Real Talk with Riggin

Milk isn’t just a summertime staple — it’s good for you in December, too. St. Louis Dairy Council Nutrition Educator Maggie Nosic explains how milk and other dairy foods provide essential nutrients like calcium, protein, and vitamin D that support strong bones, muscle health, and immune function during the winter months. Nosic highlights easy ways to enjoy milk throughout the holidays, from warm beverages to seasonal recipes, while emphasizing how dairy can help families stay nourished and energized even as temperatures drop.

Introducing EBO Imaging+, a new addition to the region’s diagnostic healthcare options, focused on advanced imaging technology and patient-centered care. Radiology Technician Chelsea Brown and Patient Care Coordinator Katelyn Christensen join us to explain how EBO Imaging+ is enhancing the imaging experience through state-of-the-art equipment, efficient scheduling, and a strong emphasis on comfort and communication. They discuss the importance of accuracy, safety, and compassion in diagnostic imaging, and how their team works together to ensure patients feel informed, supported, and confident throughout every step of the process.

The Ten Commandments monument has returned to Kentucky’s State Capitol grounds, marking a significant moment in the ongoing national debate over religious liberty and public expression. First Liberty Institute attorney Roger Byron discusses the legal journey behind the monument’s restoration, explaining how the move aligns with constitutional principles and long-standing historical precedent. Byron highlights why the monument’s presence reflects the role of the Ten Commandments in the development of American law and emphasizes what this decision could mean for similar displays across the country.

A new Conservation Country video takes a close look at the controversial push to nominate the Okefenokee Swamp for UNESCO World Heritage status, featuring insight from CFACT President and Founder Craig Rucker. In the video, Rucker explains why international designation could threaten local control, economic activity, and responsible land use around one of America’s most unique natural treasures. He argues that federal and international oversight tied to UNESCO status may bring unintended consequences for nearby communities while doing little to improve conservation outcomes already in place. The report urges policymakers and the public to carefully weigh the long-term impacts of the nomination before surrendering authority over the iconic Georgia swamp.

Legal challenges to President Trump’s executive orders terminating certain political appointees and banning transgender individuals from military service have been rejected, allowing the policies to remain in force. Mike O’Neill, Vice President of Legal Affairs at Landmark Legal Foundation, explains why the courts upheld the administration’s authority, pointing to the president’s broad constitutional powers over the executive branch and the military. O’Neill discusses the legal reasoning behind the rulings, the limits of judicial intervention in personnel and national security decisions, and what these outcomes signal for future executive actions facing constitutional challenges.

Ring in the New Year for a meaningful cause at the New Year’s Eve Benefit for St. Jude, chaired by Pam Danennmueller. This special event brings the community together to celebrate while supporting the life-saving mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where families never receive a bill for treatment, travel, housing, or food. Under Pam Danennmueller’s leadership, the benefit promises an evening of fellowship, generosity, and hope, turning a night of celebration into an opportunity to make a real difference for children and families facing the fight of their lives.

China’s growing threat to the world economy is coming into sharper focus, and few voices are better positioned to explain it than Bill Walton, former Chairman and CEO of a $10 billion NYSE-traded investment company, successful investor, and nationally known radio host. Walton warns that China’s state-controlled economic model, massive industrial subsidies, intellectual property theft, and weaponization of trade have distorted global markets and undermined fair competition. From supply chain manipulation to mounting debt and real-estate instability, he argues Beijing’s policies pose systemic risks that extend far beyond its borders, threatening growth, stability, and national security worldwide. Walton emphasizes that understanding these dangers is critical for investors, policymakers, and business leaders seeking to protect the global economy from the consequences of China’s increasingly aggressive economic strategy.

Let’s Restore Reality to the Boardroom focuses on the growing disconnect between corporate leadership and the principles of shareholder value, fiduciary duty, and free enterprise. Executive Director of the Free Enterprise Project at the National Center for Public Policy Research, Stefan Padfield, explains how ideological activism and political agendas have increasingly overtaken sound business judgment in corporate boardrooms. He discusses why returning to reality—profitability, accountability, and respect for shareholders—is essential for economic stability and long-term growth, and outlines practical steps investors and leaders can take to push back against politicized corporate governance and refocus companies on their core mission.

Total Load Theory explains how a child’s challenges are often the result of multiple stressors—biological, neurological, environmental, emotional, and educational—adding up and overwhelming their ability to function. Patricia S. Lemer, a leading authority on applying a holistic model of care to autism, ADHD, learning differences, and mental health conditions, emphasizes that behaviors and learning struggles are not isolated problems but signals of an overloaded system. By identifying and reducing the total “load” through targeted supports such as appropriate therapies, nutrition, sensory integration, and individualized educational strategies, families and professionals can help children regain balance, improve regulation, and reach their full potential.

Investigative Reporter Kendall Tietz of Defending Education warns that Minnesota’s public schools are moving backward, pointing to growing segregation, the use of race-based quotas, and the expansion of gender ideology in classrooms. Tietz says policies promoted as “equity” are often resulting in students being divided by race, academic standards being lowered, and parental concerns being dismissed. She argues that instead of focusing on core academics and equal opportunity for all students, school districts are prioritizing ideological agendas that undermine merit, transparency, and trust, leaving families frustrated and students less prepared for the future.