InfluenceWatch Podcast

**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/

Hello, I’m Michael Watson and this is the InfluenceWatch Podcast. A few months ago, President Joe Biden announced that the government would “forgive” up to $10,000 per borrower in federal student loan debt with at best dubious legal justification, with a cost to the Treasury estimated at $300 billion if it were to go into effect. Lawsuits immediately flew. One such lawsuit was filed in Texas with the support of the Job Creators Network Foundation, challenging the action as unconstitutional. Last week, the program was struck down at the trial court level; joining us to discuss the litigation is JCN Foundation’s Chief Legal Officer Karen Harned. Links: https://www.nationalreview.com/news/federal-judge-strikes-down-biden-student-loan-forgiveness/

Hello, I’m Michael Watson and this is the InfluenceWatch Podcast. Like the 2020 elections, which saw then-President Trump’s coalition prove unexpectedly resilient amid a horrible national environment dominated by COVID despite his loss to Joe Biden, the 2022 elections did not go as expected…but this time the other way, with Biden’s Democrats defying the apparent “fundamentals.” While others will discuss candidates, issues, and swings, I’m joined by Capital Research Center president Scott Walter to discuss some of the institutional structures that might have contributed to the midterms results.

Following the 2020 election, and one very strange Time Magazine article detailing a “shadow” campaign of left-leaning operatives that “saved” the 2020 election by “fortifying” it, conservative groups began to get serious about election integrity. Some efforts to re-instill faith in American elections had pre-existed 2020, but news reports of poll watchers being barred from carrying out their duties, concerns over near-ubiquitous ballot drop-boxes, and the heavy promotion of mail-in ballots as an answer to keeping people safe during COVID, had conservative groups taking a more active approach to making sure American elections could be trusted for all participants on all sides of the political divide. One of the groups that got to work was Tea Party Patriots Action, who’ve spent the last year planning, preparing, and training to assure honest and fair oversight of elections. Joining the podcast today is Jenny Beth Martin, Honorary Chairman of TPPA, to discuss those efforts, why conservative groups felt a coordinated effort to focus on these things was necessary, and how they’ve done in their efforts. Links: https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-groups-and-persons-mentioned-in-times-shadow-campaign-article/ https://www.teapartypatriots.org/ https://pennsylvaniadailystar.com/2022/03/09/tea-party-patriots-action-tours-pennsylvania-to-champion-election-integrity/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/leftist-dark-money-groups-tilting-the-2020-election-for-democrats/

Today, we meet ERIC—the Electronic Registration Information Center. Created with the aid of the left-of-center Pew Charitable Trusts to help states maintain their voter rolls, recent years have seen it expand into voter registration drives. With those drives comes concern about ERIC’s connections to left-wing figures. Joining me to discuss ERIC and its ties to the political left is my Capital Research Center colleague Hayden Ludwig, who wrote about the group for The American Conservative. Links: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-lefts-taxpayer-funded-voter-registration-machine/ https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/electronic-registration-information-center-eric/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/dark-money-on-the-left/