The Daily Signal

This week, are looking back at five of our, and your, favorite podcasts from 2022. The true agenda of what has become known as the “transgender movement” is to abolish sex, according to author and self-declared feminist Kara Dansky. Dansky, author of the new book “The Abolition of Sex: How the ‘Transgender’ Agenda Harms Women and Girls,” not only takes issue with the objective to destroy the concept of sex, but also with the use of the term “transgender.” The term “transgender” was invented, but the “word has no coherent meaning whatsoever,” Dansky says, adding that “every single person on the face of the planet, all 8 billion of us, are either female or male, and that’s it.” Dansky joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the history of the term “transgender” and what she thinks the movement’s ultimate objective might be. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we are looking back at five of our, and your, favorite episodes from 2022. Aug. 26, marked one year since an ISIS-K suicide bomber killed 13 U.S. service members and about 200 Afghans outside the international airport in Kabul. Marine Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, one of the 13 service members who died, was only 20 at the time of the fatal attack. His widow, Jiennah Crayton, also known as Gigi, gave birth to the couple’s first child, a daughter, less than a month after the bombing. His son Rylee was “fun,” Jim McCollum says. “He was genuine, real,” McCollum says. “He had a huge heart, very compassionate, but you had to know him to see that side of him, because he was also very abrasive.” “We have pictures of him at about 3 years old, 2 or 3, in a diaper, in his sister’s boots, no pants, with his gun and his dog out playing Army, Marine, whatever, protecting the family,” McCollum says of his son. “Just loved it. He was very fascinated with the military his whole life.” One year after the terrorist attack that killed his son and 12 other service members, McCollum says he doesn’t want to talk with President Joe Biden about the attack or his handling of the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan: I’m highly disappointed. If you could sit down and have a discussion and know that it was sincere and that somebody was going to listen to you, it would be different. But so far the government, they’ve been less than honest with me, and it’s all lip service and just standard routine. They’re just going through the motions. McCollum joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the life and legacy of his son Rylee, his 1-year-old granddaughter Levi Rylee Rose, and how the Biden administration handled the exit from Afghanistan. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we are looking back at five of our, and your, favorite episodes from 2022. How did corporate media become so biased and corrupt, and why isn’t it being held accountable? Corporate media exists “to support corrupt regimes,” Mollie Hemingway, editor-in-chief of The Federalist, says. She is optimistic because “a lot of people have lost trust in corporate media in recent years, [and] that’s a good thing,” Hemingway says. “It’s bad if people believe the propaganda.” Hemingway joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the state of the media today and to share her reaction to President Joe Biden’s nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. Also on today’s show, Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., explains what he saw in Ukraine a week before Russia invaded. We also cover Biden’s first State of the Union address. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we are looking back at five of our, and your, favorite podcasts from 2022. Thirty years after his confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Clarence Thomas continues to have a profound influence on American law and culture—evident again with last week’s landmark rulings. A new book, “Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words,” gives readers access to hours of the exclusive content from the justice himself. Building on the success of a PBS documentary by the same name, the book chronicles Thomas’ amazing life and includes unreleased conversations with his wife Ginni Thomas. Filmmaker Michael Pack, who produced the “Created Equal” documentary, and Mark Paoletta, a personal friend and lawyer who worked with Thomas during his Supreme Court confirmation, join “The Daily Signal Podcast” to share their favorite stories and what you’ll find in the book. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Wednesday with President Joe Biden at the White House before delivering an impassioned address to a joint session of Congress. This was the first time Zelenskyy had left Ukraine since Russia launched its military invasion of Ukraine just over 300 days ago. The timing of the Ukrainian leader's meeting with Biden was no accident, says Victoria Coates, a senior research fellow in international affairs and national security at The Heritage Foundation. (The Daily Signal is Heritage's multimedia news organization.) "I think the whole point was to force through the $1.7 trillion omnibus; that's the president's kind of last hurrah of gigantic spending, before [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi gives up the gavel," Coates says. Coates says Zelenskyy's visit was "a Biden show," but the Ukrainian president should "embrace American conservatives" as potentially his most important allies in Washington. Zelenskyy headed home to Ukraine with a commitment from the Pentagon for a missile defense system known as the Patriot. But, Coates says, Biden should have given Ukraine the defensive support long ago, but instead used the promise of the Patriot system as a tool to bring Zelenskyy to America to push Democrats' massive spending package through Congress. Coates joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to talk about the role America should play in Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: The Senate passes a $1.85 trillion spending package. The federal government leaves a hospital in Yuma, Arizona with a $20 million bill for illegal aliens. The Kremlin issues a warning following Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy’s visit to the U.S. The life expectancy for Americans born in 2021 hits a new 25-year-low. A massive winter storm is sweeping across the U.S. and disrupting Christmas travel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chinese-owned TikTok has made headlines over the past few weeks as bipartisan support grows to ban the popular app. A bipartisan, bicameral trio of lawmakers introduced legislation Dec. 13 aimed at banning TikTok nationwide. The next day, the Senate unanimously passed another bill that would ban the app on government devices. Brendan Carr, a Republican member of the Federal Communications Commission, has been one of the most outspoken critics of TikTok and particularly highlights two national security concerns related to the ruling Chinese Communist Party. "One has to do with all of this sensitive, private, nonpublic data that has been accessed from inside Beijing. So for years, TikTok officials told regulators like me and told Congress, 'Don't worry about it, none of this data is stored inside China,'" Carr says. "Well, over this past summer, there was a bombshell BuzzFeed News story that showed those representations had been nothing other than gaslighting. BuzzFeed News got a hold of internal TikTok communications that showed, in fact, quote, 'everything is seen in China.'" "The second is, once they have that, they can use it for foreign influence, for espionage, other types of campaigns. And in fact, we're already seeing that," Carr warns. Carr joins this episode of "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss a potential TikTok ban in America, how the U.S. government would be able to enact and implement a ban, and how parents can protect their children. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky visit with President Joe Biden and is speaking to Congress The continued debate on the omnibus spending bill The White House weighs in on Title 42 Elon Musk’s hunt for a new Twitter CEO Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Biden administration "intentionally unsecured" the southern border because “they see a perceived political benefit from open borders,” according to Mark Morgan, former acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Morgan, now a visiting fellow in The Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, says President Joe Biden has what he needs to secure the border. (The Daily Signal is Heritage's multimedia news organization.) Biden just needs to “reach up on the shelf and take off the Trump-era border security plan that we had, dust it off, and implement it,” Morgan argues. With the uncertain future of Title 42, a public health measure that allowed the Border Patrol to quickly expel illegal aliens during the COVID-19 pandemic, Morgan says, the Biden administration must stop “rewarding illegal immigration” and move to “secure our borders.” Morgan joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain why the Biden administration has misused Title 42 and what will happen to America if the president doesn't take strong action to secure the border. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: The text of the massive omnibus revealed in the early hours of Tuesday morning The different earmarks included in the omnibus spending bill Supreme Court halts Title 42 from being lifted 11 Conservative groups are urging Kristi Noem to condemn a transgender health summit and launch an investigation Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the clock ticks toward the new year, Congress is racing to pass funding for the government for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 "Well, I was a no vote last week. I think we need to be doing our work. It's amazing to me that the Democrats have been in control of the White House, the House, and the Senate," Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., says about the "omnibus" spending package. The Senate and the House last week advanced a "stopgap bill" last week that continues to fund existing programs and would give Congress until Friday at midnight to finalize a spending bill. The measure passed 71-19 in the Senate; it passed 224-201 in the House. "Since January of last year, they've not passed a budget," Hern says. "They've not done appropriations in regular order. They have no one to blame but themselves for the almost $5 trillion in spending added to our debt in the last 23 months.: "Here we are at the very end of the funding, which was supposed to be done by Sept. 30, [and we] keep kicking the can down the road," says Hern, who was unanimously elected last month as chairman of the Republican Study Committee. Hern joins this episode of "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss the gigantic omnibus spending bill, some of the Republican Party's top priorities for 2023, and how conservatives can navigate with slim control of only one chamber of Congress. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem says goodbye to her health secretary, Joan Adam, seemingly over a transgender issue. The January 6th Committee holds its final meeting. The border crisis is on track to get a lot worse this week with the end of Title 42. Elon Musk’s days as the head of Twitter might be numbered. The Supreme Court is going to weigh in on President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Annabella Rockwell was thrilled when she learned she had been accepted at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, the oldest women's college in America. “I was so excited,” Rockwell said. “I was so eager to learn.” But the more she learned in her college classes, the more her joyful personality waned, her mother says. By junior year, a “serious robot came home” from college, Melinda Rockwell says of her daughter. In gender studies classes, the college student learned about the “patriarchy and the oppression that we experience in this country,” and she adopted these views as her own. Melinda Rockwell began to seek professional help from cult specialists to learn she could rescue Annabella from the indoctrination she experienced in college. Mother and daughter join “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain how Annabella found a way out of the woke cult, and ultimately became development director for PragerU. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Russia launches missiles into Ukraine Heritage expert weighs in on Senate’s one-week funding bill Tucker Carlson cites source, says CIA was involved in John F. Kennedy’s murder Republican senators call out DHS for redacting information on “Disinformation Board” Kristi Noem terminates contract with transgender activist group Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In fiscal year 2022, Customs and Border Protection seized more than 14,000 pounds of fentanyl. The lethal opioid drug has become a leading cause of death in adults ages 18-45. “The fentanyl seizures continue to increase, each fiscal year, and we know that of those seizures, we're probably only apprehending 5% to 10% of the drugs that are being smuggled into the country,” Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., says. The urgency of the fentanyl crisis led Guest and Rep. David Trone, D-Md., to introduce the END FENTANYL Act, standing for Eradicating Narcotic Drugs and Formulating Effective New Tools to Address National Yearly Losses of Life Act. “This is just a commonsense piece of legislation,” Guest says, adding that it should “gain bipartisan support in Washington, D.C., next Congress.” Guest joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain who is making the fentanyl coming across the border and how the drugs are getting into the hands of Americans. Guest also addresses concerns over a worsening border crisis as Title 42, a Trump-era policy that allows Border Patrol to quickly expel illegal migrants from America, is expected to expire in less than a week. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Incoming House committee chairmen investigate public health officials, origins of COVID-19 Russian official warns ‘there will be consequences’ if U.S. sends air defense missiles to Ukraine Texas Gov. Greg Abbott calls for investigation of NGOs involved in border crisis ahead of Trump’s asylum restriction policy expiration Senate votes to pass bill banning TikTok from government-owned devices Biden Administration announces winter COVID-19 contingency plan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congressional lawmakers introduced bipartisan legislation Tuesday aimed at banning the social media app TikTok nationwide. “TikTok is digital fentanyl that’s addicting Americans, collecting troves of their data, and censoring their news," Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., said in a press release. "It’s also an increasingly powerful media company that’s owned by ByteDance, which ultimately reports to the Chinese Communist Party—America’s foremost adversary.” Gallagher introduced the legislation with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill. The language of the bill says its goal is to “protect Americans from the threat posed by certain foreign adversaries using current or potential future social media companies that those foreign adversaries control to surveil Americans, learn sensitive data about Americans, or spread influence campaigns, propaganda, and censorship.” Jake Denton, a research associate in The Heritage Foundation's Tech Policy Center, weighs in on the legislation and its goal in this episode of "The Daily Signal Podcast." (The Daily Signal is Heritage's multimedia news organization.) "This bill is essentially building off the momentum that these state governors have had in the last few weeks we've seen. I believe we're close to almost 10 governors now who have banned [TikTok] from government devices," Denton says. "And I think the question for all these Americans is, well, if it's unsafe for these government employees, right, we don't want it on their phones. [So] why is it OK to be on our phones? And more specifically, why is it OK to be on our kids' phones?" Denton asks. On the podcast, Denton discusses the legislation to ban TikTok, whether he believes it's likely to become law, and the app's impact on users. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Republican leadership barrels ahead with their efforts to prevent Democrats from passing a lame duck omnibus spending bill. California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom visits the southern border and tells ABC 10 that the current situation is not working. On the 10th anniversary of Sandy Hook shooting, President Biden says “we should have societal guilt.” America may be sending the Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine. There appears to be another hiccup in Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey speaks out on the Twitter Files, and takes responsibility for the issues being uncovered. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LGBT activist and Biden administration official Sam Brinton no longer is an employee of the Energy Department. The news came Monday after Brinton, who identifies as nonbinary and gender-fluid, was accused in recent days of stealing two suitcases—one each from airports in Las Vegas and Minneapolis-St. Paul. It wasn't clear whether Brinton, 35, was fired or resigned from his position in the Biden administration, where he was deputy assistant Energy Department secretary for the Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., had tweeted Friday: “Sam Brinton, let's call it what it is: a person clearly unfit for a high-level national security role was hired because the [Biden] Admin prioritizes wokeness over competence.” Tyler O’Neil, managing editor of The Daily Signal, joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss Brinton’s departure from the Energy Department and why the Biden administration should prioritize employees' competence over their sexual identities. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: The consumer price index report Legislation introduced to ban TikTok in the U.S. ‘Respect for Marriage Act’ becomes law The Department of Energy has parted ways with Sam Brinton A scientific breakthrough relating to energy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Colder temperatures are just around the corner in Europe as many people there brace for an energy crisis this winter. "Well, the latest is that temperatures are dropping in Europe, prices of electricity and other heating fuels have quadrupled, and it's very difficult for people to afford these high prices," says Diana Furchtgott-Roth, director of the Center for Energy, Climate, and Environment at The Heritage Foundation. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of Heritage.) "We've had Benny Peiser, who's head of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, come and speak at Heritage, and he told us that prices in Britain were four times what they had been in previous years," Furchtgott-Roth says. "The government is putting a cap on these prices, so people are not feeling the full effect of the prices until April, but it's very difficult for everybody." Furchtgott-Roth joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss more about the energy crisis in Europe, how the U.S. can avoid landing in a similar position, and how Europeans can conserve energy this winter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: The latest batch of The Twitter Files details the platform’s decision to remove former President Donald Trump from the platform. A court rules a Virginia Tech soccer player can sue her old coach after being benched for not kneeling during a social justice demonstration. A federal court blocks the Biden Administration’s transgender mandate. Iran executes a second anti-government protester. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As students head to college each semester, the influence of the Chinese Communist Party on their campus is an unlikely point of discussion. However, John Metz, the president of the Athenai Institute, said his group is "committed to removing the influence of the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party from U.S. college campuses." Metz discussed some of the potential downsides to accepting money from the Chinese Communist Party. "So, we estimate that between 2018 and 2021, U.S. universities received more than a billion dollars in gifts and contracts from mainland China, and that includes everything from funding for Confucius Institutes, which we talked about a moment ago, to research partnerships and joint degree programs and so on," Metz said. "All of these, in our view, create a dangerous financial incentive for U.S. universities to turn the other way while the CCP censors our students, steals advanced technology, and engages in the high tech repression of its own people," said Metz, He added: All of these financial entanglements really are a danger to national security because they prevent universities from really doing their due diligence to make sure that the research they support is not putting that technology in the wrong hands.Metz joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss more about the influence of the Chinese Communist Party at college and universities, what he hopes the U.S. Congress will address policy-wise next year, and the dangers of TikTok. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: New Twitter Files reveal more shadow banning Sen. Krysten Sinema leaves Democratic Party Genderfluid Energy Department official charged with stealing luggage again Officer kneeling on George Floyd’s back faces sentence Gen Z congressman rejected from DC housing Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A group of medical doctors and organizations argues that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration illegally approved chemical abortion drugs, and has filed a lawsuit to remove such pills form the market. “We believe that women should be empowered with accurate information, and what we’ve seen in this chemical abortion push is deception from square one, and this is wrong,” says Dr. Donna Harrison, a board-certified OB-GYN who is chief executive officer of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The Christian legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom recently filed suit in federal court on behalf of four physicians and four groups, including Harrison’s organization. Harrison and attorney Erik Baptist, a senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, join this episode of “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain how chemical abortion drugs first entered the market and why suing the FDA was necessary. Harrison also details what chemical abortion drugs do to a woman’s body. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: House passes the Respect for Marriage Act South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem calls for state review of Chinese investments WNBA star Brittney Griner released from Russian prison House passes $847 billion National Defense Authorization Act FDA clears updated COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5 Iran hangs protester involved in mass demonstrations Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, there are believed to be more people trapped in slavery than at any other time in history. These are individuals who are victims of sex trafficking and forced labor. They are women, men, and children. There are “27.6 million people [who] are estimated to be victims of trafficking,” John Richmond, the former U.S. ambassador to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons during the Trump administration, says. Tragically, governments around the world are “identifying less than half of 1% of all those victims every year," Richmond says. “We are failing to actually identify, protect, and care for the victims of trafficking, and the traffickers are moving around with impunity.” At the end of the day, human trafficking will only be stopped when the traffickers are stopped, he says. “The root cause of the problem are the individuals who decide to exploit inherently valuable people just because they're vulnerable.” Richmond, who also an attorney and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss the core issues driving human trafficking today, and what is being done to rescue victims. To learn more about how to be a part of the solution to solving human trafficking, visit the International Justice Mission or Love Does websites. https://www.ijm.org/ https://lovedoes.org/ Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing a number of cases this term, including two cases pertaining to affirmative action in college admissions. The justices of the nation's highest court heard arguments for about five hours on Oct. 31 in the cases Students for Fair Admissions vs. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions vs. University of North Carolina. "So, what these cases involve is, basically at the heart, is racial discrimination. What Harvard and UNC have done, at least it's alleged by the plaintiffs, is that they have used their admission system to specifically keep down the numbers of Asian Americans who are being admitted into those two institutions," Lance Izumi, a senior director of education studies at the Pacific Research Institute, told The Daily Signal. "And so, in the case of Harvard, for example, they have used race as a factor, has been allowed under previous Supreme Court rulings, but have used it in a way that basically sets a quota on the number of Asians who are being admitted into Harvard," said Izumi, who is also the author of Obama's Education Takeover. Izumi added: So, for example, if you took an Asian American applicant who had a 25% chance of getting into Harvard, if you changed his race to Hispanic American, that same person with the same characteristics would have a 77% chance of getting into Harvard.And if you change that Asian American to [an] African American, again with the same characteristics, that person would then have a 95% chance of getting into Harvard.Izumi joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to further discuss the Supreme Court cases, the impact of these cases, record-low ACT scores, and what he hopes the next Congress will accomplish on education policy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Noticeably missing from President Joe Biden’s Arizona trip itinerary is a visit to the southern border. Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker face off in Georgia Senate runoff election. Arizona Republican Congressman Andy Biggs throws his hat in the ring for House Speaker. The Supreme Court is set to hearing arguments for a highly anticipated election case. The suspect in the Colorado LGBTQ nightclub shooting is charged with 305 criminal counts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elon Musk released bombshell news on Friday night over Twitter’s censorship of The New York Post’s October 2020 article about Hunter Biden. Musk linked to a thread of tweets, being called “The Twitter Files,” curated by independent journalist Matt Taibbi on his Twitter account, writing “Here we go!!” with two popcorn emojis. Taibbi’s thread revealed a series of communications within Twitter’s leadership at the time, and even involving government officials. “‘They just freelanced it,’ is how one former employee characterized the decision” to censor the Hunter Biden laptop story," Taibbi wrote. “Hacking was the excuse, but within a few hours, pretty much everyone realized that wasn’t going to hold. But no one had the guts to reverse it,” Taibbi wrote on Twitter. Since many of the Twitter employees involved in the censorship are no longer with the social media platform, the question remains whether there will be accountability for the former employees' actions. Jake Denton, a research associate at The Heritage Foundation’s Tech Policy Center, joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss the significance of the "Twitter Files" and what to expect from Musk as he continues to lead as Twitter’s CEO. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.) Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Elon Musk’s release of Hunter Biden-related Twitter files SCOTUS hears free speech case about same-sex Florida Gov. DeSantis says FEMA denied funds Arizona’s election results certified Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's a “crisis in the classroom,” and American children are paying the price, say Armstrong Williams, host of “The Armstrong Williams Show,” and Dr. Ben Carson, a renowned neurosurgeon and former secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It's “very concerning in our society today, as you see the dumbing down of our people,” Carson says. Carson and Williams are the authors of “Crisis in the Classroom: Crisis in Education,” and join “The Daily Signal Podcast” to offer solutions to America’s foundering education system. They had a third co-author, Benjamin Crump. Carson also addresses the role of the federal Department of Education and whether it should be eliminated. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Joe Biden signs bill to block railroad strike Former transgender Navy Seal Chris Beck announces detransition Biden goes to Boston to meet royal family, campaign for Democrats Alex Jones files for personal bankruptcy Rep. Lauren Boebert’s race recounted after Democrat opponent concedes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Live Action Founder and President Lila Rose started her undercover work as a teenager, posing as an underage victim of sexual abuse seeking an abortion — but with a camcorder hidden in her blouse to document her conversations with Planned Parenthood workers. Her undercover videos captured the attention of the nation, if not the world, prompting heavy scrutiny of the abortion giant and its practices. Since then, Live Action has amassed 6 million social media followers and 1.7 billion lifetime video views. And Live Action says their testing has found that Live Action’s content has changed the hearts of 43% of those the organization surveyed on abortion. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Rose for a Daily Signal interview, during which she shared that she had done a lot of acting in high school and found it natural to empathize with the plight of a girl grappling with an unexpected pregnancy and to pose as this victim, sent by her abuser to do away with the baby. "I'm 15," Rose said she told the worker. "He's much older than me, 24. What do I do? I'm pregnant." "In the state of California, that should immediately trigger mandatory reporting," she explained. "But the Planned Parenthood worker, without blinking, told me to lie about my age in the paperwork to get a secret abortion, and no one would know anything." Rose believes the abortion industry wants to perpetuate negativity around motherhood. "Planned Parenthood is not interested in women having their babies and they're certainly not doing anything to support those women," she said. "They're interested in women killing their children." But the Live Action founder also emphasized that modern society faces an existential crisis in which people fail to realize that true happiness comes from relationship with others. "We're all seeking happiness, but we think we're going to find it in career or we're going to find it in fame or wealth or some sort of material thing when really it can only be found in people," she explained, noting that the ultimate person through which people will find happiness is God. "And so we reject our own children because they're a threat to happiness when really they're actually a key to happiness." During the massive protesting that took place following the leak of the draft Supreme Court opinion indicating that Roe v. Wade would soon be overturned (and in the months since then) I have frequently heard pro-abortion protestors say that abortion is necessary to allow them to have consequence-free sex. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Senate hearing on FTX collapse Democrat senator urged IRS, DOJ to target conservative groups President Biden meets with French President Emmanuel Macron Apple backs down from banning Twitter on app store Sen. Elizabeth Warren comments on Musk’s Twitter changes Florida treasury to divest assets from BlackRock Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than 30 years ago, ordinary residents of China protested in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, where authorities reacted by reportedly killing at least 10,000. Sean Lin, who traveled to Beijing to attend those protests in 1989, recalls those events as “a historical moment in [China’s] modern history.” Lin, who served as a U.S. Army microbiologist and is currently an assistant professor in Fei Tian College’s Biomedical Science Department in Middletown, New York, recalls that “not only students actively joined the protests,” but “a lot of civilians from all walks of life all supported this movement.” “At the time, I think the main theme is anti-corruption because after the Cultural Revolution ended, the Communist Party allowed certain levels of economy reform,” Lin says. “So, many of the party elites quickly get rich using their privilege, using their powers.” He added: “So, immediately, the Chinese people see the society become polarized … I think it triggered a huge anger against the corruption level at the time.” Lin brings this frame of reference to discussing the ongoing unrest in China triggered after at least 10 persons died and at least nine were hurt last Thursday in an apartment fire in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region during the nation’s COVID-19 lockdown. “I think at that time in the 1980s, people definitely were very, very angry and upset about the corruption level. But at that time, nobody even … call for a step-down of the Communist Party,” Lin says. “But now, 33 years later, I think people are totally disappointed and [have] totally lost any confidence in the Communist Party.” Lin joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to talk about his experience during the Tiananmen Square protests, his thoughts on the Biden administration’s response to the current protests in China, and his message to those protesting. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Rep. Hakeem Jeffries is replacing Rep. Nancy Pelosi China vows to crackdown on protests So-called “Respect for Marriage” Act passes CNN begins layoffs Twitter’s COVID-19 misinformation policy ends South Dakota bans state government workers from using TikTok Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A newly elected official in Missouri says his emphasis in his role as state auditor will be to focus on combating left-wing "environmental, social, and governance"—or "ESG"—policies with respect to investments. "Well, as the state treasurer, I've gained ... a lot more exposure to ESG issue than pretty much anybody in elected office in Missouri. So, I will try to at least use that knowledge that I've gained, and that experience that I have being on the board of the [state] pension plan and working on these issues, to help," Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick, who was elected this month as the state's next auditor, told The Daily Signal. He will take his new office on Jan. 9. "There's going to be legislation in Missouri this coming session dealing with ESG issues and proxy voting, and things like that. So, as somebody who's been very involved in that conversation at the board level on a pension plan, as well as having been exposed to it a lot through my engagements with the State Financial Officers Foundation, with [The Heritage Foundation], with you guys, the stuff that I've been able to learn, I'm going to be a part of that legislative process in helping develop that legislation," Fitzpatrick said. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.) The incoming Missouri state auditor explained why he's against the use of environmental, social, and governance policies. Fitzpatrick explained: Essentially, the reason I am against ESG being used as a tool for investing purposes is because it prioritizes nonfinancial factors in investment decisions, and how you're managing people's investments, over those financial—or what we call pecuniary—factors that should be the priority when you're managing somebody else's money and have a responsibility to them to generate the best return possible on their investment.Fitzpatrick, a Republican, joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss why he is against those environmental, social, and governance policies; how he will continue his work combating those policies as state auditor; and why he thinks he was able to flip the auditor's seat, which had been held by a Democrat for nearly seven years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: President Biden calls on Congress to act and avoid rail strikes A candlelight vigil held on Monday to honor the victims of China’s “zero-COVID” policy Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis weighing in on Apple potentially banning Twitter from the app store Rep. Kevin McCarthy discusses on speakership A non-binary Biden administration official was charged with stealing a woman’s luggage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An apartment fire in Urumqi, China, left at least 10 dead and injured at least nine others on Nov. 24, sparking nationwide and global protests against the Chinese Communist Party’s “zero-COVID” policy. “It was really sparked by the fire in Urumqi. So, China has sort of a practice in its ‘zero-COVID’ policy of when it locks down cities or buildings,” said Michael Cunningham, a research fellow in The Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.) “Lots of times it’ll erect barricades or sometimes even lock or weld people inside. And so, we’re not sure if any of that happened, but there’s a public perception that that was probably the case, and that that’s one of the reasons why so many people died in that fire,” he said. Cunningham also discussed what the protesters are risking by speaking out against the communist regime. “Well, the protestors are risking everything. The [Chinese Communist Party] is an extremely powerful and an extremely brutal regime. It does not accept any dissent. So, I have to say, protests are not unheard of in China. They’re actually quite common, but they’re usually against local officials,” he explained. “And so the stakes there aren’t nearly as high as when you’re literally standing up as some protesters have and said the [Chinese Communist Party] and [President] Xi Jinping have to go. Or when they’re standing up and saying, ‘No more totalitarianism. We want democracy,’ which is what we heard in some of the protests, as well, over the weekend,” Cunningham added. Cunningham joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the ongoing civil unrest throughout China and protests around the world, the likelihood that Xi could be ousted, and the Vatican’s criticism of the Chinese Communist Party. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Protests break out in China over the weekend over severe COVID-19 lockdown measures. The Buffalo, New York gunman, who killed 10 people in May, pleads guilty. The Senate holds a vote on the so-called Respect for Marriage Act. A transgender activist is hired as a chaplais at a children’s hospital, The Federalist Reports. The White House announced its Christmas decor theme Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At a time when many conservatives are fed up with woke corporations and seeking alternatives, Ridgeline Research is offering an investment option that boycotts 29 companies hostile to conservatives. The American Conservative Values ETF (ticker symbol: ACVF) was created to help conservatives avoid putting their money in an index fund, a mutual fund, or an exchange-traded fund at odds with their values. We first told you about ACVF two years ago on “The Daily Signal Podcast.” Today, Ridgeline Research President Tom Carter brings us up to speed on the latest developments. Disclaimer: Neither The Heritage Foundation nor The Daily Signal provides investment advice. All material in this interview is presented solely as educational information, not as an endorsement of Ridgeline Research or ACVF. We recommend that you seek the advice of a financial advisor in connection with all investment matters. There are risks associated with any investment, and past performance is not indicative of future results. Listen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/ Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcasts Sign up for The Agenda newsletter—the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have all heard lots of stories about the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving, but the true religious roots of the holiday are often overlooked. On today's show, we talk with Adam Carrington, Hillsdale College associate professor of politics, about the history of Thanksgiving, and how freedom and a spirit of Thanksgiving work in tandem together. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. Senate is considering legislation that could have dire consequences for religious freedom. The so-called Respect for Marriage Act goes beyond codifying same-sex marriage in federal law to make the acceptance of gay marriage compulsory. “The so-called Respect for Marriage Act will just simply lead to more attacks on Americans' religious liberty,” says Jay Richards, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.) Richards joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the bill and why it poses a threat to Christian organizations and anyone else who holds to a traditional view of marriage. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Dr. Fauci’s last White House briefing before retirement Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s trip to the southern border Potential retribution to Senators who voted for Sen. Rick Scott over Sen. Mitch McConnell Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo labels Randi Weingarten as “the most dangerous person in the world” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump’s Twitter account has been restored to him. The former president's Twitter account is one of several high-profile ones to be resurrected following entrepreneur Elon Musk's takeover of the social media platform. "I think [with] Musk getting in and seeing what was happening behind the scenes, he realized pretty quickly that the content moderation rules that had been put in place by the previous regimes were actually completely arbitrary," Jake Denton, research associate in The Heritage Foundation's Tech Policy Center, says. (The Daily Signal is Heritage's multimedia news organization.) Denton joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss what Musk has changed at Twitter as well as the bankruptcy filing of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy says, if given the opportunity, he will block three Democrats from joining any committees in the next Congress. The man who shot up an LGBTQ night club over the weekend faces multiple murder and hate crime charges. A group of doctors and medical organizations sue the Food and Drug Administration over approval of chemical abortion drugs. President Joe Biden makes political jokes while pardoning two turkeys at the White House. Disney fires its CEO and brings back former CEO Robert Iger. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ken Timmerman is author of a new book, “And the Rest Is History: Tales of Hostages, Arms Dealers, Dirty Tricks, and Spies.” As a longtime investigative reporter and war correspondent, Timmerman has a unique take on the news media given his own journey from the political Left to the Right during his lifetime. We discuss his experiences in hostile places like the Middle East as well as newsrooms in America. He also offers his take on the current state of journalism. Listen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/ Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcasts Sign up for The Agenda newsletter—the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY, is running for House Minority Leader. Biden administration asks Supreme Court to move forward with student loan forgiveness plan. Virginia lawmaker introduces bill requiring state schools base sports teams on biological sex rather than gender. Rep. Ronny Jac Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dallas Jenkins was considering hanging up his filmmaking hat after his movie “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone” bombed at the box office in 2017. “I got to a place that weekend where I didn't know if I would ever make another movie again,” Jenkins says. “When you have a failure, it's hard to find people who are eager and willing to finance your next venture.” With the support of his church, the film director decided to jump back into making a short movie about the birth of Christ. It was a hit. “Long story short, that short film ended up being the catalyst … [for] 16,000 people all over the world investing over $10 million into season one of “The Chosen,” and the rest is history,” Jenkins says. “The Chosen,” based on the Gospels, is a streaming dramatic series that follows the ministry of Jesus and his disciples. Episodes from season one and two have been streamed over 400 million times. On Nov. 18, episodes one and two of the third season of “The Chosen” will premiere in theaters. “Season three is kind of this transition moment of the disciples going, 'Yay, we're officially Jesus' apostles. Why aren't things awesome?' They have to wrestle with that, and I think the viewer does too,” Jenkins says. Jenkins joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss creation of the series and the greatest challenges he and the cast faced in filming season three. Find out how to watch "The Chose" here. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices