Heritage Explains

The August Recess has been a staple of the congressional calendar for decades. In the 1960s the demands placed on the US Congress were changing. Lawmaking had moved from a part-time to a full-time gig. And as the pace of life intensified, so too did the workload on legislators. Looking for a way to balance their busy schedules with those of families, some members of Congress pushed for a defined summer recess. This they received in the form of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970. Now, every summer, the Congress takes a recess in the month of August, allowing members to go home, meet with constituents, or simply take vacation. But the political machine in Washington never stops turning, and when the members come back, more work is always waiting. So it is now, as Congress returns this week. Here to discuss what we might expect over this next session is Steve Chartan, Vice president of Government Relations, here at the Heritage Foundation.

Hello Heritage Explains Listeners! Mark Guiney here. It’s the first week of August and this month we are taking a short vacation. Until we return with our regular show in September, we are looking back at some of the greatest hits of the year so far. This past April, Heritage Foundation Digital Content Producer Samantha Hince spoke with Dr. David Gortler about the concerns that many Americans have around our use of artificial food dyes and the policy changes we might expect around them. It’s summer, so maybe listen to this episode with some ice cream. Just check the label first to make sure it doesn’t have any red 40. Enjoy.

Hello everybody, we at the Heritage Foundation hope you are enjoying these last weeks of summer. We here at Heritage Explains are taking the opportunity for a brief rest during the month of August. Our regularly scheduled episodes will return in September, but until then, we are revisiting some of our favorite episodes from the year so far. Back in March, I sat down with Jeff Smith to discuss why we should not forget about COVID. Particularly, the way it exposed the rot inside our professional and managerial classes. It’s an eye-opening listen and well worth keeping in mind. Enjoy. https://www.heritage.org/public-health/commentary/the-lie-the-century-the-origin-covid-19

Hello to all of our loyal listeners at Heritage Explains. We are on break for the month of August and will be coming back with new episodes in September. But in the meantime, we’re rounding up some of our favorite shows from earlier this year. One of the key moments in the early Trump Administration were the cuts to USAID. For the first time, many Americans got an up-close-and-personal look at the way that the sausage gets made in Washington. What most people assumed was an innocuous aid organization was actually involved in much more sinister activities. Check out this conversation with David Ditch, who breaks down why this moment mattered so much. Follow David Ditch on X: https://x.com/davidaditch Learn more about The Heritage Foundation: ⁠www.heritage.org⁠ — Have thoughts? Let us know at ⁠heritageexplains@heritage.org

Hi everybody, and welcome back to Heritage Explains. We, like many of you, are enjoying a little bit of vacation this summer. We are taking a break from our regularly scheduled episodes for the month of August. In the meantime, we are bringing you some of our favorite shows from this past year. We have seen a lot of important moments come and go in that time. And one was the verdict delivered in the case of Daniel Penny, this past December. It felt like an inflection point in our national conversation on race and justice. I sat down with Heritage Senior Legal Fellow Cully Stimson to talk about why. Take a listen. Follow Cully Stimson on X: ⁠https://x.com/cullystimson⁠ Rogue Prosecutors Book: ⁠https://www.heritage.org/rogue-prosecutors⁠ — Have thoughts? Let us know at ⁠heritageexplains@heritage.org

We find ourselves in the midst of a new revolution: The AI Revolution. Complex computer models are now able to replicate human thought, making them capable of an entirely new realm of tasks. AI is going to affect the way we work, where we live, how we learn and process information, how we bank, how we write, even how we interact with people around us. Governments around the world are paying attention to the possibilities that AI offers, and ours is no exception. I sat down with Daniel Cochrane, senior research associate for the Center for Technology and the Human Person at The Heritage Foundation, to talk about what the Trump Administration is saying about AI. — Follow Daniel Cochrane on X: https://x.com/realdcochrane Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

In 1965, the Johnson Administration signed into law the programs we now know as Medicare and Medicaid. They were designed to provide healthcare to Americans who were particularly in need. But over the years, the programs have expanded hugely, and focus has shifted away from people who really need assistance to much larger groups of people. This can be a real problem for the people that Medicare and Medicaid were originally designed to be a safety net for. Here to explain why and to talk about the recent reforms to Medicare and Medicaid is Nina Schaefer, Senior Research Fellow at the DeVos Center for Human Fluorishing here at the Heritage Foundation. — Follow Nina Schaefer at Heritage.org: https://www.heritage.org/staff/nina-owcharenko-schaefer Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

Attacks on ICE agents are escalating nationwide, now up nearly 700% over the same time last year. Organized riots followed recent ICE enforcement actions. Investigations reveal coordination by known radical groups that also organized the 2020 BLM/Antifa riots and 2023 pro-terrorism demonstrations. These are not spontaneous uprisings—they are well-funded, highly-organized anti-American efforts. Here to explain why these attacks on are on the rise is Simon Hankinson, Senior Research Fellow in the Border Security and Immigration Center at The Heritage Foundation. — The Ten Woke Commandments You Must Not Obey: https://www.amazon.com/Ten-Woke-Commandments-Must-Obey/dp/1680533614 Follow Richard on X at: https://x.com/WatchfulWaiter1 Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

Rescissions It’s a word that we’re hearing a lot in the news today. A member of a family of words and phrases that come trotting out whenever folks in Washington start talking about money. Appropriations. Sequestration. Omnibus. Continuing Resolutions. Budget caps. Debt Ceiling. Earmarks. Baseline Budgeting. But it isn’t that complicated. Basically, the President can request that Congress return money that has been appropriated, but not yet spent. A rescissions package is making its way through Congress now, but it’s likely we’ll hear more about this process throughout the Trump administration. Here to explain why is Richard Stern, Director for the Center for the Federal Budget here at the Heritage Foundation. — Follow Richard on X at: https://x.com/richastern?lang=en Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal... How many times have we heard these words? Back in 2007, the Washington Post ran an article by Gene Weingarten called “Pearls Before Breakfast”. In it, he chronicles an experiment by the newspaper, in which world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell put on a baseball cap and a t-shirt, and entered the L’Enfant Plaza metro station in Washington DC. Once there, he removed his Stradivarius violin from its case, and began to play. This is the music you’re hearing right now. This an artist who has sold out opera houses and played for heads of state, playing a $4 million dollar violin. Of the approximately 1,000 people who walked past, only seven stopped to listen. And so it is, sometimes, with our national identity as Americans. We are busy, we are desensitized, that it is an act of the will to stop, screen out the noise, and appreciate for a moment just how fundamentally unique and beautiful our country is. And the Declaration of Independence, the founding document of our country, has its own special music. In an effort to listen, I sat down with Brenda Hafera, Assistant Director of the Simon Center for American Studies, here at the Heritage Foundation. — Follow Brenda Hafera at Heritage.org:https://www.heritage.org/staff/brenda-hafera Washington Post Video of the Joshua Bell Experiment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnOPu0_YWhw Full Text of the Declaration of Independence: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

While there are still several high-profile cases awaiting rulings, the Supreme Court has delivered several wins for the Trump administration, common sense, and all Americans. So far this term, the Supreme Court issued stays of lower court orders attempting to block the Trump administration from pursuing its agenda, upheld religious freedom and parental rights, and upheld laws protecting kids from dangerous gender treatments. Justices also have stopped lower court judges from rewriting discrimination law and allowing foreign governments to infringe on Americans’ right to bear arms. Here to talk about what has happened this year and what we might expect to see over the next week is Heritage Senior Legal Fellow Hans von Spakovsky. — Hans on X: https://x.com/HvonSpakovsky?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Case in Point Podcast: https://www.heritage.org/caseinpoint — Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

On Friday, Israel initiated "Operation Rising Lion," conducting airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and military command centers. The strikes led to at least 75 Iranian deaths and significant infrastructure damage, including oil refineries and missile launchers. Iran responded with a large-scale missile and drone assault on Israel, targeting over 150 military and intelligence sites. The strikes resulted in at least 14 Israeli fatalities and over 400 injuries. Israel claimed to have damaged or destroyed 150 military and intelligence sites, including missile launchers and air defense systems. Here to talk about the implications of this attack and how we might expect this to change the situation in the Middle East is Robert Greenway, Director of the Allison Center for National Security, here at the Heritage Foundation. — Rob Greenway on X: https://x.com/RC_Greenway More of Rob’s work: https://www.heritage.org/staff/robert-greenway — Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

In Los Angeles, protests against immigration enforcement have turned into assaults on federal officers and buildings, fires, and similar mayhem to the Summer of 2020. And it turns out, that’s not all that is similar. The same people, using the same methods, are behind both this year’s LA riots and the BLM protests of five years ago. I sat down with Mike Gonzalez, a Senior Fellow here at the Heritage Foundation, to talk about just that. — BLM: The Making of a New Marxist Revolution: https://www.amazon.com/BLM-Making-New-Marxist-Revolution/dp/1641772239 — Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

Nuclear energy is a clean, safe method of energy production, in which America leads the world. But making sure that Nuclear power has a bright future in America is a full-time job. And that full-time job belongs to Jack Spencer, Senior Research Fellow in Energy and Environment, here at the Heritage Foundation. — Find Jack’s Book: https://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/088890357X/ref=cm_cr_unknown?ie=UTF8&filterByStar=three_star&reviewerType=all_reviews&pageNumber=1#reviews-filter-bar The Power Hour Podcast: https://www.heritage.org/the-power-hour — Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

Many Americans sense that the social cohesion of our nation is weakening. The data seems to back this up. A poll conducted by the Associated Press and the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago found that Seventy-one percent say the United States is “losing its national identity—that is the beliefs and values the country represents.” American trust in its traditional institutions, the media, universities, non-profits, and churches, is historically low. The question for conscientious Americans is, what do we do? Author Melanie Phillips has an idea. Heritage Vice President Victoria Coates sat down with her to discuss her book: The Builder’s Stone: How Jews and Christians Built the West—and Why Only They Can Save It. In this interview, Victoria and Melanie discuss what ails our culture and why religious principles are instrumental in dealing with these problems. — Find Melanie Phillips’ book: https://www.amazon.com/Builders-Stone-Christians-Built-West-ebook/dp/B0DW47YL1T?ref_=ast_author_mpb Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

The Center for Disease Control reports that over 48,000 Americans died from synthetic opioid (or fentanyl) overdoses in 2024. That number dwarfed the number of people who died from psychostimulants like methamphetamine at 29,000. As well as cocaine at 22,000, and other naturally occuring drugs at 8,000. Fentanyl and similar substances have changed the game in drug policy, driving greater lethality and creating geopolitical rifts, as China exports precursors to the drug and Mexican cartels smuggle it across the border. Responsible drug policy is complicated and contentious. Here to explain the conservative approach to this area is Paul Larkin, Senior Legal Research Fellow here at the Heritage Foundation. — More by Paul Larkin: https://www.heritage.org/staff/paul-j-larkin Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

Over the last few months, users of Facebook and Instagram may have noticed a new avenue to interact with the platform: Meta AI. The AI tool, similar to language learning models like ChatGPT, X’s Grok, and Microsoft’s Co-Pilot, is able to carry forward advanced conversations with users and synthesize complex answers based on prompts. Meta has leveraged its AI model to create a wide array of chatbots. Some are officially sanctioned by Meta and feature the voices of celebrities like Kristin Bell and John Cena. Others are created and customized by users. Two weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal reported that they had had hundreds of test conversations with these chatbots over several months. They found that Meta had not prevented some of these chatbots from engaging in sexually explicit conversations with users, even with minor users. In addition, some of these chatbots were based on characters that are themselves minors. This does not appear to be an accident on the part of Meta. Guardrails appear to have been removed or never put in place, with the aim of making the chatbots as engaging and addictive as possible. This is just one example of the challenges that Big Tech and AI have placed before the American people. Here to talk about those challenges is Wes Hodges, Acting Director of the Center for Technology and the Human Person at The Heritage Foundation. — Follow Wes Hodges on X: https://x.com/wesghodges WSJ Article on Meta AI Chatbots: https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/meta-ai-chatbots-sex-a25311bf Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

In honor of Small Business Week, we are pleased to bring you a conversation with Sue Malone a true titan in the world of small business. As the founder of Strategies for Small Business, Sue has been instrumental in helping over 30,000 entrepreneurs secure capital to start or expand their businesses. Paul Mullen guest hosts Heritage Explains this week in this conversation on entrepreneurship, what it means, and why it matters, as well as Sue’s advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

Since RFK Jr., now the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, showed the nation the color difference between Canadian Froot Loops and U.S. Froot Loops, Americans are becoming more aware of what’s in the food we eat. And one of the major offenders? Food dyes. Some of the food dyes in everyday products like breakfast cereals and candy actually come from coal tar, petroleum, and other concerning origins. Even worse, these dyes add nothing to the flavor—their only purpose is better marketing for companies. So how did we end up in this situation? And what does the FDA’s recent announcement mean for these food dyes? Here to explain is Dr. David Gortler, a Senior Research Fellow for Public Health Policy and Regulation here at The Heritage Foundation. ---- Dr. Gortler on FDA food dyes: https://www.heritage.org/health-care-reform/commentary/fda-gras-additives-and-artificial-food-coloring-banned-many-countries Dr. Gortler’s work at Heritage.org: https://www.heritage.org/staff/david-gortler-pharmd Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

With the push for green energy, governments around the world have pushed for (and passed) subsidies for so-called “renewable” energy like wind and solar. The US passed large subsidies of this kind under the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, passed in 2022. But these policies do not have the effect of creating long-term stability in the American energy grid. Here to explain why is Mario Loyola, Senior Fellow in Law, Economics, and Technology, here at the Heritage Foundation. — Follow Mario Loyola on X: https://x.com/mario_a_loyola?lang=en More by Mario at Heritage.org: https://www.heritage.org/staff/mario-loyola Mario Loyola in The Hill: https://thehill.com/opinion/5233595-inflation-reduction-act-energy-crisis/ Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org