Heard at Heritage

Every year it seems another new effort to “reform the Pentagon” is announced. Every Secretary of Defense for the last five Administrations has “made it a priority” to address perceived bloat and inefficiency. Yet, few of these initiatives produce significant results, and the Pentagon bureaucracy lumbers on, as wasteful as ever. In his book, Defense Management Reform, author Peter Levine addresses why, despite a long history of attempted reform, the Pentagon continues to struggle with waste and inefficiency. Join us for a fascinating conversation on what works—and what doesn’t—in the world of Pentagon reform. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On May 21, 2020, President Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the 1992 Treaty on Open Skies (OST) in response to allegations of many years of Russian violations. While Open Skies has arguably benefited the United States by providing a level of military transparency, the Trump Administration assessed that Russian abuse of the treaty has become too grave to continue its participation. Is withdrawing from Open Skies the correct decision? What does this mean for arms control negotiations moving forward? On July 14, hear from experts on both sides of the debate who will assess the withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty and its implications. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

America is at a pivotal time in the history of our nation. Our country is torn apart by sharp disagreement on what it means to be an American. Many have forgotten that our nation is the best place of hope, opportunity, and freedom. Join us for the first of a three-part series, America’s History of Hope, as Dr. Lucas Morel and Dr. Thomas Krannawitter reflect on the triumphs of our American history, and ways to debunk the narratives of revisionist history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In an effort to contain COVID-19, many governors have used emergency powers to limit business activity, social gatherings, and mobility. Without action by state legislators these emergency powers will remain in place. Further economic damage and constitutional concerns can be allayed by replacing vague statutory language with clear parameters for emergency powers. Such powers should expire without affirmative legislative renewal, and targeted litigation may be required to ensure governors adhere to statutory limitations. Join us for a panel discussion on how legislators can navigate these legal waters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States has held sole global leadership. However, that leadership role is today contested by Russia and especially China. The crisis over the COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated the danger of the West’s dependence on Chinese exports and highlighted China’s pursuit of global technological and military dominance.Yet, as a democracy, the United States stands a good chance of maintaining its global leadership role. In his new book, "The Return of Great Power Rivalry," Matthew Kroenig argues that the human and social values embodied in the American system makes it far stronger and enduring than autocratic regimes. Join our all-star panel for a discussion of this important new work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Heritage Foundation recently commissioned a nationally representative survey of parents across the country, along with a corresponding survey of school board members, to gauge their attitudes toward the state of civics education and the New York Times’ 1619 Project. The foundational essay of this project, recently awarded the Pulitzer Prize, seeks to “reframe the country’s history” by changing our founding date from 1776 to 1619, the year the first enslaved Africans arrived in America.The Pulitzer Center estimates that 4,500 classrooms across the country have now adopted the 1619 Project and its associated curriculum, which states, “our democracy’s founding ideals were false when they were written.” Civics education has never been more important. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the world reels from the economic impacts of COVID-19, the U.S. and its allies can move beyond the current crisis together to foster increased economic freedom. The U.S.-European Economic Partnership Recovery Plan emphasizes transatlantic community cooperation on key issues such as free trade agreements, the Three Seas Initiative, energy security, and the future of 5G technology. As Americans and Europeans cooperate on these matters, Latvia is uniquely positioned to strengthen our understanding of how to successfully navigate these issues in Europe.Please join us on June 30th for a special conversation with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia, His Excellency Mr. Krišjānis Kariņš. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since the start of the pandemic, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has obfuscated important information about COVID-19. The Chinese government has silenced whistleblowers, forcibly disappeared citizen journalists, and misreported infection and death rates from COVID-19. Civil society and other critical responders, like Taiwan, have been sidelined. The CCP’s early decision to limit knowledge about the novel coronavirus significantly hampered other countries’ ability to respond to their own domestic outbreaks. The international community is now exploring various options for holding the CCP accountable. Join us for a conversation of how the U.S. and other countries can take effective, independent, and apolitical measures to hold the CCP accountable for mishandling COVID-19. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the importance of savings magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic, a new idea is gaining popularity: Universal Savings Accounts (USAs).These all-purpose savings accounts would allow every American to save for things other than just retirement, education, and health care. USAs could enable citizens to save for a rainy day, start a business, or grow their family. The National Coronavirus Recovery Commission also recently recommended USAs as a critical policy for reducing the financial risks of future pandemics by allowing more Americans to save for future unknowns. Hear from experts about how USAs not only protect savers from complicated and costly taxes but can help build local communities, support families, and shore up civil society. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Due to worker illnesses and even deaths related to COVID-19, there has been a bottleneck at meat processing plants that has reduced the supply of meat and poultry. Fortunately, these problems appear to be easing, but the situation remains fluid. As a result of these supply problems, there has been significant attention placed on the nature of the meat processing industry and the regulatory barriers imposed by federal meat inspection requirements that make it more difficult to sell meat. What is the current status of the meat supply, and what has been the practical impact of the bottleneck on farmers, processors, and consumers? What kind of meat-inspection reforms are being proposed? Would they make an impact on the meat supply and do they properly consider food safety and consumer interests? Join us as our experts discuss these timely issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.