Dr. Joseph Bottum, one of America’s most widely published essayists, delivered an exceptional keynote address, titled “Why Life and Death Matter,” at the 9th Annual Paul Ramsey Award Dinner. We are pleased to be able to make the audio of Dr. Bottum’s address available (click here to listen).

The 2012 Paul Ramsey Keynote
Speaker: Joseph Bottum

Author of the national bestseller Dakota Christmas, an e-book memoir of his childhood on the prairie, Joseph Bottum is a contributing editor to the Weekly Standard and one of the nation’s most widely published essayists—with work appearing in journals from the Atlantic Monthly to the Wall Street Journal, Commentary, and the Washington Post. The former literary editor of the Weekly Standard and former editor in chief of First Things, he holds a Ph.D. in medieval philosophy and has done television commentary for networks from the BBC to EWTN, including appearances on NBC’s Meet the Press and the PBS NewsHour. His books include his latest poetry collection, The Second Spring, and he lives with his family far off in the Black Hills of South Dakota.