EPPiC Broadcast

In 2011, Detroit-area parent Maryanne Godboldo found herself in a standoff with social workers, police, and even a SWAT team threatening the removal of her daughter - all because Maryanne refused to give her daughter a dangerous, mind-altering psychiatric drug.  This week, we talk with civil attorney Allison Folmar, who represented Maryanne in this nationally-publicized case. Allison has represent...

Recently, the New York Times ran an article entitled “ In Hasidic Enclaves, Failing Private Schools Flush With Public Money ”, attacking the Yeshivas (religious schools) of New York’s Hasidic Jews. But what’s the real story?  This week, we talk with Jason Bedrick, a former member of the New Hampshire state legislature, and now a Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation . Jason explains the tradi...

This week, we talk with Frank Garrison, an attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation , which fights to protect civil rights, private property rights, and to uphold the constitutional separation of powers. Frank is representing a mother in Arizona who has been falsely accused of child neglect and has found her name on the state child abuse registry without due process. In this episode, Frank tells h...

In Arizona, one mom found her name on the state registry of child abusers, with many job and volunteer opportunities closed to her for the next 25 years, all because she let her child play in a safe neighborhood park with friends while she shopped for groceries. How does this happen to an innocent, loving parent?  This week, we talk with Timothy Sandefur, Vice President of Legal Affairs at the Gol...

This week, we talk with Jamie Gullen. Jamie is the Managing Attorney of the Employment Unit and Youth Justice Project at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia.  On August 10th, Community Legal Services filed a lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania over Pennsylvania’s state child abuse registry. When child abuse investigations are opened, parents are automatically placed on the regist...

This week’s episode features an interview with Jim Mason, president of the Home School Legal Defense Association . Jim has represented homeschooling families in a wide range of challenging situations and has set precedents that have expanded freedom for the homeschool community. Today, he tells us about HSLDA’s work in protecting the right of parents to teach their children at home. Plus, learn ab...

Welcome back to the EPPiC Broadcast! We’re kicking off our fifth season by talking with Kathleen Creamer, managing attorney of the Family Advocacy Unit at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia. Despite the life-altering consequences of CPS investigations, up to losing their children forever, many parents go to court completely unrepresented by any legal counsel. The system is particularly harsh...

This week, Will talks with Julie Gunlock, director of the Independent Women’s Network and IWF’s Center for Progress and Innovation. Before joining IWF, Julie served as a Professional Staff Member on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and on the House Homeland Security Committee.  Julie tells us about the importance of school choice, how parents can advocate for their r...

This week, we talk with John Rosemond, a parenting expert who has worked with families, children, and parents since 1971. His parenting advice column is published in over 225 newspapers across the country, and he’s the author of over 15 books on parenting. John is also a Parental Rights Foundation board member.  In this episode, John sits down with Will Estrada to discuss good parenting techniques...

This week, we talk with Tony Kinnet, who made headlines for posting a video about the school he worked at teaching Critical Race Theory. Now, Tony is the Executive Director of the Chalkboard Review , an education commentary website that promotes diverse views in education.  Tony tells us about what prompted him to post the now-viral video, what the reaction to it was, and why he believes so strong...

This week, we talk with Brad Dacus, founding president of the Pacific Justice Institute , a non-profit legal defense organization specializing in the defense of religious liberties, parental rights, and other civil liberties. Brad served as Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Phil Gramm and then received his juris doctorate from the University of Texas School of Law. He went on to found the Paci...

This week, we talk with Lenore Skenazy, author of Free-Range Kids , and founder of Let Grow . Lenore tells us about the reasonable childhood independence movement and her organization, which aims to “make it easy, normal and legal to give kids the independence they need to grow into capable, confident, and happy adults.” Plus, hear about recent childhood independence legislation that Let Grow has...

This week, we talk with Frank Edelblut, New Hampshire’s Education Commissioner since 2017. An accountant and entrepreneur and a former member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, Edelblut now administers the state's Department of Education.  Frank tells us about his work representing the interests of New Hampshire’s parents and taxpayers in the public school system and how he has he...

This week we talk with Jey Rajaraman, who served the last 15 years as chief counsel and supervising attorney at Legal Services of New Jersey's Family Representation project. She has recently joined former Children's Bureau chiefs Jerry Milner and David Kelly at Family Integrity & Justice Works. Jey tells us about her work in providing legal support to families before a removal into f...

This week, we talk with Rachel Barkley, an experienced coalition- and community-builder at the state and local level, and a spinal cord tumor survivor and mom. Rachel tells us about her work promoting policies that promote personal freedom and human dignity, and about parenting her children while quadriplegic.  In this episode, Rachel shares her professional experience in the policy-making world,...

This week, we’re talking with Willie Deutsch, who served for four years on the school board of Prince William County, Virginia. A parent himself, Willie focused on making parents’ voices heard in the local school system. Hear about how he worked to pass parent-focused policies and what it’s like to serve on a school board, plus tips for parents looking to engage with their local school board and a...

This week, we’re talking with Ian Prior, founder of Fight for Schools , an organization of concerned parents dedicated to protecting parental rights in the public school system of Loudoun County, Virginia. Ian explains how he came to be involved in the parental rights movement and the work his organization has done and is currently doing on behalf of parents in the local schools.  This episode is...

In the final installment of our anniversary series, we’re celebrating 15 years of ParentalRights.org by talking with Will Estrada, president of ParentalRights.org and the Parental Rights Foundation! Will began his career with Home School Legal Defense Association and has served in the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He shares why parental rights matter...

In the third week of February, we’re celebrating the 15th anniversary of ParentalRights.org by talking with two volunteer State Coordinators! This week, Michael talks with Adriana Gonzales, former Florida State Coordinator for ParentalRights.org, and her successor, Patti Sullivan, now a long-time advocate for families and parental rights. Adriana and Patti share how they’ve worked to pass parental...

Welcome to week two of our celebration of 15 years of ParentalRights.org! This week, Michael talks with Shaun Alexander, 2005 NFL MVP and Vice President of the Parental Rights Foundation, and Ethan Demme, CEO of  Demme Learning and former chairman of the Parental Rights Foundation Board.  Shaun and Ethan share why protecting parental rights is important to them, and how they came to join ParentalR...

In this first episode of our fourth season, we talk with Michael Farris, founding president of ParentalRights.org and currently the president and CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom . This month, ParentalRights.org is celebrating its 15th anniversary! To celebrate, we’re interviewing key figures from our organization’s history, beginning with our founding president.  Michael explains to us why he fo...

Thank you for listening to Season Three of the EPPiC Broadcast! Episode 21 with Shanta Trivedi marks the end of our third season, but we’ll be back soon with more interviews and more parental-rights focused content.  The EPPiC Broadcast will return on February 7th, 2022 so mark your calendars. As always, new episodes air on Tuesdays at 2 PM Eastern Standard Time.  In the meantime, you can catch up...

Our child welfare system exists to protect children from harm. Yet, in most jurisdictions in America, courts fail to consider the trauma that children will suffer if they are removed from their parents. The best way to protect most children is to support their parents and families.   This week, Michael talks with Shanta Trivedi, an Assistant Professor of Law and the Faculty Director of the Sayra a...

A new law in Virginia makes it illegal for parents to choose babysitters based on shared beliefs. Not only does this new statue violate previously existing law, it represents a dangerous threat to parental rights. This week, Homeschool Legal Defense Association staff attorney Peter Kamakawiwoole, who has helped us to file suit against this law, joins us to explain how it violates Virginia state la...

Our child welfare system removes minority children from their parents’ homes at a much higher rate than white children. What if there were a way to remove racial biases from CPS child removals and end the over-representation of black and minority children in our child welfare system?  This week, Michael talks with Dr. Jessica Pryce, Director of the Florida Institute of Child Welfare. Jessica is a...