The Bob Zadek Show

Marc J. Victor on the World’s Only Global Peace Movement

Rising violent crime rates in the United States has prompted a gun control push by the Biden administration and the Democratic Party. Biden has stated in a CNN town hall that he wants to target all "semi-automatic" guns – both rifles and pistols, which have the capacity **to hold more than 20 rounds. Because most firearms possess this capability, such an act would turn most law-abiding Americans into criminals. Naturally, Biden's remarks have generated significant controversy.

Here to discuss with me the Biden Administration's plans for gun control, the rationale (if any) behind them, and the reality behind guns and crime rates in America, is Dr. John R. Lott.

You may know Dr. Lott as the meticulous researcher and economist behind books like Gun Control Myths, More Guns, Less Crime, and The Bias Against Guns. He is a world-recognized expert on guns and crime, and founder of the Crime Prevention Research Center and has held various research and teaching positions, including at the University of Chicago, Yale, Wharton School of Business, the University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, and Rice University.

John Lott was also the chief economist at the United States Sentencing Commission during 1988-89, and has published over 100 articles in peer-reviewed academic journals.

When it comes to guns, it's important to separate the stuff from the fluff. Get the facts, on the show of ideas, not attitude.

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John R. Lott on Gun Control Myths

You may have heard about Cuban American protests in the streets of Miami, but what’s happening in Cuba itself, where protest often carries stiff punishment from the communist dictatorship? It’s hard to find accurate coverage given the information embargo imposed by the Castro regime. Ian Vasquez returned to the show to explain what the events of the July 11th uprising symbolize in a country whose people have lived in fear of persecution and torture for decades.

Ian is Vice President for international studies at the Cato Institute and director of its Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity. He is a foreign policy correspondent for CNBC, NBC, C-SPAN, CNN, Telemundo, Canadian Television, NPR, and Voice of America. He is also the co-author of the Human Freedom Index – a subtopic for this Sunday’s show – the editor of Global Fortune: The Stumble and Rise of World Capitalism, and the coeditor of Perpetuating Poverty: The World Bank, the IMF, and the Developing World.

Vasquez finds that technology and the arts are creating new possibilities for exposing the miserable results of the Cuban “experiment” with socialism, which could only be sustained for so long by repression and intimidation. The rallying cries for freedom have grown louder and louder since Cubans got a taste of freedom from the outside world.

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Ian Vasquez on Cuba’s Uprising

When does environmental protection become regulatory overreach? As part of the "Great Reset" agenda to "Build Back Better," Biden's new America the Beautiful report outlines plans to conserve 30 percent of the nation’s lands and waters by 2030 – reversing many sensible reforms to the Endangered Species Act, for example, that have occurred over the last four years.

Remember the infamous Louisiana frog case? Federal agents in the Obama administration deprived a landowner of property by designating 1,500 acres of his land as "critical habitat" for the dusky gopher frog... a creature that hadn't been seen in the Bayou State for more than 50 years. Thankfully, Pacific Legal Foundation successfully defended the landowner in a 9-0 Supreme Court victory.

Now, the federal government under Biden is overreaching once again – weaponizing environmentalism against property rights. The Endanger Species Act may have good intentions, but its implementation has caused untold harm to countless human beings, while distorting incentives for achieving actual conservation.

I was joined by Damien Schiff to discuss the Biden administration's despotic approach to environmental regulation. Damien is a senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation. He leads its environmental practice group, a unique initiative that draws broadly from PLF’s expertise and success in property rights and separation of powers litigation. Over the years, Damien has represented hundreds of landowners and property rights advocates to defend their liberties against heavy-handed and unwarranted environmental and land-use regulation.

Find out how you can help in the fight against federal overreach on the show of ideas, not attitude.

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Damien Schiff on the Endangered Species Act

Occupational licensing is often deployed by industries to limit job competition, and it is no different with the American Bar Association. I was joined by Clifford Winston, senior fellow at Brookings Institution's Economic Studies program, applied microeconomist, and author of Trouble at the Bar.

Together, we will take a close look at the adverse effects that the ABA regulation has on the legal market and the economy as a whole – including the increase in cost, reduction in quality, and the limit of access to legal services for the general population. Clifford argues that by deregulating the legal industry, there would be a mutual benefit to both lawyers, prospective lawyers, and society in general.

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Clifford Winston on Deregulating Lawyers

Every 4th of July, we commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence – some 250 years ago – but the proclamation that all men are created equal was not truly realized until another proclamation was made some 90 years later, on September 22, 1863, by President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln may not have been one of the original founders of the United States of America, but his influence on our nation’s trajectory rivals even George Washington’s. More books have been written about Lincoln than any other American, and his actions as President permanently altered the very definition of American liberty. In this sense, Lincoln can be said to have presided over a second founding moment – of almost equal importance to the first in 1776.

John Cribb has written the latest in a long line of books about Lincoln. Old Abe: A Novel distinguishes itself as one of the few historical novels – accurately retelling the story of Lincoln’s last five years leading up to his untimely demise. Cribb joined me to unpack the complex and fascinating legacy of Abraham Lincoln, from his election to the Presidency, through the tumultuous war that almost tore the country apart, to his assassination in 1865.

Of course, we will discuss the role Lincoln played in ending the “peculiar institution,” which the founders themselves had neglected to solve in their own struggle for emancipation. Can this help explain why celebrating the 4th of July has become less popular in recent years? I’ll ask John how “Old Abe” can help us recover a sense of patriotism in every generation.

Finally, we’ll discuss the murkier questions of Lincoln’s legacy, including the growth of federal power and the questionable suspension of Habeas Corpus during the Civil War.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bobzadek.com/subscribe