Ep. 072: Hitchhiker’s Guide to Rural America

This episode of Forgotten America opens with a brief walk down memory lane. Garrett shares how he first met Dr. Thompson at his Moral Foundations of Capitalism seminar at Clemson University. Dr. Thompson’s lecture was a catalyst moment for Garrett that led him down a career path that brought him home to run the Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy, a free market think tank. Dr. Bradley Thompson was born in Canada, but he considered himself an American born in the wrong country from a young age. He tells the story of how hitchhiking through the United States was a formative experience for him and explains that he chose to explore rural America this way for two reasons: to discover America and to discover himself. This episode of the Forgotten America podcast explores the origins of Dr. Thompson’s Substack entitled Redneck Intellectual, how COVID impacted a generation of young men and women, what makes classical education unique, and the importance of fatherhood. If you enjoy thinking about the big questions of life, this episode is one that you won’t want to miss. The Well Trained Mind (online resource) https://welltrainedmind.com/ The Well Trained Mind: The Essential Edition (book) C. Bradley Thompson, Professor at Clemson University and Executive Director for the Clemson Institute for the Study of Capitalism https://www.clemson.edu/centers-institutes/capitalism/cisc/bradley-thompson.html Dr. Thompson’s website: https://cbradleythompson.com/ The American Mountain People: National Geographic https://www.amazon.com/American-Mountain-National-Geographic-Society/dp/B00PAC6LMY The How and Why Book of the American Revolution https://www.amazon.com/How-Book-American-Revolution-Wonder/dp/B000BOZY3I The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fountainhead Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand https://aynrand.org/novels/atlas-shrugged/ Fathers and Sons, American Style https://cbradleythompson.com/fathers-and-sons-american-style/ LocoFoco Press https://cbradleythompson.substack.com/p/announcement-from-the-redneck-intellectual Twitter: @CBradleyThomps1   Garrett Ballengee, Host President & CEO - @gballeng Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy   Amanda Kieffer, Executive Producer Vice President of Communications & Strategy - @akieffer13  Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy   Nate Phipps, Editor & Producer Communications & Social Media Associate - @Aviv5753 Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy   Follow: YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram Support: Patreon, Donate, Newsletter