James Piereson, president of the William E. Simon Foundation, headed the influential John M. Olin Foundation for 20 years, until it spent down its assets and closed in 2005. According to A Gift of Freedom: How the John M. Olin Foundation Changed America, an authorized history of the foundation by National Review writer John Miller, the foundation "funded the conservative movement as it emerged from the intellectual ghetto and occupied the halls of power."

As part of a series of dialogues and discussions marking the tenth anniversary of OSI's U.S. Programs, Gara LaMarche, vice president of the Open Society Institute and director of OSI's U.S. Programs, and James Piereson engaged in a wide-ranging conversation on how the Olin Foundation carried out its work, including its successes, failures, and impact, and what those on the progressive end of the political spectrum can learn from Olin’s experience.

A transcript of the event is available for download below.