Hold These Truths with Dan Crenshaw

Top Gun: Maverick is arguably the greatest action movie of all time — but how accurate is it? Dan sat down with a real Navy fighter pilot, Congressman Mike Garcia, to discuss what's true, false, and somewhere in-between about the movie's technical details, mission, and the portrayal of pilot culture.

Hold These Truths podcast wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. And remember: it's not about the plane, it's about the pilot.

Mike Garcia is the U.S. Representative for California's 25th Congressional District (soon to be the 27th district). He was an F-18 fighter pilot with nearly 20 years of active and reserve military service, and participated in combat operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Follow him on Twitter at @RepMikeGarcia.

Everything you wanted to know about the dreaded 4,155 page Omnibus spending bill — but were too afraid to ask. The history of how we got here, how it's supposed to work versus how it's working now, the politics at play in Washington, appropriations and authorizations, and how the heck a congressional office even digests a 4,000+ page spending bill in just a few days. This podcast won't go into details in what's in it (unless you want to hear me talk for 862 hours straight), but more about the process and how appropriations even work.

Our guests today are two of Rep. Crenshaw's longest-serving legislative staffers. Matt Hodge is Rep. Crenshaw's Legislative Director and Hannah Anderson is the Legislative Director for his Energy & Commerce portfolio.

Classic episode originally published for Christmas 2021.

Pastor James Emery White joins us to help answer the most common questions and criticisms of Christianity and the Bible that you would hear from skeptics.

Pastor White is the author of "Christianity for People Who Aren't Christians". He is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church. Follow him on Twitter at @JamesEmeryWhite.

Congressman Michael Turner shares everything you need to know about the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act): what it is and why we need it, the House and Senate processes to pass the final version, how Democrats try to hijack it with non-defense projects, and addressing criticisms of the NDAA from the far right. Since the NDAA has broad implications for the war in Ukraine and another controversial topic — our Military Industrial Base — we get into a discussion about those too. Michael also talks about the changes we can expect on House Intel when Adam Schiff loses the chairmanship on January 3rd.

Michael Turner has served as the U.S. Representative for Ohio's 10th Congressional District since 2002. He is the lead Republican on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and also serves on the House Armed Services Committee. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @repmiketurner.

Nationwide, half of the prisoners released are incarcerated again within three years. But participants in the Texas-based Prison Entrepreneurship Program are seeing a return-to-prison rate of less than 7%. Al Massey was a graduate of that program and went on to serve as its Executive Relations Manager, helping prisoners prepare for their release by developing values-based business skills and a support structure to pursue their entrepreneurial visions. He joins us to talk about the program, the hurdles prisoners face re-integrating into society, what prison life is really like, differences between private and public prisons, and criminal justice reform.

Learn more about the Prison Entrepreneurship Program at pep.org.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr is on a mission to get TikTok banned from United States. He joins us to talk about how China is using the app to commit espionage, train the next generation of AI, and peddle "digital fentanyl" to America's youth. We also discuss how the CCP is essentially in a public-private partnership with Apple to crack down on Chinese protestors, Elon Musk's plans for Twitter and Starlink, and the ongoing debate over what to do about Section 230.

Commissioner Brendan Carr is the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission. Follow him on Twitter at @BrendanCarrFCC.

A looming railroad strike could have disastrous consequences for American energy, agriculture, and countless other industries. One of the House's foremost experts on railroads, Congressman Rick Crawford, joins us to break down the negotiations between the railroads and their unions, why the Biden Administration is at fault, and what Republicans need to do moving forward to prevent this from ever happening again.

Rick Crawford is the U.S. Representative for Arkansas' First District. He serves on the Transportation Committee and is Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials. He also serves on the Agriculture Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @RepRickCrawford.

As Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, it became clear that there was no plan to evacuate our Afghan allies – including Afghan National Army soldiers who trained and fought alongside the U.S. military. Over two decades, these allies had developed strong bonds with countless American veterans, and now they were being hunted by Taliban death squads. Scott Mann was one veteran who began receiving desperate calls for help from his old Afghan friends, and he decided to take action. Working with other veterans and citizens, they called themselves Task Force Pineapple and quickly developed a network of safe passageways for allies and their families. In just three days, they helped over 500 allies escape from Afghanistan. Scott gives us a thrilling inside account of how the operation happened. We also talk about unconventional warfare, experiences with "Village Stability Operations" in Afghanistan, and what the 20-year war ultimately means for America.

Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Scott Mann is a former US Army Green Beret with tours all over the world including Colombia, Iraq, and multiple tours in Afghanistan. He is the author of "Operation Pineapple Express: The Incredible Story of a Group of Americans Who Undertook One Last Mission and Honored a Promise in Afghanistan." Follow him on Twitter at @RooftopLeader.

This episode was recorded live at COP27—the 27th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference. Dan Crenshaw joined Reps. Greg Murphy, Garret Graves, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, John Curtis, and Tim Walberg at the conference to advocate for real solutions to America's energy crisis. They discuss what they heard from policymakers and leaders at the conference, cover which countries are doubling down on renewables and which countries are opening up to nuclear/natural gas/carbon capture, highlight the ramifications of Biden's energy policies on costs and emissions for America and the globe, and much more.

Congressman Greg Murphy (NC-03) @RepGregMurphy Congressman Garret Graves (LA-06) @RepGarretGraves Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-02) @RepMMM Congressman John Curtis (UT-03) @RepJohnCurtis Congressman Tim Walberg (MI-07) @RepWalberg

President Reagan is considered one of the greatest communicators in American political history. How'd he do it?

With a great team. Peter Robinson spent six years as a White House speechwriter, first with Houston-native George H.W. Bush as VP, then for President Reagan himself. Peter tells us how he got to be a speechwriter, how betting on himself gave us Reagan's famous speech at the Berlin Wall, and his views on the Republican Party now.

Peter Robinson is the Murdoch Distinguished Policy Fellow at the Hoover Institution, where he writes about business and politics, edits Hoover's quarterly journal, and hosts the TV series and podcast: UNCOMMON KNOWLEDGE.