Newt's World

Former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy announced in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal on December 6th, 2023 that he would be leaving Congress. McCarthy describes himself as an optimist, having served 17 years in the same congressional seat representing California’s 20th Congressional district from 2007 – 2023. Newt’s guest is Kevin McCarthy and they discuss his future projects, the upcoming elections and their new collaboration on a theme bar and restaurant.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The beginning of the 2024 election cycle begins this Monday, January 15th with the Iowa Caucuses. Newt discusses the candidates, the polling data and what he thinks the key issues will be in the Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The New York Times published an article this week, What’s in a Name? The Battle of Baby T. Rex and Nanotyrannus profiling a $20 million-dollar dinosaur fossil for sale at the David Aaron Gallery in London. The gallery describes the fossil as a, “rare juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton”. Newt discusses the sale of the dinosaur with his guest Dr. Stephen Brusatte, Chair of Paleontology and Evolution in the School of Geosciences at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Harvard President Claudine Gay resigned from her position on Tuesday. Did she make mistakes in her testimony on Capitol Hill, as she admitted in her New York Times op-ed published on Wednesday, entitled Claudine Gay: What Just Happened at Harvard is Bigger Than Me. She wrote, “Yes, I made mistakes.” She said her published work contained passages where “some material duplicated other scholars’ language, without proper attribution.” Was Gay’s ascension at Harvard part of the larger diversity, equity and inclusion plan across colleges and universities nationwide? Newt’s guest is Kent Heckenlively. His new book with David Johnson is The Diversity Con, which takes a comprehensive look into how companies and schools are infiltrated and radicalized by DEI theory.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newt talks with Mike Rowe about Dirty Jobs, the importance of work, his best-selling book The Way I Heard It and Rowe’s fascinating life.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newt’s guest is the remarkably talented writer, Malcolm Gladwell. He is the author of six New York Times bestsellers, including Talking to Strangers, David and Goliath, Outliers, Blink, and The Tipping Point. He is the co-founder and president of Pushkin Industries, an audiobook and podcast production company that produces the podcasts Revisionist History; Broken Record, a music interview show; and Solvable, in which Gladwell interviews innovative thinkers with solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems. His new book The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, A Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War is available now.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For nearly 40 years, actor Gary Sinise has been an advocate on behalf of America’s service members. His portrayal of Lt. Dan in Forrest Gump formed an enduring connection with service members throughout the military community. Following the attacks of September 11th, 2001, Sinise’s dedication to our nation’s active duty defenders, veterans, first responders and their families has become his personal crusade of support, service and gratitude for all those who protect our freedom and serve our country through the garysinisefoundation.orgSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newt remembers his long-time friend Dr. Terry L. Maple, former President and CEO of Zoo Atlanta.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On December 21st, 2018, President Trump signed into law the First Step Act of 2018. The Act was the culmination of a bi-partisan effort to improve criminal justice outcomes, as well as to reduce the size of the federal prison population while also creating processes to maintain public safety. The First Step Act works to assess the recidivism risk and to place prisoners in recidivism reducing programs and productive activities to address their needs. On the fifth anniversary of the First Step Act, Newt talks with Jessica Jackson from Reform Alliance and Adam Clausen who benefited from the passage of the act.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Richard Nixon was the only U.S. president born and raised in California. He had a remarkable romance with his wife Pat, and followed a unique path into politics that lead him to Washington, D.C. and the nation’s highest office. In his new book, Richard Nixon: California’s Native Son, author Paul Carter describes Nixon’s deep, defining roots in California and challenges common misconceptions about our thirty-seventh president. Carter spent over a decade reviewing archival material about Nixon’s life – some of which has never been written about before. Newt’s guest is Paul Carter. He is an attorney with more than twenty years of experience in investigation and trial work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.