The Lars Larson Show Interviews

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

 Jeremiah Hayden, a reporter for the Portland Mercury , joins Lars to discuss records showing Portland officials coordinating with Urban Alchemy’s PR firm as the homeless-services contractor faced serious misconduct allegations. Was City Hall more concerned with protecting Urban Alchemy’s image than addressing complaints?  Send us Fan Mail

 Nick Shivers of the Nick Shivers Team joins Lars to discuss Seattle’s new ban on pet rent and other landlord fees. Will the new rules actually help renters, or could they end up making housing more expensive?  Send us Fan Mail

 Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels joins Lars to discuss the recovery from the Fairview Fire now that evacuations have been lifted. What will it take to rebuild, and how much should local and state officials cut red tape to get families back into their homes?  Send us Fan Mail

Andrew Lamb, CEO and Managing Partner of Buy and Build Advisors, joins Lars to discuss the growing trend of employers covering GLP-1 weight-loss drugs as an employee benefit. With Bank of America reportedly spending $250 million or more each year on the medications, are drugs like Ozempic becoming the next must-have workplace perk, and is the investment actually worth it? Send us Fan Mail

Brian Heywood, founder of Let’s Go Washington, joins Lars to discuss the legal fight over Initiative 645 and its effort to repeal Washington’s new income tax on high earners. Did a judge lock in the state’s ballot warning before Heywood’s campaign ever got the chance to make its case? Send us Fan Mail

Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor and engineer, joins Lars to discuss growing concerns over Tesla’s self-driving technology after a record month of reported crashes. When a vehicle is operating on Autopilot or Full Self-Driving, who ultimately bears responsibility when something goes wrong? Send us Fan Mail

Daniel Mitchell, owner of Sporting Systems and Minuteman Ammunition in Vancouver, Washington, joins Lars with an update on the Spokane Freedom Restoration Project and the effort to help the community recover following the devastating Spokane-area fires. Send us Fan Mail

David Jr. Ballestrasse, Vice President of Northwest Safe, joins Lars to explain what wildfire victims should do if their safe was damaged in the Spokane-area fires and why acting quickly could help protect what’s still inside. Northwest Safe is also offering free safe openings to those affected by the fires. Send us Fan Mail

 Deron Smallcomb, founder of Modern Law Group and author of Securing America’s Future , joins Lars to discuss the Trump administration’s revocation of more than 175,000 visas. Should the U.S. be even tougher on foreign nationals who violate visa terms, commit crimes, or abuse the immigration system?  Send us Fan Mail

 Khara Boender, Director of Government Affairs for the West at the Data Center Coalition, joins Lars to discuss Oregon lawmakers’ push for a three-year moratorium on new data centers. Would a pause address concerns over energy, water and farmland, or send a message that Oregon is closed for business?  Send us Fan Mail

 Professor Peter Ward, a paleontologist and astrobiologist at the University of Washington and co-author of Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe , joins Lars to discuss why decades of searching the cosmos have produced no signs of intelligent life. Are we truly alone, or is complex life simply extraordinarily rare?  Send us Fan Mail

Randal O’Toole, Thoreau Institute policy analyst and Cascade Policy Institute adjunct scholar, joins Lars to discuss Portland’s push to move people away from cars. Are planners overlooking the economic and everyday benefits of driving while making transportation more difficult for working people?  Send us Fan Mail