The Chinese-owned social media app TikTok collects your most sensitive information. And worse, it uses it in pretty sinister ways. It encourages self-harm and depression among youth. It interferes in elections. It compromises national security. 

This week, President Trump signed an executive order authorizing an agreement to separate TikTok from Chinese control. At the Heritage Foundation, we have been talking about TikTok policy for years, and one of the key voices is Wesley Hodges, Acting Director of the Center for Technology and the Human Person, here at the Heritage Foundation. He sat down with me to talk about exactly what this executive order means. 

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Heritage Tech Policy: https://www.heritage.org/big-tech

Follow Wes Hodges on X: https://x.com/wesghodges

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Have thoughts? Let us know at [email protected]

While government has the power to protect our rights, it can use that power to abuse those rights. Especially in those areas of the government which resist accountability to elected officials. The administrative state (or deep state) is a strong focus of the Trump Administration, which has taken action to reinstate accountability in the federal bureaucracy. Ryan Williams, president of the Claremont Institute and friend of Heritage, joined the podcast to talk about what to do when government stops serving the people and targets them instead. 

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Learn more about the Claremont Institute: https://www.claremont.org/

Follow Ryan Williams on X: https://x.com/RpwWilliams

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Have thoughts? Let us know at [email protected]

Last week, the country was shaken to its core by the assassination of Christian husband, father, and patriot Charlie Kirk, one of the most prominent voices in the conservative movement, particularly among young Americans. His death has left countless Americans experiencing combinations of sorrow, fear, and anger. How should we as conservatives respond to this tragic and politically motivated attack, and what role should policy play in our response? President of The Heritage Foundation, Dr. Kevin Roberts, joins this episode of the Heritage Explains podcast to discuss.

President Trump’s utilization of ICE and the National Guard in Washington, D.C. has significantly lowered crime in the city, modeling success of the agency’s presence in blue cities.

Since Trump federalized Washington, D.C. there has been a 45% drop in violent crime, an 87% drop in carjackings, a 38% drop in homicides, and a 62% drop in robberies. There has also been a 20% increase in arrests and 12% increase in gun recoveries.

Cully Stimson and Zack Smith join the show to discuss the impact of Trump’s actions and explain what we might expect in the future. 

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Follow Cully and Zack’s work at heritage.org.

Follow Cully Stimson on X: https://x.com/cullystimson

Follow Zack Smith on X: https://x.com/tzsmith

Rogue Prosecutors book: https://www.amazon.com/Rogue-Prosecutors-Destroying-Americas-Communities/dp/1637586531

Have thoughts? Let us know at [email protected]

The August Recess has been a staple of the congressional calendar for decades. In the 1960s the demands placed on the US Congress were changing. Lawmaking had moved from a part-time to a full-time gig. And as the pace of life intensified, so too did the workload on legislators. Looking for a way to balance their busy schedules with those of families, some members of Congress pushed for a defined summer recess. 

This they received in the form of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970. Now, every summer, the Congress takes a recess in the month of August, allowing members to go home, meet with constituents, or simply take vacation. 

But the political machine in Washington never stops turning, and when the members come back, more work is always waiting. So it is now, as Congress returns this week. Here to discuss what we might expect over this next session is Steve Chartan, Vice president of Government Relations, here at the Heritage Foundation.

Hello Heritage Explains Listeners! Mark Guiney here. It’s the first week of August and this month we are taking a short vacation. Until we return with our regular show in September, we are looking back at some of the greatest hits of the year so far.  

This past April, Heritage Foundation Digital Content Producer Samantha Hince spoke with Dr. David Gortler about the concerns that many Americans have around our use of artificial food dyes and the policy changes we might expect around them. It’s summer, so maybe listen to this episode with some ice cream. Just check the label first to make sure it doesn’t have any red 40. Enjoy.

Hello everybody, we at the Heritage Foundation hope you are enjoying these last weeks of summer. We here at Heritage Explains are taking the opportunity for a brief rest during the month of August. Our regularly scheduled episodes will return in September, but until then, we are revisiting some of our favorite episodes from the year so far. 

Back in March, I sat down with Jeff Smith to discuss why we should not forget about COVID. Particularly, the way it exposed the rot inside our professional and managerial classes. It’s an eye-opening listen and well worth keeping in mind. Enjoy.

https://www.heritage.org/public-health/commentary/the-lie-the-century-the-origin-covid-19

Hello to all of our loyal listeners at Heritage Explains. We are on break for the month of August and will be coming back with new episodes in September. But in the meantime, we’re rounding up some of our favorite shows from earlier this year. 

One of the key moments in the early Trump Administration were the cuts to USAID.  For the first time, many Americans got an up-close-and-personal look at the way that the sausage gets made in Washington. What most people assumed was an innocuous aid organization was actually involved in much more sinister activities. Check out this conversation with David Ditch, who breaks down why this moment mattered so much.

Follow David Ditch on X: https://x.com/davidaditch

Learn more about The Heritage Foundation: ⁠www.heritage.org⁠

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Have thoughts? Let us know at ⁠[email protected]

Hi everybody, and welcome back to Heritage Explains. We, like many of you, are enjoying a little bit of vacation this summer. We are taking a break from our regularly scheduled episodes for the month of August. In the meantime, we are bringing you some of our favorite shows from this past year.

We have seen a lot of important moments come and go in that time. And one was the verdict delivered in the case of Daniel Penny, this past December. It felt like an inflection point in our national conversation on race and justice. I sat down with Heritage Senior Legal Fellow Cully Stimson to talk about why. Take a listen.

Follow Cully Stimson on X: ⁠https://x.com/cullystimson⁠

Rogue Prosecutors Book: ⁠https://www.heritage.org/rogue-prosecutors⁠

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Have thoughts? Let us know at ⁠[email protected]

We find ourselves in the midst of a new revolution: The AI Revolution. Complex computer models are now able to replicate human thought, making them capable of an entirely new realm of tasks. AI is going to affect the way we work, where we live, how we learn and process information, how we bank, how we write, even how we interact with people around us. 

Governments around the world are paying attention to the possibilities that AI offers, and ours is no exception. 

I sat down with Daniel Cochrane, senior research associate for the Center for Technology and the Human Person at The Heritage Foundation, to talk about what the Trump Administration is saying about AI. 

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Follow Daniel Cochrane on X: https://x.com/realdcochrane

Have thoughts? Let us know at [email protected]