Heritage Explains

From the earliest times of the pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Francis Collins, and apparently the entire scientific community insisted that the virus emerged from nature, jumping from an animal species to humans. Many pointed out the flaws in this reasoning, finding the possibility of COVID leaking from a laboratory much more likely. Scientific organizations, leftist politicians, and corporate media insisted that such an opinion was dangerous and should be suppressed. Here’s the problem: many of them were knowingly lying. Here to give the breakdown is Jeff Smith, Director of the Asian Studies Center, here at the Heritage Foundation. 

Lindsey Burke, Director of the Center for Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation and a noted expert in education policy, joins to discuss the divisive potential of winding down the Department of Education. She delves into its contentious beginnings, the stagnant student outcomes since its inception, and how federal funding shapes ideological narratives in schools. Burke argues that eliminating the department could empower local control and enhance educational freedom, sparking debate over the future of education in America.

This week, President Trump addressed a joint session of Congress. Clocking in at over an hour and forty minutes, the speech was the longest address a president has delivered to America’s legislature in recent history. It covered the president’s accomplishments so far in his administration, from DOGE to border enforcement to economic policy, as well as shedding some light on the president’s plans for the future. To understand some of the key takeaways from Trump’s speech, I sat down with Ryan Walker, the Executive Vice President of Heritage Action for America. —Follow Ryan Walker on X: https://x.com/ryanlwalkerLearn more about Heritage Action for America: https://heritageaction.com/—Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

President Trump’s posture toward the war in Ukraine is very different from his predecessor. To understand what we might expect to see in Ukraine over the next few weeks, months, and years, I sat down with Rob Greenway, Director of the Allison Center for National Security, here at the Heritage Foundation—Follow Rob Greenway on X: https://x.com/rc_greenway?lang=enLearn more about The Heritage Foundation: www.heritage.org—Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

American taxpayer money can be used to great effect, and we like to think that our civil institutions would always be dedicated to delivering such good return on investment. But that is not always so. The Trump Administration’s DOGE effort has shed much light in recent weeks on waste, fraud, and abuse throughout the federal government. Now the spotlight has been turned on NIH. Heritage Foundation Senior Research Fellow Jay Greene has been studying the federal grant process through NIH for many years, and has warned that the system has its problems. —Follow Jay Greene on X: https://x.com/jaypgreene Learn more about The Heritage Foundation: www.heritage.org—Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

On January 28th, President Trump signed an executive order on banning the use of federal funds for so-called “gender transitions”. But some states Attorneys general have taken exception to this, and filed suit. Here to explain their position, and its likelihood for success, is Heritage Senior Legal Fellow, Sarah Parshall Perry. —Follow Sarah Perry on X:https://x.com/SarahPPerryFollow Chloe Cole on X:https://x.com/ChoooColeLearn more about The Heritage Foundation:www.heritage.org—Have thoughts? Let us know atheritageexplains@heritage.org

$32,000 for a “transgender comic book” in Peru. $2 million for sex changes and “LGBT activism” in Guatemala. Hundreds of millions of dollars to fund “irrigation canals, farming equipment, and even fertilizer used to support the unprecedented poppy cultivation and heroin production in Afghanistan,” benefiting the Taliban This sounds like the wishlist of a crazy progressive NGO. But it’s not. These are all grants of US Taxpayer money, made by USAID. The United States Agency for International Development. Over the last week, the Trump Administration has taken steps to rein in such questionable uses of public funds in the federal government. Here to explain what they’re doing and why it matters is David Ditch, Senior Policy Analyst at the Heritage Foundation.  — 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

Over just the last week, the number of daily border crossings has crashed compared to the Biden administration. Border enforcement in the interior has been seriously undertaken. The US military has been deployed to assist Customs and Border Protection.  Here to walk us through the details of this Sea Change is Lora Ries, Director of the Border Security and Immigration Center, here at the Heritage Foundation.  — Follow Lora Ries on X: https://x.com/lora_ries Learn more about The Heritage Foundation: www.heritage.org — Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

The executive order is a tool the Constitution places at the president’s disposal, allowing him to effect changes within the executive branch of government. As President Donald Trump steps into office this week, he has signed many such orders, which have already had a broad impact on the way the federal government works. I sat down with Heritage Fellow Steve Groves to better understand these changes.  — Follow Steve Groves on X: https://x.com/stevegroves Learn more about The Heritage Foundation: www.heritage.org — Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

One of the key components of the incoming Trump administration was securing the southern border. President Trump campaigned heavily on this issue, and now it is time to implement policy to deliver. To get a sense of what the Trump administration may pursue in the first hundred days of the new administration, I sat down with Simon Hankinson, Senior Reseaarch Fellow in the Border Security and Immigration Center here at the Heritage Foundation — Follow Jim Carafano on X: https://x.com/jjcarafano Learn more about The Heritage Foundation: www.heritage.org — Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org