InfluenceWatch Podcast

Ryan Mauro, an expert on terror funding and movements of terror cells, joins the podcast to discuss his articles on terror funding. Topics include the Biden administration's transfer to Iran, money behind pro-Palestinian protests, cut ties with payment processors, and the link between Samadoon and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

The Arabella Advisors-managed network of liberal dark money groups is facing scrutiny, including a subpoena from the D.C. Attorney General and allegations of ties to a disgraced cryptocurrency trader's father. The podcast discusses Arabella's role in running payroll activities for left-wing nonprofits, its significant fundraising, and its intermediation between different organizations. It also explores the skepticism surrounding Arabella's alleged philanthropy and its connections to partisan actors. The discussion includes revelations about Sam Bankman Freed's dad and a lawsuit involving FTX. The podcast dives into the investigations and allegations against Arabella, including civil litigation and bankruptcy litigation. The conversation highlights concerns about hidden motives, the left's use of dark money, and efforts to reform the nonprofit sector.

The United Auto Workers union has called rolling strikes against the Detroit Three automakers—Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) since mid-September. The labor action, and other strikes including the strikes that have struck Hollywood films and television, have rekindled debate over the proper role and powers of organized labor in the United States. Joining me to discuss these topics are my colleague Parker Thayer and Dominic Pino, the Thomas L. Rhodes Fellow at National Review Institute.Links: What to Make of American Compass’s “New Conservative Voter”Organized Labor Is Progressivism and Progressivism Is Organized LaborRepublicans: The UAW Will Never Love YouFollow us on our Socials: Twitter: @capitalresearchInstagram: @capitalresearchcenterFacebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenterYouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

Hugo Krueger, a nuclear engineer, discusses the challenges faced by nuclear engineers, the geopolitical aspect of energy, and the impact of foundations on nuclear energy policies in different countries. The podcast also explores the legal battle over oil and gas exploration in South Africa, the influence of foundations on gun regulations, and the dynamics of the anti-nuclear movement in France.

Controversy over the name of the Washington football team and the influence of left-wing activists. Funding sources of Native American groups involved. The funding and tactics of the extinction rebellion movement. The debate between protecting the environment and eliminating humans. Motivations behind funding movements like defunding the police and the growing influence of public policy charities.

Those of us old enough to remember the panic over Y2K – a panic that was, as it turns out, mostly driven by fear of the unknown – see a certain resemblance between the year 2000 and today as artificial intelligence – popularly known as AI -- joins the party. Its emergence has been met with both excitement and trepidation. Will it make mundane tasks easier? Will it help our kids do better in school? Will large language models infect our discourse with bias? Are the graphics programs going to change art as we know it? Will Skynet become aware? And who will be funding, pushing, and regulating this next phase of tech innovation? In short, is AI something to fear or something to embrace, something to turn loose or take in hand? And how much should our always eager government get involved in its development and dispersion? Joining us today to discuss the coming AI revolution is Taylor Barkley, Director of Technology and Innovation at the Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University.Links:Taylor BarkleyWhich Way AI?Schumer pledges ‘supercharged’ path to AI regulation when Senate returns from recessRanking Member Cassidy Releases White Paper on Artificial IntelligenceFollow us on our Socials:Twitter: @capitalresearchInstagram: @capitalresearchcenterFacebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenterYouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

The weather is unreliable, and often unpredictable—anyone who has grumbled at the weatherman’s forecast knows this. But increasingly, environmentalists demand that only the weather can generate the electricity that modern people need to maintain their standard of living. Zero-emissions is not enough: My colleague Ken Braun, who joins me today, extensively categorized the scale of environmentalist opposition to zero-emission nuclear energy.Links: Opposition to Nuclear EnergyThe Richest Opponents of Carbon-Free Nuclear EnergyFollow us on our Socials:Twitter: @capitalresearchInstagram: @capitalresearchcenterFacebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenterYouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

Discussion on liberal Big Philanthropy using charitable organizations to help Democrats get elected. Leaked campaign documents reveal partisan nature of non-partisan voter registration drives and targeting non-white voters. Unaccountable money in political coalitions and influence of get out the vote nonprofits. Need for IRS and FEC enforcement to combat misuse of voter registration nonprofits. Returning power to political parties and challenges in tracking foreign funding.

Do Americans appreciate foreign nationals using their money to help Americans decide who should lead them? Honest Elections Project Action recently asked people, and—no prizes for guessing this—they don’t. Joining us to discuss this and other findings from their national poll on election-administration issues is Jason Snead of the Honest Elections Project.Links:Election Integrity Measures Remain Popular The Left-Wing Dark Money Behind the Push to Kill the FilibusterInfluenceWatch Podcast #181: Easy to Vote, Hard to CheatHansjorg WyssFollow us on our Socials:Twitter: @capitalresearchInstagram: @capitalresearchcenterFacebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenterYouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

This week, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R) announced a special session of the legislature to consider various proposals related to public safety. But unusually for a reliably conservative and Republican state—Lee won 65 percent of the vote in his 2022 election campaign and both chambers of the state legislature are supermajority Republican—the session will consider gun control measures, especially so-called “red flag” laws. Joining me to discuss what’s going on in Tennessee and the gun control movement generally are my colleague Robert Stilson and John Harris, executive director of the Tennessee Firearms Association.Links:The Landscape of Gun Control AdvocacyThe Funders of Gun Control AdvocacyThe Policies of Gun Control AdvocacyTennessee Firearms AssociationFollow us on our Socials:Twitter: @capitalresearchInstagram: @capitalresearchcenterFacebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenterYouTube: @capitalresearchcenter