Conservative Conversation and Community
Did you know that for much of the 19th century, Thanksgiving was only celebrated by New Englanders and Northeastern transplants in the upper Midwest and New York? Learn more about Sarah Josepha Hale and why she so desperately wanted President Abraham Lincoln to adopt the idea of Thanksgiving as a national holiday.
More Many on the left claim that “Medicare for All” will save you money. They say that healthcare will be better and more affordable. Not true. According to a new Heritage Foundation study, not only would private insurance be outlawed and everyone forced to use government healthcare, but a family of 4 earning the median income would pay $9,000 a year to pay for Medicare For All. That’s about equal to what they spend on food every year. This week, Tommy Binion breaks down the report, and pushes back against the left’s narrative that the middle class would save money under “Medicare for All.”
More The Federal Government sends over $800 billion dollars a year to States and local governments to be spent on many wasteful projects. This week, we sit down with Mike Nichols of the Badger Institute and David Ditch of the Heritage Foundation to talk about our out-of-control spending on wasteful projects, and the impact this has on federalism and state sovereignty.
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China continues to demand more from America in exchange for access to their markets. But they are not demanding more goods or more money, they are actively trying to censor Americans and change our perception of their communist culture. Whether it’s Hollywood, the NBA, or our school system, China’s strategy seems to be working. But some Americans are pushing back. This week, our friend Mike Gonzalez joins us to explain what’s going on and ways we can push back.
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Was America ever really great? Sadly, this is a question we are hearing more and more. Our guest this week, Jarrett Stepman, author of “The War on History” explains why people are attacking historical figures like Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Christopher Columbus and more and lays out the truth we must preserve.
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Much of the news in October has been dominated by Syria. Many people on the right and the left have been critical of President Trump for how the situation had been handled. But why? This week, expert Jim Carafano sits down with us to correct the record and explain the much needed context surrounding Syria.
More In our final episode of a three part series on impeachment expert John Malcolm says it’s highly likely that the House of Representatives will impeach President Trump — and it could be as soon as next month. Malcolm discusses why in moving forward with this impeachment Democrats are playing a game of political high stakes poker.
More This week, in part two of a three part series on impeachment, Heritage expert Hans von Spakovsky explains what exactly is an impeachable offense as he details our nation’s history with impeachment.
More This week, in part two of a three part series on impeachment, Heritage expert Hans von Spakovsky explains what exactly is an impeachable offense as he details our nations history with impeachment.
More This week, in part one of a three part series on impeachment, Heritage expert Thomas Jipping breaks down what the impeachment process looks like in the House and the Senate, how America reacted the last time this happened, and if Congress should indeed go down this road.
More Over the last decade, more and more people on the right have begun to refer to themselves as “libertarian” instead of “conservative” when describing their ideal way of running government. While there are many good things about the libertarian view, there are dramatic differences between libertarians and conservatives. This week, David Azerrad talks about the differences, clears up misconceptions, and pushes back against narratives.
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The media went wild last week when John Bolton resigned from his position as President Trump’s National Security Adviser. This week, Trump announced he will nominate U.S. hostage negotiator Robert O’Brien to replace Bolton. So how important is this role? What exactly is the nature of the job and do they shape policy? This week, Heritage expert James Carafano explains. Plus, we chat about Carafano’s powerful new mini documentary about 9/11.
More On a recent adventure to New Zealand, Tim took the studio with him to record the sights, the sounds, and the people of a land half-a-world away. New Zealand is not just a great place to film famous movies like “The Lord of the Rings,” it’s a thriving country with incredible economic freedom and prosperity. Join Tim as he explores the similarities and the differences between America and New Zealand, why a strong relationship with New Zealand is important, and why freedom works so well for country with a “sheep to person ratio” of 6 to 1.
More As Congress heads back to Capitol Hill next week it’s certain that gun legislation will be one of the items that lawmakers will be under pressure to tackle. Lately, the media, lawmakers, and President Trump have talk a lot about “red flag” laws. Today our expert, Amy Swearer, helps explain what these laws are, if they are working, and what concerns currently exist from liberals and conservatives.
More The Trump Administration has recently come under intense scrutiny from the left for making revisions to the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Liberals says these changes will likely lead to more species becoming extinct. But others say the ESA has actually failed in it’s well-intentioned goal to preserve endangered species. This week, we push back against the left’s narrative, and examine how the Trump Administration’s changes could actually make the Endangered Species Act better.
More President Trump recently mentioned that he had an interest in buying Greenland and the media went nuts. Pundits think it’s a crazy but how crazy is it? Why would Trump want to buy Greenland? And what’s our relationship with Greenland like right now? This week our expert, Luke Coffey, talks about Greenland’s government and history, if the United States should buy Greenland, and more on why Greenland is such an important ally to the United States.
Coffey is the director of Heritage’s Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy and the only analyst from an American think tank that has been to Greenland and written on it.
More With the recent report that Osama Bin Laden’s son, Hamza Bin Laden, is dead, we wanted to know what that means for the future of Al Qaeda. This week we talk with Heritage expert Robin Simcox, and dive deep into how the US is doing in the fight against terror both at home and abroad. Hint: more needs to be done.
Show Notes:
https://www.heritage.org/terrorism/commentary/osama-bin-ladens-son-likely-dead-heres-what-it-means
What happens when seeing isn’t believing? Deepfake technology has been around for a long time. It’s used in movies and we use it through apps on our phone. But this type of technology could be devastating if abused. This week, Heritage’s leading expert in tech policy, Klon Kitchen, will explain more on what deepfake media is, examples of deepfakes that already exist, and the risks this type of technology poses to our democracy and national security.
Show Notes:
Deep Fakes: A Looming Challenge for Privacy, Democracy, and National Security
https://www.heritage.org/homeland-security/event/deep-fakes-looming-challenge-privacy-democracy-and-national-security
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3213954
Nancy Pelosi Cheap Fake https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/may/24/facebook-leaves-fake-nancy-pelosi-video-on-site
A lot is happening in the United Kingdom. After more than three years since the vote to leave the European Union, the British still remain. Why? What’s making this process so difficult? Will the UK ever leave the EU? Who is Boris Johnson and why does he give Brexit fresh hope? This week, Nile Gardner brings us up to speed, and breaks down the complex nature of “The Brexiteer.”
To watch Nile’s recent TV appearances, and read his work on Brexit visit: https://www.heritage.org/staff/nile-gardiner-phd
More Almost every major study has concluded that Americans use firearms in lawful defense of themselves or others between 500,000 and 3 million times every year. Yet these are not the stories that make their way to the national cable channels. They are small local stories that rarely leave print.
This week, we talk to Amy Swearer, a legal expert at Heritage, who has been highlighting some of the many defensive gun uses that occur every month.
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