WSJ Opinion: Free Expression

Exploring the rise of anti-Semitic protests at Ivy League universities, focusing on incidents at Columbia University with threats to Jewish students. Discussing misconceptions about supporting Palestine and Hamas, uncovering anti-Semitic activism in campus movements, and the radicalizing influence of faculty members promoting extremist views. Highlighting the ties of organizations like SJP and AMP to Hamas and addressing the broader impact on communities.

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

Jonathan Haidt discusses the dangers of social media on children's mental health. He highlights the rise in mental illness among young girls due to technology use. The podcast explores strategies to combat these detrimental effects and promote healthy development in the digital age.

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

Former Obama White House chief economist Jason Furman discusses continuing inflation risks, rising mortgage rates causing pessimism, and the potential impact on Joe Biden's re-election prospects due to the Federal Reserve's interest rate decisions.

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

This week Hungary finally agreed to the accession of Sweden to NATO. With characteristic defiance of allies and the U.S., Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who alone in the alliance mainstains strong relations with Vladimir Putin after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, had held out for almost two years against the NATO expansion. It's not the only issue on which Hungary has been an outlier. With his opposition to open borders and a strong believer in traditional Christian values, Orbán's government has been despised by establishment elites and progressives and lauded by many on the right in Europe and the U.S. as a model of conservative populism. What's the reality - Are Orbán's "strong man" government and its admirers here a threat to democracy or its salvation? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast Balázs Orbán, political director to the Hungarian prime minister, discusses the future of the west with Wall Street Journal Editor at Large Gerry Baker.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The last few months have been a tumultuous time on the campuses of American universities. Shocking instances of anti-Semitic rhetoric on top of a culture of repression of views that challenge the progressive orthodoxies - as well as evidence of plagiarism - led to the departure of the presidents of two high profile institutions. The University of Chicago has long prided itself as a defender of free speech in academia. On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, UChicago President Paul Alivisatos tells Gerry Baker what makes his school special and offers highlights of some of the groundbreaking research his institution is pursuing in science, medicine, and artificial intelligence.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After special counsel Robert Hur's report described Joe Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” many fears Democrats may have had in private were now out in the open. But with the party’s primary already almost over, is it too late to consider an alternative? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, Democratic commentator and scholar Marie Harf tells Gerry Baker why Joe Biden and Donald Trump together will make age a non-issue, which Democrats could be potential successors to Joe Biden and if Kamala Harris is among them, and how both candidates can win voters over on Israel, the border, and the economy.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices