Defending Ideas

As lawmakers debate how to protect children online, a major legal and constitutional question is emerging: should app stores be required to verify users’ ages and involve parents before minors download apps?
 
On this episode of Defending Ideas, Nic Dunn is joined by Joel Thayer, president of the Digital Progress Institute, Chris Marchese, founder and co-director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, and Sutherland Institute Constitutional Law and Religious Freedom Fellow Bill Duncan for a thoughtful discussion about parental rights, free speech, consumer protection, and the growing debate over App Store accountability laws. Their conversation explores the tension between protecting children online and preserving constitutional freedoms in the digital age.

Show notes:

• Why states are right on app store age laws
• The case for app store age verification to protect kids online
• FAQ: Utah’s app store age verification bill
• App store regulations are necessary, constitutional, and popular
• A deeper look at Utah voters’ support for requiring app stores to verify age
• Congress should follow Utah’s lead on protecting kids online with app store law

Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

Many conversations about artificial intelligence focus on fear, risk, and worst-case scenarios. But what if we’re asking the wrong questions? Host Nic Dunn is joined by Bennett Borden, founder and CEO of Clarion AI Partners, along with Sutherland Institute's Derek Monson, to explore how AI is already positively affecting health care, education, government, and family life. Their conversation examines the promise and risks of AI, the difference between regulating development versus deployment, and why Utah’s approach to AI governance is emerging as a national model for innovation and responsible policymaking. Show notes:

• Utah & AI: Doom or boom?

Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

The U.S. Supreme Court is often portrayed as just another political battleground. But that is a fundamental misunderstanding of its role.

On this episode of Defending Ideas, Nic Dunn speaks with Sarah Isgur about her new book, Last Branch Standing: A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today's Supreme Court. They cover how the Court actually works and why it doesn’t fit neatly into today’s partisan narratives. They discuss the limits of outcome-based thinking, the importance of institutional independence, and what citizens can do to better understand and engage with one of the most important components of America's federal government.

Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

America’s safety net wasn’t designed all at once. It was built piece by piece over decades, and that may be part of the problem. On this episode of Defending Ideas, Nic Dunn asks what real progress in social welfare reform should look like and whether it’s time to rethink the system from the ground up. He explores how benefit cliffs and program fragmentation can hold families back, why states like Utah are already leading the way on reform, and how new approaches could better support upward mobility and long-term independence.

Show notes:

• State Innovation to Address Benefit Cliffs
• Stranded by the Safety Net: How to Fix the Benefit Cliff Problem
• Sutherland Institute's Work & Opportunity Initiative

Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

America’s safety net is designed to help people in times of need. But what happens after that initial help is provided?

On this episode of Defending Ideas, host Nic Dunn is joined by Aly Rau Brodsky, executive vice president and chief strategy officer at the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, to explore how states can improve upward mobility and better support families. Their conversation examines the gaps in the current system, the “one door to work” progress in Louisiana, and how connecting social services with workforce development can help individuals move from temporary assistance to long-term independence and human flourishing.

Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

As America approaches its 250th anniversary, many political debates feel increasingly focused on personalities, parties, and division rather than principles. On this episode of Defending Ideas, host Nic Dunn is joined by Josh Lewis, host of the Saving Elephants podcast, to discuss how to bring principled thinking back to the center of American political life. Their conversation explores the role of classical conservatism, the importance of grounding political movements in ideas, and how citizens can balance coalition politics with a commitment to enduring principles. They also reflect on the long-term nature of political change and why hope and patience remain essential for the future of the American experiment.

Show notes:

• Saving Elephants: Defending Wonks with Nic Dunn (on Apple Podcasts)

Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

Political debates today often feel more like battles than conversations. But what if the deeper problem in our disagreements is that we have forgotten how persuasion actually works? 

On this episode of Defending Ideas, host Nic Dunn is joined by Josh Bandoch, author of How to Get What You Want: Mastering the Art and Science of Persuasion, to examine why political culture has become so polarized and what can be done to improve it. Their conversation explores the difference between persuasion and winning, the psychology of how people actually change their minds, and why storytelling, shared values, and a focus on others are essential for reducing polarization and achieving meaningful progress in public life. Show notes:

• How to Get What You Want: Mastering the Art and Science of Persuasion, by Josh Bandoch
• How to be more persuasive | Joshua Bandoch | TEDxIllinois Tech
• How to keep politics civil

Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

Conservatism is facing a defining moment. As debates over government power, political personalities, federalism, and first principles move to the center of public life, a fundamental question is emerging: what exactly should conservatism be trying to conserve?

On this episode of Defending Ideas, host Nic Dunn is joined by Donald Bryson, president and CEO of the John Locke Foundation, to examine the current state and future trajectory of the conservative movement. Their conversation explores the current tension between principle and personality, the importance of constitutional guardrails and federalism, and why a renewed commitment to freedom, limited government, and the American founding is essential for the health of both conservatism and the country.

Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

Family policy debates often focus on affordability, housing, or cultural change. But a deeper question is emerging: do young people still believe family life is even possible?

On this episode of Defending Ideas, host Nic Dunn is joined by Francesco Di Lillo, director of the European Union and International Affairs Office for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Derek Monson, Sutherland Institute’s executive director, to examine the pressures facing families in the United States and Europe.

Their conversation explores declining family formation, rising housing costs, and the cultural and technological shifts shaping modern life. They discuss why many young adults still want families but question whether they are attainable, and what policymakers can do to remove barriers, strengthen families as foundational institutions, and build a future where family life can flourish.

Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

Artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly, but who should shape how it develops? On this episode of Defending Ideas, host Nic Dunn speaks with Medlir Mema, director of the AI Ethics and Governance Institute, and Sutherland's Derek Monson, about what it means to build AI that promotes human flourishing.

Their conversation explores the ethical questions surrounding AI, the role of civil society and policymakers in guiding its development, and why keeping human values at the center of technological change is essential for a thriving society.

Show notes:

• Utah & AI: Doom or Boom?
• Utahns embrace AI, parental responsibility and child safety

Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.