In this episode, Matt speaks with Sean Speer about the rise of the so-called “New Right” and the growing tension between conservatism and classical liberalism. Speer defends a fusionist vision rooted in ordered liberty, pluralism, and institutional restraint, arguing that attempts to use state power to impose cultural outcomes misunderstand how culture actually evolves. Together, they explore elite anxiety, civil society, immigration, and why liberal means remain essential even for those with conservative ends.

References

Sean's author page at The Hub:

https://thehub.ca/author/seanspeer/

What Is Conservatism? — edited by Frank S. Meyer https://a.co/d/5suzcP4

The Road to Serfdom — F. A. Hayek https://a.co/d/evGqw3L

The Crooked Timber of Humanity — Isaiah Berlin https://a.co/d/4PuAvLB

Bourgeois Dignity / Bourgeois Equality — Deirdre McCloskey https://a.co/d/8B7qlQV

The Anywhere vs Somewhere Divide — David Goodhart (interview) https://www.commonplace.org/p/somewheres-and-anywheres-with-david

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Thanks to our patrons, including Kris Rondolo, Amy Willis, and Christopher McDonald. To support The Curious Task, visit: https://patreon.com/curioustask

In this episode, Alex speaks with Abraham Singer about his book Everyone’s Business, exploring why businesses and other private organizations should be understood not only as economic entities but as political communities that shape power, responsibility, and moral life. Singer explains how firms structure our choices, why classical liberals must take internal organizational governance more seriously, and what it means to treat workplaces as sites of real political and ethical significance.

References

Everyone’s Business: Toward a New Understanding of How Organizations Shape Our Lives - Abraham Singer https://a.co/d/iz5yWEU

“The Form Of The Firm” - Abraham Singer https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-form-of-the-firm-9780197586860?cc=ca&lang=en&

Abraham's Scholarly Articles https://abrahamsinger.weebly.com/research.html

“The Political Nature of the Firm and the Cost of Norms” - Abraham Singer https://www.jstor.org/stable/26550924

Private Government - Elizabeth Anderson https://a.co/d/gNrwGK2

The Nature of the Firm - Ronald Coase https://www.jstor.org/stable/2626876

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Thanks to our patrons, including Kris Rondolo, Amy Willis, and Christopher McDonald. To support The Curious Task, visit: https://patreon.com/curioustask

In this episode, Alex speaks with constitutional scholar Leonid Sirota about the notwithstanding clause—what it does, how it functions within Canada’s constitutional architecture, and why its routine use undermines the very rights the Charter is meant to protect. Drawing on arguments from his National Post piece and earlier writing, Sirota explains why Section 33 was intended as an exceptional political safeguard, not a convenient escape hatch for governments, and why treating it as a routine tool erodes constitutionalism, weakens judicial oversight, and shifts the balance of power away from individuals and toward the state.

References

Leonid Sirota, “Yes, the notwithstanding clause overrides rights. No, it isn’t defensible.” — National Post https://nationalpost.com/opinion/leonid-sirota-yes-the-notwithstanding-clause-overrides-rights-no-it-isnt-defensible

“The Case Against the Notwithstanding Clause” — Leonid Sirota (Double Aspect) https://doubleaspect.blog/2018/10/04/the-case-against-the-notwithstanding-clause/

“Notwithstanding Myths” — Leonid Sirota (Double Aspect) https://doubleaspect.blog/2025/11/10/notwithstanding-myths/

Peter W. Hogg, Constitutional Law of Canada https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/faculty_books/219/

The Constitution Act, 1982 (Section 33 — the Notwithstanding Clause) https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/check/art33.html

Including Kris Rondolo, Amy Willis, and Christopher McDonald. To support The Curious Task, visit: https://patreon.com/curioustask