InfluenceWatch Podcast

Local news: It’s in decline, but people trust it more than national news by all accounts. And this creates an opening for big national organizations to get into the local news game to influence states and localities. One such big national organization is “States Newsroom,” a relatively recent spinoff from the Arabella Advisors network of liberal, dark-money-funded advocacy entities. Now, this national liberal institution has expanded almost as far as one can go while remaining in a U.S. state: Alaska. Joining me to discuss States Newsroom’s new project from the Last Frontier state is Suzanne Downing, a writer for Must Read Alaska. Just a reminder to our listeners that as a 501(c)(3), our mission is to investigate those working to influence the public policy process, not weigh in on election outcomes or support or oppose individual candidates. Links: Must Read Alaska: https://mustreadalaska.com/top-political-reporters-in-alaska-join-progressive-news-organization-thats-a-front-for-left-wing-propaganda/ States Newsroom IW Profile: https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/the-newsroom/ Subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice at: https://influencewatch.fireside.fm/ 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

This week, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the consumer price index measure of inflation had surged to 8.5 percent year-on-year. Accelerating inflation and surging gas prices have led numerous states to take action to ease the pain, but few have taken the unusual steps Illinois has to ensure the state’s political class gets the credit it thinks it deserves for it by requiring merchants to post notices or include on receipts statements that certain taxes have been suspended. Joining me to discuss Illinois’s recent tax actions and the state’s compulsory advertising for them is Adam Schuster, vice president of policy at the Illinois Policy Institute. Links: https://reason.com/2022/04/11/illinois-will-fine-gas-stations-that-dont-advertise-delayed-gas-tax-hike/ https://www.illinoispolicy.org/4-years-of-pritzker-leaves-average-illinois-family-paying-2165-more-in-taxes/ Subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice at: https://influencewatch.fireside.fm/ 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

Subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice at: https://influencewatch.fireside.fm/ 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

We’ve discussed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act on the show before—it’s a laundry list of bad ideas pushed by Big Labor and its allies in Congress that would increase unions’ power to coerce workers into joining and paying dues and increase their power to disrupt national economic and social life. But for supporters of individual employee rights, there is now an alternative model of labor relations reform: The Employee Rights Act, recently re-introduced with an expanded vision of the modern workplace. Joining me to discuss the proposed legislation is Vinnie Vernuccio, president of the Institute for the American Worker. Links: ERA Background: https://i4aw.org/resources/employee-rights-act-backgrounder/ PRO Background: https://i4aw.org/resources/protecting-the-right-to-organize-act/ Subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice at: https://influencewatch.fireside.fm/ 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

Subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice at: https://influencewatch.fireside.fm/ 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 Special Guest: Hayden Ludwig.

Two years ago this week, the federal government announced “two weeks to slow the spread” — a campaign of lockdowns and closures that would metastasize into ongoing restrictions on civil liberties that failed to control the spread of COVID-19. Thanks to the power of teachers’ unions, no public institution would be more affected by the shutdowns and subsequent mask mandates than America’s public schools—and as a result, parents got a view into the education their tax dollars paid for their children to receive. They didn’t like what they saw—liberal indoctrination and critical race theory, all while administrators lost focus on the core subjects of reading, math, and the like. Joining me to discuss the state of education today is Luke Rosiak, author of the new book Race to the Bottom: Uncovering the Secret Forces Destroying American Public Education. Book Link: https://www.amazon.com/Race-Bottom-Uncovering-Destroying-Education/dp/0063056720/ Subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice at: https://influencewatch.fireside.fm/ 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

In 2020 as the coronavirus hit and governments ordered mass lockdowns of length and scope unprecedented in American history, Congress passed the “Paycheck Protection Program” or PPP to help small businesses maintain their payrolls with forgivable loans. But before 2021, labor unions were not supposed to receive funds from PPP; my guest, the Freedom Foundation’s Maxford Nelsen, documented as many as 226 forgivable loans made under PPP totaling over $36 million that went to labor unions and related organizations. Max joins us today to discuss this and the Freedom Foundation’s other work on government worker unions. Links: https://www.freedomfoundation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Profiting-from-a-Pandemic-%E2%80%93-Union-Receipt-of-PPP-Loans.pdf https://www.freedomfoundation.com/litigation/ohio-suit-targets-unions-latest-money-making-scheme-seizing-vacation-time/ https://www.freedomfoundation.com/press-release/ruling-clears-way-for-hearing-on-effort-to-unionize-oregons-legislative-staffers/ https://www.freedomfoundation.com/litigation/amicus-brief-filed-in-unions-latest-case-of-forgery/ Subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice at: https://influencewatch.fireside.fm/ 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

Most Americans have heard the term "woke," and many have heard it attached to businesses. But what American consumers may not know is that there's a man behind the "woke boardroom" movement that is very powerful, controls a lot of money, and has shown an interest in investing his clients' money in China rather than the U.S. His name is Larry Fink, and he's the CEO of BlackRock, a very large money management firm. Consumer's Research, led by Will Hild, has been attempting to expose Fink's affinity for the Chinese Communist Party, and Fink recently pushed back, writing a letter to letter to CEO's taking exception to CR's criticism. However, Fink never reveals in the letter his links to China and the hypocrisy of his "woke" business principles. Will Hild joins CRC's Communications Director Sarah Lee on the Influence Watch podcast today to talk about CR's ad campaigns, websites, and public relations push to expose the tortured philosophy of Larry Fink. Links: Consumers Research: https://consumersresearch.org/ Who is Larry Fink?: https://whoislarryfink.com/ Fink's letter: https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/investor-relations/larry-fink-ceo-letter CR's letter to Governors: https://consumersresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/CR-Letter-to-Governors-on-BlackRock-Consumer-Warning.pdf BlackRockLovesChina: https://blackrockloveschina.com/ https://capitalresearch.org/article/can-woke-boardroom-culture-be-broken/ Subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice at: https://influencewatch.fireside.fm/ 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

Subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice at: https://influencewatch.fireside.fm/ 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

Subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice at: https://influencewatch.fireside.fm/ 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