WSJ Opinion: Free Expression

On this encore episode of the Free Expression Podcast, Gerry Baker speaks with Jonathan Haidt, author of “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness." Haidt discusses the dangers that are present on social media platforms and how easily accessible they are to kids with very little obstacles to get in the way of them being harmed psychologically. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Republican Party gathered this week for its presidential nominating convention and the message coming from the gathering is clear: Donald Trump, after the failed assassination attempt on his life, has rallied the party successfully heading into the final stretch of the election. The selection of Sen. J.D. Vance as vice presidential nominee has doubled down on the party’s populist message, to the concern of some cons. Meanwhile, the chorus of Democrats calling for Joe Biden to step aside has reached a fever pitch, and it seems a new candidate will be taking over any day. On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, Republican Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise tells Gerry Baker what he was able to tell Donald Trump regarding the attempt on his own life, what J.D. Vance brings to the Trump campaign, and why he wants Joe Biden to keep running for President. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In what is the most important week of Joe Biden's presidency, Democrats are in disarray about the man at the top of the ticket for November's election. Despite strong pushback from the White House to calls for him to step down, the drumbeat demanding change is growing louder. Several members of Congress have called for him to go and many more are privately expressing despair about the party's prospects - in congressional elections as well as at the presidential level - if he remains the candidate. On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), the president's most vocal supporter in the Senate, explains why he thinks Biden is the only plausible candidate, excoriates those in his party refusing to unite behind him, and talks about his passionate support for Israel and why so many in his party no longer seem to share it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Labour Party secured a major landslide in Britain's elections, resulting in a parliamentary majority not seen since the early days of Tony Blair. The reign of the Conservative Party, who have governed for 14 years, ended in an ignominious rout. But Labour’s victory, led by Keir Starmer, the new prime minister, was achieved with the lowest share of the vote for a winning party in British history. A strong performance by the populist Reform UK party seems to have split the right wing vote. So what does the downfall of the Tories mean for the conservative movement in the U.K. and elsewhere? And what does Britain’s future under Labour look like? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, political commentator Tim Montgomerie tells Gerry Baker why the United Kingdom may have seen the end of the two-party system, how Keir Starmer will perform on the world stage, and how the Conservative Party can stage a comeback. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By the time Thursday night’s debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump ended, one question was on everyone’s lips: will the president be persuaded to step down ahead of the Democratic convention? His weak and stumbling performance dramatically increased concerns about Biden’s age and stamina, as Donald Trump showed a discipline and focus that has not always been on display On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, Karl Rove tells Gerry Baker Biden’s was the worst presidential debate performance he has ever seen, and he says there is no way back for him to win if he remains the party’s candidate. Rove says he therefore expects the president now to step aside and he assesses the likely field of Democratic presidential contenders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Free speech is under threat in unprecedented ways in the U.S.. University campuses deny platforms to those who dissent from progressive orthodoxies. Tech firms block heterodox news and opinion on grounds of "disinformation." Companies discipline employees for challenging nostrums about race, sexuality and gender. How did it get this way? What can be done to reverse the tide? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, law professor and legal analyst Jonathan Turley talks with Gerry Baker about his new book, "The Indispensable Right," on the centrality of free speech to human life, and also about other threats to American rights and values including the ‘lawfare’ that is increasingly waged in American politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are we losing the new Cold War? In a rare moment of bipartisan unity, all sides in America seem to agree that we are in a long new Cold War struggle with Communist China. But if that's the case, why are we just managing the contest rather than actually trying to win it? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, former Republican congressman Mike Gallagher, who led congressional efforts to confront China, including most recently with legislation banning TikTok, tells Gerry Baker how Beijing is aggressively advancing around the world - including here at home in the U.S., and how we can rise to meet the challenge. The once rising star in GOP ranks also talks about why he left Congress and how he sees the future of the Republican party. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After Donald Trump’s conviction being on 34 felony counts of falsification of business records and as his sentence looms just ahead of the Republican National Convention, U.S. politics are deeper into uncharted territory. What might happen next? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, former federal prosecutor and Trump lawyer James Trusty takes Gerry Baker through all the legal steps the former president will go through, including the appeals process. He explains why Mr. Trump has good reason to expect success but also expressed concern about the larger prospects for equal and independent justice in an age of partisan politics and ‘lawfare.’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the current polls looking better each day for a return to the White House for Donald Trump, what could the next 4 years look like at the southern border? On this episode of the Free Expression Podcast, Gerry Baker speaks with former acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf who says a second Trump administration will make radical changes to border enforcement and immigration policy, ensure the deportation of migrants in the US illegally and seek agreements with foreign governments to take asylum seekers and deter migrants from coming to the US. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s a rare subject of bipartisan agreement that China is the greatest strategic challenge facing the U.S., perhaps the greatest it has ever faced. And yet, despite a decade of admirations of both parties acknowledging the threat, we are woefully under-prepared for it. What can the next President learn from the mistakes of the recent past and how might he remedy them? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, Richard Fontaine and Robert Blackwill, foreign policy commentators and co-authors of a new book, “Lost Decade: The US Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power” talk with Gerry Baker about what went wrong and how the next ad ministration must fix it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As global instability increases and threats to our national security grow, what can we learn from the history of warfare? In a new book, noted military historian Victor Davis Hanson examines how some wars have resulted not just in defeat for the vanquished but in the annihilation of their civilization and people. On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, Prof. Hanson tells Gerry Baker about the parallels between these wars and the threats we now face from our increasingly bold adversaries. How can we avoid the mistakes of those previous civilizations and ensure our survival? He also talks about America’s internal fractures and how they are weakening our national security and what our political leaders can do to reverse the damage in a pivotal election year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adult film actress Stormy Daniels took to the stand this week in the criminal hush-money trial of Donald Trump, surprising the media, legal experts and even the former President himself. But the more we heard the salacious details in the testimony, the more it seemed the move might backfire on the prosecution. In what already looks to many like a thin case against Mr. Trump, the admission of lurid stories about a sexual encounter that even the judge seemed to think might not be relevant only reinforced the perception that the prosecution is a politically-motivated attempt to discredit the former president and current Republican candidate. On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, former prosecutor Andy McCarthy talks to Gerry Baker about the case, why it would be a mistake for Donald Trump to testify in his own defense, and the many other legal threats Donald Trump is facing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the explosion of protests on university campuses and as Donald Trump sits in a courtroom facing felony charges, the 2024 presidential race is at a new level of volatility. Polls show Joe BIden trailing Trump in the key swing states, leaving the current President with only the slimmest of margins as a path to reelection. Six months out, what might change? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Cook Political Report Amy Walter and Gerry Baker discuss which states may decide the future of the presidency and the issues which mean the most when going to the polls. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have our elite universities become seedbeds of hatred? Since Hamas’ murderous attacks on Israel on October 7th, and the war in Gaza that followed, demonstrations have exploded on the campus of American universities. In the last two weeks, the mayhem has escalated. Columbia University especially has been overrun by angry protesters, many of them pushing nakedly antisemitic messages and harassing Jewish students - who have been advised to steer clear of campus for their own safety. One Columbia professor who has challenged the encampments, Shai Davidai, has even found himself barred from the campus. On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, Davidai tells Gerry Baker about the growth of Hamas and Hezbollah-supporting organizations at Columbia and other universities and describes the threat they pose not just to Jews but to the wider population. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Biden administration and international public opinion up the pressure on Israel to suspend its campaign against an enemy sworn to destroy it, the right of the Jewish state to defend itself seems to be challenged. Can Israel finish the job against Hamas? Will Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remain in office despite fierce domestic criticism? What are the wider geopolitical issues at stake? On this episode of the Potomac Watch podcast, policy analyst Reuel Marc Gerecht tells Gerry Baker why an occupation of Gaza by Israel is likely necessary, how pro-Palestinian voters in the United States have influence over Joe Biden’s policy decisions, and why Iran and questions about its nuclear program continue to linger over the entire war. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With more and more parents giving their children access to smartphones earlier in their lives a common troubling thread seems to be arising that is affecting the way children are growing up. On this episode of the Free Expression Podcast, Gerry Baker speaks with Jonathan Haidt, Author of “The Anxious Generation” How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. Haidt discusses the dangers that are present on social media platforms and how easily accessible they are to kids with very little obstacles to get in the way of them being harmed psychologically. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After over 140 people were killed at a concert venue in Moscow, Islamic State in Khorasan Province, or ISKP, an Afghanistan-based offshoot of ISIS, quickly claimed responsibility. Who are ISKP and what wider threat do they pose to the West and the U.S. in particular? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, Afghan Armed Forces Lieutenant General Sami Sadat tells Gerry Baker why he thinks ISKP will strike again and soon - - perhaps even in the U.S. He also explains how the chaotic and hurried U.S. departure from Afghanistan in 2021 and the Doha Accord of 2020 helped set the conditions for the resurgence of the terrorist menace. According to Sadat, the Biden administration's plans to fight the enemy from "over the horizon" are doomed to fail. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the Federal Reserve signaling it still plans to cut interest rates this year, has the inflation threat really abated? Heightened optimism about a soft landing has cooled somewhat as inflation at the start of the year has shown signs of persisting. What happens next will have big political implications too. In an election year, more voters seemingly have a negative opinion of how Joe Biden is handling the economy. If interest rates don’t fall appreciably, it won’t help his re-election prospects. On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, former Obama White House chief economist Jason Furman tells Gerry Baker why he’s concerned about continuing inflation risks, how rising mortgage rates are causing so much pessimism in households nationwide, and what he thinks the Fed will do next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Four years ago this week, the U.S. shut down in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. While officials were adamant that lockdowns, masks, and later vaccines were essential for all Americans to limit the damage from the spread, it's become increasingly clear that the science behind so many of the mandates was decidedly shaky. Yet those who warned at the time of the risks of draconian actions were widely denounced and even silenced. On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, Professor Martin Kulldorff, one of the most prominent skeptics tells Gerry Baker why he says he was fired as professor of medicine at Harvard University for his views, why the research on vaccines is not so 'black and white,' and why the media and society were so hostile to alternative views on masks, school closures and natural immunity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Super Tuesday put the seal on the 2024 primary season and the rematch of Joe Biden and Donald Trump is set for November. Biden starts out in a weaker position than any incumbent in decades. But, while polling suggests Trump currently has the edge, many voters seem reluctant to endorse either candidate. On this episode of the Free Expression Podcast, Gerry Baker speaks with former Trump pollster and co-executor of the WSJ’s own regular polling Tony Fabrizio to talk about what we can expect in November and whether Biden can turn the race around? Will Trump overcome the Scott’s about his character? With Robert F. Kennedy running as an Independent and pulling votes from both sides, how sure can either party be about winning the 2024 election? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices