What the Hell Is Going On
249 episodes - English - Latest episode: 14 days ago - ★★★★ - 505 ratingsThe American Enterprise Institute’s Danielle Pletka and Marc Thiessen address the questions we’re all asking in their podcast, “What the Hell Is Going On?” In conversational, informative and irreverent episodes, Pletka and Thiessen interview policymakers and experts, asking tough, probing questions about the most important foreign policy and security challenges facing the world today.
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Episodes
WTH Can’t Democrats Quit Trump? The WSJ’s Barton Swaim Explains
April 11, 2024 10:00 - 49 minutes - 33.8 MBJoe Biden and the Democratic Party love labeling Donald Trump and his MAGA followers as the greatest threat to American democracy. So why are Democratic-aligned Super PACs funding self-declared MAGA candidates in GOP primaries? In a recent article for the Wall Street Journal, Barton Swaim explains that there are two reasons: The strategy has (so far) helped Democrats win in general elections; more importantly, Democrats long for a time when they were part of the heroic resistance against Tru...
WTH Is Going On With Biden and Israel? Dan Senor Explains
April 04, 2024 10:00 - 1 hour - 57.1 MBIn the wake of Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, Joe Biden stood by America’s closest Middle Eastern partner, providing diplomatic cover and military aid. Recently, however, the Biden administration has become increasingly critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli operations in Gaza. In March, Biden refused to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire without conditioning it on the release of Israeli hostages or acknowledging the atro...
WTH Do Americans Think the Economy is Terrible? Gary Cohn on Bidenomics
March 28, 2024 10:00 - 57 minutes - 52.4 MBAccording to President Biden, his stewardship of the economy – which he has dubbed “Bidenomics” – should be praised as the best America has ever seen. Unemployment is down and jobs are up. So why exactly are Americans giving such poor ratings to Bidenomics? Perhaps it’s because Biden’s $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package unleashed the worst inflation in 40 years. And while inflation may be lower today than it was three years ago, its compounding effects mean that prices are still sky-hig...
WTH Did We Do to Our Kids? Nat Malkus On The Consequences of Pandemic School Closures Four Years After COVID
March 21, 2024 10:00 - 47 minutes - 37.8 MBThroughout the COVID-19 pandemic, students, parents, and teachers were told they have to stay home from school in order to stop the spread of disease. Anyone who questioned that advice was labeled a conspiracy theorist who does not "trust the science." Now, the public is waking up to the real effects of “long COVID” -- the longer students stayed away from school, the more they are choosing to stay home today, with all the learning and social loss that implies. Who suffers the most? Minoriti...
WTH is Going On at Harvard? Larry Summers Explains
March 14, 2024 09:00 - 58 minutes - 46.9 MBFollowing the terrorist attacks of October 7th, Harvard University was among several elite bastions of higher education to show its true colors – moral relativism, raw antisemitism on campus, and poor leadership. Harvard, like other elite institutions, has and will continue to suffer reputational damage for its response. And indeed, the rot of higher ed is deep. It is not that a liberal bias has metastasized into illiberalism, but rather that illiberalism has been layered on top of a creepin...
WTH Are Americans Thinking About November? Mark Penn Explains His Newest Data
March 07, 2024 09:00 - 53 minutes - 43.1 MBSuper Tuesday wrapped up as predicted, with Trump sweeping the GOP win and Haley dropping out. Barring a meteorite, this means we are locked into a Trump-Biden rematch. But the newest Harvard-Harris CAPS poll reveals an America that is not as certain as primary voting behavior suggests – overwhelmingly, they profess a desire for a non-Biden non-Trump choice at the polls. For voters, immigration has become a national priority, even in states (Alaska) that are nowhere close to the southern bor...
WTH is Going On with Seizing Russian Assets? Stephen Rademaker Explains
February 29, 2024 09:00 - 49 minutes - 39.6 MBTwo years ago, at the start of the war in Ukraine, $300 billion in Russian assets were frozen in Western banks. The assumption behind Western economic pressure on Russia was that sanctions and seizures of oligarchs’ funds would have a chilling effect on both Russia’s economy and the pursuit of the war in Ukraine. They have not. As a result, for only the second time in history, the United States is considering seizing Russian assets. Congress, in the lead, has brought the Biden administration...
WTH is Happening Two Years into the War in Ukraine? Yaroslav Trofimov Explains
February 23, 2024 09:00 - 54 minutes - 44 MBSince Russia invaded Ukraine exactly two years ago, Yaroslav Trofimov has been covering the war on the ground. His newest book, Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine’s War of Independence, is a stunning account of the lead-up to the war and how Ukraine has consistently upended the conventional wisdom about its prospects for victory. But in recent weeks, the Ukrainians have faltered, with support from the United States hung up in a divided Congress. What is the lesson of h...
WTH: Natan Sharansky on the Murder of Alexei Navalny
February 21, 2024 09:00 - 1 hour - 48.5 MBAlexei Navalny was allowed one book in his Siberian prison. He chose Fear No Evil by former Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky, who joins us for an important conversation today to speak about his correspondence with Navalny and his own experience in a Siberian forced labor camp. Why did Navalny return to Moscow, and to certain arrest? What were his aims? What is it like to be held in what Sharansky refers to as his “alma mater” -- solitary confinement? And given Navalny’s murder, has Putin’s r...
WTH is Going On with Biden’s Mental Fitness, the 14th Amendment, and the Border Bill Debacle? Andy McCarthy Explains All
February 15, 2024 09:00 - 1 hour - 54 MBThe Department of Justice released a report that Joe Biden willfully retained classified documents – but can’t be tried because - long story short - he is non compos mentis. The Dems are outraged. Is it justified? On the other side of the aisle, Trump is facing 14th Amendment charges to keep him off the ballot. Is that legal? And finally, the House is mired in debates ongoing about passing a border bill. What was wrong with the Senate bill? As usual, there is a lot going on this week – but w...
WTH is Wrong with UNRWA? Jonathan Schanzer Explains
February 08, 2024 09:00 - 58 minutes - 46.6 MBMedia outlets have just begun to report on the rot of the United Nations Relief Works Agency – but the issue goes much farther back than October 7th, and the consequences will extend long past today. The top lines are that the Western-funded UN agency taught antisemitic propaganda in Palestinian territories for years; funded Hamas endeavors leading up to and including October 7; and has actually perpetuated the victimhood of Palestinians. To address the future of Israel-Palestine, one thing ...
WTH is No Labels’ Plan For 2024? No Labels Co-Chairman Governor Pat McCrory Explains
February 01, 2024 09:00 - 1 hour - 51.7 MBAmerica seems to be on a locked path towards a Trump-Biden rematch in 2024. But is this what people want? The polls say no. And is this really our only option? No Labels, the organization looking at presenting a third-party candidate, agrees. Decried (mostly by Democrats, for now) as a spoiler, No Labels leadership believes that for the first time, a third party candidate has a shot at winning the election. And what is their path to victory? Winning unconventional states, making a common sen...
WTH Happened in New Hampshire… and WTH Happens Next? With Josh Kraushaar
January 25, 2024 09:00 - 42 minutes - 33.9 MBTrump won the New Hampshire primaries, but Nikki Haley is staying in the race. We had a lot of questions for our guest on what this might mean for the next few weeks of primary voting, what this might mean for a potential third party candidate down the line, and yes, what this might mean for a Biden-Trump rematch. But there are some known quantities, too. Team Biden can't imagine anything better than to challenge Trump -- he might be the one Republican they can beat. And vice versa for Team ...
WTH Happened in Iowa...and WTH Happens Next? Sean Trende Explains
January 18, 2024 09:00 - 53 minutes - 43 MBThe 2024 Iowa caucuses have come and gone, with the key takeaways some freezing temperatures, low turnout, and a Trump slam dunk. 15 percent of eligible Iowans gave 51% of the vote to the former president. Of course, that also means that about half voted for somebody other than Trump. Most disappointed was Nikki Haley, who surprised us all with a lagging third place, while Ron DeSantis pulled ahead to second. So, is the 2024 GOP nomination a done deal for Trump? Maybe. But the year has just ...
WTH is Wrong with Gen Z? Greg Lukianoff and Rikki Schlott Explain
January 11, 2024 09:00 - 1 hour - 50.9 MBGeneration Z is now entering the workforce, and free speech levels have never been so low in America. Coincidence? We think not. Legions of Gen Zers are bringing the totalitarian ideas they were spoon-fed in university — CRT, DEI, and other Neo-Marxist ideas — into the American mainstream. As a result, we are at a peak cancel culture moment. How did this happen, who is to blame, and most importantly, how do we close Pandora’s box? Our guests — authors of a new book on cancel culture — sugges...
WTH Were the 10 Best and Worst Things Biden Did in 2023?
January 04, 2024 09:00 - 48 minutes - 39.2 MB2023 was not a year of shining achievements for the Biden administration. But along with the bad, there were achievements worth celebrating. So this year, Marc continues his tradition with the top ten best and worst things Biden did in 2023. Among the best relate to China – the replicator initiative, restrictions on Chinese advanced tech, and military aid for Taiwan – as well as his support for Israel and Ukraine. Among the worst were his slow rolling aid to Ukraine, softness on Iran, studen...
ICYMI: WTH is Going On with Kicking Trump Off the Ballot? John Yoo Explains
December 28, 2023 09:00 - 59 minutes - 47.6 MBHappy holidays from the WTH team. In case you missed it, we are re-upping one of our best pods of the year with John Yoo, to explain why kicking candidates off the ballot (looking at you, Colorado) is undemocratic... Is it correct that election officials can disqualify Trump based on the 14th Amendment? Was it really necessary or strategic to begin impeachment proceedings against Biden now? Is our Republic unraveling? This is precisely why Marc and Dany called on Biden to pardon Trump. This...
WTH Happens After the Israel-Hamas War? Elliott Abrams Explains
December 21, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 49.4 MBNearly three months into the Israel-Hamas war, we’re back with Elliott Abrams for an update on what the hell is going on, and more importantly, where to go from here. The military objectives – what Israel must do in order to secure its people – are one level, but as the conflict continues, there are deeper issues that will take time and clarity to address. How do we deradicalize both the Palestinian population in support of Hamas? What about Hezbollah? Iran? And how can we help Israeli secur...
WTH Have All the Democrats Gone? With Ruy Teixeira
December 14, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 57 MBIn 2002, Ruy Teixeira co-authored The Emerging Democratic Majority. Now, two decades later, his new book is out – Where Have All the Democrats Gone? So what happened to the Democratic Party in those intervening years? A couple of major factors stand out. First, the Democrats have bled working-class voters – once the party’s base. This means that your average Democrat today is not a UAW union worker, but probably a middle to upper-class post-grad student at Harvard. Or Colombia. Or U Penn. Se...
WTH is Ukraine Aid’s Best-Kept Secret? Most of The Money Stays in the U.S. John Ferrari Explains
December 07, 2023 09:00 - 53 minutes - 49.1 MBThe best-kept secret about aid to Ukraine? 90% of the money the US allocates for military aid is spent here at home. The money goes right to American defense companies that employ American workers to produce the weapons systems that Ukraine is using to fight Russia. Not only that: the money is revitalizing decayed production lines, bringing back institutional knowledge about weapons manufacturing to the fore, and pushing the American defense sector to innovate and modernize old weapons syste...
WTH is the UN so anti-Israel and anti-American? Brett Schaefer Explains
November 30, 2023 09:00 - 54 minutes - 44 MBWhy is the United Nations siding with Hamas in its war on Israel? An exaggeration? Nope. The examples are endless. The United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA), devoted to the question of Palestinian refugees in name, but de facto a front for Hamas; leadership on the UN Security Council and Human Rights Council from China and Iran, setting the anti-Israel agenda; UN employees teaching antisemitic propaganda, promoting Hamas on their personal social media accounts, and blocking condemnation...
WTH: Tik Tok, Osama bin Laden, and Hamas. Rep. Mike Gallagher Explains
November 22, 2023 09:00 - 55 minutes - 50.6 MBSince the events of October 7, the Chinese Communist Party has been spreading virulent antisemitic memes in the U.S. via its favorite information warfare tool: Tik Tok. We have had episodes on Tik Tok before, but the urgency of this issue has reached a fever pitch, culminating with the celebration of Osama bin Laden’s “Letter to America” on the app last week. Tik Tok is pervasive – around a third of young adults use it for news – and it is incredibly effective. It is not just the propaganda ...
WTH Do Antisemitism and Critical Race Theory Have in Common? Professor David Bernstein Explains
November 16, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 54.6 MBWhat do Critical Race Theory and antisemitism have in common? A lot, actually, from the roots of each movement, to the ideology, to the way they are weaponized by the left today. The overarching philosophy linking these movements together is a Manichean ordering of peoples into groups of oppressed or oppressor – usually, but not always, based on the color of one’s skin. Indeed, it is no mistake that in the aftermath of WWII, Jews sought to categorize themselves as white, a move that has now ...
WTH is Iran Up To in Israel and Gaza? Ken Pollack Explains
November 09, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 48.2 MBIt is unclear whether Iran chose the exact date and time of the Hamas attacks, but the detail is irrelevant. The Islamic Republic of Iran has funded, coordinated, trained, and armed Hamas and other proxies for years. Should Israel not definitively succeed in eliminating Hamas, Iran will learn a critical lesson: its strategy works. What does Iran want from this war? Eventually, hegemonic control of the Middle East; in the meantime, derailing normalization between Israel and the Arab states, e...
WTH is Going On with the Explosion of Antisemitism on the Left? Ruth Wisse Explains
October 31, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 56.2 MBThere are Charlottesvilles happening every day in America. This time, they’re everywhere, driven by an explosion of antisemitism. And these Charlottesvilles are happening at Harvard, Columbia, and Stanford among other elite havens of academe. This is not the alt-right, fringe antisemitism of years past. The modern version has taken on the flavor of the leftist elite: it equates Zionism with racism; it coalesces the extreme aspects of BLM, feminism, and other groups against a common enemy; it...
WTH is Wrong with Congress? Rep. Fitzpatrick Explains
October 25, 2023 09:00 - 50 minutes - 40.3 MBIt has been over 20 days since the House of Representatives ousted, and then successively failed to re-elect, a speaker of the House. The dysfunction could not be coming at a worse time: war in Europe, war in the Middle East, rising danger in the Pacific. Budgets are not getting passed, much less additional aid packages for Ukraine and Israel. The House cannot even convene to condemn the Hamas terrorists – what the hell is wrong with our country? One infuriating piece of information from our...
WTH Did Hamas Attack and How Will Israel Respond? Haviv Gur Explains
October 18, 2023 15:04 - 1 hour - 54.5 MBThe monstrosity of Hamas’ attack on Israel is hard to fathom. This podcast, with Times of Israel reporter Haviv Gur, shares some insight into developments on the ground in Israel, tragedies that Israelis are experiencing real-time, and analysis of the political, religious, and military aspects of the conflict. He also gives us a glimpse into Israel’s calculus following the attack – what do Israelis think Palestinians are thinking? Where are the roots of Palestinian extremism, how do the ma...
WTH Aren’t We Holding Iran Responsible For The Attack on Israel? With Elliott Abrams
October 11, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 42.2 MBOn October 7th, Israel suffered the worst attack it has experienced in its history at the hands of the terrorist group Hamas. 900 casualties in Israel, including at least 11 American citizens – not to mention around 150 hostages taken by Hamas, most back to the Gaza Strip where they will be held as bargaining chips. The shocking adjectives being used are spot on: heinous, evil, unconscionable. And one lesson has emerged crystal-clear: weakness on Iran does not lead to moderation and bonhomie...
WTH is Congress Undermining Our National Defense? Mackenzie Eaglen Explains
October 04, 2023 09:00 - 52 minutes - 42.4 MBCongress narrowly averted a government shutdown last week when it passed a continuing resolution – a stop-gap spending bill that finances the government for a little over a month. What does this really mean? It means that we are spending at previous levels of government while important investment bills for the future are frozen, hamstringing the federal government in carrying out its number one job: to provide for the common defense. But the problem is bigger, and goes back further, than thi...
WTH Has Trust in American Institutions Collapsed? Gerry Baker Explains
September 27, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 48.7 MBGallup, Pew, and other reputable polling institutes have been lock-step in reporting the precipitous decline of American trust in the country’s institutions over the past few years. Every survey examining public faith in our institutions to do what is right, to provide for the common good, or to simply function at all has hit rock bottom. Surprising? Not really – these dropping percentage points coincide with upticks in intense partisanship, erosion in our political process, and culture wars...
WTH is Going On with Kicking Trump Off the Ballot? John Yoo Explains the 14th Amendment, Biden Impeachment and More
September 20, 2023 09:00 - 59 minutes - 47.6 MBThe projected Biden-Trump rematch is not merely depressing, it is causing policymakers on the left and the right to abandon good sense. The result? A double-whammy Biden impeachment and Trump constitutional crisis as the country heads into the election season. Is it correct that election officials can disqualify Trump based on the 14th Amendment? Was it really necessary or strategic to begin impeachment proceedings against Biden now? Is our Republic unraveling? This is precisely why Marc and...
WTH Can Pro-Life and Pro-Choice Americans Agree On? A Lot, Say Alyssa Rosenberg and Marc Thiessen
September 13, 2023 09:00 - 50 minutes - 46.3 MBIn a post-Dobbs political landscape, abortion policy has become the great divider. But disagreements over abortion cannot stifle much-needed conversations about what can be done to support American women, mothers, fathers, and children. To nobody’s surprise, WTH co-host Marc is a conservative. His colleague at the Washington Post Alyssa Rosenberg, is liberal. Together, they undertook the critical task that one might expect from our lawmakers, and put their differences aside to write a produc...
WTH is the Biden Administration Undermining The Ukrainian Counteroffensive? General Jack Keane Explains
September 06, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 68.1 MBThis summer, several articles aired in mainstream media outlets citing unnamed individuals from the Pentagon, and criticizing the speed and tactics of the Ukrainian counteroffensive. These critiques appear to at once reflect a poor understanding of the military goals and capabilities of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, and also bolster the growing anti-Ukraine, pro-isolationism cohort in America. The lack of humility is even more remarkable: the US has not fought a war against a protracted Ru...
WTH Should I Read This Summer? Best Things First by Bjorn Lomborg
August 30, 2023 09:00 - 42 minutes - 34.1 MBIt may not come as a surprise that in much of the developed world, money spent is not necessarily money used well. We have done podcasts on the ideological and political dangers of bad development policy, but the dollar-to-donuts, real practical bent of the conversation is just as important. Because at the end of the day, the international community has come up with many (169) development objectives, most all of them unreachable (we have only met one). Instead of looking at the trajectory of...
WTH Should I Read This Summer? Spies: The Epic Intelligence War between East and West by Calder Walton
August 23, 2023 09:00 - 48 minutes - 44 MBLittle known fact: the intelligence war between the East and the West started long before 1945. And not only that; it did not end with the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 90s either. Indeed, this silent conflict has been lurking in the background of virtually every major historical event since 1917. The intelligence wars of the past century have been defined by theft, driven by fear, and dictated by tyrants from Stalin then to Putin and Xi Jinping now. But today, the age of the tradition...
WTH Should I Read This Summer? The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink by Will Inboden
August 16, 2023 09:00 - 41 minutes - 38.2 MBThe What the Hell crew continues our summer reading series! Our next pick is The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink. The Peacemaker’s focus is Ronald Reagan’s foreign policy, adding to previous research with recently declassified national security documents. But just as importantly, the history presented reminds us why the challenges we face today – socialism rebranded, struggles for sovereignty in Ukraine and Taiwan – are not novel. In fact, it is pretty sim...
WTH Should I Read This Summer? Chip War by Chris Miller
August 09, 2023 09:00 - 47 minutes - 38 MBThis August, the What the Hell crew brings you a summer reading series! Our first pick is Chip War, a book the NYT hailed as a cross between Mission Impossible and the China Syndrome. Nominally, this is the story of the semiconductor industry, but it is really a forecast of modern grand strategy, great power conflict, and the security of the global economy. It is no mistake that the book’s author, Chris Miller, set out to write a book about military strategy – and then realized that military...
WTH Do Republicans Really Think About Foreign Policy? Roger Zakheim Explains
August 02, 2023 09:00 - 46 minutes - 42.5 MBWith the incessant politicization of real foreign policy issues, sometimes it is helpful to go back to the numbers. And in this case, the numbers are detached from the reality that anti-Ukraine Republicans are trying to sell. In fact, a new summer survey from the Reagan Institute finds that a 76% supermajority of Americans, including 71% of Republicans, agree that it is important to the US that Ukraine wins the war. This is not the “Ukraine fatigue” story we have been told. Moreover, support...
WTH is Neocolonialist Environmentalism? Todd Moss Explains
July 26, 2023 09:00 - 48 minutes - 38.6 MBOne of America's greatest engines of growth is fossil fuels – cheap, reliable energy that jumpstarted the industrial revolution and paved the way for the security and prosperity we enjoy today. Others will not be so lucky. Many African countries lack energy security and are reliant upon foreign aid and international organizations that impose environmentally correct conditions on assistance. Indeed, rather than affording African nations the same pathway to prosperity that Western countries us...
WTH Did Biden Blow It on NATO and Ukraine? Ambassador Kurt Volker Explains
July 19, 2023 09:00 - 54 minutes - 49.6 MBLast week at the NATO summit in Lithuania, the world watched as Ukraine was denied an actionable plan for membership in the alliance. It was almost a rinse and repeat from 2008, when Ukraine and Georgia pushed for membership, and were offered a similarly passive statement – save for one major exception: today, Ukraine is actively fighting for its life. In fact, Ukraine is doing NATO’s job for it: defending Europe, upholding sovereignty, and keeping Russia’s imperialist ambitions at bay. And,...
WTH Happened with the Russian Mutiny? Yaroslav Trofimov Unravels the Mystery
July 12, 2023 09:00 - 45 minutes - 41.4 MBYevgeny Prigozhin, head of the private military company Wagner Group, staged a rebellion against Putin’s regime in Russia on June 24th. For a brief moment, the Wagner forces took over Rostov-on-Don, and came within 125 miles of Moscow before coming under heavy fire by the Russian military, and turning back. Putin struck a deal with Belarus president Lukashenko wherein Prigozhin was exiled to Belarus in exchange for amnesty. But who is Prigozhin? None other than Putin’s former caterer. If it ...
WTH is Going On with the Supreme Court? Jonathan Turley Explains
July 05, 2023 09:00 - 59 minutes - 54.3 MBThe Supreme Court went out with a bang in 2023 – before heading off to recess, SCOTUS struck down affirmative action, ruled Biden’s loan forgiveness grab unconstitutional, and prioritized the First Amendment in a creative design case. Each of these cases (save for KBJ’s recusal on the affirmative action vote) was decided 6-3: the conservative majority versus the liberal bloc. Despite the ensuing media mayhem that accompanied the rulings, however, the cases are each staked squarely in the law...
WTH is Going On with the Hunter Biden Whistleblower? Peter Schweizer Explains
June 28, 2023 09:00 - 46 minutes - 42.5 MBIf you thought the Trump indictment capped the pattern of White House prosecutions, well, you’d be wrong (though see the WTH joint op-ed on how to end the prosecutorial death loop). Now, Hunter Biden has been indicted on misdemeanor charges of tax evasion – news that was decried as a “sweetheart deal.” But a former IRS investigator and FBI officials who came forward to Congress present a government cover-up, from the DOJ disallowing a 2018 investigation into Hunter Biden, to limitations on a...
WTH is the Left Waging War on Things That Work? Noah Rothman Explains
June 21, 2023 09:00 - 51 minutes - 47.4 MBThe dictators of the nanny state are waging war on things that work. Daily appliances that make life manageable (your gas stoves, your AC, your lawn equipment) are increasingly under assault, with dubious climate/equity rationales. But the effects on climate are negligible, and the myriad electric substitutions don’t just have environmental costs of their own, many simply don’t work. So what is really going on? Instead of protecting the consumer as these bans claim to do, this new technocrat...
WTH is Going On with the Trump Indictment? John Yoo Weighs In
June 14, 2023 09:00 - 49 minutes - 45.6 MBWhen the Founders conceived the U.S. Constitution, they were under the assumption that the head of state in America would be guided by honor – that an impeachment would virtually never be necessary, that the shame of the prospect would force the accused to step down from office. That model of leadership with integrity is absent in today’s political climate. In former president Donald Trump’s second, and more serious indictment, he has been charged with 37 counts relating to his retention of ...
WTH is the America First Case for Supporting Ukraine?
June 07, 2023 09:00 - 44 minutes - 40.5 MBOver the past 15 months, Ukrainians have surpassed expectations in their response to the Russian invasion, showing valor and resilience. But more than a year into the fighting, many of those who advocate for aid to Ukraine still do so as a matter of idealism. Voters should know that it is also in the United States’ vital national interests. President Biden, our commander-in-chief, has a responsibility to explain to the American people what is at stake in the war in Ukraine: the consequences ...
WTH is the Republican Primary Forecast? Josh Kraushaar on the Growing Field
May 31, 2023 09:00 - 52 minutes - 48.3 MBLast week saw two more entrants into what is already a crowded Republican primary field: Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) are officially in the running. Polling suggests that DeSantis is the only real challenger to Donald Trump, but the party base can only hope that his glitchy Twitter announcement doesn’t belie a deeper weakness in the candidate’s campaign. Tim Scott, by contrast, has embraced a more traditional roll out and uplifting Reaganite rhetoric, but enjoy...
WTH Happened with the Durham Report? Andy McCarthy on the FBI Failings
May 24, 2023 09:00 - 50 minutes - 40.6 MBAfter four years of work, the Durham Report the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation was released last week. And notwithstanding the objections of the New York Times and other partisans, the report was revelatory: the probable cause for opening the Russia collusion investigation was so flimsy that internal investigators had serious doubts and the Brits refused to even touch the case; the primary source for the famous Steele dossier was Igor Danchenko, previously suspected of working wit...
WTH is Going On with the Debt Limit Fight? Brian Riedl on our Fiscal Future
May 17, 2023 09:00 - 48 minutes - 44.2 MBIt’s a tale as old as time… where will our next trillion come from to feed our hungry coffers? We jest, but only a little: Negotiations on raising the debt limit are ongoing, marking, ahem, dozens of times this has happened under both Democrats and Republicans. Neither party has been able to summon the wherewithal to sacrifice political clout for the good of the long-term economy. Take healthcare spending: Democrats promote top-down, regulatory spending, while Republicans support consumer-ba...
WTH is Going On with Title 42? Andrew Selee on our Broken Immigration System
May 10, 2023 09:00 - 56 minutes - 51.9 MBThis Thursday, the COVID-era immigration policy Title 42 will expire. Initiated by the Trump administration, it allowed for the expulsion of migrants at the border under a public health directive. It lifts as numbers of encounters at the border continue to skyrocket – instances grew from 646,822 in 2020 to 2,766 in 2022, and have already surpassed 1.544 million this year. These are staggering and historic numbers. Border Patrol cannot handle the sheer quantity, processing centers are overrun...