InfluenceWatch Podcast

It has been a lousy couple of years for one of the leftist factions most deserving of a lousy couple of years—no, not organized labor, institutional transgender activism. Great Britain, home to noted critic of transgenderism J.K. Rowling who not long ago faced odds as impossible as those of the Britons defending Rorke’s Drift in the 19th century, issued the Cass Report condemning activists’ preferred approaches to treating “gender dysphoria” by the “affirming” model, and the country’s Supreme Court ruled that a woman is, in fact, an adult human female. In the United States, our Supreme Court ruled that states had the power to prohibit sex changes for minors in U.S. v. Skrmetti and the Trump administration has sought to extirpate “gender ideology” from federal executive policy. But the campaign to “trans the kids” continues, and our colleague Parker Thayer went into the belly of the institutional beast to study it.Transgender medical symposium showcases radical quackeryACLU Attorney Confesses: Transgender-Suicide Claim is a MythWorld Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH)InfluenceWatch Podcast 341: Progressive Transgender Coercion

Last week, radical-left terrorist and cop killer Joanne Chesimard, better known by her nom de guerre Assata Shakur, died in exile in Communist Cuba. You would think that leftists, even radical leftists, would let Chesimard go quietly, especially with the hot lights of public scrutiny on left-wing political violence. But the Chicago Teachers Union, one of America’s most powerful and influential radical-left groups did not, posting a Tweet praising the terrorist. Joining us to discuss this latest controversy and her group’s efforts to push back against America’s worst labor union—and I would normally hesitate to award that title—is Mailee Smith, vice president of policy and litigation at the Illinois Policy Institute.Chicago Teachers Union honors convicted murderer, wanted terroristThe Chicago Teachers Union Is Exactly Who You Thought They WereHow Chicago Teachers Union acts like Illinois’ newest political party

That left-wing violence is on the rise is undeniable; even The Atlantic, the bien-pensant left-wing magazine propped up by liberal heiress Laurene Powell Jobs’s billions has published a piece admitting it. But how high does support for such violence go, and how do violent left-wing extremists obtain resources? Our colleague Ryan Mauro, an expert in extremist networks, recently issued a report showing that the support, at least in terms of resources, stretches all the way to the top of institutional progressivism, with the Soros network of funding entities providing over $80 million into groups tied to terrorism or extremist violence. He joins us today to discuss his research. Exclusive: Soros’ Open Society gave $80 million to pro-terror groupsExclusive: Soros’ Open Society Gave Terrorist and Pro-Terror Groups Over $80 Million - ReportStochastic Terrorism, Speech Incantations and F orism, Speech Incantations and Federal Tax ExemptionLeft-Wing Terrorism Is on the Rise

You’ve heard of “Soros DAs”—prosecutors, whose campaigns were financially backed by George and Alexander Soros, who seek election on promises not to prosecute. But the anti-criminal-justice movement is bigger than one eccentric progressive billionaire and his nepo-baby son. Today’s guest, Sean Kennedy of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, focuses on one previously hidden link in the anti-criminal-justice movement: The Wren Collective, a secretive donor and advocacy organization that worked with over 40 current and former non-prosecuting prosecutors, including such radicals as ousted San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin. Also joining is my colleague Parker Thayer, who has written extensively on the “Soros DA” phenomenon.Unearthed emails show left-wing group quietly writing policies for progressive DAs: ‘No billing, no publicity’Outsourcing justiceSocial and Environmental Entrepreneurs (SEE)Vital Projects FundCari TunaChloe Cockburn

Before it was pushed from the headlines by the horrifying assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the major national crime story was the murder of Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian woman stabbed to death on public transportation in Charlotte, North Carolina in late August whose killing was captured on graphic surveillance video. The suspect in the killing had an extensive criminal record, and his mother had previously pleaded to have her son committed to a mental institution. But at the time of the crime, the alleged killer was out on a written promise to appear for a charge of misusing the 9-1-1 system. The alleged killer’s extensive criminal record and the shocking horror of his crime has reignited a debate over criminal justice policy in America; today’s guest, the Daily Wire’s Megan Basham, discovered that in Charlotte itself, Big Philanthropy has pushed the policies that may have left the man free to kill Zarutska.Fatal Charlotte Stabbing Highlights The Failure Of Racial Equity Policies(Daily Wire)John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation(InfluenceWatch)A Gruesome Murder in North Carolina(New York Times)Charlotte train stabbing suspect's brother says killing could have been 'prevented'(Fox News)Analysis: Chicago foundation paid $3.3 million to Mecklenburg County to keep career criminals, like DeCarlos Brown, on the streets(SE Valley Times)

After widely publicized revelations of highly ideological nonprofits receiving federal funds and spending them on highly ideological projects, the Trump administration (and now, through the “rescissions” package and “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” passed before Congress went on its August district work period, also even Congress) has started cutting off some of those nonprofit-led projects. What does this mean for the nonprofit sector? Mike Hartmann, longtime conservative philanthropoid and director of Capital Research Center’s Center for Strategic Giving, joins us to discuss.The New Era for Nonprofits Eight things to know about Big Philanthropy and the populist reaction against itThe New Populist Conservatism and Civil SocietyA self-protective “deep state” in the nonprofit industrial complex 

I'm Michael Watson joined by Parker Thayer and Sarah Lee and this is the InfluenceWatch Podcast. We're recording a special episode from the SPN Annual Meeting because there's big news from the world of Arabella Advisors: The New York Times is reporting that Bill Gates and his Gates Foundation are cutting off grantmaking to the Arabella network. We discuss the report, how the Arabella name has become deservedly synonymous with liberal politics and left-wing ideology, and what might come next for the left-wing "dark money" enterprise.Bill Gates cuts ties with Arabella

The Smithsonian Institution, the federal government-created and funded entity that manages the national museums in D.C., is under a very political review courtesy of the Trump administration. Progressives decry the move as improper interference in what is supposed to be an independent entity, but perhaps such a move is necessary? Joining us today to present the case for some political supervision for the nation’s curators of cultural heritage is Mike Gonzalez, the Angeles T. Arredondo E Pluribus Unum Senior Fellow at The Heritage Foundation.Trump’s Smithsonian review is long overdueSmithsonian’s American History Museum Is Wall-To-Wall Anti-American PropagandaThe Smithsonian’s Latino Exhibit Is a Disgrace

At the beginning of August, Trump took to social media and informed the world he had instructed the Department of Commerce to immediately begin work on “a new and highly accurate CENSUS based on modern day facts and figures and, importantly, using the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024.” Most notably, he wrote, “People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS.” If Trump has his way, it will have significant repercussions on how Congressional districts could be drawn, even as Texas leads the pack and has already approved a new congressional map – leading to a very public walkout by Texas Senate Democrats and CA Gov Gavin Newsom’s retaliatory threat to redraw California’s congressional map. There’s also a SCOTUS angle here, as the Supreme Court squashed the citizenship question pertaining to the 2020 census when it came up in 2019. Now, CRC has learned that some hefty lefty funding is going into an effort to push a narrative on the census that runs counter to the Trump administration’s and is designed to last for the next 10 years to cover the 2030 census. And one prominent name in the mix is our old friend The Funders Committee for Civic Participation. Here to discuss are my colleagues, Mike Watson, and the President of CRC, Scott Walter. Funder’s Committee 10-year plan to influence the 2030 CensusMike Gonzalez explains why the Census should include the citizenship questionSome thoughts on the gerrymandering warsCensus Bureau Errors Distort Congressional Representation for the StatesFunder's Committee members listFunders Committee for Civic Participation (FCCP)

Almost everyone can look at the education landscape in America today and see that something has gone very, very wrong. Spending per student has increased, and there is no evidence that this increased spending has improved student performance outcomes. But what if there are factors eating up the budget and keeping the student performance outcomes stagnant? Factors such as the rise of teachers unions in non-right-to-work states, for example?Joining us today is Corey DeAngelis, a school choice evangelist who is a senior fellow at the American Culture Project, to discuss a recently released report he helped author that looks at just that, the administrative bloat in the public school system and how it correlates to increased teacher union influence. Also joining is CRC colleague Mike Watson, our regular host and resident labor union expert. Corey A. DeAngelis is a senior fellow at the American Culture Project. He has been labeled the “school choice evangelist” and called “the most effective school choice advocate since Milton Friedman.” He is a regular on Fox News and frequently appears in The Wall Street Journal. DeAngelis is also the executive director at Educational Freedom Institute, a senior fellow at Reason Foundation, an adjunct scholar at Cato Institute, a board member at Liberty Justice Center, and a senior advisor at Accuracy in Media. He holds a Ph.D. in education policy from the University of Arkansas. He is the national bestselling author of The Parent Revolution: Rescuing Your Kids from the Radicals Ruining Our Schools (Center Street, 2024).Links: Educational Bloat and the Role of UnionsCorey DeAngelis - XEducation FirstWhere Is, Repeat Where Is, America’s Political Leadership? The World Wonders.American Culture Project