Twenty-five years after September 11, America remembers a day that changed the country forever. But as the generation that lived through it gets older, a new one is growing up with no memory of the attacks—and, in too many cases, without a clear understanding of what actually happened.

In this episode, we talk about the growing disconnect between 9/11 as lived history and 9/11 as it is taught today: who carried out the attacks, why the truth matters, what gets lost when history is softened or rewritten, and why nearly 3,000 murdered Americans cannot become a footnote in someone else’s narrative.

Corey remembers the fear, grief, and unity that followed September 11—and how close his own life came to intersecting with that morning. Skylar, born after the attacks, explains why remembering a day she never witnessed still feels like a responsibility.

September 11 showed America the very worst of humanity — and some of the very best of itself.

Twenty-five years later, the obligation is simple: remember the dead, honor the people who ran toward danger, and tell the next generation the truth about what happened.

Never forget.

Photo credit: “Tribute in Light” by Anthony Quintano, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0). Cropped and edited.

How many times should John Galliano have to pay for the same crime?

Fifteen years after antisemitic and racist remarks destroyed his reputation and career, Galliano is still being asked to pay for them. He was convicted. He was disgraced. He lost nearly everything. He apologized, got sober, rebuilt his life and career, and spent more than a decade living with what he did. If that still isn’t enough, what exactly would be?

And what happens when someone with the power to decide who gets welcomed back, who gets shut out, and whose past can never be escaped has never been forced to answer for her own?

Because Galliano didn’t choose to honor himself at the Met Gala. Anna Wintour chose him. She bestowed the honor—and when the backlash came, his supposed longtime friend was nowhere to be found. Galliano took the fall. Anna called him courageous for doing it.

For decades, Wintour has been celebrated as an icon while accounts of her cruelty, elitism, and treatment of others have become almost legendary themselves. But take away the sunglasses, the front rows, and the cultural cachet, and a far more troubling picture emerges. Because the questions surrounding Anna go beyond whether she is cruel. We look at the views, choices, and contradictions that have gone largely unanswered, including what we see as a glaring double standard when it comes to antisemitism: an industry that would rightfully recoil at hatred directed toward other minority groups has too often seemed willing to look the other way when that hatred is directed at Jews.

And when virtually nothing surrounding the Met Gala happens without Anna Wintour’s approval—down to who sits where; it becomes much harder to separate those choices from the woman making them.

At some point, the question isn’t simply what Anna tolerates. It’s what her choices tell us about what she believes.

The deeper question isn’t how Anna Wintour became so powerful. It’s how someone with this many questions surrounding her character, her choices, and perhaps even her beliefs became so untouchable—and why an entire industry spent decades turning the very things that should have made us question her into reasons to revere her.

For years, the sunglasses, the power, and the mythology made it easy to look away. Maybe Anna Wintour hasn’t changed at all. Maybe what’s changed is that we’re finally being forced to look directly at—and reckon with—who the woman behind the sunglasses has been all along.

Ken W. Good has spent decades at the center of America’s debate over bail and criminal justice. An attorney specializing in bail law, Ken has argued cases before the Supreme Court of Texas, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Professional Bondsmen of Texas and is the author of Good’s on Bail, a practice guide for bail industry professionals.

This week, Skylar and Corey sit down with Ken for a conversation that begins with bail reform but quickly becomes about something much bigger.

Ken takes us inside a system most Americans only encounter through headlines, breaking down why bail exists, why he believes the movement away from traditional bail has failed, the realities of electronic monitoring, and what these policies can mean for repeat crime, public safety, and the communities left dealing with the consequences. 

But the conversation doesn’t stop at the courthouse doors. Crime and criminal justice intersect with politics, elections, public policy, our cities, and the decisions Americans make about the kind of country they want to live in.

Because whether or not you ever find yourself inside a courtroom, the decisions made there have a way of reaching all of us.

Something a little different this week.

Skylar and Corey step away from the usual conversation to share something much more personal.

For 15½ years, Hollywood was part of their family. In this short conversation, they talk about the place he held in their lives, the memories that stay with them, and what it means to say goodbye.

Originally recorded as part of another conversation, this one felt like it should be shared all on its own.

America’s literacy problem is bigger than bad grades.

On this week’s episode, Skylar and Corey dig into the numbers behind declining reading and math proficiency and ask how we got here. From changing teaching methods and students moving through school without mastering basic skills to the growing influence of smartphones and social media, this episode looks at what happens when the fundamentals start slipping.

Skylar and Corey look at the problem from two generations shaped by very different classrooms and technologies, examining what has changed in the way kids are taught, the skills they’re expected to master, and the growing role technology plays both inside and outside the classroom.

They break down the difference between phonics and comprehension, what evidence-based reading instruction actually looks like, why schools spend years teaching math most people will rarely use while overlooking the financial and practical math they actually need, and whether the technology designed to make our lives easier is slowly making us less capable of doing things for ourselves.

This isn’t just about whether kids can pass a test. It’s about whether we’re raising a generation equipped to read, understand, calculate, question, and think for themselves… and what happens if those skills continue to disappear.

America feels more divided than ever. Trust in our institutions is falling, political polarization is rising, and many Americans have lost faith that the system can still work.

This week, we sit down with Tom Joseph, founder of America's Mainstreet Party, to discuss why he believes the two-party system is failing—and what he thinks should replace it. We talk about his vision for a new political movement, how it would actually work, whether it can succeed in today's political climate, and why he believes Americans are ready for a different path.

Whether you agree with his ideas or not, this conversation asks a bigger question: Can America's political system still be fixed, or is it time to build something new?

Anthony Fauci pleaded the Fifth 111 times.

For years, Anthony Fauci wasn't merely a public health official. He was elevated into something far more powerful: "the science." His recommendations reshaped daily life and influenced government policy. Anyone who challenged him risked being branded dangerous, censored, deplatformed, treated as an enemy.

Now, years after the pandemic, that same man returned to Capitol Hill and pleaded the Fifth again and again, as senators sought answers about his role in one of the most consequential events in modern history: an event that claimed millions of lives, devastated livelihoods, stole childhoods, and forever changed the world.

In this episode, we examine the questions Fauci refused to answer, the contradictions between his private communications and his public statements, COVID-19's origins, gain-of-function research, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, vaccine safety, government transparency.

And how Anthony Fauci's pursuit of fame, power, and public adoration revealed the megalomaniac behind the serious doctor he played on TV.

Are we getting the full picture... or even half of it?

This week, we reflect on the sudden passing of Senator Lindsey Graham, the legacy he leaves behind, and what his death represents for a generation of conservative leadership.

We also discuss the latest developments in the Charlie Kirk case following the probable cause hearing. As new details emerge, so do new questions—not just about the case itself, but about whether the public is getting the full picture... or just enough to close the book.

From the loss of influential leaders to the search for truth after political violence, we explore why so many Americans are asking harder questions, challenging the narratives they're presented with, and wondering whether they'll ever know the whole story.

Two generations. One country. Thousands of questions—and some answers.

A weekly father-daughter conversation exploring politics, culture, and the biggest stories shaping America today.

Part 2 of our conversation with Ira Kohler dives into the conversations we knew deserved more time. We discuss the realities of fighting in Gaza, his friendship with Omer Neutra, returning to an America changed by the aftermath of October 7, and the rise in antisemitism.

After serving more than 100 days in combat following the October 7 attacks, Ira reflects on the realities of urban warfare and his time in Gaza. He also shares the story of his close friend Omer Neutra, the uncertainty of knowing Omer had been taken hostage, and the impact that experience had on his time serving in Gaza. 

We also discuss Israel's military response to Hamas, the challenges of fighting an enemy embedded within civilian areas. Ira also reflects on returning home to an America that felt dramatically different from the one he left, the surge in antisemitism following October 7, and what it has been like to watch the war debated from thousands of miles away.

Once A Paratrooper, available wherever books are sold

Find and keep up with Ira:

@irakohler

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This week, we're joined by Ira Kohler.

Raised on Long Island, Ira chose to move to Israel, enlist in the IDF, and serve as a paratrooper. In Part One of our conversation, he shares the journey that led him there, what it was really like to serve in the IDF, his firsthand account of October 7, and what it was like spending more than 100 days fighting in Gaza.

His memoir, Once a Paratrooper, is an extraordinary account of that journey, written with a rare kind of honesty... often brutal, always thoughtful, and deeply human.

This is Part One of a two-part conversation. Join us next week as our conversation with Ira continues.

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Once A Paratrooper, available wherever books are sold

Find and keep up with Ira:

@irakohler

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