JUSTUS with Jack & Gonzo

Today, we’re joined by Molly Bryden and Ali Smith, both of whom are with Policy Matters Ohio. Molly is a climate and sustainability researcher, and Ali leads the work and wages team. Our discussion focuses on the rapid growth of data centers in Ohio and the policy, economic, environmental and community concerns associated with that expansion. Ohio lacks a comprehensive regulatory framework governi...

Roughly 1000 people are killed by police annually. Today we welcome Penn State public policy professor Ben Jones to discuss the moral foundations of policing authority, over-policing, and what accountability should look like. The discussion begins with the Ta’Kiya Young shooting in 2023 in Blendon Township, Ohio, where the situation quickly escalated unnecessarily. The officer who shot and killed...

We’re joined by Bailey Culp of the Ohio Federation of Teachers and Hannah Haubert of Policy Matters Ohio. We discuss why rural districts struggle and what it would take to fix the state’s funding system, which was declared unconstitutional in the DeRolf decision. Bailey and Hannah explain that traditional public schools rely heavily on local property taxes plus state funds and that the state’s sha...

Jack and Gonzo discuss how President Trump has breached so many political and societal norms. They cite Trump’s vulgar, disparaging rhetoric and argue he has normalized denigrating language and fractured society. Trump has disregarded the traditional separation between the President and the Department of Justice and uses the DOJ as his personal law firm to attack his political enemies. They also c...

Jack and Gonzo are joined by retired Columbus trial lawyer Rick Topper, who now spends a significant amount of time testifying about and working to protect voting rights. Topper talks about in-person ID checks, the use of provisional ballots and the four-day deadline to cure them, and how absentee voting is verified through identifying information and bipartisan signature review. He makes clear th...

Jack and Gonzo are joined by journalist Ray Marcano and examine the judiciary’s growing political role and the frequent litigation that occurred during Joe Biden’s and now in Donald Trump’s administration. They debate whether courts should consider real-world ramifications, contrasting the Brown v. Board of Education decision, Second Amendment expansion, and the overturning of Roe v. Wade. All thr...

Today we welcome constitutional law professor Mark Brown to review recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions and their implications for social justice. Brown first discusses the close 5–4 birthright citizenship decision and criticizes the Court’s dissenters for adding an unsupported domicile requirement, while also noting limited historical exceptions for birthright citizenship. Brown next reviews the C...

We talk with immigration lawyer Emmanuel Olawale about the consequences facing immigrants after the Trump administration abruptly ended the Temporary Protected Status program. TPS was designed to provide temporary protection for people from countries experiencing disaster, conflict or severe instability, but it did not create a direct path to permanent residency or citizenship. The shortcomings of...

Today we discuss the tension between social justice and politics by examining whether voters expect too much honesty from politicians or tolerate too much dishonesty. When we hear that a candidate hasn’t accurately presented his background, are we hearing a simple mistake as to the facts or an intentional misrepresentation? And if it was an intentional misrepresentation, what do we do about it? Ba...

Based on the law it passed in 2025, the statehouse seems to believe that college professors have the power to indoctrinate students, and so SB 1 limits what college professors can teach. The reality is, students’ views are shaped largely by peers and broader experiences. Our guest today is Pranav Jani, an Ohio State University Associate Professor of English and the producer of the podcast “ Togeth...

Health care systems can tie up their physicians for years though noncompete agreements which preclude them from moving to a competitor. For rural health care systems where there are not enough physicians to begin with, this is a big recruiting problem. Our guest today is Paul Westbrook, Vice President and General Legal Counsel for Memorial Health System. Paul explains that physicians who sign nonc...

How did the phrase, “diversity, equity and inclusion”—DEI—which sounds like a positive thing, get such a bad rap? The answer lies in how the concept has often been introduced. Our guest, Dr. Melissa Crum , explains that most people aren’t reacting to the actual idea of DEI; they’re reacting to how the idea was introduced. Instead of hearing, “Let’s look at systems that create problems,” people hea...

What has caused the rise in political violence in the United States that culminated with the January 6 insurrection? In part, our government’s uneven and counterproductive responses to jihad terrorism. After 9/11, U.S. policy was disproportionately harsh toward Muslims while being comparatively lenient toward violence committed by far-right actors. This imbalance, according to our guest, Laura Dug...

Today, we look into the world of conservative political commentary and focus on Ben Shapiro . At the heart of Shapiro’s approach to messaging is a bent for spouting more fiction than fact and more emotion than reason. We listened to a Shapiro podcast in which he explains why he doesn’t regret voting for President Donald Trump. After hearing Shapiro, we have to wonder if he aligned himself with Tru...

We’re joined by Reverend Derrick Holmes, pastor of the Union Grove Baptist Church in Columbus, Ohio, to explore the intersection of faith, justice and civic responsibility in one of the most divided moments in modern American life. Reverend Holmes compares today’s political and social climate with the civil rights era of the 1960s, arguing that the moral urgency of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s tim...

Some years back, Connie Cherin was a guest on our podcast and talked about the non-profit she started, Partners for Care . Having supported PFC since then, I thought it was time to travel to Kenya and see firsthand the work PFC does. Connie arranged for the Kenya staff to take me to various locations where PFC provides services. While most of our trips were centered in Nairobi, PFC's presence exte...

Chris Vineis, founder of Unite for Safe Social Media , talks with us about the risks that social media presents for kids. The philosophy at Unite for Safe Social Media centers on collaborative action among parents in limiting their children’s access to social media. The group provides a wealth of free resources, focuses on the risks associated with artificial intelligence, and advocates for politi...

Article II allows the president to grant pardons for any offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. The presidential pardon power is among the most absolute authorities granted in the Constitution, and President Donald Trump has abused it. The pardons Trump issued to the 1500 people who took part in the January 6th insurrection have rightfully generated outrage. Those pard...

Today, we are joined by Jeff Wenninger , a retired LAPD Lieutenant, a nationally recognized law enforcement expert and author of “On Thin Ice,” an analysis of how poor leadership and entrenched mindsets have eroded public trust in police. Good policing requires standardization and training. The lack of standardized training nationwide is evident. Police academies across the nation vary significant...

While only about 13% of the nation’s population is Black, the percentage of incarcerated Blacks can be as high as 50 %. The proportion of Black men on death row is significantly higher than that of whites. Our guest, Courtney Teasley, a criminal defense lawyer, emphasizes the responsibility that defense attorneys have in contributing to incarceration rates. Some lawyers fail to communicate with cl...

As part of a reciprocal exchange sponsored by the Columbus Rotary Club, educators from São Paulo, Brazil, were welcomed to Ohio. This group included college professors and English teachers at both primary and secondary levels. Their itinerary included visits to several public and private schools. We talk with two of the educators, Amanda Piovezani and Elaine Berges. Tracy Najera, a previous podcas...

A visible law enforcement presence, like the National Guard, may deter crime, but Professor Laura Dugan, of the Ohio State University Department of Sociology, explains that deploying the Garud will not reduce crime in the long term. The first step in reducing crime is to understand the crime dynamics within a city and then make strategic decisions to address not only the crimes themselves but also...

Neil Clark’s perspective as an Ohio lobbyist revealed the pervasive influence of money in politics. By wearing a “DeWine for Governor” t-shirt when he died by suicide, Clark appeared to question why lobbyists and others were being prosecuted for actions that were common throughout Ohio’s political system. The distinction between legitimate lobbying and illegal “pay-to-play” schemes is nearly indis...

The First Amendment guarantees both freedom of speech and freedom of the press, and both are under attack. These protections apply universally, ensuring that anyone can express themselves without prior restraint, though certain limitations exist through laws addressing harm or falsehoods. Professional journalists adhere to a clear ethical code: never knowingly publish false information. This princ...

There's been a push in recent years by Ohio legislators to accommodate religious education in public schools. We talk with Gary Daniels, lobbyist for the Ohio ACLU, about this movement. Most recently, Republican state reps. Gary Click and Mike Dovilla introduced Ohio House Bill 486 , also known as the Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act, which promotes teaching in public schools the positive impact...