Roots, Rights and Reason with Lee Smith

Episode 29- Ordered Liberty: America’s Founding Idea In this episode of Roots, Rights & Reason , host Lee Smith speaks with Peter Berkowitz, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, about classical liberalism, natural rights, and the philosophical foundations of the American founding. Berkowitz explains how America’s core principles: human equality, unalienable rights, and limited government,...

Episode Twenty-Eight: An Inconvenient Study on Vaccines In this episode of Roots, Rights & Reason, host Lee Smith welcomes investigative filmmaker and former Communications Director for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign, Del Bigtree, for a focused discussion on vaccine safety, public health accountability, and the erosion of trust in American health institutions. Bigtree, founder a...

Spies, Terrorists & the War for Intelligence: A Conversation with Peter Theroux In this candid episode, Roots, Rights & Reason host Lee Smith sits down with Peter Theroux, a highly decorated veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency, for a rare inside look at how American intelligence truly works and what it takes to protect the nation in an increasingly hostile world. Drawing from his de...

In this special Christmas Eve episode of Roots, Rights & Reason , host Lee Smith welcomes political theorist and constitutional scholar Matthew Spalding for a powerful conversation exploring one of the most consequential moments in American history: George Washington’s daring crossing of the Delaware River and the Battle of Trenton. Spalding explains why Christmas of 1776 marked a decisive tur...

In this week’s episode of Roots, Rights & Reason, host Lee Smith welcomes constitutional attorney and nationally renowned speaker KrisAnne Hall for an extraordinary discussion that uncovers the hidden legal foundation of America’s independence: the Lee Resolution of 1776. While most Americans associate July 4 with the nation’s birth, Hall explains that the decisive act that legally separated t...

In this week’s episode of Roots, Rights & Reason , host Lee Smith welcomes author and cultural critic Roger Kimball for a powerful discussion on the enduring relevance of The Federalist Papers and the constitutional wisdom America desperately needs today. Together, they revisit the debates of Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, exploring how these 85 essays shaped the foundation of the Republic and ad...

In this urgent and deeply clarifying episode, Roots, Rights & Reason host Lee Smith sits down with national security analyst Mike Waller to expose one of the most misunderstood threats confronting the United States today: the Muslim Brotherhood’s long-term campaign to undermine America from within. Drawing on decades of research into political warfare, subversion, and foreign influence operati...

This week on Roots, Rights & Reason , host Lee Smith welcomes Bishop Leon Benjamin for a special Thanksgiving episode filled with faith, history, and gratitude. Together, they revisit the Mayflower Compact of 1620 and the divine mission that guided America’s earliest settlers. Bishop Benjamin shares how the pilgrims understood their journey as a covenant with God—an assignment to bring faith a...

This week on Roots, Rights & Reason , host Lee Smith sits down with bestselling author and investigative researcher Matt Palumbo to expose how power has shifted from the people to a small class of elites who shape politics, media, and global policy- an American oligarchy. Drawing from his latest book, The Heir: Inside the Not-So-Secret Network of Alex Soros , Palumbo reveals how billionaire fi...

Rational Faith: What Happens When Science Points To God? In this deeply personal and intellectually stirring episode, Roots, Rights & Reason host Lee Smith sits down with renowned author and policy analyst Charles Murray to discuss his newest book, Taking Religion Seriously -a courageous exploration of how logic, science, and love led one of America’s leading social scientists to reconsider th...

In this week’s episode of Roots, Rights & Reason , host Lee Smith sits down with Hans Mahncke, attorney, author, and investigative journalist, to dissect the origins, motives, and aftermath of Russiagate-the political hoax that reshaped public trust, national security, and American democracy itself. Mahncke traces how a narrative born inside the Hillary Clinton campaign intended to deflect fro...

This week on Roots, Rights & Reason , host Lee Smith sits down with historian and author Professor C. Bradley Thompson to honor the life and legacy of one of America’s most underappreciated Founding Fathers-John Adams. Though often overshadowed by Jefferson and Hamilton, Adams was, in Professor Thompson’s words, “America’s greatest Founding Father.” From his early leadership in revolutionary B...

In this week’s episode of Roots, Rights & Reason, host Lee Smith is interviewed by the show producer and veteran journalist April Moss about his explosive new book, “The China Matrix: The Epic Story of How Donald Trump Shattered a Deadly Pact,” exposing the decades-long entanglement between U.S. political, corporate, and media elites and the Chinese Communist Party. Drawing from the book, the...

In this week’s episode, The Pentagon, The Deep State, and the Future of American Power, Lee Smith is joined by former Pentagon strategist Adam Lovinger for an insider’s look at how decades of bureaucratic expansion, political capture, and ideological subversion have weakened America’s strategic edge. Drawing on his experience in the Office of Net Assessment and the National Security Council, Lovin...

Episode Fifteen-From Exodus to Independence: America’s Biblical Roots What do America’s Founders owe to the story of Exodus? Dr. Wilfred McClay, Professor of History at Hillsdale College and co-editor of Jewish Roots of American Liberty , joins Lee Smith to explore the biblical foundations of freedom and how they shaped the American experiment. From Jefferson and Franklin’s proposed Great Seal dep...

In this week’s episode of Roots, Rights & Reason , host Lee Smith welcomes Scott Cochran, Head Football Coach at the University of West Alabama, for an inspiring conversation about the power of football, the test of faith, and the road to recovery. Cochran takes listeners behind the scenes of college football at the highest level, reflecting on his years with Nick Saban at LSU, Alabama, and Ge...

In this week’s episode of Roots, Rights & Reason , host Lee Smith welcomes attorney Erielle Azerrad for a timely exploration of the Bill of Rights, America’s shield of liberty and the cornerstone of our freedoms. Azerrad traces the fierce debates between Federalists and Anti-Federalists that gave rise to the Bill of Rights, explaining why these amendments were added to the Constitution and how...

In this powerful episode of Roots, Rights & Reason , host Lee Smith speaks with national security expert J. Michael Waller, Senior Analyst at the Center for Security Policy and author of Big Intel . Together, they examine the CIA’s creation in the aftermath of World War II, its role in Cold War victories, and its most infamous failures-from the Bay of Pigs to Russiagate. Waller exposes how int...

Episode Eleven – The Aftershock of 9/11: America’s Long War and Lost Trust In this week’s episode of Roots, Rights & Reason , host Lee Smith welcomes retired U.S. Army Colonel and national security expert Derek Harvey for a sobering reflection on the 24th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on America. Harvey, who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, inside the Trump White House, and as lead...

Episode Ten – Reclaiming Education: Parents, Teachers, and the Fight for Our Children In this back-to-school episode of Roots, Rights & Reason , host Lee Smith welcomes educator, former principal, and homeschool advocate Nathan Maus for a candid conversation about what’s gone wrong-and how families can take education back. Drawing on years in public and private schools and nearly a decade of h...

Episode 9: 80th Anniversary of Victory Over Japan Day with Special Guest Mark Moyar In this special episode of Roots, Rights & Reason , host Lee Smith welcomes Hillsdale College Military Historian and Author Mark Moyar, for a thought-provoking conversation commemorating the 80th anniversary of Victory Over Japan Day. Moyar examines the events leading to Japan’s surrender aboard the USS Missour...

Episode 8 – The Fight to Keep Free Speech Free In this week’s episode of Roots, Rights & Reason , host Lee Smith welcomes investigative journalist Julie Kelly for a hard-hitting discussion on the escalating war against free speech in America. From government censorship schemes to the targeting of political dissidents, Kelly exposes how entrenched bureaucrats and corporate interests are working...

In this week’s episode of Roots, Rights & Reason, host Lee Smith welcomes Constitutional Lawyer and Newsweek Editor-At-Large Josh Hammer for a thought-provoking conversation on the origins, meaning, and modern misuse of the phrase “separation of church and state.” They explore the true historical meaning of the Establishment Clause as a federalism provision, the Supreme Court’s role in reshapi...

In this week’s episode of Roots, Rights & Reason, host Lee Smith welcomes constitutional attorney and Coleman Nation podcast host Ron Coleman for a compelling conversation on one of the most fundamental yet misunderstood pillars of our Republic: federalism. Coleman explains that America’s unique system of government was founded on the idea of sovereign states, united in purpose but distinct in...

Episode 5 – Shipping Wars: Who Really Runs The Oceans? Featuring Special Guest: John Konrad, CEO & Founder of gCaptain In this eye-opening episode of Roots, Rights & Reason , host Lee Smith is joined by maritime expert and gCaptain CEO John Konrad to uncover one of the most overlooked but vital issues in American national security: freedom of navigation and the collapse of U.S. maritime po...