I Believe

Americans Struggle Today with how Openly our Leaders Should Express Their Faith I had a buddy growing up. His name was Emmett. He wasn’t a classmate. He was much older than I was. One of those men from the Greatest Generation who made time for a kid who asked too many questions. Few of us really know the stories of most of the people in our lives. And until I interviewed him for a Junior High gram...

June 21, 1788. New Hampshire becomes the ninth state to ratify the Constitution , activating the new government and binding America to a single compact. Our Republic is dedicated to the premise that we are created equal . We fought a war to escape a king. We ratified a Constitution to rule ourselves. The Constitution is a contract between states. We can sum up the foundational basis of that contra...

We live in an age where the oath of office often feels like a formality. But President George Washington didn’t see it that way. Why not? He was an honorable man. He led decisive action that saved a ragtag set of colonies and their fledgling fighters. He helped forge an America born at war, and then spent his life, with others, shaping it into a lasting union. We asked him to be king. He refused....

Tariffs will certainly raise prices at home. That’s their purpose. Tariffs are taxes. When a product crosses the border, a tariff adds a fee. The item is the same, the seller worked no harder, but government tilted the scale to favor domestic goods. So here’s the real question. If the state forces you to pay more than the market demands, and the extra money flows to a private pocket and not to a p...

From the Kalka River to Lake Peipus: Russia Turns East (Begin with ambient medieval Eastern European music, fading under narration) After the Rus’ catastrophic defeat at the Kalka River in 1223, and especially following the full-scale Mongol conquest in the campaigns of the late 1230s, Mongol dominance reshaped the eastern and western reaches of the Russian world. In the 13th century, Kyiv, now th...

Before we get started, a personal note. Last week, “ I Believe ” broke into Apple Podcasts’ Top 10 in philosophy. The show would go on out of conviction alone, but your encouragement makes the work lighter. Thank you for listening, thinking, and being here. And in the words of Bill Belichick, “ We're on to Cincinnati .” Part 1. The Broken Oath and How the Mongols Deceived the Rus’ Princes (Sound o...

☘️ Joel (00:00:00): Today, I'm pleased to host Crom Carmichael. Crom is an entrepreneur, investor, and business leader. He has served as the CEO and board member of Nishai Biotech, and if I said that wrong, I apologize, since 2002. 🎤 Crom (00:00:16): Nope, that's exactly right. ☘️ Joel (00:00:19): He's a native of South Bend, Indiana, graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1971. Crom has extensi...

Jennifer worked for more than forty years. She spent just a few years at home when the baby was born, then went right back to it. She didn’t ask for handouts. Never made a scene. She went to church on Sunday and to work every day during the week. She paid her taxes, saved a little, and kept going. She wasn’t rich. Didn’t have a pension. But she had her 401K and maybe some Social Security waiting i...

We want real prosperity for working Americans without piling debt on future generations. So, we’ve got to be open to new ideas. Some of those ideas might sound like they’ll never work. That’s fine. What matters is that we consider the options, build consensus, and stay focused on the results, not just the method. Consensus makes lasting change possible. If we build real consensus across parties an...

Some say we fight for democracy. But what if that fight is misplaced? Some Hills are Worth Dying On July 2, 1863, outside of Gettysburg . It’s the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg. The air is thick with smoke, the smell of gunpowder, sweat, and blood. Cannon fire rumbles in the distance, and the screams of wounded men echo through the Pennsylvania hills. The Confederate Army, under General R...

Why do we spend so much on defense? Opening Scene – Key West, 1948 [Sound Design: Waves crashing, seagulls squawking.] Narrator: It’s March 1948, and the tropical heat of Key West, Florida, presses against a group of men in khaki uniforms and dark blue service caps. They sit around a long table in what was once a naval officers’ club, now repurposed for one of the most important meetings in US mil...

Intro…sounds of echoing hooves on stone, a cart creaks, lanterns glow, a horse pulls steady and slow. 1801. The Revolution’s Philosopher Takes Power It's March 4, 1801 . A cold wind sweeps through the muddy streets of Washington, D.C., a rough, partially built capital city. Philosopher, writer, and revolutionary Thomas Jefferson is about to become America’s third president. As he stood before the...

Petro Kalnyshevsky: The Last Cossack Curtain up. The stage is set. A warrior, a nation, and a betrayal that would echo for centuries. Imagine. A man who has spent a lifetime fighting for his people, riding into battle, outmaneuvering empires, defending his homeland. He commands warriors, negotiates with kings, and builds a thriving nation from the wild steppe. And then, at 85 years old, after ever...

A quick note before we dive in. This week, “ I Believe ” officially hit the numbers to rank as a Top 10% global podcast for all of 2025. Of course, it’s still February, and we have plenty of room to grow. I just want to take a moment to say thanks for listening! … How do we bring manufacturing back to America? 🎙️ Tariffs Built American Industry In the early 1800s, the United States was still an ec...

Should America Give Our Surplus Grain Away Every Year? This week, the nation’s Food for Peace Program —and all other United States Agency for International Development (USAID) programs—found themselves on the chopping block. Before we go any further, let’s get on the same page. American agriculture is national security. Second, let’s share some quick history. On July 10, 1954, President Dwight D....

Why is remembering American history so hard? It’s a question that needs an answer because Black history is American history, and federal agencies decided to ban Black History Month . Black history isn’t just Black history. It’s a record of our constant battle between order and justice. To erase it is to erase the struggle that defines our national identity. It may be easier to maintain a neat, san...

Before we discuss progressives today and ask, “Who is the Champion of ‘We, the People?’”, we need some context. We gauge progress by whether our decisive efforts move America closer to achieving its six national goals. Both conservative and progressive principles are essential for effective governance. Without both sets of principles, we cannot achieve America’s goals. But progressivism’s focus dr...

I love hearing from listeners and readers. While I don’t always respond with a dedicated piece, I genuinely appreciate the feedback and seriously consider the questions. This week, John left a comment at Substack on Reward Work, Build Opportunity : "Perhaps, instead of waiting for Washington D.C. to work for us, those with skills needed to stimulate the economy and create new jobs could work toget...

We often hear that land doesn’t vote; people do. How about a different perspective? Land doesn’t have rights, but land endows rights. What would repealing Birthright Citizenship mean? We often hear that “land doesn’t vote; people do.” This phrase highlights the humanity of our democratic republic. The adage emphasizes rights of the individual and the collective power of the electorate to shape gov...

Last week, David Leonhardt, writing for the New York Times , questioned whether any of President Biden’s legacy would endure. Most Americans view his term unfavorably . Parties with one-term presidents often see those presidencies as failures and shift their focus to the future. However, Leonhardt highlighted one aspect of Biden’s agenda that may leave a lasting mark. This is the idea that “the fe...

Should America take economic control of Greenland ? Both the Prime Minister of Denmark—who oversees Greenland’s foreign affairs —and the Prime Minister of Greenland have repeatedly said that the territory is not for sale  and have rejected the idea of annexation. But American interest in Greenland has already had its intended effect. Forbes reported that Denmark is “open to a dialogue with the Ame...

H-1B visas have been an item of hot discussion lately. On New Year’s Day, Newsweek detailed, “At the end of December a bitter row broke out within Trump’s MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement over H-1B visas, pitting business figures such as Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy who believe they boost the U.S. economy against more nativist elements who think they harm American workers. And, s peaking...

I Am and the Burning Bush This is not a religious piece. But stick with me for a minute. I grew up attending small country churches. As a young boy, I asked my mother, “Who made God?” She had the answers. No one made God. God has always been and always will be—the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Of course, this answer was not satisfactory to me. As a boy and now, my limited human c...

Can we raise wages to fully fund Social Security? Social Security is societal insurance, not an individual retirement plan. Its purpose is to protect society by ensuring a basic level of income security, particularly for the elderly, disabled, and survivors of deceased workers. It is a safety net to prevent poverty and economic distress in vulnerable populations. This fosters societal stability. U...

Last week, I analyzed Air Force Captain Lacie Hester’s Silver Star to highlight a contradiction. We can’t claim to value the military’s ability to achieve decisive effects while categorically excluding women from combat roles. I concluded that if we intend to value results over diversity, we should be ready to welcome any capable individual—male or female—who can help achieve efficient violence in...