Congressman Andy Biggs joins the podcast this week to answer questions about the latest coronavirus developments, including Congress’ efforts to mitigate the spread of this disease and support the economy. He also discusses a bill he’s introduced called the Freedom for Families Act, which is a free-market alternative to federally-mandated paid family leave.

Congressman Andy Biggs is an Arizona native and currently serving his second term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is a retired attorney and Congressman Biggs served in the Arizona Legislature for 14 years – the last four as the Arizona Senate President. He was awarded “Champion of the Taxpayer” from Americans for Prosperity for his cumulative service in the Arizona legislature, and has been honored numerous times by the Goldwater Institute as a “Friend of Liberty.” He lives in Gilbert with his wife of 35 years, Cindy. They have six children and five grandchildren.

Kristin Tate joins She Thinks to discuss her new book “The Liberal Invasion of Red State America.’ With the migration of liberal Americans from blue states to red states at an all-time high she breaks down the data and explains why this trend is drastically changing the economy and living standards in many states.

Kristin Tate is an author and columnist focused on taxation and federal spending. She is currently a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow at the Fund for American Studies, examining the size and scope of the federal workforce. Kristin writes a weekly column for The Hill newspaper. Her previous books include How Do I Tax Thee? and Government Gone Wild: How D.C. Politicians Are Taking You for a Ride — and What You Can Do About It. Red Alert Politics and Newsmax Magazine each named Kristin one of the 30 most influential right- of-center leaders under the age of 30 in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Previously Kristin worked as a reporter focused on immigration issues for Breitbart.
She Thinks is a podcast for women (and men) who are sick of the spin in today’s news cycle and are seeking the truth. Once a week, every week, She Thinks host Beverly Hallberg is joined by guests who cut through the clutter and bring you the facts.

Tom Jipping joins the podcast to discuss the constitutionality of the Equal Rights Amendment. First proposed almost a century ago and passed by Congress in 1972, Tom delves into time limits and state ratification and how proponents of the ERA are doing whatever they can to skirt the system.

Thomas L. Jipping is deputy director of the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies and a senior legal fellow in the Center. Tom joined Heritage in May 2018 after 15 years on the staff of U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), including several as his chief counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee. He spent the previous 13 years at two public policy organizations: Concerned Women for America and the Free Congress Foundation.

Julie Gunlock, Director of the Center for Progress and Innovation at Independent Women’s Forum, talks with Independent Women Forum’s foreign policy fellow Claudia Rosett on the Coronavirus, how it’s spreading from China and what you can do here in America to prepare.

Patrice Onwuka joins the podcast to discuss California’s Assembly Bill 5, or what is better known as AB5. We’ve discussed this gig law on past episodes of She Thinks, but we wanted to give you an update as there’s mounting pressure from independent contractors to overturn it. Patrice Onwuka gives us an update since the law’s implementation in January and previews what this law could mean for your state.

Patrice Onwuka, is a senior policy analyst at Independent Women’s Forum. She has worked in the advocacy and communications fields for more than a decade. Prior to joining IWF, Patrice served as national spokeswoman and communications director at Generation Opportunity, and worked at The Philanthropy Roundtable and the Fund for American Studies in policy and media roles. She also held consulting roles as a speech writer for a United Nations spokesman And you can catch her regularly on Fox Business and Fox News.

Jennifer C. Braceras from Independent Women’s Law Center talks with Julie Gunlock about recent lawsuits against the makers of baby powder, weed killer, and other household products.

Cam Edwards joins the podcast to discuss the gun issue, specifically in the state of Virginia where an assault weapons ban was just defeated amid aggressive gun control efforts. We’ll discuss the legislative pieces still in play, what these efforts mean for gun owners in the state, and whether there’s a larger national trend towards instituting stricter gun laws.

Cam Edwards has covered the 2nd Amendment for more than 15 years as a broadcast and online journalist, as well as the co-author of “Heavy Lifting: Grow Up, Get a Job, Start a Family, and Other Manly Advice” with Jim Geraghty. He lives outside of Farmville, Virginia with his family.

On this week’s episode, Kay Hymowitz joins to talk about the decline of marriage. With people marrying later, or not getting married at all, what does this mean when it comes to the family and the importance of long-term committed relationships. Has the rise of educated women and women in the workforce led to a rise in the happiness of women?

Kay Hymowitz is the William E. Simon Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal. She writes extensively on childhood, family issues, poverty, and cultural change in America. Hymowitz is the author of several books the most recent being The New Brooklyn: What It Takes to Bring a City Back She has written for numerous outlets including the NYT and the WAPO and has is a frequent guest on numerous radio and TV programs.

We talk to author Amity Shlaes about her groundbreaking Great Society: A New History and why the most ambitious and well-meaning government initiative in our history had such catastrophic results. Amity’s remarks bear directly on the sudden vogue of socialism among today’s young voters.

Shlaes talks to Independent Women’s Forum Director of Cultural Programs and Senior Editor Charlotte Hays.

Ellie Bufkin joins the podcast this week to talk about how California’s Assembly Bill 5 (known as AB5) is straining the relationship between independent contractors and the companies that hire them. She’ll explain who is behind the AB5 push and whether or not exemptions for certain
occupations will solve the problem.

Ellie Bufkin is a freelance writer. She serves as a senior contributor to The Federalist and former reporter for The Washington Examiner. Originally from northern Virginia, Ellie grew up in Baltimore, and worked in the wine industry as a journalist and sommel-yay, living in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Hawaii, and Washington, D.C. Ellie draws from her years in restaurants to write about current policies and legislation that affect workers in America.

Erin Hawley joins the podcast to preview Espinoza v. Montana, the highly anticipated landmark education case before the Supreme Court. The ruling could settle the on-going battle over the use of public funding for religious schools and may also declare the Blain Amendment unconstitutional.

Erin Hawley is a Senior Legal Fellow for the Independent Women’s Legal Center and a Senior Fellow at the Kinder Institute for Constitutional Democracy. Erin’s research interests include the separation of powers, federal courts, agricultural law, and administrative law. Her work has been published in numerous top law journals, and she is a frequent national commentator on legal issues. Erin is a former clerk to Chief Justice John Roberts and has litigated extensively before the United States Supreme Court. Erin and her husband U.S. Senator Josh Hawley have two active boys, a dog, and a horse.

It’s National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention month, so Brook Burris joins the podcast to talk about what we can do to combat the crime of human trafficking in the United States and how to fight for women who are victimized in this way.

Brooke Burris is East Coast Regional Director of the Lynch Foundation for Children and the Founder and Chair of the Tri-County Human Trafficking Task Force where they address and prevent human trafficking and provide a scalable model that communities can utilize across the Nation. Brooke clerked at the South Carolina Supreme Court for the Chief Counsel and was first introduced to the human trafficking epidemic as a law clerk at the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office Criminal Prosecution Division under Deputy Attorney General Heather Weiss.”

California’s new AB5 law is triggering outcry from independent contractors across the state and around the country. Freelance writers and journalists, specifically, face new caps on the number of submissions they can send to an employer each month for publication. Employers like Vox Media, are responding to AB5 by laying off freelance writers entirely. These workers want flexible work arrangements not the traditional employee arrangement that the state wants to force them into.

We speak with Jennifer Van Laar, one writer who moved out of California to North Carolina because of AB5 about her experience.

Many of the Democratic candidates are going after school choice on the campaign trail. Why are school choice parent groups treated differently by the candidates and media than other advocacy groups, and what do Democratic voters really think about school choice?

Joining She Thinks pop-up episode to discuss these topics and more is Erika Sanzi, a mother of three and a former public school teacher in Massachusetts, California, and Rhode Island. Erika has served on her local school board is a senior visiting fellow at the Fordham Institute. She blogs about education at Good School Hunting and is the chief editor at Project Forever Free.

On this week’s episode of She Thinks, we cover the ongoing situation in Hong Kong. The current crisis began in June when throngs of Hong Kongers took to the streets to protest the extradition bill. Millions have marched, many while carrying the American flag, asking for the same rights that you and I have. And their fight continues today. Jillian Melchior joins the podcast to explain the situation. She’s not only written extensively on this situation, but has spent time in Hong Kong and experienced firsthand the fight for freedom.

Jillian Kay Melchior is Editorial page writer at The Wall Street Journal. She’s a former fellow at IWF and has previously reported for National Review, the Franklin Center, The Daily, Commentary, the Wall Street Journal Asia, with freelance writings appearing in Cosmopolitan, The Weekly Standard, the New York Post and other major publications. Her foreign correspondence has also taken her to China, Iraq, Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe and Asia.

On this first She Thinks episode of 2020, we do something a little different. Instead of focusing on one policy issue, Hadley Heath Manning joins the podcast to give an overview of Independent Women’s Forum’s policy priorities for the New Year. We talk about how IWF determines what issues deserve their focus and the plan of attack for each.

Hadley Heath Manning is director of policy at Independent Women’s Forum and Independent Women’s Voice. She frequently comments on health care, entitlements, and economic policy and manages the organizations’ policy projects and publications. Hadley is also a senior fellow at the Steamboat Institute in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Hadley appears frequently in radio and TV outlets across the country and is a regular guest on Fox Business Network. Her work has been featured in publications including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, POLITICO, Roll Call, Real Clear Policy, National Review Online, and Huffington Post.

On our last episode of the year, we close with the topic of private giving. Americans are very generous, donating $428 billion in 2018 alone, but policy changes may have a widespread impact in the coming months. Patrice Onwuka joins us to talk about the threat of government officials and activists who want to control how we give, what we give to, and how much is available to give. // Patrice Onwuka, is a senior policy analyst at Independent Women’s Forum. She has worked in the advocacy and communications fields for more than a decade. Prior to joining IWF, Patrice served as national spokeswoman and communications director at Generation Opportunity, and worked at The Philanthropy Roundtable and the Fund for American Studies in policy and media roles. And you probably have seen her on TV because she’s a frequent commentator on Fox News and Fox business.

Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) believes all issues are women’s issues. IWF promotes policies that aren’t just well-intended, but actually enhance people’s freedoms, opportunities, and choices. IWF doesn’t just talk about problems. We identify solutions and take them straight to the playmakers and policy creators. And, as a 501(c)3, IWF educates the public about the most important topics of the day.

Senator Joni Ernst joins to talk about the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act. Senator Ernst introduced this important piece of legislation which aims to embrace a more modern, strong, and proactive approach to the current threats faced by young women and girls. She also discusses why she won’t accept any “mansplaining” by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer regarding the ongoing Violence Against Women (VAWA) bill.

Senator Ernst is a mother, a solider and a leader. From the start, she has taken on Washington and delivered on her pledge to “Make ‘em Squeal.” She became the first woman elected to represent Iowa in federal office, and the first female combat veteran to serve in the Senate. She relentlessly tackles the most pressing issues facing our country including continuing to grow the economy, cutting reckless spending, and keeping our nation safe and secure.

Dr. Everett Piper joins the show to explain the state of free speech in America, including censorship in academia and the dangers of our cancel culture.

Dr. Piper is the Author of the national best-seller, Not a Daycare: The Devastating Consequences of Abandoning Truth. He served as president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University for 17 years and presently serves as a contributing columnist for The Washington Times. His commentary on religion, education, leadership and politics is featured in local and national media outlets coast to coast. His viral op-ed, This Is Not a Day Care, it’s a University, which became his second book, was featured by NBC Today as one of its top ten news stories of 2015.