American Thought Leaders

What happens when a nation loses one of its most influential voices—and what can we learn from the legacy he leaves behind?What is the role of faith in shaping America’s future, and how should we move forward?In this episode, I sit down with pastor Jackson Lahmeyer to reflect on the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the work of the Trump administration to strengthen religious liberty in America.“We have a lot to learn from Charlie’s methodology,” Lahmeyer said. “Charlie would reach you in your mind, but also he'd reach you in your heart, because Charlie cared about people.”“The person was not the enemy. The idea might have been the enemy, but the person was not the enemy. ... That’s why Charlie was taken out, because he was so good at reasoning with people,” he said.“It’s the model that we need to adopt moving forward if we’re going to bring healing and restoration to the country,” he added.Lahmeyer is the author of “Chasing After the Wind: Why Nobody Is Catching What Everybody Is Chasing.”Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention facility in the Everglades has generated considerable buzz and controversy since it was first proposed by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier.In this episode, we sat down with Uthmeier to discuss Florida’s aggressive efforts to curb illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking, what he sees as the politicization of the U.S. census, and his investigations into surveillance technology.“In Florida, the most recent investigation we launched was into a company, Lorex. They make in-home or in-business cameras, everything from baby cams to nanny cams, doorbell cameras. … They capture the imagery of everything people are doing at home, and consumers do not know about it,” Uthmeier says.Is Florida creating a model for how America can confront its greatest vulnerabilities—and is it testing the boundaries of state power?Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

In a moment that stunned the world, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping were recently caught on a hot mic talking about increasing longevity and even achieving immortality through repeated organ transplants.For the last two decades, we’ve been reporting how the CCP kills prisoners of conscience, the main body of them being Falun Gong practitioners, for their organs.Joining me today to unpack the significance of this moment and what it teaches us about the inner workings of the CCP is Epoch Times senior investigative journalist Joshua Philipp, host of EpochTV’s “Crossroads.”Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

As America has reeled from the assassination of Charlie Kirk, many have wondered what the future holds.How will this tragedy transform America? Will political violence continue to escalate? What is the path forward?To understand our current political and cultural moment, I sat down with legal scholar and political philosopher Robert George. He’s a professor and director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University.“We’re at an inflection point, and it’s very worrying, very dangerous,” George said. “We could easily fall into a cycle of revenge, and then what becomes of us?”For years, he has been contemplating how the age of faith and the age of reason have been succeeded by what he has described as the “age of feelings” and moral relativism.His new book is titled: “Seeking Truth and Speaking Truth: Law and Morality in Our Cultural Moment.”In this episode, we have explored Kirk’s legacy, the dangers of ever-growing polarization, and the pernicious ideas that have eroded civil discourse and the foundations of our free society.“If this generation rising today does not adopt a spirit of civic friendship, if they don’t value civil discourse, then … this grand experiment in republican government and ordered liberty bequeathed to us by our great founding fathers will be lost,” George said.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

How have screens and social media altered the brains of children? What is the long-term impact on their happiness and ability to be prosperous, fulfilled adults later on?“Looking at the brain science, we really have to treat screens more in the category of a highly addictive drug like digital fentanyl than sugar,” argues Clare Morell, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and author of “The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones.”“These companies are in a race to the bottom. They’re all in a race to get the youngest users. The incentives are not in place for them to put child safety first,” she says.While many apps advertise parental controls, the reality is there are far more hidden ways children can access addictive, dangerous, or pornographic content than parents may think, Morell says.“I just wanted to push back against this premise that the smartphone is an inevitable part of childhood. It doesn’t need to be.”Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Is it possible that autism, Alzheimer’s, bipolar disorder, and other major health challenges might all be related to the gut?That’s the question Dr. Sabine Hazan, a gastroenterologist and CEO of Progenabiome, has been probing for years.The Food and Drug Administration recently approved the use of fecal transplants for research into the treatment of autism, and Dr. Hazan says this may open the door to real breakthroughs.She hopes to compare the microbiomes of autistic children with their neurotypical siblings and see if fecal transplants can help treat autism. She’s already seen one remarkable case where restoring gut bacteria brought real improvements for a child with autism.Can these findings be replicated on a larger scale?During the COVID-19 pandemic, she observed that people who experienced the worst bouts of COVID-19 seemed to have significantly lower counts of a key microbe: bifidobacteria.“Bifidobacteria is important in absorbing sugar. It’s important in your metabolism. It’s important in your energy drive,” Dr. Hazan says.There are trillions of microbes in the gut, and scientists are only just starting to discover how this delicate balance of microbes impacts people’s health, immunity, and mental wellness, Dr. Hazan says. There are “microbes that can kill us, but also microbes that can save us,” Dr. Hazan says.“You will see, probably in 10 or 50 years from now, there will be a connection between cardiac disease and the microbiome. We will be possibly able to fix the heart by fixing the gut, because it all is connected,” Dr. Hazan says.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

In this episode, Jeffrey Tucker unpacks President Donald Trump’s growing dispute with the Federal Reserve and his efforts to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook for alleged mortgage fraud.“There’s a lot more at stake than just this one regulation about residences and mortgages. It has to do with whether and to what extent the Fed is actually accountable to the President of the United States,” says Tucker.He’s the founder and president of the Brownstone Institute and senior economics columnist for The Epoch Times.How did the creation of the Federal Reserve fundamentally change America? Does Trump have the authority to fire a Federal Reserve Governor? And what does it really mean to be an independent federal agency?“What’s striking to me about this is that the Fed has been around since 1913. This question has never really been asked at this level—much less answered—for all these years in this country,” Tucker says.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

With President Donald Trump recently challenging pharmaceutical companies to “justify success” of their COVID-19 products, I’m sitting down with scientist, physician, and author Dr. Robert Malone to get his insights into what’s going on behind the scenes.Dr. Malone is currently serving as a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and also as a medical advisor for MAHA Action.The recent firing of CDC director Susan Monarez was followed by the resignations of several top CDC officials. At the same time, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has also announced that the emergency-use authorization for the COVID-19 vaccine products has been rescinded.Is Trump’s recent Truth Social post a turning point in his stance on the COVID-19 vaccines and the success of Operation Warp Speed?What does the future hold for the ACIP? What will they be evaluating in upcoming meetings? And what challenges and major opportunities does Dr. Malone see?Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

In less than a decade, euthanasia has become tied for the fifth leading cause of death in Canada, accounting for one in every 20 deaths since it was first legalized in 2016. Over 60,000 Canadians have died via euthanasia.“This marks a massive cultural shift in how we live and die in Canada,” says Amanda Achtman, a leading critic of the practice and the founder of the Dying to Meet You Project.Patients no longer need to be terminally ill to request euthanasia, and there are ongoing debates about whether minors or people with mental illnesses should be able to apply. Disability advocate groups have been some of the leading critics of the program, arguing it sends a disturbing message: that the lives of those who are disabled are worth less.What are the ethical implications of Canada’s euthanasia program? How is it changing family dynamics, societal norms, the meaning of a life well lived, and the fundamental role of a physician?Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

When an 88‑year‑old Tennessee woman confronted representatives of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) when they came to survey her land for a methane gas plant project, her words—“you think you own something, you don’t own nothing”—left a lasting impression on country artist John Rich.That moment became the spark for his new song “The Devil and the TVA” and the starting point for this conversation on “American Thought Leaders.”In this episode, Rich reflects on his journey from Texas family sing‑alongs to writing No. 1 hits with bands Lonestar and Big & Rich. He explains why he walked away from major record labels to protect his creative freedom, and he shares how songs like “Revelation” and “Earth to God” to connect present‑day turmoil with enduring spiritual truths.Along the way, he opens up about the lessons he has learned about faith, fame, and standing firm in what matters most.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.