InfluenceWatch Podcast

In 2022, Arizona passed one of the most comprehensive school-choice programs in the nation. But later that year, the state elected Katie Hobbs a governor who is backed by the teachers’ unions, and she has targeted that program for elimination, even as other states like Iowa and Texas consider similar expansions to school choice programs. Joining my colleague Hayden Ludwig and I to discuss Arizona’s proposed retreat as other states advance school choice is Jason Bedrick, research fellow in the Center for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation. Links: Education Freedom Report Card: https://www.heritage.org/educationreportcard/ Katie Hobbs Wants to Turn Back the Clock on School Choice: https://www.wsj.com/articles/arizona-gov-katie-hobbs-wants-to-turn-back-the-clock-on-school-choice-esas-budget-children-11673896303 Iowa and Utah Lead States on School Choice Progress: https://www.heritage.org/education/commentary/iowa-and-utah-lead-states-school-choice-progress-the-new-year Follow us on our Socials: Twitter: @capitalresearch Instagram: @capitalresearchcenter Facebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter YouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

It is well known that George Soros and his Open Society Foundations are major funders of left-wing advocacy, but a new report from Media Research Center shines the light on one facet of that advocacy. According to MRC’s research, Soros and his associated philanthropies have funded 253 organizations involved in activist media worldwide. Joining me and my colleague Sarah Lee to discuss Soros’s funding of left-wing media, the broader universe of foundation-funded journalism, and what it all means is Media Research Center associate editor Joseph Vazquez. Links: George Soros: Philosophy - https://capitalresearch.org/article/george-soros-part-1/ Propaganda Powerhouse - https://cdn.mrc.org/static/pdfuploads/PropagandaPowerhousePart1FINAL.pdf-1670340182273.pdf Propaganda Czar - https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/business/joseph-vazquez/2022/12/06/propaganda-czar-soros-bankrolls-253-groups-influence Follow us on Socials: Twitter: @capitalresearch Instagram: @capitalresearchcenter Facebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter YouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

If you believe Axios and the Washington Post, this is just the latest GOP and conservative culture war: A ban on gas stoves proposed by the Biden administration-controlled Consumer Product Safety Commission. But like so many things that the media tells us aren’t happening, until they are, and then you’re a bigot for opposing them, the Left is coming for gas stoves—and all gas appliances, if not convenience itself. Joining me to discuss the proposed ban on gas stoves, the publishers of the shoddy “science” behind it, and the far-reaching desires of the Left to reduce Americans’ standard of living are my colleagues Ken Braun and Parker Thayer. Links: https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/01/the-only-proper-response-to-a-national-gas-stove-ban/ https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/rocky-mountain-institute/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/anti-humanist-environmentalism-part-1/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/anti-humanist-environmentalism-people-as-pollution/ Follow us on Socials: Twitter: @capitalresearch Instagram: @capitalresearchcenter Facebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter YouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

In 1968, Paul Ehrlich claimed that “the battle to feed all of humanity is over” and that mass starvation was imminent. He was completely, utterly, and totally wrong. But because Ehrlich is a leader of the environmentalist movement, just last week, “60 Minutes” brought him back to make more predictions of imminent doom unless we vastly reduce our quality of life. Joining me and my colleague Sarah Lee to discuss Ehrlich’s life, work, and revival to aid the green agenda is Steve Milloy, Senior Legal Fellow at Energy and Environment Legal Institute. Links: The Books That Begat ‘Big Green’: https://capitalresearch.org/app/uploads/GW1508-final-draft-150810.pdf A Darker Shade of Green: Apocalypse...Now?: https://capitalresearch.org/article/a-darker-shade-of-green-apocalypse-now/ WATCH: ‘60 Minutes’ Gives Airtime to ‘Population Bomb’ Fanatic to Prophesy Mass Extinction: https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/business/joseph-vazquez/2023/01/03/watch-60-minutes-gives-airtime-population-bomb-fanatic Follow us on our socials: Twitter: @capitalresearch Instagram: @capitalresearchcenter Facebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter YouTube: @capitalresearchcenter

**We're reupping this podcast discussing Blackrock and ESG as we take a little time for the holidays. Enjoy relearning the truth about Blackrock's and Larry Fink's shenanigans. The power of the ESG—environmental, social, and corporate governance—investing movement is propelled by powerful allies among funds managers, perhaps none more prominent than BlackRock, which manages over eight trillion dollars in assets. But is Blackrock’s advancement of the environmentalist agenda a sincere commitment or cynical “greenwashing” seeking public relations advantage? Joining me to discuss the question is my Capital Research Center colleague Ken Braun. Links: https://capitalresearch.org/article/blackrock-part-1/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/blackrock-part-2/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/blackrock-part-3/ https://www.wsj.com/articles/esg-threat-goes-beyond-blackrock-larry-fink-united-nations-pri-oil-gas-capital-flows-climate-disclosure-fiduciary-11664297704?mod=opinionleadpos7 https://www.influencewatch.org/person/larry-fink/ Follow our socials: • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenter • Twitter: https://twitter.com/capitalresearch • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/capitalresearchcenter • YouTube: https://bit.ly/CRCYouTube • Rumble: https://rumble.com/capitalresearch • Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/capitalresearch

The Near East is the place of origin of the three Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Unfortunately, political developments in that region have led to declines in inter-religious pluralism in much of the region, and the Christian communities that have lived in the region since the origins of the Christian religion have dwindled. Joining us to discuss the prospects for Christian communities in the Near East is Robert Nicholson, president of the Philos Project. Links: https://philosproject.org/about/ About Philos Project | Christian Advocacy & Leadership Program Learn about what The Philos Project does and how we impact the Near East.

Hello, I’m Michael Watson and this is the InfluenceWatch Podcast. Few professions have earned as low approval ratings as lawyers—in Gallup polling on the public’s perceptions of professions’ ethics, lawyers are underwater, alongside journalists, business executives, and non-federal politicians. But despite the public’s relatively low opinion of the profession, the trial bar maintains a massive “lawsuit lobby” that supports the vast infrastructure of litigation—and lawyers’ fees—that is a part of American life. Joining me to discuss the lawsuit lobby are my colleague and today’s co-host Sarah Lee and my colleague Robert Stilson, whose four-part series on the “lawsuit lobby” is available at CapitalResearch.org. https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-little-known-lawsuit-lobby/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-lawsuit-lobby-part-1/ https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/american-association-for-justice/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-lawsuit-lobby-part-2/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-lawsuit-lobby-part-3/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-lawsuit-lobby-part-4/

Over the past week, new Twitter CEO Elon Musk has directed the release of “The Twitter Files,” internal documents detailing controversial decisions made by senior Twitter staff before Musk’s takeover. The first batch, reviewed and released on Twitter by independent left-leaning journalist Matt Taibbi, concerned the previous Twitter management’s most controversial decision: The suppression of reporting by the New York Post on the contents of a laptop computer left at a repair shop by then-presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son Hunter. Joining me to discuss Musk’s approach, Taibbi’s reporting, and the fallout from both are my colleagues Sarah Lee and Ken Braun.

This month, three African-American writers/activists with widely different political views published a book together entitled "Crisis in the Classroom" (Skyhorse Publishing). Despite their many differences, the authors teamed up to insist that the civil rights issue of today is the failure to educate young Americans. The three authors are Benjamin Crump, Esq., a prominent civil rights attorney whose clients have included George Floyd and Trayvon Martin, and who is sometimes called “Black America’s Attorney General”; Dr. Benjamin Carson, who rose from poverty to head pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Medical Center and later ran for President; and Armstrong Williams, an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and author of three earlier books who hosts “The Armstrong Williams Show,” which airs on Sinclair Broadcast Group TV stations across America. Williams joins Capital Research Center’s Scott Walter to discuss the book and the crisis. This is part one in a two-part series. Links: Crisis in the Classroom: https://www.amazon.com/Crisis-Classroom-Dr-Benjamin-Carson/dp/1510776885 (https://www.amazon.com/Crisis-Classroom-Dr-Benjamin-Carson/dp/1510776885) How Government Worker Unions Manipulate Municipal Elections: https://capitalresearch.org/article/how-government-worker-unions-manipulate-municipal-elections/ Criticizing Teacher Union Allies? You Might Be A Domestic Terrorist: https://capitalresearch.org/article/criticizing-teachers-union-allies-you-might-be-a-domestic-terrorist/

This month, three African-American writers/activists with widely different political views published a book together entitled "Crisis in the Classroom" (Skyhorse Publishing). Despite their many differences, the authors teamed up to insist that the civil rights issue of today is the failure to educate young Americans. The three authors are Benjamin Crump, Esq., a prominent civil rights attorney whose clients have included George Floyd and Trayvon Martin, and who is sometimes called “Black America’s Attorney General”; Dr. Benjamin Carson, who rose from poverty to head pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Medical Center and later ran for President; and Armstrong Williams, an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and author of three earlier books who hosts “The Armstrong Williams Show,” which airs on Sinclair Broadcast Group TV stations across America. Williams joins Capital Research Center’s Scott Walter to discuss the book and the crisis. This is part one in a two-part series. Links: Crisis in the Classroom: https://www.amazon.com/Crisis-Classroom-Dr-Benjamin-Carson/dp/1510776885 (https://www.amazon.com/Crisis-Classroom-Dr-Benjamin-Carson/dp/1510776885) How Government Worker Unions Manipulate Municipal Elections: https://capitalresearch.org/article/how-government-worker-unions-manipulate-municipal-elections/ Criticizing Teacher Union Allies? You Might Be A Domestic Terrorist: https://capitalresearch.org/article/criticizing-teachers-union-allies-you-might-be-a-domestic-terrorist/