Meeting of Minds Podcast

In Ep. 98, Dr. Samuel Gregg kicks off our series on Catholicism and ESG. He & Jerry discuss what a Catholic doctrine of the human person has to say about our economic vision, the moral response to ‘stakeholder capitalism,’ and why God’s command to stewardship & dominion doesn’t mean buying into false narratives about fossil fuels & environmental hysteria.  Dr. Gregg is the Friedrich Hayek Chair in Economics and Economic History at the American Institute for Economic Research. Read more here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Ep. 97, Jerry & Utah treasurer Marlo Oaks discuss the historical & political state of Europe’s anti-fossil fuel mandates, how ESG mandates on American companies hurt American employees, and a powerful legal strategy by which the Trump administration can push back against European regulators. Also, why it’s premature to take ‘victory laps’ against ESG & DEI. Read Treasurer Oaks’ op-ed for RCP here: https://www.realclearpolicy.com/articles/2025/02/27/collusion_coercion_and_the_eus_corporate_sustainability_directives_1094273.htmlSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why are companies like Apple struggling to combat the spread of child porn in their networks? In Ep. 96, Isaac Willour (Bowyer Research) sits down with Richard Pursey, founder of cyber security company SafeToNet, to discuss why companies are often unwilling (not unable) to prevent child exploitation, the importance of the private sector in fighting human trafficking and abuse, and Richard's innovative new technology HarmBlock that's changing the game when it comes to keeping kids safe online. Learn more about Richard & Sharon's company here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Ep. 95, Jerry sits down with Trevor Lewis, an economic analyst who previously worked at the Buckeye Institute, to discuss how anti-fossil fuel policies, from nitrogen fertilizer to net-zero emissions requirements, inevitably hurt the agriculture sector and in turn American consumers. Jerry & Trevor also discuss the details of sow housing practices, the economics of oat milk pricing, and the practical realities of feeding 9 billion people.  Read Lewis’ report, published with the Buckeye Institute, here: https://www.buckeyeinstitute.org/library/docLib/2024-02-07-Net-Zero-Climate-Control-Policies-Will-Fail-the-Farm-policy-report.pdfSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Ep. 94, Bowyer Research’s Isaac Willour sits down with Dustin DeVito, director of corporate research at the 1792 Exchange, to discuss the Human Rights Campaign, one of the most notorious organizations pushing corporate bias on companies. Also discussed, the HRC’s Corporate Equality Index, a major pressure point for companies stepping back towards politically neutrality. Follow Dustin & the 1792 Exchange on X: @DustinDeVito @1792ExchangeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Few citizens understand how much the toxic alphabet soup of political ideologies such as ESG, DEI and CRT has burst out of academia into government and even financial markets. The first line of defense against this has been the states, particularly the formerly somewhat mundane offices such as Treasurer, Auditor General, Comptroller, Commissioner of Revenue, CFO. Woke politics in investing was a major theme in North Carolina's Treasurer election this year, and the people resoundingly chose Brad Briner to go into office and continue the task initiated by his predecessor Dale Folwell of cleaning ESG and DEI out of consideration in investment decisions. In Ep. 93, Briner joined Jerry on this episode to talk about that battle as well as the battle for federalism, to stop the federal government from forcing N.C. to finance sex change treatments in its already overloaded state health care program. Briner also talks about going into office to reduce its power and the business case against green energy mandates. Briner makes the case against the intrusion of both left wing and right wing politics into finance.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Ep. 92, Bowyer Research analyst Isaac Willour sits down with filmmaker, producer, and activist Robby Starbuck. We discuss Robby's latest victory at Walmart, the fate of discriminatory DEI programs in the next 4 years of Republican governance, and what the future holds for getting corporate America out of politics and back to business.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The most respected class of elected officials in America hold titles such as Treasurer, Auditor General, Comptroller, or Commissioner of Revenue. These are financial watchdogs with their eyes on the details. Worker bees. On the other hand, Congress often polls as one of the least trusted political institutions. One reason? By and large, states balance their budgets and Congress… well, doesn’t. That's why we spoke with Indiana Comptroller Elise Nieshalla in Ep. 91, who chairs the National Debt Crisis Task Force for the prestigious State Financial Officers Foundation. This group sent a letter (National-Debt-Letter.pdf) to Congress urging its members to deal immediately with exploding debt levels which could potentially trigger a debt crisis and, in its wake, a geopolitical crisis created by American decline.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With 45 billion dollars under advisement, Innovest is one of the largest commercial Christian financial consultants in the marketplace. In Ep. 90, CEO and co-founder Rich Todd joined Jerry to talk about the evils of ESG, the way that Christians' money has been weaponized against them, and why it is imperative to have aligned companies helping Christian institutions with their portfolio construction. Financial consultants are different from financial advisors and asset managers in that financial consultants tend to work with ultra-high-net-worth individuals and with institutions. Their function is not generally to manage money but rather to work in the institutional space to help large investors decide who should manage their money. Todd talks about the powerful pressure towards the left and towards secularism in the finance industry. and how ESG & DEI have been the levers used to apply that pressure. Christians, including large Christian institutions, have naively entrusted their values decisions and their voices to people who despise everything they stand for. Todd also emphasizes that faith-alignment does not have to come at the cost of professional excellence or market returns.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Ep. 89, Dean Andrew Abela, of the Busch School of Business at Catholic University of America, talks with Jerry about his new book, Superhabits. Abela describes the difference between ESG/DEI and other forms of virtue signaling which are forms of pseudo-morality. Abela also explains why he used the language of a self-help book to communicate ancient truths about virtue. instead of using older language. Abela goes on to describe ways in which his book and the corresponding app could be used not just for personal development. but also on an enterprise-wide scale to help businesses create a corporate culture rich in Superhabits. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Ep. 88, Dr. OJ Oleka, new CEO of the State Financial Officers Foundation, sits down with Jerry to discuss the next phase of the battle for free markets, the role state fiduciaries play in protecting retirees and taxpayers, the need for a meritocracy, and how to go on offense against entrenched ESG/DEI interests.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The folks from the Life:Powered initiative at the Texas Public Policy Foundation leveraged public disclosure rules to find out how state pension plans are voting at the annual meetings of the companies they own shares in. The results were pretty shocking. From 2019 to 2023, many red states, some with politicians who have publicly attacked ESG investing, are voting to the left of BlackRock. In Ep. 87, Brent Bennett, policy director of Life:Powered, joined Jerry to talk about this important new research, and why states which don't want to continue to vote with their shares for ESG ideology and "energy discrimination" don't need to any longer. Here's the report, see if your state is on it and if it is, send it to your legislator, Treasurer and state Auditor. How State Pensions Unwittingly Push ESG Goals Through Proxy Votes | Life:Powered (lifepowered.org)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Ep. 86, Dale Folwell, the outgoing (in both senses of the word) Treasurer of North Carolina talked to Jerry about his case before the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court case mandating that the state health plan pay for sexual transition treatments, including millions of dollars worth of surgical procedures. Folwell also talks about the true heroes of Hurricane Helene: the mountain people and local volunteer firefighters which were first at the scene. Finally, Folwell talks about the upcoming N.C. governor's race in which the scandal-ridden Republican candidate, Mark Robinson, is likely facing defeat, pointing out that Republicans need to stop choosing candidates based on who they hate rather than their ability to solve problems. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Treasurer of the state of Louisiana, Dr. John Fleming, joined Jerry to talk about why he opposed approval for Bank of America for a business contract due to the companies debanking of Indigenous Advance, a ministry to Ugandan Orphans and Widows. Treasurer Fleming talks about how the left has been successful in pressuring companies to a politicized and anti-Christian pattern of behavior. Dr. Fleming also talks about the corporate governance battle of the year, the attempt by activists and blue state pensions to attack the board of Exxon. Fleming talks about how to balance the need to do business in the world and the need for large financial entities with the desire not to pay businesses which then turn around and hurt the economy of a state and attack the faith of many of its citizens.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How can Christians build support networks in an arena where employees of faith feel increasingly unwelcome to be religious in the workplace? Mark Whitacre, executive director of Coca-Cola's t-factor initiative, joins Jerry to discuss forming Christian employee resource groups, responding to common objections, and what the future looks like for religious employees.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Texas senator Phil Gramm joins Bowyer Research's Isaac Willour on Meeting of Minds for a wide-ranging discussion of AI, defending free market ideals in our current political moment, and the medieval/feudal roots of the modern ESG movement.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Veteran financial journalist Charles Gasparino joins Meeting of Minds to discuss his recent book "Go Woke, Go Broke: The Inside Story of the Radicalization of Corporate America." He and host Jerry Bowyer discuss the extent of corporate politicization, from Disney's corporate strategies to Goldman Sachs meltdowns over Chick-fil-A, as well as the future of combatting ESG activism.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Which companies have been targeted by anti-Israel activists since October 7th? In Ep. 81, Isaac talks with Ron & Vanessa of the Zachor Legal Institute to discuss anti-Israel activism, boycotts, and the intersection between ESG and the BDS movement.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Professor and TED speaker Alex Edmans of the London Business School joins Meeting of Minds for a wide-ranging discussion on confirmation bias, decision making, and how ESG analysis can become tied to biased/black-and-white thinking that renders people and industries dumber.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Walker Wildmon of the American Family Association returns to Meeting of Minds for an in-depth discussion of AFA’s forays into corporate engagement, current events, and the future of conservative institution-building.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why aren't journalists covering the tremendous bias of the pro-ESG movement? Jerry talks with Tom Jones, head of the American Accountability Foundation about the weakness of pro-ESG academic analysis, sneaky ESG malfeasance in Oklahoma, and how the AAF uses FOIA requests to expose the interconnected web of anti-fiduciary activists working behind the scenes in American business.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is ESG at odds with human flourishing? And how do we move beyond it? Our guest, advisor and author Terrence Keeley, served for 12 years as a managing director at BlackRock before leaving to author several ESG-critical books. He joins Bowyer Research analyst Isaac Willour to discuss the failures of ESG, the roots of human flourishing, and the political/financial future of the free enterprise system, guided by the recent AEI book Ending ESG & Restoring the Economic Enlightenment.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Sharrow is the head of C12, the most prominent network of Christian CEOs. Sharrow talked with Jerry about how ESG, DEI and SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) have taken a small kernel of Christian truth and built a system which creates division and rancor in the workplace. Sharrow uncovers the roots of these toxic ideas in critical theory: an offshoot of Marxism which divides the world into oppressor and oppressed, with no escape from those categories possible. Sharrow also talks about the Holy Spirit is expanding the C12 network internationally in Egypt and increasingly in Brazil, which is undergoing revival and a wave of Christian discipleship in the marketplace. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Paul Tice has 40 years of experience on Wall Street managing money with a focus on the energy sector. He has worked for many of the largest firms in the world, including Blackrock. He now teaches finance at the Stern School at NYU. Tice explains exactly how ESG will tank global financial markets by destroying the energy sector on which all economics depends. He identifies the motive behind these policies driving politicians as the lust for power. He further identifies the motive for business CEOs: cowardice. Tice destroys the allegedly scientific arguments that fossil fuels are causing global warming and exposes the harrowing effects of the policies that are based on such flawed arguments. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Wayne Winegarden, Senior Fellow in Business and Economics at the Pacific Research Institute, explains why the claims of ESG investing advantage turned out to be based on an illusion, which reversed itself when energy companies began to outperform tech stocks. He also points out that ESG when applied as an investment methodology increases fees and decreases returns. Dr. Winegarden warns that a crisis in state pension and health insurance plans is virtually inevitable and how red states are likely going to be forced to bailout blue states. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alliance Defending Freedom is the leading defender of religious and political speech protection in our nation’s legal system. With fifteen Supreme Court victories and over 70 assists since 2011, no other organization has done more in the courts to protect religious freedom. But several years ago, ADF became a victim of cancel culture at Amazon, which kicked the organization out of being eligible for customers to direct gifts on its Smile program. ADF realized that there was another, perhaps even greater, threat to free speech than government – large corporations. In response, they launched a corporate engagement operation, headed by Jeremy Tedesco, and an objective scoring system called the Viewpoint Diversity Score Business Index, www.viewpointdiversity.com. ADF recently released the third annual edition of this index and Jeremy Tedesco joined us to talk about the trends he has seen. While victory is probably far in the future, progress is being made right now, with more companies being covered by the index, more companies participating in the survey and some companies seeing significant improvements. Tedesco also gives helpful advice and an inspiring call to ordinary shareholders to join the fight. Momentum has shifted our way, and Tedesco invites those who are concerned about “woke capitalism” to move from impotent outrage to engagement and influence.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We at Bowyer Research worked with a financial advisor to place a proposal on the annual shareholder meeting ballot of Mastercard. One of the rights that comes with placing such proposals is the right to address the board, CEO, and other shareholders present at the meeting directly and unfiltered. Usually, the advisors and ministries we work with give this speech themselves, but in this particular case, the advisor delegated it to me. It’s only three minutes long. Given the grave moral consequences of Mastercard’s actions, I was not my usual, quiet and reserved self. Some issues require a no-holding-back approach.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a recent op/ed for the Wall Street Journal, Commissioner of Revenue for the State of Alaska Adam Crum made the case that a recent attempt by blue state pensions to intimidate the board into acquiescing to the demands of anti-oil activists is a violation of the fiduciary duty to put retirees’ life savings ahead of politics. (Exxon Mobil Takes On Climate Extremists - WSJ). He should know. Commissioner Crum is responsible for the oversight of 138 billion dollars in public assets. And as the Commissioner of Revenue, he sits on the boards both of the state’s pension fund and of the state’s Permanent Fund, which receives oil and gas royalties and distributes them and investment earnings as dividends to the citizens of Alaska. After all, it was the discovery of oil and gas, without which, Crum argues, Alaska would never have been permitted to become a state. The Alaska model has also been a tremendous success for indigenous “First Peoples”, with groundbreaking legislation 50 years ago that allowed them to monetize the mineral rights of their land, creating unprecedented prosperity, while at the same time allowing them to their subsistence way of life such as hunting, fishing and whaling. Crum insists on fulfilling his role on the basic principle enshrined in law and long tradition that a trustee must put financial return for beneficiaries as the one and only end of pension management and leaving politics out of it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to Alabama State Auditor Andrew Sorrell, blue state pension plans and the stakeholder capitalism movement have been attempting to intimidate private corporations into imposing policies which have been repeatedly rejected by Americans at the ballot box. Sorrell points out that the demands of anti-energy activists and blue state pension bosses would lead inevitably to an authoritarian shutdown of all oil and gas resources in perpetuity. Particularly ominous is the attempt this week to remove the board of directors of ExxonMobil, the world's largest private oil company, using the states' pension assets, which he wrote about here: State Auditor Andrew Sorrell: Blue state officials play cheap political games ahead of Exxon shareholder meeting (1819news.com). Sorrell offers a serious warning to America about how much our liberties are at stake in this battle to keep politics from invading and weaponizing corporate life.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A group of blue state officials are attempting to use their pension funds to kick out the board of ExxonMobil because the firm has successfully sued to block an attempt by an activist group to place a proposal on the company's ballot that is hostile to the oil and gas industry. In addition, these states are pressuring Blackrock, JPMorgan Chase, and other asset managers to also vote against the Exxon board. In this episode of Meeting of Minds, Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming explains that if this unprecedented act of intimidation were to succeed, how devastating it would be to his home state, America, and the world. The Treasurer tells why he has urged the pension plans of Louisiana not to participate in this blue state corporate coup attempt (Treasurer Fleming condemns plot to take over Exxon (kedm.org)), and why his fellow red state treasurers have urged America's largest asset managers also not to participate (U.S. Republican states support Exxon in shareholder activism dispute | Reuters). He explains that what is truly at stake is the modern economy itself. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The battle between red states and ESG is raging in Oklahoma right now. The pro-energy Treasurer Todd Russ is suffering massive backlash for attempting to enforce a law which calls upon the state to not do business with asset managers such as Blackrock that boycott or seek to harm the fossil fuel industry. Russ found himself on the receiving end of a lawsuit from a union boss and attacks from numerous directions, including the Republican Attorney General of the state. Jerry talks in this episode with Tom Jones, President of the American Accountability Foundation (American Accountability Foundation), who has used Freedom of Information Requests to demonstrate the secretive and cozy relationship between various public officials who have been attacking Russ and an influential Blackrock lobbyist. AAF uncovers a disturbing pattern of public officials coordinating strategy with a company blacklisted by the state for acting against the interests of the state’s energy industry. This interview should be a wake-up call to conservative Oklahomans to see that the swamp isn’t just in Washington DC, but everyplace where special interests work against the interests of the people.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over twenty states have passed legislation that prohibits the state entrusting the management of state assets to companies that seek to harm the fossil fuel industry. Many of these states have been under attack by mysterious, well-funded, coordinated efforts to discredit those laws and the financial officials who are enforcing them. Right now that backlash is falling hardest against Oklahoma, it's anti-ESG law, and Treasurer Todd Russ, whose job it is to enforce it. Russ talks with Jerry and brings the goods on how Blackrock works against his state's principal industry. He details how, when he attempted to fire Blackrock from managing state assets, out-of-towners with "large briefcases of money" showed up and suddenly there were lawsuits, mysteriously funded studies supportive of Blackrock, and media campaigns launched against the law and himself. Russ explains why it's not just Oklahoma jobs at stake, but the whole world, which needs Oklahoma's energy to stay warm and fed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Continuing our series about the battle between Texas and Blackrock (as well as other anti-energy financial entities), we talk in this episode with the chief financial officer of the state of Texas, Comptroller Glenn Hegar. He defends the Texas law which forbids the state from doing business with financial companies that boycott or otherwise seek to harm oil and gas companies. Comptroller Hegar also explains exactly why Blackrock deserves to be on that list and why the $53 billion school fund was right to divest from Blackrock as an enforcement of the law. Comptroller Hegar and other Texas officials are leading the country in fighting for the economic prosperity of energy producing states. But Texas is also saving short-sighted Wall Street firms headquartered in energy dependent states from themselves, because in the long run, all of America is going to need energy from Texas.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Texas State Investment fund, under the leadership of school board chairman Aaron Kinsey, just divested 8.5 billion dollars from Blackrock. Blackrock quickly retaliated, suggesting that the move was against the law. On this episode of Meeting of Minds we talk to the Honorable Jason Isaac, formerly of the Texas Legislature, who played a key role in drafting the legislation. Isaac defends the Texas law and the decision to divest from Blackrock as in accordance with that law. Isaac also discusses research from the American Energy Institute and from the Texas Public Policy Foundation showing exactly how Blackrock attacks the energy industry. Isaac goes on to defend the Treasurer of Oklahoma Todd Russ, who is likewise under attack for following his state's law and attempting to divest from Blackrock. Finally, Isaac shows how the anti-fossil fuel agenda is really an anti-human agenda, at war with humans and with nature.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

American Family Association has been the leader among evangelical Christians when it comes to boycotting companies that violate the values of their Christian customers. AFA still leads in that area, but recently they widened their mission to focus their attention on the powerful strategy of shareholder corporate activism. Non-profit ministries often are given stocks as gifts from donors, but they do not use the legal authority that comes with those stocks to influence the companies they own. AFA is breaking the mold by using shares in Apple, and also banks they own, to oppose the pernicious practices of deplatforming and/or debanking Christian and conservative customers. AFA's Walker Wildmon reveals for the first time in this interview how AFA itself was the victim of debanking by the payment service Stripe and also how a security company refused to help the AFA protect its employees from violence because that company didn't like AFA's politics.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In his new book, Full-Time: Work and the Meaning Life (https://www.fulltimebook.com/), entrepreneur David Bahnsen confronts the anti-work-ethic culture of modern evangelical Christianity and calls upon churches to reassert the Biblical mandate for hard work and high productivity. He talks about the problem of a deficient pastoral work ethic, and the tendency of the church to focus on things like family time to the exclusion of a focus on economic productivity. He argues that the modern faith at work movements and the call for business leaders to get out of the business world and spend their “second half” in ministry in order to move “from success to significance” both fall far short of the high Biblical calling of business. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While at Davos, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase Jamie Dimon called for elites to acknowledge the economic accomplishments of the Trump administration and to stop showing contempt for 75 million Americans who are not on the left. Exxon, the world’s largest public oil company, is suing shareholder activists who pretend to represent the interests of investors while pushing oil companies away from their core businesses. On this edition of Meeting of Minds, we talk with financial advisor David Bahnsen, who last year addressed the CEO, board of directors, and shareholders of both JPMorgan Chase and Exxon, urging them to restore the trust of conservatives and focus on and defend their company’s business interests.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The New Civil Liberties Alliance (https://nclalegal.org/) has exposed the extreme extent to which the Biden Administration has been coercing social media companies to censor the research of credible experts who dared to disagree with the party line on lockdowns, vaccines, and mandatory masking. A combination of legal discovery and Congressional subpoena powers reveals an astounding amount of collusion between the government and social media companies to deprive dissenters from their right to speak and citizens of their right to hear things the government doesn’t like. Even worse, subsequent events have shown the dissenters are right far more often than the enforced consensus. Jenin Younes, the attorney who led NCLA’s efforts in this regard, joined Jerry to talk about what the courts have done to protect the Bill of Rights, and what comes next, and what it was like to sit in a conference room deposing an uncooperative Anthony Fauci.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another state treasurer is taking on ideologically-captured Wall Street firms. Dale Folwell of North Carolina is publicly calling for Larry Fink to be fired because he is isn't doing his job. The job of asset managers is to manage assets, to put the financial returns of investors above all else. But what happens when the "invisible people…the people who work with their hands and their backs…the people who shower at the end of the day" lack the wealth and power to keep Wall Street firms from using their own money against their interests? Answer: the state officials whom they trust to look out for them should step up. Treasurer Folwell talks about how he has been fighting Blackrock and other entities that are politicizing finance, including rating agencies, which have been attacking local governments for not being politically aligned with the ESG movement. He also explains why he thinks that taxpayer money should not be going to elective surgery such as sex change operations, especially for minors. A video of oral arguments before Fourth Circuit can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/live/Cuc32k5BETw?si=aw89_bKII29Oz4ID Don't miss the discussion about how unaccountable health care bureaucracies use lack of transparency to distort markets and take advantage of patients. https://www.shpnc.org/what-the-health/nc-hospital-price-transparency-report See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Like most people who run for a constitutional state-level row office, Dan Elliott has a business background and a desire to focus on “worker bee” type issues, such as cyber-security. But on the campaign trail running for Indiana Treasurer, he met a law-abiding gun store owner who had his bank account cancelled for no reason other than being a gun store owner. That’s when Elliott became aware that ESG and corporate politicization was going to be battle he would have to fight. Treasurer Elliott talks with Jerry about his frank conversations with Blackrock about retirees who had to decide between food and medicine, and why financial return--and only financial return--should be the focus of the pension plans under his supervision. Elliott also talks about the importance of school choice, and why he administers a program that aids young people who don’t go to college, but instead want to apprentice in the real world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Christian Employers Alliance is the leading association of Christian business people who employ others. Shannon Royce, its president, talks to Jerry about their upcoming conference and how Christian employers can learn what they’re up against, but also how to triumph. Topics include agility in the marketplace, how to maintain Christian identity and not run afoul of the law, strategies for dealing with ESG, and a great deal more. Listen to the interview, share it with others and visit here: https://christianemployersalliance.org/2023fallsummit/ to sign up for the most important conference for a most important group of people, Christians on whom others depend for leadership and livelihood.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It is clear that certain political factions have been highly successful at hijacking the debate over whether and how American companies should engage in non-core social issues. Jonathan Berry, Managing Partner of the prestigious DC law firm Boyden Gray, and a leading authority on the overlap between federal regulation and corporate law regarding ESG and proxy voting, explains how the SEC arrogated to itself powers not granted by Congress and used those powers to shift the balance of power towards political change agents whose interests are not aligned with investors. Berry also shows how the recent SCOTUS ruling against Harvard’s affirmative action program makes racially biased corporate diversity goals and human resources training highly vulnerable to legal challenge. Berry also lays out concrete ways in which excess power could be stripped away from bureaucracies and their favored interest groups and shifted back to the interest of investors.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After decades of neglect, conservative shareholders just had a banner year placing far more proposals on the ballots of companies than they ever have before. Scott Shepard, who heads up The Free Enterprise Project (Free Enterprise Project - The National Center) at the National Center for Public Policy Research, has been tracking the resistance movement against the ideological capture of American corporations. Shepard discusses the fight to get JPMorgan Chase away from de-banking religious liberty groups, tech companies out of the business of suppressing verboten politics, and oil companies to stay in the oil business. He also discusses the highly influential, but not highly visible, businesses known as proxy advisory services, which set the agenda for corporate governance far more than high-profile asset managers such as Blackrock.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Conservative activists have focused largely on complaining about celebrity corporate brands associated with ESG and stakeholder capitalism, such as Blackrock. However, state treasurers have turned their attention to the large proxy advisory services, which are arguably the most influential voices when it comes to whether your shares are being used to vote for policies that are in your interest. Led by Utah Treasurer Marlo Oaks, these financial officers are trying to fulfill their constitutional duty to the taxpayers and retirees of their states by constructively challenging institutions that are not highly visible, but are highly influential. Oaks talks with Jerry on this edition of Meeting of Minds to dive deep on this important topic.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bob Pruitt serves as Senior Counsel and Corporate Affairs Director with Alliance Defending Freedom. He recently appeared on Meeting of Minds to update our listeners about the state of affairs of the battle over religious freedom at America’s largest bank. He gave a helpful overview of the pattern of apparent discrimination, the engagement with the company by Financial Advisor David Bahnsen, the conflicting answers which the bank has given to shareholders and the press about the cancellation of Ambassador Sam Brownback’s account and the unwillingness of the company to participate in the Viewpoint Diversity Survey (Viewpoint Diversity Score). Pruitt also had some good news to offer about comments which the company has made to Kentucky Attorney General, Daniel Cameron which suggest that the company may be willing to participate in the survey.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Alliance Defending Freedom recently released its second annual Viewpoint Diversity Index, and the findings are shocking. The survey looks at 75 of the most prominent companies in America, with an emphasis on technology and financial firms. With few exceptions, their scores are in the single or low double-digit range (out of a scale of 100). Jeremy Tedesco, who heads up the Corporate Engagement project for ADF, describes the survey, explains where companies are failing and highlights the few companies that are moving in the right direction. Whether you are a customer, employee, investor, or all three, you should go to Viewpoint Diversity Score and find out who you are doing business with.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dave Brat, former econ professor, congressman and now Vice Provost for Engagement at Liberty University explains how monetary bubbles have obscured the continuous declining productivity in the real economy, how a Christian culture shift made the West the leader of global prosperity, how the loss of the culture is causing us to lose that prosperity and how we might get both back. Brat explains the fundamental equation of economic output and inflation (MV=PQ) in clear language. He also talks about woke capitalism and ESG and previews Liberty’s Upcoming CEO Summit for Christians in the C-suite with a special outreach to CEOs who do business with Africa.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Todd Russ was a community bank CEO in Oklahoma who decided to become a public servant. He ran for Treasurer which he saw as a low-key “worker bee” kind of job. But when he learned how gigantic Wall Street firms like Blackrock were managing the pension assets of public workers and using those assets to undermine the hydrocarbon economy on which the workers of Oklahoma depend, he decided to go to battle. Working with the state legislature he helped change the law to allow the state to stop doing business with financial firms that boycott or undermine the energy industry. But then came the backlash. Treasurer Russ tells his story and why he is undeterred in his fight to see that ESG investing will not be used as a weapon against the people he works for – the citizens of Oklahoma. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A group of 14 state-level financial officials, led by Nebraska state Treasurer John Murante, recently wrote a letter to the CEO of JPMorgan Chase asking the bank to account for the recent cancellation of banking services to conservative organizations. Murante also discussed a new Biden proposal to impose an extra tax on mortgages for people with high credit ratings, a move likely to hurt the people it is intended to help as well as the banking system.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stephen Moore is one of the leading voices in favor of economic freedom and wealth creation. But being pro-wealth doesn’t necessarily mean being automatically pro-business. Moore talks about a new report created by The Committee to Unleash Prosperity https://committeetounleashprosperity.com/ , which exposes how many of the most trusted names in finance have been actually voting with their clients’ money for decarbonization and other policies, which if they were enacted, would severely harm their clients. Few people know that when they invest their money in investment funds, they give up their right to vote on corporate ballots, delegating their voices and their votes to fund managers. But fund managers, often unwittingly, end up voting for policies that are anti-growth, racially charged and highly ideological. Moore and Bowyer discuss the new index, what it tells us about the finance industry and also the limitations of the research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.