (https://Liberalism.org).
As part of this project, I’m hosting a new bi-weekly podcast called The Liberalism.org Show (https://pod.link/aHR0cHM6Ly9hcGkucml2ZXJzaWRlLmZtL2hvc3RpbmcvdDRoeDlyNkIucnNz). It’ll be half hour interviews with contributors to the site, which means interviews with some of the most interesting minds in liberalism today. You can look for that wherever you get your podcasts. (https://pod.link/aHR0cHM6Ly9hcGkucml2ZXJzaWRlLmZtL2hvc3RpbmcvdDRoeDlyNkIucnNz)
All of this just swamped me, and I had to take a step back from ReImagining Liberty. I’m glad you stuck around through the hiatus.
And to bring us back, I’m actually joined today by one of those colleagues on Liberalism.org (https://Liberalism.org), Jason Canon. He’s Director of Public Scholarship at the Institute for Humane Studies, and for at least the last year, he and I have been talking non-stop about a shared intellectual project about what it means to think of liberalism as a practice. Or a set of practices. You’ve heard me discuss versions of this in quite a lot of prior episodes, but today I wanted to bring Jason on for a deep dive, and to establish a foundation for future conversations.
We talk about what it means to view something as a practice, how practice theory plugs holes in liberal theorizing, why this approach is largely overlooked by contemporary philosophers of liberalism, and what that oversight means missing out on. I loved this conversation with Jason.
Produced by (https://landryayres.com/?_bhlid=04c818b8847197e37f2ef125d751d30bc9dc7f56)Landry Ayres (https://landryayres.com/?_bhlid=04c818b8847197e37f2ef125d751d30bc9dc7f56) (https://landryayres.com/?_bhlid=04c818b8847197e37f2ef125d751d30bc9dc7f56). Podcast art by (https://www.instagram.com/sergiormduarte/?_bhlid=ea08418d67d4b92e13ee8001fe4b235ec55588ac&hl=en)Sergio R. M. Duarte (https://www.instagram.com/sergiormduarte/?_bhlid=ea08418d67d4b92e13ee8001fe4b235ec55588ac&hl=en) (https://www.instagram.com/sergiormduarte/?_bhlid=ea08418d67d4b92e13ee8001fe4b235ec55588ac&hl=en). Music by (https://filmmusic.io/song/3755-finding-the-balance?_bhlid=5fe910376c6711c1d790bea1e179ed78d36ca99c)Kevin MacLeod (https://filmmusic.io/song/3755-finding-the-balance?_bhlid=5fe910376c6711c1d790bea1e179ed78d36ca99c) (https://filmmusic.io/song/3755-finding-the-balance?_bhlid=5fe910376c6711c1d790bea1e179ed78d36ca99c).
Inside a recent episode
099: An End and a Beginning
Published 19 May 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] I mean, we'll talk about all sorts of big and heady ideas and abstract things and principles and institutions and operate at that level. But we'll also operate very much at that level of what does it mean for you, the listener, but also for the two of us to... put into practice the practices that we will discuss. What are the ways that these things can improve our lives? What are the things that we're doing now? You mentioned social media is a good example of this, that turn out to be making us less happy, making us more enraged, pushing us away from a contented peacefulness. And so people we talk to on the show, people who are coming at it from that side as well, not just the grand political theory, high level, but the here's what we know about what leads to greater happiness, what different traditions, what different empirical research tell us, what those practices look like. […]
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