Heard at Heritage

Between April 2020 and April 2021, a record-breaking 100,000 Americans overdosed and died from illegal drugs. Nearly two-thirds of those deaths have been linked to synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl. Fentanyl is 50-100 times more potent than the organically derived opiate morphine, and the fentanyl analogue carfentanil is 10,000 times as potent as morphine. A small number of grains—grains, not grams—of fentanyl can prove fatal. Smugglers working for the Mexican drug cartels ferry most of the fentanyl into America across our borders with Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. The Biden administration has made no serious effort to halt the cartels’ use of illegal immigrants as smugglers.Join us for a discussion with Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Congressman Brian Babin, Former Acting DEA Administrator Uttam Dhillon, and Former Acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan to examine how fentanyl continues to wreak havoc across communities nationwide and what strategic approaches are necessary to halt its passage across our border with Mexico. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join a discussion about the arts of liberty hosted by The Heritage Foundation and The University of Dallas on March 9. Dr. Gerard Wegemer will moderate a conversation with Dr. Kevin Roberts, Dr. Jonathan Sanford, and Dr. Melissa Moschella about the relationship between the liberal arts, what it means to be human, self-government, and the nature of liberty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s been a year since the Burmese military carried out a coup. Since that time, the Burmese people have faced persecution, extrajudicial imprisonment, and severe restrictions on their freedoms. Despite the Burmese military’s best efforts, the Burmese people have demonstrated their resilience, fighting to defend freedom in their country. Join us on International Women’s Day for a program reflecting on the power of Burmese women as they actively thwart the military’s advances and safeguard freedom. The Biden administration’s efforts to respond to the coup have fallen far short of what is needed to fully support their cause. We will discuss how the U.S. government can support Burmese women as they fight for a brighter future in their country.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gender ideology has been working its way into America's public schools for years—in both the official curriculum and extracurricular activities. On a parallel track, students have been introduced to gender ideology through social media “influencers,” helping fuel a rise in gender dysphoria among children. As a result, schools have begun enabling gender-confused students to “socially transition”—without their parents’ knowledge or consent. But a few brave parents have started to speak out, to defend their rights and the rights of their children. Join us for a timely discussion of these issues, with firsthand accounts from public school parents.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What size, posture, warfighting concepts, and equipment should the U.S. military possess to defend our national interests? The Department of Defense makes these decisions every day. Made incorrectly, these choices could cost U.S. servicemembers their lives, and America, a war. While intuition can play a role, for the best chance of success, such decisions must be supported by data-driven analysis. Yet in 2018, the National Defense Strategy Commission found DOD “struggled to link objectives to operational concepts to capabilities to programs and resources” and blamed this on a “deficit in analytical capability, expertise, and processes.” A shortfall in DOD analytic capability should be a concern to all Americans. Join Heritage and a group of distinguished former DOD senior leaders—both producers and consumers of DOD analysis—to discuss the state of decision support analysis and what can be done to improve its quality.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Government mandates and authoritarian COVID rules are crushing small businesses in America. In the nation’s capital alone, hundreds of restaurants have closed. Others are struggling to make ends meet.For nearly two years, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council have invoked emergency powers—imposing mask mandates for schools and businesses and requiring restaurants to check customers’ vaccine status.We will hear from some of the courageous Washington, D.C. business owners on the frontlines who are directly affected by COVID regulations and have spoken out. They are fighting for their survival in a city where political leaders have amassed unprecedented power. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Heritage Foundation’s 2022 Index of Economic Freedom—an annual global study that compares countries’ economic governance and competitiveness—highlights the urgent need for America to change policy course. The U.S. fell to 25th in the 2022 Index rankings—its lowest ranking ever. The decline of U.S. economic freedom, which has been driven by the deteriorating fiscal condition and further exacerbated by ongoing record inflation, is serious cause for alarm as it has real and tangible consequences for American consumers and producers. Yet the Biden administration is still barreling full steam ahead to implement a big government agenda that would add trillions to the debt, hike taxes, and centralize more federal power over the economy.Join us for a timely discussion on why 2022 should be the year of action to reverse the misguided policy choices. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If the 20th century was defined by advances in manufacturing capability, agricultural prowess, and energy exploration, the 21st century will be shaped by advanced technologies in areas like artificial intelligence, semiconductor design and fabrication capability, cybersecurity and privacy quandaries, quantum computing and encryption, and geopolitical telecommunication security. As the United States looks at various policy issues around technology from the national security sphere to free speech to foreign malign influence campaigns, a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed by former National Security Advisor Robert C. O’Brien outlined a strategy to advance U.S. competitiveness and free expression while providing a word of warning to not empower China’s technology goals.  Join us for a timely fireside chat with former National Security Advisor O’Brien to examine where the United States stands in the tech race, how our adversaries are increasingly using it to even the national security playing field and promote digital authoritarianism, and where the U.S. must go to prevail in this competition. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All eyes have been on our schools, but the ideology of wokeness has equally infected our churches. Theologian Owen Strachan will discuss how pastors preaching about white supremacy and collective guilt are undermining the unifying message of Christianity. He will make clear that not only is Critical Race Theory not the Gospel, it is anti-Gospel: it divides us from others, it foments pride, bitterness, and hatred, and perhaps most importantly of all, it reworks the nature of sin to make it structural instead of personal. This reworks the "good news" of Christianity, no small thing. But Strachan's message is ultimately one of hope: by his grace, Christ calls Christians to be salt and light. Strachan will offer concrete guidance on the role we all can play in fighting injustice while at the same time rejecting woke utopianism in our churches, and in broader institutions as well. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Heritage for an eye-opening conversation about the BLM organizations’ Marxist goals as Mike Gonzalez, author of BLM: The Making of a Marxist Revolution, and James Lindsay, founder of The New Discourses, sit down with special guest moderator Genevieve Wood.When it comes to BLM it is best to break it down into its components. There is the concept, which no person of good will could disagree with. Then there is the movement, by which people mean different things, but it’s usually the demonstrators. Then there are the organizations that go under the BLM banner, which were founded by Marxists trained on ending the American experiment.>>> Heritage Explains: BLM Is in Trouble, but Still Making Our Lives WorseThe media only tell you about the first two, but not about the organizations. Mike Gonzalez, Heritage’s leading expert on critical race theory, BLM, and a variety of culture topics, has written a fascinating and important book that exposes the roots and ultimate goals of BLM’s seemingly well-intentioned movement.This is a must-see event for concerned parents, educators, members of Congress and their staff, media, millennials, and Gen Z, alike, who want to hear the untold part of the story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.