I have the privilege (and pleasure) to interview many leading thinkers, writers, and leaders. One was Jean Bethke Elshtain (1941-2013). She wrote my favorite book on Augustine. She was a highly regarded scholar with a clear moral compass. Her insights always paid big dividends.
This essay which The Wilson Quarterly just published is one of the most significant I’ve read in a very long time:
http://www.wilsonquarterly.com/essays/why-public-intellectuals