Forgotten America

Garrett is joined today by Garris Stroud, Founder and Chief Editor of Rural Ed Voices, an organization seeking to elevate the conversation on education opportunities in rural areas and small cities.  In this week's episode, Garrett and Garris discuss colleges of education, school choice, and the role that schools in rural America play in shaping the landscape of opportunity for students.      Garr...

This week's episode is hosted by Cardinal Institute's Development Director, Jessi Troyan. Jessi is joined by Keliʻi Akina, President and CEO of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. The Grassroot Institute is a nonprofit policy research organization focusing on the values of individual liberty, economic freedom, and accountable government. In this episode, Jessi and Keliʻi discuss the Jones Act, how...

Greg Clutter is the director of Foster Care Initiatives at Chestnut Mountain Ranch, a Christ-centered home and school. They reach the hearts of young men and restore broken families through a structured loving community. Their vision is to restore hope to children and families. He shares the history of the community and how it came to be located in Morgantown, West Virginia. Greg also discusses th...

Garrett is joined today by Shawn Peterson from Catholic Education Partners and Jill Annable with the National Catholic Education Association to discuss the Roman Catholic Church's stance on education and the role Catholic education plays in the greater education environment, especially in rural communities. They explore the history of Catholic education in the United States and also discuss how th...

Ben Stiegelmeier shares stories from his life growing up farming and ranching in Selby, South Dakota where he, alongside his family, carried on his father's legacy in production agriculture. He describes his German-Russian heritage and the German culture that is still prevalent in his area of the Dakotas. He reflects on the somewhat insular nature of the community he grew up in and also on the bea...

Kendall Cotton, President of the Frontier Institute in Montana, joins us today to discuss health care and certificate of need laws. Today's episode is a little more wonky, and dives into the impacts of these CON laws on rural America. Kendall shares how Montana reformed them to improve the health care system in their state and what we can learn from their example. Garrett & Kendall also talk about...

A strategic consultant, political maven, & social entrepreneur based in the Washington, DC area, Rina Shah has been nationally-recognized as an astute businesswoman with a strong streak of political activism. Prior to relocating to northern Virginia, she grew up in Beckley, West Virginia and attended West Virginia University as a college student. She shares with Garrett her experiences as the daug...

Today Garrett is joined on the Forgotten America podcast by Naomi Schaefer Riley, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute focusing on issues regarding child welfare as well as a senior fellow at the Independent Women's Forum. She joins us to discuss her new book, No Way to Treat A Child: How the Foster Care System, Family Courts, and Racial Activists Are Wrecking Young Lives. She di...

Today Nolan Gray joins Garrett to discuss how principles of market urbanism and regional planning can be applied to rural America and small towns. Nolan is originally from Lexington, KY and is studying to receive his PhD in Urban Planning at UCLA. He is also one of the co-authors of the Cardinal Institute's recent paper entitled Homegrown Revival: Removing Barriers to Home Based Entrepreneurship i...

Gordon Tomb is a senior fellow with the Commonwealth Foundation in Harrisburg, PA, a free-market think tank focused on Pennsylvania state policy and a senior advisor with the CO2 Coalition founded with the purpose offor the purpose of educating thought leaders, policy makers, and the public about the important contribution made by carbon dioxide to our lives and the economy. Gordon joins Garrett t...

James Franko, President of the Kansas Policy Institute, joins Garrett to explore the Sunflower State. Garrett & James discuss everything from the appropriate degree of doneness for a steak to Kansas tax reform. We learn that even flat Kansas has elevations to rival the Mountain State, and we dive into local Swedish art, the demographics of Kansas, increasing mechanization's impacts on the local ec...

Peter J. Hill is Professor of Economics Emeritus at Wheaton College and a Senior Fellow at the Property and Environment Research Center in Bozeman, Montana, where he currently resides. He joins Garrett on Forgotten America to discuss free-market environmentalism (FME) and the property rights framework he uses to evaluate conservation issues. P.J. also gives us a look back into the truth about the...

Our newest team member, Andrew Bambrick, joins Garrett to discuss his home state of New Jersey and what it was like growing up in the small town of Hammonton in southern New Jersey. He tackles stereotypes that come from shows like the Sopranos and Jersey Shore, talks about the cultural and political differences between north and south New Jersey, and he shares why he loved growing up in the Garden...

The opioid crisis is back in the news with the death of actor Michael K. Williams. West Virginia is even suing Purdue Pharma over its role in the opioid crisis. However, today's guest, Jacob Rich, a drug, tobacco, and healthcare analyst with the Reason Foundation and Senior Contributor with Young Voices, says that the majority of the blame should be placed on the government. Join Garrett & Jacob f...

Jessi Troyan and Jessica Dobrinsky from team Cardinal take over the Forgotten America podcast this week. They chat about why they chose to stay in West Virginia, how Jessica transformed from an avid Bernie supporter to a leading young voice for conservatives in West Virginia, their mutual love/hate relationships with Pittsburgh, and their perspectives on West Virginia culture.    -----------------...

Many people think that all of West Virginia is coal country, but that simply isn't true. Garrett joins his wife, Kimberly, on this episode of Forgotten America to discuss life in the southern coalfields, how her upbringing was different from his in the Mid-Ohio Valley, the strength of the Appalachian woman, and the future of West Virginia.   You can learn about the various regions in West Virginia...

John Charles Jr is the President & CEO of the Cascade Policy Institute in Portland, Oregon. In this episode, we learn about his journey from Marxist environmental activist to leader in the free-market environmentalist movement. He and Garrett also discuss land use policy and how it affects individuals and economies. This is one of those policies that the average person doesn't know much about but...

Robert Graboyes, a healthcare economist for the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, joins Garrett today to discuss the health care system in America. He talks about its purpose, why it's broken, how being a doctor is similar to and different from being a pilot, and the high stakes of getting it right. They also discuss such topics as innovation in health care, which level of government sho...

This week, Jason Huffman, state director of Americans for Prosperity - West Virginia, joins us for a second time on Forgotten America. He and Garrett discuss new legislation bringing transformational change to the Mountain State as well as thoughts on how to combat political polarization and why more engaged citizens are needed in state politics today.    If you want to follow Jason's work at Amer...

Dr. Abigail Hall Blanco is an Associate Professor in Economics at Bellarmine University. She received her PhD in Economics from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. She is a co-author of the books Manufacturing Militarism: US Government Propaganda in the War on Terror and Tyranny Comes Home: The Domestic Fate of U.S. Militarism both with Christopher Coyne. Today she joins Garrett to discu...

JD Tuccille is a self-proclaimed anarchist living in the desert of Arizona. He is an author for Reason magazine and a novelist. He believes in personal responsibility and loves the freedom of the American Southwest. He joins Garrett to discuss how he came to be in Arizona and why, for him, the deserts of Arizona are the truest manifestation of a freedom philosophy. Garrett & JD also dive into the...

In honor of the release of John Hood's book, Mountain Folk, on June 8th, we are re-releasing our Patrons only Halloween Bonus episode that we recorded with him back in October for all of our listeners to enjoy. Don't forget to pre-order a copy of John's book on Amazon and sign up for his Mountain Folk Readers' Guild newsletter so you can keep up to date with information on new upcoming books in th...

Join Garrett as he interviews Luke Huffman and Brandon Dennison from Coalfield Development about the work they're doing in their southern, West Virginia community to eliminate generational poverty. Located in Wayne, WV, their team is rebuilding the Appalachian economy from the ground up. Coalfield Development believes in developing the potential of Appalachia through the triple bottom line: people...

Montana is affectionately known by those that live there as the "Last Best Place On Earth." Today Garrett is joined by Kendall Cotton, the President & CEO of the Frontier Institute. Kendall developed his passion for serving his community while growing up in Florence, Montana along the banks of the Bitterroot River. In this episode, he guides us through the best places in the state to visit if you...

Tim Barto is the Vice President of External Relations at Alaska Policy Forum. Tim is a retired Defense Department Special Agent, having worked in the field of personnel security. He also spent time as a Marine infantryman and Naval intelligence specialist, all of which was aimed at preserving and promoting the values of economic freedom and individual liberty. He joins us today to talk about Alask...