The Lion Week in Review

Stuart McMillian opens with the midterm results that flipped both chambers of Congress to Democratic control. Seven Republican Senate seats changed hands, including James Talarico’s double-digit win over Ken Paxton in Texas, Sherrod Brown’s return in Ohio, and Troy Jackson’s defeat of Susan Collins in Maine. Democrats also held Michigan with Abdul El-Sayed. Vice President J.D. Vance attributed the...

Stuart McMillian opens with Missouri Amendment 6, which would require an 80 percent majority in both chambers before the legislature could change any citizen-passed measure since 2010. Kevin Kruits of Holtzman Vogel calls the proposal closer to direct dictatorship than direct democracy. Pastor Jonathan Swan warns that the threshold would lock in measures such as the 2024 abortion amendment, while...

Stuart McMillian opens with a Supreme Court order that leaves a lower-court pause on the Trump administration’s ban on hormone therapy for federal inmates in place while litigation continues. A Kansas man is charged after social-media threats against the president, and Rep. Ilhan Omar faces a federal probe into her immigration history. The Rhode Island Democratic Party chair resigns amid a fraud c...

Stuart McMillian opens with President Trump rejecting a plan to live-stream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan after backlash that a broadcast could aid recruitment. The administration also removes federal Obamacare subsidies for nearly 200,000 people listed as deceased or double-enrolled, a move officials say targets fraud without cutting real coverage. Michaela Estruth explains a Dep...

Dr. Josh Mann and Adam Wittenberg open with the third anniversary of Hamas's October 7th terrorist attack on Israel. They share stories from Americans who acted right away, including Addie Vaxman, the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, who began raising money for defensive gear for Israeli soldiers the very next day, and they discuss the antisemitism Jewish people continue to face. Next, T...

Stuart McMillian opens with two hard court stories: the lone holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy trial, Michael Desronvil, who says the focus belongs on the three children, and the aggravated-murder conviction of former American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn in the death of his wife, Ashley. The hour also covers the Department of Education restoring Title IX’s 1972 biological definition of sex, a Ga...

Michaela Estruth opens with President Trump at the United Nations, where he framed a choice over Iran, predicted pressure on Cuba’s regime, and said the government should call artificial intelligence “superintelligence.” An EPA official told Audrey Streb the administration wants AI to speed energy permitting. Senator Josh Hawley argues Missourians should vote on data centers and that no project sh...

Michaela Estruth discusses Vice President J.D. Vance's visit to Kansas City, where Operation Heartland Surge announced $245 million in recovered theft, charges against more than 80 people, and the suspension of 870,000 alleged PPP borrowers. Vance, Attorney General Todd Blanche, and FBI Director Kash Patel said the work now extends to Medicaid, including claims that hospitals hid banned proce...

Michaela Estruth marks two hard anniversaries in the same week: 25 years since the September 11 attacks and one year since the assassination of Charlie Kirk. President Trump hosted first responders and victims’ families in Washington and posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Wells Crowther, the “man in the red bandana.” Heartlander reporter Audrey Streb speaks with retired FDNY...

Dr. Josh Mann and Michaela Estruth lead with exclusive audio from a Kansas City, Kansas public-school meeting that later appeared in a first-of-its-kind Department of Justice lawsuit. The Civil Rights Division sued the district for facilitating gender transitions for minors without parental consent. Heartlander News first reported the meeting 18 months earlier. In the recording, officials discuss...

Josh Mann and Michaela Estruth open with the death of Dolly Parton at age 80 after a brief battle with cancer. They reflect on her cultural impact, philanthropy, larger-than-life public persona, and the quieter faith she spoke about more openly in later years. The conversation then turns to President Trump’s executive order renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America amid an escalating trade dispute wit...

Michaela Estruth joins Josh Mann to unpack several major stories from the week. The lead discussion centers on David Morens, a top former advisor to Dr. Anthony Fauci, who pleaded guilty to defrauding the United States by moving official COVID-related emails—including discussions of the lab-leak hypothesis—to a private Gmail account to evade FOIA requests. The correspondence also shows efforts to...

Heartlander News reporter Stuart McMillian joins Dr. Josh Mann to recount his exclusive tour of the Idaho National Laboratory alongside NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. The focus is SR-1 Freedom, the first fission-powered spacecraft designed for nuclear electric propulsion and a path to Mars, with a hard launch target of December 2028. Isaacman stresses the urgency of the second space race as Ch...

Michaela Estruth discusses her interview with Senator Josh Hawley conducted the day after nationwide primary elections. Hawley describes the Democrat Party’s sharp leftward shift, the rise of woke socialist candidates who favor government control, gender ideology in schools, and chemical abortions, and contrasts Missouri’s rejection of a more radical progressive with Michigan’s nomination of a Dem...

Michaela Estruth discusses her interview with Senator Josh Hawley following a contentious Senate hearing in which Dr. Anthony Fauci repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment. The conversation examines newly released personal journals covering 2019–2022 that appear to conflict with public statements on the origin of COVID-19, including early notes suggesting the Wuhan market was an amplifier rather th...

Culture Reporter Michaela Estruth discusses her interview with Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri. The conversation centers on Hawley’s letter to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche seeking justice for nearly full-term infants whose remains were discovered in a dumpster in Washington, D.C. several years ago. Hawley questions whether outfits such as Planned Parenthood may be violating partial-birth a...

This episode covers the Supreme Court justices testifying before Congress on rising security needs and threats against judges and their families. The discussion examines personal accounts from the justices, increases in political violence and rhetoric, and the role of technology in amplifying threats.  Vice President J.D. Vance’s appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast is reviewed, including his comme...

Dr. Josh Mann, Adam Wittenberg, and Michaela Estruth review major stories from a busy week. They discuss the withdrawal of Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner amid serious allegations, escalating tensions with Iran including U.S. strikes and sanctions, and the Supreme Court’s significant rulings on women’s sports, campaign finance, and more. Additional coverage includes the cross-country America...

Dr. Josh Mann and Adam Wittenberg celebrate America’s 250th birthday with a look at key stories shaping the week. They discuss the Supreme Court’s major rulings, including upholding states’ rights to keep men out of women’s sports, striking down campaign spending limits, and decisions on mail-in ballots and birthright citizenship. The hosts also cover the dramatic flag run across the country honor...

In this episode of The Lion Week in Review, Dr. Josh Mann and Adam Wittenberg cover major headlines shaping the week. They begin with the devastating double earthquakes in Venezuela, the loss of life, and the U.S. commitment to send rescue teams and aid. The conversation turns to Major League Baseball’s pride-themed uniforms, Christian players writing Bible verses, and Senator Josh Hawley’s succes...

Dr. Josh Mann is joined by staff writer Michaela Estruth and intern Ashley Luke to discuss their recent nine-day trip to Israel with Hillsdale College. The journalists share first impressions of biblical sites like the Mount of Beatitudes, Sea of Galilee, Western Wall, and Via Dolorosa, along with the contrast between long-held expectations and modern reality. They recount powerful encounters with...

Dr. Josh Mann and Adam Wittenberg break down a shifting cultural landscape during Pride Month. Several states are promoting Fidelity Month and Nuclear Family Month instead, signaling growing resistance to progressive celebrations. The hosts discuss reclaiming symbols like the rainbow, the outsized role of sexuality in modern identity, and the need for compassionate, truth-based responses rooted in...

In this week’s episode of The Lion Week in Review, Josh Mann is joined by Adam Wittenberg to discuss the top stories shaping the week. The House narrowly passed a resolution (215-208) directing an end to U.S. military involvement in Iran, while gas prices remain a concern and peace talks continue. A serious agricultural threat emerges as the screw worm parasite — capable of devastating livestock —...

In this week’s episode of The Lion Week in Review, Josh Mann is joined in studio by St. Louis-based reporter Stuart McMillian. They break down the latest Republican primary results, where Trump-endorsed candidates continue to outperform expectations and defeat incumbents in key states including Texas, Indiana, Kentucky, and Louisiana. The conversation examines what these outcomes mean for the midt...

In this week’s episode of The Lion Week in Review, Dr. Josh Mann is joined by St. Louis-based reporter Stuart McMillian to break down the latest political developments shaping the Midwest and beyond. They discuss President Trump’s decision to hold off on further Iran strikes amid ongoing negotiations, recent primary election victories for Trump-endorsed candidates, and what these outcomes may sign...