Heard at Heritage

Want to know why there are riots in our streets and the country appears to be completely divided? It didn’t happen organically, and it was not a grassroots effort. The foundations for our division were laid decades ago. Mike Gonzalez’s book,  The Plot to Change America , explains. Join author Mike Gonzalez and conservative commentator Michael Knowles for an illuminating conversation about the...

Since taking office, President Trump has been derided by the mainstream media and his critics as running roughshod over constitutional norms, fueling the conviction of liberals and some moderate conservatives that the 45th President poses an ongoing threat to the Constitution. In  Defender in Chief , constitutional scholar John Yoo argues that Trump’s adversaries have things exactly backwards...

As many schools across the country remain closed, parents are banding together to form “education pods,” pooling resources, grouping their children in co-quarantined clusters, and hiring a teacher or private tutor for instruction. It is a real-time, large scale example of civil society in action; what Edmund Burke called the “little platoons” that make America an exceptional nation. How do these e...

General David H. Berger, Marine Corps Commandant, is aggressively pushing a dramatic redesign of the Corps for future war incorporating new missiles, advanced sensors, unmanned platforms, and hypervelocity weapons. His  Force Design 2030  effort has drawn enthusiastic support from those who agree that the Corps must change to remain relevant on a more lethal battlefield. But it has gener...

In the first half of 2020, the EPA has already taken numerous critical actions to help protect the environment while respecting the rule of law, federalism, and transparency. The agency has finalized efforts to both ensure that environmental regulations are based on sound and transparent science and environmental protections do more good than harm. Too often, however, opponents of these common sen...

Following the death of George Floyd, books such as  White Fragility  rose on bestseller lists and “anti-racist” training programs saw a massive increase in demand in corporate America and governments at all levels, and concepts like “unconscious bias” and “internalized racial superiority” found their way into everyday conversation. What is the origin of Critical Race Theory that inf...

The Supreme Court’s blockbuster 2019-2020 term is winding down. There were important cases involving religious liberty, DACA, faithless electors, separation of powers, the scope of anti-discrimination laws, and the president’s tax returns. Our scholars and scribes will break down some of the landmark cases, talk about the historic new procedures utilized during the pandemic, and discuss what it al...

Every year it seems another new effort to “reform the Pentagon” is announced. Every Secretary of Defense for the last five Administrations has “made it a priority” to address perceived bloat and inefficiency. Yet, few of these initiatives produce significant results, and the Pentagon bureaucracy lumbers on, as wasteful as ever. In his book,  Defense Management Reform , author Peter Levine add...

On May 21, 2020, President Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the 1992 Treaty on Open Skies (OST) in response to allegations of many years of Russian violations. While Open Skies has arguably benefited the United States by providing a level of military transparency, the Trump Administration assessed that Russian abuse of the treaty has become too grave to continue its parti...

America is at a pivotal time in the history of our nation. Our country is torn apart by sharp disagreement on what it means to be an American. Many have forgotten that our nation is the best place of hope, opportunity, and freedom. Join us for the first of a three-part series,  America’s History of Hope,  as Dr. Lucas Morel and Dr. Thomas Krannawitter reflect on the triumphs of our Ameri...

In an effort to contain COVID-19, many governors have used emergency powers to limit business activity, social gatherings, and mobility. Without action by state legislators these emergency powers will remain in place. Further economic damage and constitutional concerns can be allayed by replacing vague statutory language with clear parameters for emergency powers. Such powers should expire without...

In the decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States has held sole global leadership. However, that leadership role is today contested by Russia and especially China. The crisis over the COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated the danger of the West’s dependence on Chinese exports and highlighted China’s pursuit of global technological and military dominance. Yet, as a democracy, the...

The Heritage Foundation recently commissioned a nationally representative survey of parents across the country, along with a corresponding survey of school board members, to gauge their attitudes toward the state of civics education and the New York Times’ 1619 Project. The foundational essay of this project, recently awarded the Pulitzer Prize, seeks to “reframe the country’s history” by changing...

As the world reels from the economic impacts of COVID-19, the U.S. and its allies can move beyond the current crisis together to foster increased economic freedom. The U.S.-European Economic Partnership Recovery Plan emphasizes transatlantic community cooperation on key issues such as free trade agreements, the Three Seas Initiative, energy security, and the future of 5G technology. As Americans a...

Since the start of the pandemic, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has obfuscated important information about COVID-19. The Chinese government has silenced whistleblowers, forcibly disappeared citizen journalists, and misreported infection and death rates from COVID-19. Civil society and other critical responders, like Taiwan, have been sidelined. The CCP’s early decision to limit knowledge about...

With the importance of savings magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic, a new idea is gaining popularity: Universal Savings Accounts (USAs). These all-purpose savings accounts would allow every American to save for things other than just retirement, education, and health care. USAs could enable citizens to save for a rainy day, start a business, or grow their family. The  National Coronavirus Reco...

Due to worker illnesses and even deaths related to COVID-19, there has been a bottleneck at meat processing plants that has reduced the supply of meat and poultry. Fortunately, these problems appear to be easing, but the situation remains fluid. As a result of these supply problems, there has been significant attention placed on the nature of the meat processing industry and the regulatory barrier...

Capitalism offers greater prosperity and opportunity for everyone, while socialism, unnecessary interventionism, and other choices promise equal outcomes but inevitably fail. The findings of The Heritage Foundation’s annual  Index of Economic Freedom  reaffirm the truth of this statement year after year. A complete government takeover of healthcare, for example, would mean less competiti...

Amid revenue shortfalls caused by COVID-19, governors and lawmakers are calling for federal bailouts for state and local governments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since of the senseless death of George Floyd, the nation has started a serious conversation about police use-of-force policies and other potential reforms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Civic literacy is at an all-time low. The majority of Americans agree that the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are essential to K-12 education. Parents and leaders of civil society are joining forces to ensure our children understand the function and role of the American government and civil society. Join us for a candid discussion that highlights modern trends toward the tea...

Does the Constitution guarantee a right to a “basic minimum education”? How will a court’s decision affect the quality of education provided by public schools? Join us for a discussion with experts in education policy and law as they analyze the 6th Circuit’s recent ruling in  Gary B. v. Whitmer , in which the court held that Detroit students’ Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated due to...

The State of Florida received significant attention on its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Contrary to early predictions, Florida did not emerge as a hotspot like New York. Join us to discuss what the state of Florida did to mitigate the spread, what Congress can do to help the states in their response moving forward, and the importance of data in making these decisions. Hosted on Acast. See ac...

For decades, American higher education has been facing an untenable fiscal situation brought on by increasing administrative bloat and an ongoing facilities arms race. The coronavirus pandemic did not create these problems, but the pandemic is now exacerbating these challenges and impacting universities’ bottom lines. Endowments, tuition revenue, charitable contributions, and state appropriations...

How is COVID-19 affecting older Americans? How is the Federal Government responding? What information can help older Americans protect both their health and financial security? Join us for this important discussion with leaders from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Federal Trade Commission, and The Heritage Foundation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.