We’re joined by Co-founder and Principal at The Marathon Initiative, Wess Mitchell. Prior to this, he served as the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs during the Trump Administration. Roger and Wess discuss the recent Russian military buildup along Ukraine’s border and the Biden Administration’s response.

The Reagan Institute’s inaugural Reaganism LIVE event features a conversation between Mr. Oren Cass, Executive Director of American Compass, and Kevin Roberts, Ph.D., President of the Heritage Foundation. This conversation, moderated by Reagan Institute Director Roger Zakheim, discusses how conservatism can provide solutions to the critical challenges facing our country.

In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan offered a clear, unifying vision for conservatives; forty years later, the movement is rife with debate and disagreement.

We’re joined by Former Congressman and Senator of Missouri, Jim Talent. Roger and Senator Talent discuss the 2021 report of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, where Senator Talent serves as a commissioner. Their conversation included China’s trade practices as well as their activities in the Xinjiang and Hong Kong regions.

We are joined by actor and humanitarian, Gary Sinise. Gary Sinise is the founder of the Gary Sinise Foundation, an organization dedicated to promoting the wellbeing of America’s military veterans and first-responders. He is famously known for playing Lt. Dan in Forrest Gump, in addition to numerous other roles. Roger and Gary discuss his acting career, foundation, and work with veterans.

Roger sits down with Simon Miles, Assistant Professor at Duke University, and the author of Engaging the Evil Empire: Washington, Moscow, and the Beginning of the End of the Cold War and co-editor of a new book, The Reagan Moment: America and the World in the 1980s. Roger and Simon discuss President Reagan’s foreign policy, including his strategy towards the Soviet Union.

Roger sits down with Gordon Lubold, a national security reporter for the Wall Street Journal covering both the White House and the Pentagon.

Roger and Gordon discuss the Trump and Biden White Houses, the biggest national security stories of 2021, including the events that took place on January 6th, the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and a look ahead to what we can expect in the coming year.

On this episode of Reaganism, Roger sits down with Dr. Daron Shaw. Dr. Shaw is a Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, the co-director of the Fox News Poll, and one of the pair of pollsters who conduct our annual Reagan National Defense Survey. Roger and Daron discuss the latest defense survey results as well his recent article in National Affairs and the affect of high voter turnout on a political party.

On this episode of Reaganism, we will be continuing our Reagan National Defense Forum deep dive with Former State Department Spokeswomen and RNDF Live host, Morgan Ortagus. During her time at RNDF, Morgan met with panelists which included policymakers, industrial titans and department of defense officials on how the United States can lead the world in an era of increasingly complex challenges.

Roger speaks with Congressman Ken Calvert, the U.S. Representative from California’s 42nd District and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee Defense Subcommittee. Roger and Congressman Calvert discussed the Continuing Resolution that Congress recently passed to avoid a government shutdown as well as what investments the United States should be making to beat China in the competition over innovative military technologies.

We’re here at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, CA for the 2021 Reagan National Defense Forum. The Reagan National Defense Forum (RNDF) brings together leaders and key stakeholders from across the political spectrum. RNDF offers the defense community a chance to discuss how the United States can lead the world in an era of increasingly complex challenges and opportunities.

In the first of our three-episode series on RNDF, Roger sits down with the Founder of defense startup Anduril Industries and founder and designer of Oculus VR, Palmer Luckey. Palmer and Roger discuss virtual reality, defense technologies, and the technological battle between the United States, China, and Russia.

On this episode of Reaganism, we are joined by Marcus Witcher, Assistant Professor of History at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama. He is also the author of Getting Right with Reagan: The Struggle for True Conservatism, 1980-2016.

Roger and Marcus discussed conservative critiques of Reagan during his presidency as well as Reagan’s continued relevance to the conservative movement today.

On this episode of Reaganism, Dr. Janet Tran, Director of the Center for Civics, Education, and Opportunity at the Reagan Institute, sits down with Gerard Robinson, Vice President for Education at the Advanced Studies in Culture Foundation.

Gerard Robinson, former Commissioner of Education for the State of Florida, and Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Virginia, discusses his leadership journey, pluralistic options in our education system, and the transformative power of education. Finally, Janet and Gerard discuss civics, particularly building character and bridging our racial and political divides.

We are joined by Representative Elaine Luria who is a second-term Democratic Congresswoman representing Virginia’s 2nd District. In Congress, she serves as Vice Chair of the House Armed Services Committee.

Roger and Representative Luria discuss her twenty-year service in the U.S. Navy, achieving the rank of Commander, and service in both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The two also discussed deterring China, building a 600 ship Navy, and bipartisanship in congress.

We are joined by Marc Short, who served in the Trump Administration as the Chief of Staff to Vice President Mike Pence, Assistant to the President and Director of Legislative Affairs. Earlier in his career, he served as Director of the Reagan Ranch for the Young America’s Foundation.

In addition to discussing Marc’s duties working for Vice President Mike Pence, including working on the COVID-19 Task Force and Operation Warp Speed, the two also examine Biden’s performance as President and its impact on recent and upcoming elections.

On this episode of Reaganism, we are joined by Jamie Fly. Jamie Fly is the current President and CEO of Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty with a background in foreign policy serving as a former advisor to Senator Marco Rubio.

Roger and Jamie discussed the work of Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty and its approach to journalism. Jamie presents the importance of combatting disinformation and the necessity for reliable news sources given the severity of recent events in Afghanistan, Russia, and Eastern Europe.

We are joined by guest host Rachel Hoff, Director of the Center for Freedom and Democracy and Audrey Tang, the Digital Minister of Taiwan since 2016.

Rachel and Audrey discussed how civically minded computer programmers in Taiwan, in partnership with the Taiwanese government, are working to strengthen their democracy and improve their governance using the internet and digital tools. They also discussed how Taiwanese social media fosters consensus rather than polarization and how Taiwan is fighting misinformation and election interference.

Roger is joined by Michael Allen, the Managing Director of Beacon Global Strategies. He previously served as Majority Staff Director of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence as well as on the National Security Council during the George W. Bush administration. Roger and Michael discuss his career in national security, the role of the intelligence community in Afghanistan, and the future of cybersecurity.

The Ronald Reagan Institute hosted two defense experts to discuss Elbridge A. Colby’s new book, “The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict.” Elbridge A. Colby was joined by Congressman Mike Gallagher who represents Wisconsin’s 8th District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Colby and Congressman Gallagher discuss the pressing issues addressed in his book such as the evolving global threat environment, the challenge of a rising China, and recommendations for strengthening American national security through “deterrence by denial.”

This week on Reaganism, we’re joined by guest host Rachel Hoff, who leads the Reagan Institute’s Center for Freedom and Democracy. Our guest this week is Ellen Bork, who has worked for decades in the field of democracy and human rights. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the International Campaign for Tibet and for the Free Russia Foundation. Ellen served in the Reagan Administration at the State Department during the 1980s and on the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in the 1990s. Ellen is currently a contributing editor at American Purpose, where she writes about American foreign policy with a focus on Asia.