WSJ Opinion: Free Expression

With the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, has Russia's invasion of Ukraine reached a critical turning point? On this episode of the Free Expression Podcast, Wall Street Journal editor at large Gerry Baker speaks with House Armed Services Committee member Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) about the United States' commitment to aiding Ukraine financially and with armaments, whether Ukraine should be allowed to join NATO, and the concerns that European nations are overpromising and under delivering when it comes to providing support in the conflict. Plus, Rep. Waltz gives his takes on Donald Trump and the person he replaced in Congress, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robert F Kennedy Jr, scion of the first family of Democratic politics, has launched an insurgent challenge to incumbent Joe Biden for the party’s presidential nomination for 2024. Early polls have suggested he has the backing of up to one fifth of Democratic voters. On this episode of the Free Expression Podcast, Kennedy Jr. sits down with Wall Street Journal editor at large Gerry Baker and talks about his campaign’s populist message: blasting big business and an overreaching government and a political and cultural environment he claims is characterized by official and corporate censorship and control. They discuss Covid lockdown mandates, energy policy and why he opposes US military support for Ukraine against Russia. He is also challenged about his long-standing, controversial - and widely discredited - campaign against vaccines for children and other controversial causes he has promoted. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Ron DeSantis launches his campaign for president, the race for the 2024 Republican nomination finally gets under way in earnest. What does he need to do to overhaul Donald Trump’s big lead in the opinion polls? And with Senator Tim Scott also joining the fray this week and other candidates expected to join soon, is there any chance this is more than just a two-horse race? On this episode of the Free Expression Podcast, Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson joins Gerry Baker, Wall Street Journal editor at large, to handicap the intensifying GOP primary race. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Has Reaganomics run its course as the dominant economic model for the right? On the episode of the Free Expression Podcast, Wall Street Journal editor at large Gerry Baker continues his look at the evolution of modern conservative thought with public policy commentator Oren Cass. The two discuss whether there is room in conservative thought for a fundamental rethinking of free-market policies that assuages some of their apparent social and economic costs while preserving the benefits. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How can U.S. foreign policy succeed in a new age of great power confrontation? Does the challenge of an ascendant China mean U.S. support for a European war against Russia is a dangerous distraction? On this episode of the Free Expression Podcast, conservative foreign policy analyst Elbridge Colby tells Wall Street Journal editor at large Gerry Baker what's at stake for the United States if China invades Taiwan, why it's time for Europe to step up in support for Ukraine and how Donald Trump transformed Republican foreign policy thinking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the Free Expression Podcast, Wall Street Journal editor at large Gerry Baker speaks with All-American swimmer Riley Gaines, who has become an outspoken advocate for the exclusivity of biologically female-born athletes in women's sports. Gaines talks about how her message has been received by the LGBT community, why she no longer has sympathy for her critics, and why she says the mainstream media has unfairly labeled her opinions "hate speech." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Biden has officially announced he is running for reelection in 2024. But with his approval ratings in the doldrums, his campaign launch suggests his argument will be focused more on raising fears about the Republican alternative than on promoting his own record. Can he pull it off? On this episode of Free Expression Podcast, political scientist Ruy Teixeira talks to Wall Street Journal editor at large Gerry Baker about the Biden strategy, Republican strengths and weaknesses and why embracing identity politics is a losing approach for Democrats. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The dominant ideology in America today elevates identity over individuality, victimhood over excellence and race over everything. On this episode of the Free Expression Podcast, commentator Heather Mac Donald tells Wall Street Journal editor at large Gerry Baker why there needs to be a choice between meritocracy and equity, and why the racialization of all aspects academia and culture has caused major damage and a need for a counter-revolution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Should artificial intelligence be embraced or feared? On this episode of the Free Expression Podcast, computer scientist Yoshua Bengio tells Wall Street Journal Editor at Large Gerry Baker why he joined others in the technology field in signing an open letter calling for a pause in AI development. They also discuss the potential risks that could come from a lack of a pause, and how artificial intelligence compares to the computer that is the human brain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After widespread protests against Benjamin Netanyahu's proposed judicial reforms, the Israeli Prime Minister has put the controversial plan on hold. But what led to the eruption? On this episode of the Free Expression Podcast, journalist and commentator Ben-Dror Yemini speaks to Wall Street Journal editor at large Gerry Baker about the challenges of balancing the ambitions of a democratically elected government with the need for constitutional checks and balances, and what the standoff tells us about the rising tensions around the world between populism and liberal democracy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is Donald Trump in legal peril, or is he the target of a political prosecution? On this episode of the Free Expression Podcast, legal scholar Jonathan Turley tells Wall Street Journal Editor at Large Gerry Baker why Alvin Bragg's pursuit of an indictment is a true abuse of the justice system, how the case can be used to Donald Trump's advantage, and why the Mar-a-Lago investigation is the legal jeopardy the former President should be concerned about the most. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the end of a tumultuous week for U.S. banks, former FDIC Chair Sheila Bair tells Wall Street Journal Editor at Large Gerry Baker on this episode of Free Expression why the feds were wrong to rescue Silicon Valley Bank’s depositors and how the bailout may make things worse for the U.S. financial system. She also warns that the Federal Reserve should pause its interest rate increases next week or risk tipping the economy into a deeper crisis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is the ESG craze over? On this episode of the Free Expression Podcast, Wall Street Journal Editor at Large Gerry Baker speaks with veteran investment manager Terrence Keeley about why environmental, social and governance-based investing is in retreat under pressure from investors, conservative critics and Republicans on Capitol Hill. They also discuss whether restoring investing for shareholder returns rather than in pursuit of political ideology should again be the proper objective of asset managers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the Free Expression Podcast, Wall Street Journal Editor at Large Gerry Baker and geopolitical analyst Ian Bremmer survey escalating crises around the world, including China’s deepening partnership with Russia, Ukraine's need for more military and financial assistance, how Joe Biden would defend Taiwan, the growing threat from Iran, and the U.S. Energy Department's conclusion that Covid started in a Chinese lab. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the Free Expression Podcast, Wall Street Journal Editor at Large Gerry Baker and historian Robert Kagan take stock of the war between Russia and Ukraine on the first anniversary of the conflict. After Joe Biden’s visit to Kyiv this week they discuss America's large and continuing commitment to Ukraine, Vladimir Putin's options as his military is depleted, China's role and why it should be wary of military action against Taiwan, and how, after a century as the world’s dominant power, the US can maintain its global status. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the Free Expression Podcast, president of the University of Chicago Paul Alivisatos talks with The Wall Street Journal's Editor at Large, Gerry Baker about improving the climate for free speech at American universities and colleges, creating more ideological and intellectual diversity in the faculty, and how American higher education can continue to be a force for socially and economically valuable research and discovery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the Free Expression Podcast, economist Ken Rogoff talks to The Wall Street Journal's Editor at Large, Gerry Baker about why the U.S. faces a significant chance of recession, the risks of a new financial crisis, and how China is struggling to deal with the realities of its modern economy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the Free Expression Podcast, international relations expert and commentator John Chipman tells The Wall Street Journal's Editor-at-Large, Gerry Baker why Ukraine is in a must-win stage in its war with Russia as the one-year anniversary of the conflict nears, how seriously to take fears of escalation, and what the world makes of the Biden administration’s handling of challenges in the Middle East and China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Free Expression, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers tells Wall Street Journal Editor at Large Gerry Baker how much further the Federal Reserve will need to go to contain inflation, whether it will cause a recession and weighs in on the threat to expression and intellectual diversity in universities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Free Expression, former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan sits down with Wall Street Journal Editor at Large Gerry Baker at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The two discuss how the tumultuous vote to make Kevin McCarthy Speaker of the House could yield positive results for the Republican Party, the debate over raising the debt ceiling, and how the GOP needs to get past Donald Trump to secure a victory in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices