Heritage Explains

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-barThe 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_mpbHave 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-larkinHave 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/wesghodgesWSJ Article on Meta AI Chatbots:https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/meta-ai-chatbots-sex-a25311bfHave 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.  Get in touch with Sue: sue.operationnextstep@gmail.com925-381-8409 Heritage's Wealth and Innnovation Project: https://www.heritage.org/wealth-and-innovationHave 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=enMore by Mario at Heritage.org: https://www.heritage.org/staff/mario-loyolaMario Loyola in The Hill: https://thehill.com/opinion/5233595-inflation-reduction-act-energy-crisis/Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

In addition to Russia and North Korea, nuclear bad actors can also be found in Iran, where the regime has been plotting a nuclear buildup for decades. Now, the Trump Administration has initiated talks with the Iranians. Here to explain what we may expect from these negotiations is Rob Greenway, Director of the Allison Center for National Security, here at the Heritage Foundation.—Follow Rob Greenway on X: https://x.com/RC_GreenwayMore by Rob at Heritage.org: http://heritage.org/staff/robert-greenwayChinese Nuclear Deterrence Documentary: America Is on Track To Lose a Nuclear War With China—Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.This is the beginning of Article III, section 1 of the US constitution, establishing the federal judiciary. Nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, and usually serving for life, federal judges serve a key role in the highest levels of the American justice system. The federal judiciary is designed to exert a check on the power of the legislative and the executive branches. Now that the Trump Administration is making sweeping changes to the way things are done in Washington, some federal judges are using this power to obstruct the President. But are they right to do so? Joining Heritage Explains today is Senior Legal Fellow Hans von Spakovsky. —Follow Hans on X: https://twitter.com/HvonSpakovsky?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5EauthorMore by Hans at Heritage.org: https://www.heritage.org/staff/hans-von-spakovsky—Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org