A binary choice is often given in the conversations about the right pathway to defeat the coronavirus: we must prioritize lives over the economy or the economy over lives. Political theorist Dr. Danielle Allen joins Dan to describe a third pathway - treating the virus as a major national security threat and aggressively building an infrastructure for fighting and surviving the pandemic. A wartime mentality that shifts our economy to the production of testing capacity and test administration, personal protective equipment, and tools for case identification and contact tracing.

Dr. Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University, and Director of Harvard’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, is a political theorist who has published broadly in democratic theory, political sociology, and the history of political thought. Widely known for her work on justice and citizenship in both ancient Athens and modern America, Allen is the author of The World of Prometheus: The Politics of Punishing in Democratic Athens (2000), Talking to Strangers: Anxieties of Citizenship since Brown vs. the Board of Education (2004), Why Plato Wrote (2010), Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality (2014), Education and Equality (2016), and Cuz: The Life and Times of Michael A. (2017). She is the co-editor of the award-winning Education, Justice, and Democracy (2013, with Rob Reich) and From Voice to Influence: Understanding Citizenship in the Digital Age (2015, with Jennifer Light). She is a former Chair of the Mellon Foundation Board, past Chair of the Pulitzer Prize Board, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.

Allen is also the principal investigator for the Democratic Knowledge Project, a distributed research and action lab at Harvard University. The Democratic Knowledge Project seeks to identify, strengthen, and disseminate the bodies of knowledge, skills, and capacities that democratic citizens need in order to succeed at operating their democracy.

Dallas Mavericks owner and Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban joins Dan to give an inside look into what it takes to win on the long running reality show, shares his advice for entrepreneurs and small businesses trying to make it through the economic shutdown, and talks about how American manufacturing can stay competitive against countries like China and India in the coming decades.

Nancy Pelosi accused President Trump of “delay” and “denial” in the response to COVID-19. The political media was quick to repeat these talking points. But is that really the case? Were Democrats and the media sounding the alarm on coronavirus before the Trump Administration? Where did Democrats focus their attention as the White House ramped up their efforts to address coronavirus?

I answer those questions with a detailed timeline of the Trump Administration’s response to this pandemic, and compare the president’s actions with the priorities of Speaker Pelosi over the last several weeks.

Latest Gallup polling reveals that, among U.S. institutions and leaders, American media has the lowest approval rating in terms of its response to the coronavirus. Which aspects of the media's reporting on COVID-19 account for such unpopularity? How has the media's historical coverage of the Trump administration contributed to its current predicament? As we balance health and economic concerns amidst a pandemic, what kind of nuanced questions should the media be asking, but due to partisan "gotcha" games, are not? David Harsanyi shares his insight on these questions, as well as his take on the coronavirus relief package passed by Congress last week. 

David Harsanyi is a senior writer for National Review and a former senior editor at The Federalist. Harsanyi is a nationally syndicated columnist and author of four books. His work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Weekly Standard, National Review, Reason, New York Post, and numerous other publications. David has appeared on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, NPR, ABC World News Tonight, NBC Nightly News and dozens of radio talk shows across the country. 

With the revelation that China has suppressed and manipulated the data on COVID-19, how do we, or any nation, trust China under the Chinese Communist Party? And what are the reasons behind the World Health Organization and many American politicians and media outlets parroting the CCP’s propaganda about the virus? China expert Gordon Chang joins us to answer these questions and examine how China is exploiting the virus to its geopolitical advantage.

Gordon Chang is a columnist, author, and lawyer who lived and worked in China and Hong Kong for almost two decades. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and National Review and he is the author of The Coming Collapse of China. Find him on twitter at @GordonGChang.

In this very special episode, Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers, Jr. joins Dan to talk about adapting to life in quarantine (hint: the training doesn’t stop, it just gets more creative). They dive into their workout routines, injury stories, and the right balance for celebrities and politics. Dan also shares further proof that he is in fact Wolverine.

Social Security is projected to be insolvent in 2035 - which means that millennials and gen z paying into the program today may never receive its benefits. Dr. Charles Blahous returns to the show to talk about how we got to this point, and a realistic plan to save the program for future generations.

Dr. Charles Blahous is the J. Fish and Lillian F. Smith Chair and Senior Research Strategist at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where he specializes in domestic economic policy and retirement security, as well as federal fiscal policy, entitlements, and health care programs. Blahous is the author of Social Security: The Unfinished Work and Pension Wise: Confronting Employer Pension Underfunding and Sparing Taxpayers the Next Bailout, as well as the influential studies The Costs of a National Single-Payer Healthcare System and The Fiscal Consequences of the Affordable Care Act.

Single-payer health care systems, such as Medicare-for-All, have long been pursued by far-left activists - but until recently remained on the fringes of the Democratic Party. Now it is front and center in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary and openly advocated for in mainstream media. What would really happen if we gave the federal government complete control of our health care system? Health care expert Chris Jacobs joins Dan to shed light on a policy that would have dramatic consequences for every American.

Chris Jacobs, the Founder and CEO of Juniper Research Group, has spent more than 15 years studying health care on and off Capitol Hill. He has analyzed health policy and legislation for some of the leading lights of the conservative movement—including Jim DeMint, Bobby Jindal, Mike Pence, Pat Toomey, and Jeb Hensarling. He is the author of “The Case Against Single Payer - How ‘Medicare for All’ Will Wreck America’s Health Care System - And Its Economy”.

This is a special episode of the podcast. No guests this time, just Dan here to give you a very detailed overview of the stimulus bill. Find out what’s in it, what’s not in it, and how the Democrats have been lying through their teeth constantly in a game of petty politics. There is a ton of detail in this episode, so to help you sort through it we’ve included a breakdown of topics:

0:25 - Recap of what Democrats did this week to block passage of the stimulus bill.

3:12 - Why Americans need an economic rescue package and how this is very different from the 2008 bailout.

7:00 - What is really in the stimulus bill.

11:00 - The truth about Democrats claims that by delaying the bill’s passage they got stricter controls on provision of credit to big business.

16:45 - The long list of progressive items that had nothing to do with COVID-19 which the Democrats tried to add to the stimulus bill, like climate change studies and new emission standards for airlines.

19:35 - On the bill that passed the Senate on Wednesday night (almost the same bill which could have been passed last weekend but for the Democrats delays).

Details in the bill:

24:53 - Individual tax rebates

27:25 - Expansion of unemployment benefits

30:37 - Small business loans

32:40 - Housing support

33:38 - Support for medical professionals on the front lines

35:30 - Loans to distressed industries

37:14 - Education and student loan relief

Frequently asked questions about the bill:

39:00 - Is there really $25 million allocated to give Congress a raise?

39:38 - How does the bill help restaurants?

40:00 - What does the bill do to support airline workers and keep the airline industry afloat?

40:30 - What about the impact on non-profits like the YMCA?

40:47 - Does the bill include funding for PPE, grant CMS authority to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens, and increase tele-health?

41:25 - Does the bill provide for student loan cancellation?

42:13 - Does it provide relief for health clubs and studios?

42:33 - What kind of stuff did Nancy Pelosi get into the bill that has nothing to do with COVID relief?

43:22 - Is there a loophole for Planned Parenthood to get funding?

43:37 - Will individuals who were injured and unable to work last year be eligible for stimulus?

43:51 - Is there a way for an individual to prove that their finances are substantially less than in the previous tax year, so that they can be considered eligible for the stimulus?

44:38 - Will this bill include Pelosi’s pork? Will there be consideration for the Green New Deal?

45:08 - Why are we bailing out cruise ships that are registered in other countries so they can avoid paying taxes?

45:34 - Are people that own their own businesses eligible for the crisis assistance?

45:45 - How will the assistance be disbursed? Will it be automatically deposited or will they have to apply for it individually?

45:59 - What about adults that don’t report anything to the IRS because their sole income comes from Social Security?

46:08 - Concluding thoughts about the bill and the way forward from here.

Dr. Richard Ludwick, President of the University of St. Thomas, joins Dan to talk about how his campus is adapting and responding to the threat of COVID-19, why skin in the game is so important for students choosing the major that will define their career, and how St. Thomas creates a culture of free and open dialogue among students in an era when identity politics and outrage culture are destroying many campuses.