Forgotten America
76 episodes - English - Latest episode: 13 days ago -Welcome to Forgotten America, a podcast about the many places that get flown over, driven past, or completely forgotten and the people who call these places home. In each episode, we’ll diagnose the unique challenges faced by rural America and unpack and explore the solutions to those challenges. We’ll also share the culture, stories, and perspectives of Forgotten Americans from the hilltop to the holler and the desert to the delta.
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Episodes
Ep. 026: Life in Coal Country
August 17, 2021 09:00 - 51 minutes - 48.3 MBMany people think that all of West Virginia is coal country, but that simply isn’t true. Garrett joins his wife, Kimberly, on this episode of Forgotten America to discuss life in the southern coalfields, how her upbringing was different from his in the Mid-Ohio Valley, the strength of the Appalachian woman, and the future of West Virginia. You can learn about the various regions in West Virginia and their differences in this article by West Virginia Executive Magazine. http://www.wvex...
Ep. 025: How Land Use Policy Is Complicating Your Life
August 03, 2021 09:00 - 54 minutes - 47.5 MBJohn Charles Jr is the President & CEO of the Cascade Policy Institute in Portland, Oregon. In this episode, we learn about his journey from Marxist environmental activist to leader in the free-market environmentalist movement. He and Garrett also discuss land use policy and how it affects individuals and economies. This is one of those policies that the average person doesn’t know much about but that massively affects everyone’s lives. This episode covers everything from zoning to lite rail...
Ep. 024: Why American Health Care is Broken and How to Fix It
July 20, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 124 MBRobert Graboyes, a healthcare economist for the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, joins Garrett today to discuss the health care system in America. He talks about its purpose, why it’s broken, how being a doctor is similar to and different from being a pilot, and the high stakes of getting it right. They also discuss such topics as innovation in health care, which level of government should be responsible for health care regulation and reform, and the history and effects of certifi...
Ep. 023: How Are Things in West Virginia?
July 06, 2021 09:00 - 44 minutes - 35.5 MBThis week, Jason Huffman, state director of Americans for Prosperity - West Virginia, joins us for a second time on Forgotten America. He and Garrett discuss new legislation bringing transformational change to the Mountain State as well as thoughts on how to combat political polarization and why more engaged citizens are needed in state politics today. If you want to follow Jason’s work at Americans for Prosperity - West Virginia, you can follow them on Twitter: @AFPWV Faceb...
Ep.022: Economic Development in Appalachia and Beyond
June 22, 2021 09:00 - 54 minutes - 48.1 MBDr. Abigail Hall Blanco is an Associate Professor in Economics at Bellarmine University. She received her PhD in Economics from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. She is a co-author of the books Manufacturing Militarism: US Government Propaganda in the War on Terror and Tyranny Comes Home: The Domestic Fate of U.S. Militarism both with Christopher Coyne. Today she joins Garrett to discuss development economics, why regions like Appalachia are still so poor, and what solutions econ...
Ep. 021: Self-Reliance & Anarchy in the Arizona Wilderness
June 08, 2021 09:00 - 56 minutes - 41.6 MBJD Tuccille is a self-proclaimed anarchist living in the desert of Arizona. He is an author for Reason magazine and a novelist. He believes in personal responsibility and loves the freedom of the American Southwest. He joins Garrett to discuss how he came to be in Arizona and why, for him, the deserts of Arizona are the truest manifestation of a freedom philosophy. Garrett & JD also dive into the relationship between libertarianism and rural America, environmentalism & anarchy in fiction, an...
Ep. 020: Mountain Folk
May 25, 2021 09:00 - 50 minutes - 42.9 MBIn honor of the release of John Hood’s book, Mountain Folk, on June 8th, we are re-releasing our Patrons only Halloween Bonus episode that we recorded with him back in October for all of our listeners to enjoy. Don’t forget to pre-order a copy of John’s book on Amazon and sign up for his Mountain Folk Readers’ Guild newsletter so you can keep up to date with information on new upcoming books in the FolkLore cycle. John Hood is a newspaper columnist, historian, and foundation executive...
Ep. 019: Coalfield Development
May 11, 2021 09:00 - 43 minutes - 41.4 MBJoin Garrett as he interviews Luke Huffman and Brandon Dennison from Coalfield Development about the work they’re doing in their southern, West Virginia community to eliminate generational poverty. Located in Wayne, WV, their team is rebuilding the Appalachian economy from the ground up. Coalfield Development believes in developing the potential of Appalachia through the triple bottom line: people, planet, and profit. Visit Coalfield Development’s website to learn more about the programs ...
Ep. 018: More Cows Than People
April 27, 2021 09:00 - 50 minutes - 34.9 MBMontana is affectionately known by those that live there as the “Last Best Place On Earth.” Today Garrett is joined by Kendall Cotton, the President & CEO of the Frontier Institute. Kendall developed his passion for serving his community while growing up in Florence, Montana along the banks of the Bitterroot River. In this episode, he guides us through the best places in the state to visit if you want to enjoy pristine nature. He also dives into some of the challenges that face Montana as a ...
Ep. 017: The End of the Road
April 13, 2021 09:00 - 57 minutes - 41.8 MBTim Barto is the Vice President of External Relations at Alaska Policy Forum. Tim is a retired Defense Department Special Agent, having worked in the field of personnel security. He also spent time as a Marine infantryman and Naval intelligence specialist, all of which was aimed at preserving and promoting the values of economic freedom and individual liberty. He joins us today to talk about Alaskan politics and culture as well as his outlook for the future of the state. Learn more ab...
Ep.016: Lone Star State Leads The Way
March 30, 2021 09:00 - 55 minutes - 45.8 MBVance Ginn, Ph.D., is chief economist at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. He earned his doctorate in economics at Texas Tech University and has an accomplished career as a policy director and university lecturer with experience in public policy, academia, and government. He joins us today to talk about the growth of Texas as it continues to evolve to face the future while holding onto the character traits that make it a unique place to live. Read Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu & J...
Ep.015: Farmer v. Army
March 16, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 51 MBJack LaPant, a farmer, lost over a million dollars in an 8-year legal battle because the Army arbitrarily enforced an environmental law it had no authority to enforce. His huge loss is bad enough but why in the world is the Army even regulating agriculture in the first place? This week we have Tony Francois from the Pacific Legal Foundation talking to us about the intersection between agriculture and government. He shares his experiences as a veteran who was in West Germany during t...
Ep.014: I'd Sooner Be In Oklahoma
March 02, 2021 10:00 - 57 minutes - 46.7 MBIs your only cultural reference to the Sooner state the old Rogers and Hammerstein musical, Oklahoma!? Or maybe you’re a sports fan and you’re familiar with the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team. Today, Trent England Executive Director of Save Our States and fellow at Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs discusses his journey to living in Oklahoma, the culture and politics of the state, a little bit of history, and takes a dive into what makes Oklahoma unique. Whether you know nothing abou...
Ep.013: Big White Ghetto
February 16, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 57.6 MBKevin Williamson discusses his new book, Big White Ghetto: Dead Broke, Stone-Cold Stupid, and High on Rage in the Dank Woolly Wilds of the "Real America.” He shares with Garrett what he’s learned as a roving journalist for the National Review about poor, rural America. He also discusses the interesting ways people talk about events that have happened in their lives and their roles in those events. Ultimately, Kevin forces us to ask ourselves the hard questions about communities in rural Amer...
Ep.012: Beacon of the New South
February 02, 2021 10:00 - 53 minutes - 47.4 MBTaylor Dawson and Mark Cunningham are empowering Tennesseans to reclaim control of their lives as a communications team at the Beacon Center for Tennessee based in Nashville. They join Garrett today to discuss culture and politics in Tennessee and share their perspectives as transplants from Alabama and Washington, D.C. to the Volunteer State. They also talk about the forgotten Tennesseans who are often overshadowed by Nashville’s growth, why both of them have fallen in love with the state, ...
Ep.011: The Costs of the Opioid Crisis
January 19, 2021 10:00 - 44 minutes - 39.7 MBAlex Brill is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he studies the impact of tax policy on the US economy as well as the fiscal, economic, and political consequences of tax, budget, health care, retirement security, and trade policies. He also works on health care reform, pharmaceutical spending and drug innovation, and unemployment insurance reform. Today he joins Garrett to discuss the economic impacts of the opioid crisis on Forgotten America, and he shares w...
Ep.010: Spirit of the Mountains
January 05, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 91 MBEmma Ayers, Managing Opinion Editor at Young Voices and native of northeast Tennessee, joins Garrett on today’s episode to talk about the importance of tradition and religion in Appalachian culture. Together, they also explore the importance of meaningful work to the future prosperity of the Appalachian region, share the history of the mysterious Melungeons of Appalachia, and discuss possible solutions to the region’s woes. You can learn more about Melungeons from this article in USA...
Ep.009: Girl Meets World
December 22, 2020 10:00 - 43 minutes - 31 MBCasey Pifer is the Director of Institute Relations for the Atlas Network, a nonprofit organization connecting a global network of more than 475 free-market organizations in over 90 countries to the ideas and resources needed to advance the cause of liberty. She’s also a native West Virginian. Today she joins Garrett on the Forgotten America podcast to talk about the commonalities between our work in West Virginia and hers in an international context, wild horses in Montana, Big Game in Afric...
Ep.008: North Country Blues
December 08, 2020 10:00 - 37 minutes - 42 MBBradley Foster is the newest member of our team at the Cardinal Institute - joining us as our Community Engagement Associate. Similar to many mountaineers, his family has ties to mining, but instead of coal, Bradley’s family mined iron in Minnesota. Garrett invited Bradley onto the podcast today to share his experiences growing up in Minnesota, going to college in Fargo, North Dakota, the similarities and differences he’s noticed between the Mountain State and the Land of 10,000 Lakes, and w...
Ep. 007: From Bay State to Bluegrass
November 24, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 62.7 MBJoshua & Jared Crenshaw are brothers from Massachusetts who moved to Louisville, Kentucky to found the Pegasus Institute, a free market, state policy think tank. In this episode, Garrett speaks with them about their experience moving from the Bay State to the Bluegrass State, cultural misunderstandings about Kentucky, the New South, and a variety of reforms they believe will make Kentucky a beacon of prosperity. Get to know more about Pegasus’ work in Kentucky on their website: https:...
Ep. 006: Expatalachians
November 10, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 65.4 MBAnthony Hennen is a native of southeastern Ohio and the Managing Editor at the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal. In 2018, he joined with several other friends and Ohio university alumni to found the independent journalism website, Expatalachians. Anthony joins Garrett on today’s episode to discuss the future of regional journalism, cultural diversity in Appalachia, J.D. Vance’s controversial book Hillbilly Elegy, and life as an expatalachian. You can keep up with independent, A...
Ep. 005: City Mouse Goes Country
October 27, 2020 09:00 - 46 minutes - 42.6 MBAdam Kissel has made a career of helping others and advocating for liberty. He supported civic literacy with the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, fundamental rights at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, and philanthropy at the Charles Koch Foundation (CKF) and The Philanthropy Roundtable (TPR). He has even spent time as the deputy assistant secretary for higher education programs at the U.S. Department of Education overseeing a $2 billion loan portfolio. At the beginning of...
Ep. 004: The Jagged Heart of Appalachia
October 13, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 69.4 MBHave you ever been curious about the intersection between free-market policy and urban issues? Do you wonder if rural America and urban America have anything in common? Today, we dive deep into the Jagged Heart of Appalachia as Garrett interviews Scott Beyer, the founder of Market Urbanism Report. He shares with us how he became interested in this region of the country and what he has learned about urbanism in a predominantly rural area like Appalachia. In this episode, we tackle the difficu...
Ep. 003: Education Turf Wars
September 29, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 57.9 MBThis week Garrett interviews Andrew Campanella, President of National School Choice Week about his new book The School Choice Roadmap: 7 Steps to Finding the Right School for Your Child. In this episode, Andrew tells us why he wrote the book, what he thinks about the school choice debates raging across the country, and his experiences helping students, parents, and teachers find the education environment in which they will thrive. If you think children’s futures shouldn’t be determined by th...
Ep. 002: Coal Miner's Son
September 15, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 52.7 MBIn today’s episode, Garrett interviews Jason Huffman, the State Director of Americans for Prosperity - West Virginia and a native West Virginian. Jason shares with us stories about his family’s proud heritage as coal-miners, why he decided to stay in West Virginia, and what he thinks it will take to build the West Virginia Miracle. You can follow Jason's work with AFP-WV on: Twitter: @AFPWV Facebook: /AFPWestVirginia/ You can read more about their policy proposals for maki...
Welcome to Forgotten America!
July 17, 2020 18:28 - 36 minutes - 33.4 MBIn this first episode, you’ll meet the Cardinal Institute team, learn what we mean by the phrase Forgotten America, and get a peek into what you can expect from the Forgotten America podcast. You can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can support the podcast by becoming a patron on Patreon or you can support the work of the Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy by donating at www.cardinalinstitute.com/donate. You can keep up with our research and public policy work in the...