Rep. Mike Gallagher (@RepGallagher) (R-WI) is a leading China hawk in Congress, where he serves on the Armed Services Committee, with a background in U.S. Marine Corps Intelligence and as a staffer on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. I had Rep. Gallagher on the podcast to discuss his views on what China really wants, to the parallels between the CCP and the Soviet Union, and the relevance of the Cold War paradigm, to ideological warfare and the challenges America faces in waging it, countering Chinese influence across all sectors of American life, Huawei and whether America needs a national industrial policy, Taiwan, and much more. What We Discussed The Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) ultimate goals, and the relevance of its Communist ideology to them Why China poses a greater threat to the U.S. than the Soviet Union during the Cold War The imperative to wage ideological warfare against the CCP, and the challenge America faces in its arguable lack of moral clarity about its mission Countering CHina's influence over U.S. corporations, academic institutions, our media, etc. How to triumph in 5G, and more broadly in strategically significant technological areas against the CCP, and whether we need a national industrial policy Rep. Gallagher's assessment of China's military might Whether America should recognize Taiwan The aims of the new congressional China Task Force Thanks for Listening! Check out other episodes, show notes and transcripts at benweingarten.com/bigideas. Subscribe, rate and review: iTunes | Stitcher | Google | YouTube Follow Ben: Web | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn Advertising & Sponsorship Inquiries: E-mail us. ___________ Backed Vibes (clean) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Big Ideas with Ben Weingarten

Rep. Mike Gallagher on the Challenge of Communist China

Rep. Brad Wenstrup (@RepBradWenstrup) (R-OH) is a doctor, Army Reserve officer, and Iraq War veteran who sits on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. I had Rep. Wenstrup on the podcast to discuss his views on  what he describes as an emerging new cold war with Communist China, and the weaponization and hyper-politicization of our national security and intelligence apparatus. What We Discussed The CCP’s tightening of the noose on Hong Kong Whether America should ditch the One-China Policy and recognize Taiwan Long-term fiscal dangers as a consequence of the coronavirus The railroading of General Flynn and Russiagate/Spygate Weaponization and hyper-politicization of the national security and intelligence apparatus, and whether it should be reformed The state of the FISA court and FBI Thanks for Listening! Check out other episodes, show notes and transcripts at benweingarten.com/bigideas. Subscribe, rate and review: iTunes | Stitcher | Google | YouTube Follow Ben: Web | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn Advertising & Sponsorship Inquiries: E-mail us. ___________ Backed Vibes (clean) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Rep Brad Wenstrup on the New Cold War with Communist China and Deep State Corruption

Kyle Bass (@Jkylebass) is the Chief Investment Officer of Hayman Capital Management, and arguably the most outspoken China hawk on Wall Street. I had Bass on the podcast to discuss his views on the U.S.-China economic competition, what a U.S. grand strategy with respect to China might look like, and much more. What We Discussed Why Bass believes China is a paper tiger China's ignored Achilles' heel The Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) effort to set up a competing global reserve currency How the CCP has ensured a predominant pro-Beijing narrative in the U.S., through developing relationships with our political class, titans of  financial services and other powerful sectors of the economy, and Hollywood--to our great detriment How America can use capital market reforms to end the CCP's unfair trade practices What Bass would do if he was advising the Trump administration on trade vis-à-vis China Whether America can decouple from China, and what the consequences would be The economic viability of China's Belt and Road Initiative The stakes of the competition with Huawei in 5G telecommunications technology Making China pay for its culpability in the coronavirus crisis China's biggest Achilles heel Bass's three major recommendations for a U.S. grand strategy with respect to China Thanks for Listening! Check out other episodes, show notes and transcripts at benweingarten.com/bigideas. Subscribe, rate and review: iTunes | Stitcher | Google | YouTube Follow Ben: Web | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn Advertising & Sponsorship Inquiries: E-mail us. ___________ Backed Vibes (clean) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Hedge-Fund Manager Kyle Bass on Winning the Economic and Ideological Battle with Communist China

Luke Rosiak (@lukerosiak) is an investigative reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation where he broke arguably one of the biggest scandals in the history of the federal government -- one the media refused to cover and the prosecutors refused to prosecute.  This is the story of Awangate, which proved no match for Russiagate -- but should have on its merits. It is the subject of Rosiak's Obstruction of Justice: How the Deep State Risked National Security to Protect the Democrats, a book that has taken on new significance as the treasonous Russian collusion narrative collapses. I had Luke Rosiak on the podcast to reflect on the story of the Awans, and its far broader significance for our nation. What We Discussed How the Awans amassed so much power on Capitol Hill The breathtaking litany of criminality of the Awan conspiracy Why and how House Democrats and the Department of Justice covered up Awangate – and House Republicans enabled it Why Rosiak is confident members of Congress were blackmailed and are still susceptible to blackmail by the Awans, how deep the blackmail threat runs and why Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz’s behavior proves it How politicians and bureaucrats put self-interest above national security The inextricably intertwined relationship between Russiagate and Awangate, and what both “investigations” say about the Deep State The Democrat-Media-Deep State collusion over Awangate Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her underlings’ role in rigging the Awan case for the Democrats’ benefit The government’s failure to do anything to prevent future Awans from infiltrating Congress Thanks for Listening! Check out other episodes, show notes and transcripts at benweingarten.com/bigideas. Subscribe, rate and review: iTunes | Stitcher | Google | YouTube Follow Ben: Web | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn Advertising & Sponsorship Inquiries: E-mail us. ___________ Backed Vibes (clean) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The Democrat-Deep State-Media Cover-Up that Protected the Russiagate Narrative -- Revisiting Awangate with Luke Rosiak

Robert Spencer (@jihadwatchRS) is the director of the invaluable counterjihadist website, Jihad Watch, and a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. He is the author of eighteen books, including the New York Times bestsellers The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) and The Truth About Muhammad. His latest book is The History of Jihad From Muhammad to ISIS. Mr. Spencer's work sits at the nexus of a number of seminal issues, from national security and foreign policy, to identity politics and free speech, and theology and political philosophy. The battle being waged by Islamic supremacism against the West implicates all of these matters, and Mr. Spencer's insights make him uniquely qualified to discuss them.  I had him on the Big Ideas podcast to touch on everything from Islamic supremacist ideology and the goals, tactics and strategies its adherents use to impose it, to free speech and the deplatforming of counterjihadists like Spencer himself to the Sunni v. Shia battle in the Middle East and how we can actually triumph in the global jihad being waged against the West. What We Discussed Why the story of Muhammad is so integral to understanding Islamic supremacism, jihad and the Middle East today Mecca vs. Medina in Islamic history, and its practical consequences How Islam defines peace Spencer's view on the prospects of Islamic reformation, and separating political Islam from individual practice Why former CIA Director John Brennan was wrong in his definition of "jihad" Enforcement of Sharia speech codes in the West Jihad Watch's experience getting deplatformed from PayPal The state of the Middle East and what U.S. national interest in the region requires from a policy perspective What Spencer would advocate if he were named counterjihad czar How to vet for Sharia supremacy Defeating jihad, and much more Thanks for Listening! Check out other episodes, show notes and transcripts at benweingarten.com/bigideas. Subscribe, rate and review: iTunes | Stitcher | Google | YouTube Follow Ben: Web | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn Advertising & Sponsorship Inquiries: E-mail us. ___________ Backed Vibes (clean) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Robert Spencer on Islamic Supremacism, U.S. Middle East Policy, Defeating Jihad

Richard Grenell is the U.S. Ambassador to Germany, and the longest serving UN spokesman and political appointee in American history, where he served from 2001 to 2008. Amb. Grenell occupies one of the most critical positions in American diplomacy in Berlin, not only because Germany represents the EU's largest economy and has disproportionate influence on the continent, but because of its pivotal role with respect to both Iran's efforts to evade U.S. snapback sanctions, and Russia's efforts to provide energy to and thus leverage over European nations. During our discussion we touched on the ambassador’s efforts to persuade the Germans to cease trade with Iran and comply with the U.S. sanctions regime – and how those who resist can justify their stated intolerance of Jew-haters while seeking to do business with a regime dedicated to Israel’s destruction -- Germany’s place in an America First foreign policy, energy, Nord Stream 2 and America’s efforts to counter Russia through selling liquefied natural gas to Germany, Chancellor Merkel and German politics and Amb. Grenell’s dogged efforts to deport a Nazi officer who had been living in the United States for decades. Thanks for Listening! Check out other episodes, show notes and transcripts at benweingarten.com/bigideas. Subscribe, rate and review: iTunes | Stitcher | Google | YouTube Follow Ben: Web | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn Advertising & Sponsorship Inquiries: E-mail us. ___________ Backed Vibes (clean) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

U.S. Amb. to Germany Richard Grenell on Iran Sanctions Snapback, U.S. Energy Competition with Russia in the EU, Chancellor Merkel

Rich Higgins is an expert on the nexus between theological doctrines and information age unconventional warfare, and has spent 20 years combating terrorism in a variety of senior positions within the Department of Defenses. Higgins, an early supporter of President Trump, served as director for strategic planning in President Trump's National Security Council (NSC). That all changed when a memo that he had produced for President Trump on the political warfare that he was to face internally from the Deep State, and externally from the media and like-minded interest groups in collusion with the administrative state, leaked out to the public. Higgins' memo was dismissed as conspiratorial, and he was fired from the NSC. What he foretold has risen to the forefront again in the wake of the unsigned New York Times op-ed detailing measures taken by Trump administration officials to "Resist" the president, and seek to sabotage his agenda. I had Higgins on the podcast to discuss the "Deep State's" efforts to subvert the president's agenda, whether there was an effort to purge like-minded individuals from Trump's national security and foreign policy team -- and why, what can be done to reform the administrative state, the ramifications of the politicization and weaponization of our national security and intelligence apparatus and much more. What We Discussed Higgins' reaction to the anonymous New York Times op-ed about the brazen Resistance within the Trump White House which seemed to confirm precisely what he warned of in his memo How the litany of allegations being raised against Judge Brett Kavanaugh in his Supreme Court confirmation hearings plays into Higgins' thesis Whether there was a concerted effort to purge national security and foreign policy officials in the Trump administration who sought to advance Trump's agenda, and what Higgins believes the establishment felt so threatened by that it would require such a purging Why Higgins believes it isn't the Deep State or Obama holdovers that are to blame for the sabotage of President Trump's policies, but rather the Republican Party itself Higgins' believe that Resistance to Trump was largely driven by vested financial interests -- specifically centered on China -- and the belief Trump would upend the major investments of the last 30 years in restructuring the global financial architecture and economy, hurting said vested interests How to reform the "Deep State" The "whiff of tyranny" in the air over the ability for the intelligence community to use its surveillance powers against American citizens, up to and including spying on and seeking to undermine and bring down the president Higgins' view on protecting liberty in the face of powerful surveillance tools and the need to counter our adversaries The imperative to bring back civics and reunite the country on the basis of shared values, principles and knowledge of and reverence for our Founding What Higgins would add to his memo to the president if he had the chance today Thanks for Listening! Check out other episodes, show notes and transcripts at benweingarten.com/bigideas. Subscribe, rate and review: iTunes | Stitcher | Google | YouTube Follow Ben: Web | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn Advertising & Sponsorship Inquiries: E-mail us. ___________ Backed Vibes (clean) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Ex-NSC Official Allegedly Fired Over Memo Warning Trump of ‘Deep State’ Resistance: ‘There’s a Whiff of Tyranny in the Air’ from Politicization and Weaponization of the NatSec Apparatus

Sean Bigley (@smb_JD) is a national security attorney who prosecutes intelligence community whistleblower retaliation cases. His firm represents approximately 200 U.S. intelligence officers, diplomats, armed forces members and other security clearance holders each year. But in Mr. Bigley's vast experience as a litigator and former federal background investigator, one case of alleged brazen political retaliation has topped them all. This is the case of former distinguished Pentagon Office of Net Assessment analyst and Trump National Security Council Director Adam Lovinger. In defending Lovinger as a whistleblower of malfeasance involving contracts provided to not only a close confidante of the Clinton family, but the now-infamous informant in the Trump campaign, Stefan Halper, Bigley has witnessed a case of alleged political retribution by Obama administration holdovers the likes of which should chill any American. I had Bigley on the podcast to tell this story -- illustrative of the bipartisan deep rot and corruption within our federal bureaucracy -- and to discuss much more regarding politicization and weaponization of security clearances and how to reform the administrative state and protect its whistleblowers. What We Discussed The historical politicization and weaponization of national security clearances  How the politicization and weaponization of national security clearances by holdovers meant to block President Trump's nominees and appointees from coming into the administration is an entirely new pernicious tactic The story of how the highly rated 12-plus year Pentagon analyst Adam Lovinger has had his career destroyed after blowing the whistle on malfeasance within the Department of Defense's in-house think-tank, the Office of Net Assessment (ONA), including: The issues Lovinger blew the whistle on to his superior, ONA Director James Baker, a holdover from the Obama administration, which touched on improper contracts being doled out to among others a close friend of Chelsea Clinton and Stefan Halper, the informant the U.S. government sicced on the Trump campaign to make contact with officials vis-a-vis Russia The original probe into Lovinger, for which he was exonerated, that arose shortly after he started writing about malfeasance within his office -- the first such probe in Lovinger's career The subsequent investigations into Lovinger contemporaneous with his being detailed to a prestigious role within the Trump National Security Council -- run by investigators allegedly wholly unequipped to do the investigating and tied to Lovinger's old boss Mr. Baker, which would ultimately lead to the suspension and revocation of Lovinger's security clearance and his losing his job and pay The allegedly rigged process by which these investigations took place, violating Lovinger's right to due process by not providing the accused with basic information on the charges against him, documentation, leaking of defamatory information on Lovinger to the media, etc. Why Lovinger's attorney believes the charges raised against Lovinger were "a total farce," "trial balloon charges" leaked in an attempt to "figure out what would stick" How the adjudication process for action taken against Lovinger ultimately may result in him having to make his case to a "panel of unaccountable bureaucrats who report directly to the same woman who has been leading the charge against him from Day One" Why Lovinger's attorney believes there is a political motivation behind the pursuit of Lovinger, based in no small part on his raising issues with contracts again doled out to a close confidante of the Clintons -- for whom Hillary Clinton allegedly lobbied -- and the informant into the Trump campaign Stefan Halper Lovinger's message to President Trump What reforms Lovinger's attorney would recommend in order to protect whistleblowers in the face of an intransigent administrative state Thanks for Listening! Check out other episodes, show notes and transcripts at benweingarten.com/bigideas. Subscribe, rate and review: iTunes | Stitcher | Google | YouTube Follow Ben: Web | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn Advertising & Sponsorship Inquiries: E-mail us. ___________ Backed Vibes (clean) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Did the 'Deep State' Deep Six Pentagon's Lovinger Over Discovery of Shady Defense Department Contracts to FBI Trump Informant Stefan Halper?

Charles Sam Faddis (@RealSamFaddis) is a retired CIA operative, where he spent decades serving abroad in the Middle East, South Asia and Europe, culminating in his heading CIA’s Counter Terrorism Center’s Weapons of Mass Destructions (WMD) unit, which was charged with pursuing terrorist WMD programs worldwide. It was Faddis who was responsible for leading the first CIA team into Iraq, in advance of the 2003 invasion. Faddis left the CIA when he had the chance to continue advancing up its senior ranks because he saw a bureaucracy that like much of our administrative state had grown sclerotic, heavily politicized, politically correct and thus subversive of its main objectives. He wrote about his experience in a simply breathtaking 2009 book titled Beyond Repair: The Decline and Fall of the CIA, in which Faddis called for recasting CIA in the mold of the more dynamic, risk-oriented, and arguably effective Office of Strategic Services (OSS), CIA’s predecessor. That book has only become more relevant in a time now when vital areas from law enforcement to the intelligence community and the national security apparatus more broadly are daily being exposed at their highest levels as nakedly political. Faddis has been one of the few longtime CIA officials to condemn those such as former CIA Director John Brennan for their words and actions, citing a massive disconnect between rank-and-file analysts and operatives in the field, versus intelligence leaders in Washington D.C. In light of the outcry over the revocation of former Director Brennan’s security clearance and Faddis’ contrarian position, his deep knowledge of and solutions to the rot in our national security apparatus – which has real-world consequences for our safety – and his keen, clear-eyed vision as to the threats facing us, I had Faddis on the Big Ideas with Ben Weingarten podcast to touch on all of these areas, and many more. What We Discussed Why Faddis supports revoking John Brennan's security clearance -- and the bureaucratization and politicization of the leadership of the intelligence community versus the rank-and-file analysts and operatives in the field Whether politics dominates over merit in the ranks of intelligence and the national security apparatus more broadly What members of the national security establishment really mean when they talk about "protecting the institutions" Why President Trump has been deemed a threat to the power of the political leaders within the national security establishment in a qualitatively different way than any of his predecessors -- and that's a positive thing What Faddis would do to reform intelligence The poor state of America's counterintelligence capabilities The lessons of Iraq regarding U.S. intervention and the national interest Whether America has the capability to use intelligence to engage in ideological warfare and bring down Iran's Khomeinist regime How China's liquidation of our spy network reflects the problems plaguing America's intelligence apparatus The long-term ramifications of China's OPM hack The implications of China's attempt to infiltrate Senator Dianne Feinstein's office The threat to the U.S. homeland of a collapsing Venezuela and Mexico, combined with drug cartels, organized crime groups and Hezbollah in our hemisphere Faddis' optimistic assessment of the Trump administration's North Korea policy Why China poses the greatest long-term threat to America of all, and our willful blindness towards it Thanks for Listening! Check out other episodes, show notes and transcripts at benweingarten.com/bigideas. Subscribe, rate and review: iTunes | Stitcher | Google | YouTube Follow Ben: Web | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn Advertising & Sponsorship Inquiries: E-mail us. ___________ Backed Vibes (clean) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Former CIA Operative Charles Sam Faddis on Disastrous Politicization of the Intelligence Community, How China's 'Eating Our Lunch' in Intel and NatSec, The Grave (Ignored) Narco-Hezbollah-Failed State Threat on America's Southern Border

Jonathan Neumann has written perhaps the seminal book on how modern Jewry has supplanted its traditional values and principles with Leftism, based on a perverse, sophistic reading of the concept of tikkun olam, "healing the world," that demands devotion to social justice as the highest good and organizing principle of the Jewish religion. By way of background, Neumann is a graduate of Cambridge University and the London School of Economics. He has written for various American, British, and Israeli publications, was the Tikvah Fellow at Commentary magazine, and has served as assistant editor at Jewish Ideas Daily I had Neumann on the podcast to discuss the triumph of tikkun olam-based Leftism as central to modern non-Orthodox Judaism, why Jewish social justice renders Jews qua Jews meaningless, the systematic debunking of this ideology, the ramifications for Israel and U.S. politics and much more. What We Discussed Defining tikkun olam, and its link to social justice, leftism and Kantian ethics How tikkun olam became the predominant ethos of non-Orthodox Jewry in the U.S. in a mere 40 year period -- and its radical roots The inextricable link between tikkun olam theology and the evolution of the Reform Jewish movement and its relation to the Social Gospel The perversion of Jewish values and principles by those who have supplanted the religion with Leftism -- based in a textually unsupported, fabricated concept of tikkun olam that Neumann systematically debunks Why Neumann argues that "Jewish social justice effectively has no need for Jews qua Jews" The correlation between tikkun olam ideology and anti-Zionism, in contrast to American Jewish leftism's historical affinity towards Israel Why and how Israel in U.S. politics has become effectively a one-party, Republican, issue -- and the conflicting trends of the growing Orthodox Jewish community and the declining non-Orthodox Jewish community Why Jews have historically gravitated toward the political Left Further Reading Show Notes & Transcript Thanks for Listening! Check out other episodes, show notes and transcripts at benweingarten.com/bigideas. Subscribe, rate and review: iTunes | Stitcher | Google | YouTube Follow Ben: Web | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn Advertising & Sponsorship Inquiries: E-mail us. ___________ Backed Vibes (clean) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

How Leftism Supplanted Judaism and Subverted Israel and Zionism Under 'Tikkun Olam' -- Social Justice with a Perverse and Baseless Religious Veneer

Michael Ledeen (@michaelledeen) is a historian, longtime think-tanker currently serving as the Freedom Scholar at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, former Special Advisor to the Secretary of State and consultant to the National Security Council during the Reagan administration and author of 38 books. Perhaps most pertinent to today, Ledeen is an expert on Iran, with deep ties to dissidents and countless individuals in the diaspora cultivated over many decades, dating back to the fall of the Shah and the Revolution of 1979. I had Ledeen on the Big Ideas with Ben Weingarten podcast to discuss a variety of topics including his views on how long the current Khomeinist regime will survive, what America might do to help topple it, the phony Sunni-Shia split, the nature of Iran's dissidents, what happens the day after the regime falls and more. Tangentially related, Ledeen and I also discussed the targeting of those who challenge the national security and foreign policy establishment, including regarding both Iran and Israel, and the sackings of Larry Franklin and Gen. Michael Flynn -- the latter of whom with which Micheal co-authored a book, The Field of Fight. Ledeen shares his take on Gen. Flynn's guilty plea -- which he believes was given falsely -- and explains why he believes Gen. Flynn was targeted in the first place. What We Discussed The false narrative about alternatives for Iran being either appeasement or war The impending collapse of the Khomeinist regime and what the U.S. can do to accelerate it The history of U.S. intelligence failures in Iran How secular and liberal Iran's dissidents actually are Whether there is a wedge that can be exploited between Iran and Russia What will become of Hezbollah if the Iranian regime collapses The allegedly political witch hunt against Iran hawk and Israel supporter Larry Franklin as an illustration of historic anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in the foreign policy and national security establishment Ledeen's theory that Gen. Michael Flynn falsely pled guilty, and the real reason why Gen. Flynn was targeted in the first place Further Reading Show Notes & Transcript Thanks for Listening! Check out other episodes, show notes and transcripts at benweingarten.com/bigideas. Subscribe, rate and review: iTunes | Stitcher | Google | YouTube Follow Ben: Web | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn Advertising & Sponsorship Inquiries: E-mail us. ___________ Backed Vibes (clean) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Michael Ledeen on the Potential Collapse of Iran's Khomeinist Regime and America's Role, the False Sunni-Shia Jihadist Split, IC and Law Enforcement Sacking of Pro-Israel Political Opponents, Why Gen. Flynn Was Targeted and May Have Falsely Pled Guilty

Dennis Prager is a nationally syndicated radio host, columnist, author of numerous books, teacher, film producer and co-founder of Prager University -- and these titles barely scratch the surface of his tireless and impactful efforts. In a word, he has dedicated his life to advocating for Judeo-Christian and American values and principles across every medium almost daily to millions of people around the world with uncommon common sense, moral clarity and courage. I had Dennis on the Big Ideas with Ben Weingarten podcast to discuss a variety of topics including the basis for his conservative views -- contrary to his Jewish intellectual peers, how religiosity and one's view of human nature impacts one's politics, reason versus emotion on the Left and Right, the importance of Western values in immigration policy, the state of free speech in America, social media censorship and PragerU and much more. What We Discussed How Dennis Prager ended up a conservative as an Ivy League-educated Jewish intellectual from Brooklyn, New York -- contrary to so many of his peers How perceptions of human nature divide Left and Right Whether government has filled the void of religion for the increasingly secular and progressive American coasts How the good intentions that underlie Leftist policy prescriptions lead to horrendous outcomes -- and emotion versus reason on the Left and Right The false morality underlying European immigration policy with respect to the Muslim world, and Prager's criticism of Jewish support of mass immigration consisting disproportionately of Jew-haters The self-righteous suicidalism of the West The Leftist bias of social media platforms and PragerU's legal battle with YouTube/Google Further Reading Show Notes & Transcript Thanks for Listening! Check out other episodes, show notes and transcripts at benweingarten.com/bigideas. Subscribe, rate and review: iTunes | Stitcher | Google | YouTube Follow Ben: Web | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn Advertising & Sponsorship Inquiries: E-mail us. ___________ Backed Vibes (clean) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Dennis Prager on the Self-Righteously Suicidal West, the Disaster of Jewish Leftism, Intentions Versus Outcomes on the Left and Right, Western Values and Immigration, Social Media Censorship and PragerU

Professor Richard Epstein is the inaugural Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law at NYU School of Law. He previously served as the Peter and Kirstin Bedford Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution since 2000. Professor Epstein is also the James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law Emeritus and a senior lecturer at the University of Chicago where he taught for 38 years. He is a prolific writer who has authored more than a dozen books on topics ranging from private property to torts, and anti-discrimination law to antitrust, a frequent podcaster and one of the most cited legal scholars of the 20th century. I had Professor Epstein, one of the preeminent classical liberal thinkers in modern American history on the podcast to discuss a variety of topics including private property rights and eminent domain, why classical liberalism is the most sound of philosophies and minimal regulation the most prudent of policies, whether America should abolish the administrative state, attacks on free speech, the wisdom or lack thereof in regulation of social media companies and much more. What We Discussed The role that Professor Epstein's famous book, Takings played in Justice Clarence Thomas' confirmation hearing -- and then-Senator Joe Biden's hectoring Professor Epstein's groundbreaking theories on private property rights, eminent domain and the Takings and Commerce Clauses The practical argument against progressivism Whether we should deconstruct the administrative state, and if so how to do it The danger to free speech emanating from college campuses in a world of microaggressions, trigger warnings, de-platforming The folly of regulating Silicon Valley social media companies Classical liberalism versus socialism and libertarianism  Check out other episodes, show notes and transcripts at benweingarten.com/bigideas. Subscribe, rate and review: iTunes | Stitcher | Google | YouTube Follow Ben: Web | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn Advertising & Sponsorship Inquiries: E-mail us. ___________ Backed Vibes (clean) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Richard Epstein on Classical Liberalism, the Administrative State, Free Speech, Silicon Valley Regulation

Rachelle Peterson is director of research projects at the National Association of Scholars (NAS), an organization dedicated to upholding "the standards of a liberal arts education that fosters intellectual freedom, searches for the truth, and promotes virtuous citizenship." In that position, she has published numerous reports on trends in academia that threaten these values and principles, including one on the subject of this podcast titled Outsourced to China: Confucius Institutes and Soft Power in American Higher Education. Mrs. Peterson's research and commentary has been published in outlets such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, and Commentary magazine. She has discussed her research on the Wall Street Journal's Opinion Journal and on numerous radio shows. Given China's increasing efforts to flex its soft power muscles in the West -- soft power efforts that betray the true nature of the Communist regime -- I had Rachelle on the podcast to discuss perhaps the best illustration of these nefarious efforts in Confucius Institutes. Confucius Institutes present themselves as being dedicated to Chinese cultural exchange and language studies, but Rachelle argues based on her extensive research and study that they are actually Chinese government funded and staffed tools for propaganda, surveillance and allegedly espionage, which also provide the Chinese government substantial leverage over our academic institutions. What We Discussed What Confucius Institutes are, and how the Chinese government is responsible for controlling virtually every aspect of their operations Confucius Institutes' propagandizing on U.S. college campuses to whitewash Chinese governmental abuses and create a more favorable public image in the West Efforts to stifle academic freedom and criticism of China by way of Confucius Institutes' contracts The ideological and financial reasoning behind why U.S. academic institutions invite Confucius Institutes to their campuses, and the leverage the Institutes provide China Rachelle's chilling findings in extensively examining 12 Confucius Institutes, including the fears of several of those interviewed to go on record Blowback from the Chinese government in the wake of the release of Rachelle's report What makes Confucius Institutes unique relative to other foreign cultural exchange programs on college campuses Current legislative efforts by members of U.S. Congress to scrutinize and counter the efforts of Confucius Institutes And much more Further Reading Show Notes Transcript Thanks for Listening! Check out other episodes, show notes and transcripts at benweingarten.com/bigideas. Subscribe, rate and review: iTunes | Stitcher | Google | YouTube Follow Ben: Web | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn Advertising & Sponsorship Inquiries: E-mail us. ___________ Backed Vibes (clean) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Confucius Institutes: Centers for Chinese Cultural Exchange, or Trojan Horses for Propaganda and Penetration of U.S. Colleges?

For Independence Day, I take a deep dive into Declaration of Independence in terms of its unique place in history and the cause of freedom; the link between natural law and natural rights, faith and freedom; the Founding Fathers' emphasis on virtue and morality to sustain a free system of government; the criticality of the Declaration to understanding the Constitution, checks and balances, separation of powers, federalism and representative government; parallels between the charges laid out against King George III in the Declaration and today's federal Leviathan from the administrative state, to taxation without representation to sanctuary cities; the Founders' views on slavery, Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass and failing to live up to the values and principles of the Declaration; the imperative to defend liberty against tyranny. Reference Materials Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence first draft slavery excerpt The Federalist Papers U.S. Constitution John Adams letter to Abigail Adams on celebrating Independence Day John Adams on rights and religion John Adams on slavery Calvin Coolidge 150th Anniversary of Independence Day Address Competitive Enterprise Institute's "Ten Thousand Commandments" (2018) Frederick Douglass on the Declaration and Constitution in opposition to slavery Frederick Douglass response to Dred Scott ruling Federal Government "Wastebook" (2017) Founding.com Benjamin Franklin on slavery Alexander Hamilton on rights and religion Alexander Hamilton on slavery Gary Lawson on the administrative state Abraham Lincoln on the Declaration and Constitution Abraham Lincoln on the Founders and slavery James Madison on slavery Nationwide injunctions Operation Drain the Swamp by Adam Andrzejewski Three Felonies a Day by Harvey Silverglate Alexis de Tocqueville on religion in America UN Arms Trade Treaty Vindicating the Founders George Washington on slavery The Rise and Fall of Constitutional Government in America by Thomas G. West and Douglas A. Jeffrey Woodrow Wilson's rejection of the Declaration preface Thanks for Listening! Check out other episodes, show notes and transcripts at benweingarten.com/bigideas. Subscribe, rate and review: iTunes | Stitcher | Google | YouTube Follow Ben: Web | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn Advertising & Sponsorship Inquiries: E-mail us. ___________ Backed Vibes (clean) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

SPECIAL EPISODE (JULY 4): Deep Dive on the Declaration of Independence and its Relevance Today

Big Ideas with Ben Weingarten features compelling long-form conversations with exceptional thinkers and doers on the most important ideas and issues of our time, and all time. Discussions focus on topics ranging from national security and foreign affairs, to economics and politics and philosophy and culture with a classical Liberal bent and a grounding in history. Big Ideas with Ben Weingarten challenges the prevailing progressive orthodoxy with a contrarian conservative/libertarian counter-narrative based in individual liberty, limited government, free enterprise and a strong, national interest-oriented and prudently used defense. Host Ben Weingarten is a Senior Fellow at the London Center for Policy Research, Senior Contributor at The Federalist and Founder & CEO of ChangeUp Media, a conservative media consulting and production company.

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Big Ideas with Ben Weingarten

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