The Lars Larson Show Interviews

Pete Sepp, President of the National Taxpayers Union, joins Lars to discuss the more than $240 billion taxpayers have spent on Head Start. If the program’s early academic gains fade within a few years, should taxpayers keep funding it? Send us Fan Mail

Michael Letts, founder, president and CEO of InVest USA, joins Lars to discuss the Justice Department’s new process allowing some people with felony convictions to apply to have their gun rights restored. Should a felony conviction automatically cost someone their Second Amendment rights for life? Send us Fan Mail

Developer and business owner James Kasper joins Lars to discuss the demolition of Centennial Mills after his plans to redevelop the historic property fell apart. Is Centennial Mills a perfect example of how Portland’s red tape drives away investment and development? Send us Fan Mail

Joel Ryan, Executive Director of the Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP, joins Lars to discuss the debate over Head Start after more than $240 billion in taxpayer spending. Does the program deliver lasting results that justify its cost? Send us Fan Mail

David Bozell, President of the Media Research Center, joins Lars to discuss a new analysis of the news outlets promoted most heavily by Apple News and Google News. Are Big Tech algorithms quietly steering users toward left-leaning news? Send us Fan Mail

Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, physician, psychiatrist and author of Making the Cut, joins Lars to discuss a federal report alleging doctors and hospitals profited from gender-related procedures on minors. Did financial incentives help drive children toward irreversible medical treatments? Send us Fan Mail

Jack Salmon, Gibbs Scholar and Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center, joins Lars to discuss the millions of Americans leaving high-tax states like New York and California. Are taxes, housing costs and regulation driving the middle class toward more affordable states? Send us Fan Mail

John O’Connor, former Assistant U.S. Attorney and author of Postgate, joins Lars to discuss ABC and Disney’s lawsuit accusing the FCC of retaliating against the network over its coverage. Is this government censorship, or legitimate scrutiny of a broadcaster? Send us Fan Mail

“Underdog” lawyer Michael Fuller joins Lars to discuss two very different jury verdicts: an Oaks Park case that awarded two teenagers $275,000 each after they were trapped on a ride, and a case where a burglar who was shot received nothing. What do these verdicts tell us about how juries decide who deserves compensation? Send us Fan Mail

Oregon Rep. Court Boice joins Lars to discuss his call for Curry County Sheriff John Ward to resign amid allegations of misconduct, defiance of a court order and a federal investigation. Has Ward lost the public trust needed to remain sheriff? Send us Fan Mail

Dr. Bob Zybach, president of NW Maps Co., joins Lars to discuss Oregon’s claims of record-setting wildfire acreage. By counting grass and shrubland fires alongside destructive crown fires, is the state giving the public a misleading picture of Oregon’s wildfire crisis?  Send us Fan Mail

 Leland Vittert, host of On Balance and Chief Washington Anchor for NewsNation, joins Lars to discuss cases of police officers abusing Flock surveillance cameras. Should misconduct by individual officers lead to scrapping a useful crime-fighting tool, or is the real problem a lack of safeguards?  Send us Fan Mail

Nigel Jaquiss, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, joins Lars to discuss new allegations of years of sexual abuse and a cover-up at the Oregon Youth Authority. What did agency leaders know, and why is a former OYA director now running the Oregon Health Authority? Send us Fan Mail

Stephen Soukup, author of The Dictatorship of Woke Capital, joins Lars to discuss the collapse of the Net Zero Banking Alliance. With major banks abandoning the $75 trillion climate coalition, is Wall Street finally admitting Net Zero was a mistake? Send us Fan Mail

 Travis Joseph, President of the American Forest Resource Council, joins Lars to discuss the Trump administration’s proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule. Would opening more national forest land to roads and active management help reduce wildfire risk and improve forest health?  Send us Fan Mail

Jeremy Portnoy, investigative journalist at Open the Books, joins Lars to discuss nearly $460 billion in federal housing spending since 2015. With homeownership still out of reach for millions of Americans, why hasn’t all that spending made housing more affordable?  Send us Fan Mail

Kevin Sabet, President and CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, joins Lars to discuss the growing commercialization of marijuana as Trulieve becomes the first U.S. cannabis company to list on a major American exchange. With marijuana addiction rising, is Big Marijuana following the same path as Big Tobacco? Send us Fan Mail

 Luke Wake, senior attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation, joins Lars to discuss the push to rescind the Roadless Rule. Could removing the restrictions open the door to cheaper hydroelectric and geothermal power for communities stuck paying some of the nation’s highest electricity rates?  Send us Fan Mail

Rabbi Michael Barclay, host of The Rabbi’s Table: Dialogue Not Debate, joins Lars to discuss the U.S.-brokered Gaza peace plan and opposition from Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Could divisions inside Israel’s government derail the push for peace? Send us Fan Mail

Brooke Medina, Vice President of Communications for State Policy Network, joins Lars to discuss the growing strength of socialist candidates in governor’s races. After a Democratic Socialist nearly won Wisconsin’s primary, could the movement soon take control of a governor’s mansion?  Send us Fan Mail

 Dr. Henry Miller, physician, molecular biologist and founding director of the FDA’s Office of Biotechnology, joins Lars to discuss allegations of conflicts of interest on an FDA advisory committee. Should advisers with financial ties to the peptide industry be voting on whether those products reach the market?  Send us Fan Mail

 Dr. Zachary Marschall, Editor-in-Chief of Campus Reform, joins Lars to discuss the University of Michigan’s plan to hide first-semester letter grades from freshmen transcripts. Will shielding students from grades ease stress, or simply protect them from failure?  Send us Fan Mail

 Jayne Zirkle, a conservative policy analyst and political strategist, joins Lars to discuss the Trump administration’s overhaul of the VA’s electronic health records system. After years of delays, long wait times and fragmented care, will the new system finally deliver better healthcare for veterans?  Send us Fan Mail

 Joel Griffith, senior fellow at Advancing American Freedom, joins Lars to discuss Vice President JD Vance’s warning to Republicans not to blame young Americans for socialism’s growing appeal. Is Vance defending socialist ideas, or warning the GOP that economic frustration is driving young voters toward them?  Send us Fan Mail

 Ann Vandersteel, co-founder of the American Made Foundation and co-author of The CPS Pipeline , joins Lars to discuss the Supreme Court’s rejection of President Trump’s latest attempt to overturn the E. Jean Carroll verdict. Should there be clearer constitutional limits on massive punitive damage awards?  Send us Fan Mail