Share

cover art for How John Locke Influenced the Founding, and the Advice He’d Give America Today

The Daily Signal Podcast

How John Locke Influenced the Founding, and the Advice He’d Give America Today

Arguably no philosopher had a greater influence on America's founding than John Locke, says Joseph Loconte, director of the Center for American Studies at The Heritage Foundation. 

Locke’s ideas about property and freedom helped to shape America as the Founders drew on his ideas when they wrote the nation's founding documents. 

“[T]here was no philosopher who was quoted more often than John Locke by the American revolutionaries,” Loconte told “The Daily Signal Podcast.” 

An expert on Locke, Loconte is presenting a paper this week on the English philosopher and the biblical roots of American democracy at the virtual John Locke Conference in Naples, Italy. 

Loconte joins the show to discuss what advice Locke (1632-1704) would offer to America today and why the philosopher's writings remain so relevant to the American experiment.

We also discuss these stories:

  • The Biden administration rescinds former President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting the Chinese-owned apps TikTok and WeChat.
  • Former President Barack Obama praises his daughters, Malia and Sasha, for their social activism.
  • The New York Times comes under criticism after editorial board member Mara Gay tells MSNBC that seeing “dozens of American flags” on Long Island was “disturbing.” The newspaper insists she was "taken out of context."

Enjoy the show!

More episodes

View all episodes

  • Google Fires Employees Over Anti-Israel Protest, Trump Case Jury Selection Troubles, Issues Grow for Speaker Johnson | April 18

    16:56
    TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Google fires 28 employees who were involved in an anti-Israel protest. Jury selection continues in former President Donald Trump’s criminal case.Congress moves one step closer toward passing the TikTok bill.Challenges continue for House Speaker Mike Johnson. The Senate impeachment trial against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas ended before it began. Relevant Links: https://www.dailysignal.com/2024/04/17/import-a-new-electorate-congress-alarmed-by-flyers-in-mexico-urging-illegal-aliens-to-vote-biden/ Listen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda
  • What’s Riding on a Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Case Before Supreme Court? Legal Expert Explains

    16:10
    The Supreme Court will determine the fate of a major Jan. 6 Capitol riot-related case. The ruling could affect hundreds of people who were in the Capitol that day in 2021, and at the center of the case is the applicability of a federal statute. The Justice Department has been using a statute enacted in the early 2000s to prosecute those in the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The statute makes it a crime to “obstruct or impede or influence an official proceeding or attempt to do so,” according to Seth Lucas, a senior research associate with the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.)During oral arguments Tuesday, the justices appeared skeptical that the statute could be applied and used in the Jan. 6 cases the way it has been.“It was clear that enough justices were skeptical of the government's expansive reading of Section 1512(c) [of the statute in question] to make a reasonable guess that they're probably going to read the statute a little more narrowly,” Lucas said. Lucas joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain the details of the case and what the ruling will mean for those men and women who are facing charges for their actions on Jan. 6. Enjoy the show!
  • Speaker Johnson Backs Ukraine Aid Bill, House Holds Second Antisemitism Hearing, Lawmakers Respond to NGO Flyers Telling Illegal Aliens to Vote for Biden | April 17

    06:19
    TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down:·         Speaker Mike Johnson will back four foreign aid bills that includes nearly $100 billion in spending.·         The Columbia University president is grilled in a House hearing on antisemitism·         Lawmakers react to a Daily Signal story about an NGO distributing flyers urging illegal aliens to vote for Biden.·         NPR whistleblower quits after suspension. Relevant Links: https://www.dailysignal.com/2024/04/02/national-council-of-teachers-of-english-hosts-seminar-on-how-to-teach-gender-queer/  Listen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda
  • Stopping Illegal Aliens From Squatting in US Homes

    19:11
    A new bill in Congress would stop illegal aliens from squatting in U.S. homes. “We're trying to get out in front of it to protect American homeowners,” Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., says.Leonel Moreno, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, recently went viral on social media after a video post explaining how to take advantage of squatting laws in the U.S. Under U.S. law, Moreno told his followers that “if a house is not inhabited, we can seize it.” In response to the video, and growing reports over illegal aliens squatting in homes in New York and his state of Pennsylvania, Meuser introduced the Safeguarding Homes from Illegal Entry, Living, and Dwelling Act, or the SHIELD Act. The bill makes trespassing “a deportable crime,” Meuser says. “So if an illegal were to claim squatter rights and enter an individual's home illegally without any rental paperwork or legitimate lease” then, Meuser says “they can be arrested and deported and prohibited from ever entering the United States again.”Meuser joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the growing need for the SHIELD Act, and what, if anything, he anticipates President Joe Biden will do to address growing concern over the crisis at the southern border. Enjoy the show!
  • Calls for Speaker Johnson to Resign Grows, NPR Whistleblower Suspended, Supreme Court Hears Case on Jan. 6 | April 16

    07:59
    TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down:·       Rep. Thomas Massie joined the movement to call for a motion to vacate the Speaker’s office.·       A National Public Radio whistleblower has been suspended by the news network·       President Joe Biden has refused to appear before the House committee involved in his impeachment investigation.·       The Supreme Court heard a case involving Jan. 6. Relevant Links: https://www.dailysignal.com/2024/04/02/national-council-of-teachers-of-english-hosts-seminar-on-how-to-teach-gender-queer/  Listen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda
  • Iran, Israel, and Middle East: Is War Imminent?

    22:22
    Israeli leaders say the nation will respond to Iran’s weekend attack, but what that response will entail remains unclear.“I can see a number of scenarios in which this does escalate to a regional and potentially even a global conflict,” says a former member of the National Security Council, Robert Greenway, adding, “I can see fewer ways in which we prevent that from occurring.” Over the weekend, Iran launched about 300 drones and missiles at Israel. Unlike other attacks, this was not carried out by proxy terrorist groups in the region, but the nation of Iran itself. If a larger conflict in the Middle East is to be avoided, says Greenway, who also serves as director of the Center for National Defense at The Heritage Foundation, the U.S. will need “to radically alter its policy and approach toward Iran and Israel.” (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.)U.S. policy changes toward Iran should include “to deny it the resources necessary, and to restore deterrence, with the support of Israel and our partners and allies,” Greenway says. Greenway joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain what options Israel has as it considered retaliation against Iran, and how U.S. Middle East foreign policy is affecting the conflict.Enjoy the show!
  • Israel to Respond to Iran, Trump Criminal Trial Begins, Where Is Justice Clarence Thomas? | April 15

    08:10
    TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Israel says it must respond to Iran’s attack. Former President Donald Trump’s criminal case in New York City begins.Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas missed oral argument at the court and no explanation was given. The FBI opens a criminal investigation into the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.Relevant LinksListen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda
  • Why Criminal Case Against Trump Is 'Bogus,' Legal Expert Explains

    14:08
    Among all the legal charges facing former President Donald Trump, the criminal case out of New York City that begins Monday “is the most bogus,” according to legal expert Hans von Spakovsky. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump in 2023 with 34 counts of falsifying business records supposedly to cover up “hush money” payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. “This case is just bogus from start to finish,” Von Spakovsky says, adding, “It's in Manhattan. It's a Manhattan jury, and I'll tell you, quite frankly, I think if the DA charged Donald Trump with eating a ham sandwich, the jury would find him guilty.” Jury selection in the case begins on Monday, but concerns have been raised as to whether it’s even possible to find an unbiased jury in Manhattan. Von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow and manager of the Election Law Reform Initiative at The Heritage Foundation, says he thinks the jury is “going to find him guilty, regardless of the facts and regardless of the law.” If Trump is found guilty, and even if he faces time in prison, that will not legally impede the former president from continuing to run for reelection, or even serving as president, given that the Constitution does not address that, the legal expert explains. Von Spakovsky joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain what he expects to see during the case, and what will happen next if the jury does find Trump guilty. Enjoy the show!
  • FISA Amendment to Protect Americans Fails, More Student Loan Bailouts, California Not Tracking Homeless Programs | April 12

    07:26
    TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: The biggest news out of D.C. today was the House vote to renew the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.Conservative legal advocate and co-chairman of the Federalist Society Leonard Leo refuses to comply with a Senate subpoena. The White House announces another $7.4 billion in loan forgiveness. California has spent about $24 billion to tackle the homeless in the past five years, but the state has not consistently been tracking the effectiveness of its initiatives. Listen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda