Lindsay Chervinsky, Director of the George Washington Presidential Library, joins Cara Rogers Stevens this week to discuss Abigail Adams and her impact on John’s public life.

Learn more about Lindsay: https://www.lindsaychervinsky.com/

Daylight Savings Time: nobody seems to enjoy switching their clocks twice a year, and recently there has been another push to eliminate it altogether. But as a policy issue it’s far more complicated than it might seem at first glance. Dr. Cara Rogers Stevens is joined by columnist Rachel Lu, Associate Editor at Law & Liberty, to discuss the many layers of what seems like a simple question.

Read her article here: https://lawliberty.org/sleep-training-the-american-people/

Days before the inauguration of our next president, we ask you to take a moment to look back at an inaugural address that was also given in a time of high political division and partisanship, in fact eclipsing our own. What can we learn from Abraham Lincoln, and from the words of his Second Inaugural Address?

Jeff is joined by Dr. Jason Stevens to discuss this essential American document, exploring its meaning in 1865, as well as what we can learn from it now, almost 160 years later.

What foreign policy challenges does the Trump Administration face as of February 2025? Where are the potential flashpoints of global conflict and strife? What ‘bad actors’ are out there, and are they working together?

Defense Policy expert Rebeccah Heinrichs discusses these serious issues with Jeff, and offers some ideas for how America can defend itself and work to promote and protect our national interest and citizens.

The presidential pardon is the most sweeping and unchallengeable of a president’s powers, and it seems that each time someone leaves the White House, pardons generate at least some level of controversy. Why did the Founders include this power? How was its use originally envisioned, and how has it evolved over time? Historian Jonathan White joins Cara Rogers Stevens to discuss the issue, using Abraham Lincoln as a vehicle to better understand this significant, yet poorly-understood presidential power.

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Jimmy Carter, a one-term Democrat president from Georgia, recently passed away after a long and impactful and sometimes controversial post-presidential life. From governor of Georgia to president to self-appointed ambassador and highly successful proponent of global relief efforts, Carter broke with many presidential traditions, for better and worse, to his advantage and not.

Jeff is joined by noted presidential scholar Dr. Stephen Knott, formerly of the U.S. Naval War College, to discuss Carter’s rise to prominence in Democratic circles, his unlikely victory in 1976, his tumultuous single term as president, and his long – sometimes contentious – post-presidential public life.

America’s national debt stands at over $36 trillion dollars as of early 2025. What does that mean? How did we get here? What should and can be done about it? What are the consequences of inaction? AIER.org policy analyst Dave Hebert joins Jeff this week to discuss this problem, hiding in plain sight, its background, and possibilities for the incoming Trump administration and the future.

#debt #nationaldebt #politics #congress #deficits #debtceiling

John Adams was instrumental in America’s efforts for independence, the formation of our early government, and the cementing of norms and systems during the republic’s early years. And yet he seems most often remembered for the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts, and his complicated relationship with Thomas Jefferson?

Historian and Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky joins Jeff this week to discuss Adams as a thinker, leader, and man, shedding new light on how much of his work we still follow today, even if we don’t realize it.

Peter Schramm, former Executive Director of the Ashbrook Center and Professor of Political Science, was a student of American thought, culture, institutions, and people. His interest in America began when he was a child, living in Hungary after World War 2, hearing his father talk about a faraway place where they all belonged, and would hopefully one day live.

This is Peter’s story, told by him, and through it we can learn not only of his story, but something about this country and its ideals, and why it has served as a beacon of liberty to the world for over 200 years.

Jeff is joined by historian Tevi Troy to discuss an issue of both historical and current relevance: what happens when the interests of commercial and industrial giants clash with those of the president? Is there anything we can learn from past rifts between the likes of Rockefeller and Roosevelt, of Ford and Wilson, to help us understand the impact of Musk, Zuckerberg, and others on our current government? Why do the interests of government and industry diverge, or converge?

#potus #industry #musk #rockefeller

Can we find an honest president, or an honest presidential administration? By what standards do we identify “corruption” when it comes to the White House? Dr. John Robert Greene, author of “Little Helpers: Harry Vaughan, His Cronies, and Corruption in the Truman Administration,” joins Jeff to discuss the long and sordid history of presidential scandals and how Americans’ views on presidential behavior have changed over time.

Find Prof. Greene’s book here: https://a.co/d/j7kG6ao

We often look at our divisive, shrill, and angry politics as somehow outside of some vague norm, or worse than at any time in our past. Go back to go forward as we look at the Election of 1800 and how two parties reduced themselves to name-calling and lies, and still agreed to the first peaceful exchange of power between opposing parties in history.

Read Jefferson’s First Inaugural: https://tinyurl.com/3ymdeh6d