The Good Citizen Podcast

What if we redesigned America’s safety net to help people truly flourish–and not just track the delivery of benefits? In this episode, Clarence H. Carter, the current Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Human Services and a public servant with 30 years of experience, including roles under four Governors, two Presidents, and a Mayor, joins me to explore the challenges facing our current system and the vision behind Tennessee’s Human Flourishing Initiative. Using the Winchester Mystery House as an analogy, Carter explains how a system built over decades can become complicated, fragmented, and focused on measuring outputs rather than human outcomes.

We discuss the “no wrong door” approach, why county-level leadership and trusted community partners matter, and how government can move from transactions to transformational relationships in collaboration with churches and nonprofits. Commissioner Carter also explains how churches can rethink benevolence, how AI could help government workers become people-helpers rather than clerks, and what it would look like for church (as a movement of believers) to play a greater role in helping individuals and communities move from dependency to flourishing.

Clarence H. Carter is Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Human Services, appointed by Governor Bill Lee in January 2021 to lead the state’s second-largest agency, which serves all 95 counties on a roughly $2.3 billion budget with a staff of nearly 4,000. Before Tennessee, he directed Arizona’s Department of Economic Security and Virginia’s Department of Social Services, led the District of Columbia’s Department of Human Services (where he oversaw a shift from a shelter-based homeless system toward permanent housing outcomes), and held senior federal posts at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including Director of the Office of Family Assistance and Acting Director of the Office of Community Services, where he administered seven federal programs including the $16.5 billion TANF program. In 2015 he founded the Institute for the Improvement of the Human Condition, working with safety net agencies on emergency response for vulnerable populations, and he has carried that career-long focus on reforming the social safety net into both his current role and his book, Our Safety Net Has Holes.

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How should Christians respond when given an opportunity to direct government authority to counter injustice and protect the innocent? Esther 8 provides a powerful answer. In this chapter, Haman is off the scene; but his genocidal plan remains in effect due to a Persian custom of irreversible royal decrees. Mordecai and Esther are faced with the difficult task of honoring the king but also thwarting the impact of the death decree. And their actions lead to a dramatic reversal and God’s glory.

Esther’s story reminds us that God often places His people in positions of influence for a purpose. When He does, faithfulness requires humility, wisdom, and a willingness to act.

Series overview: Once upon a time—and I mean in God’s perfect time—a Jewish orphan girl named Esther became a Persian Queen. But, as many of you know, this book is less fairy tale and much more mystery—a book full of lessons about the mysteries of divine calling, evil and justice, finding courage to stand for truth, and understanding God’s eternal purposes in history and in our story. Though her husband claimed the title “king of kings,” Esther’s ultimate allegiance lay elsewhere—to the high King of the universe. In that sense, here’s the story and the lessons we should learn from Esther: the King’s Queen.

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American history–or how we tell the American story–is critical to our future, and we should fully understand that past so we can explain and defend it. In this episode, Dr. Matthew Spalding joins me to discuss his newest book The Making of the American Mind: The Story of Our Declaration of Independence as well as the 1776 Commission, America250, and his recent testimony before Congress concerning the Smithsonian’s efforts to reshape the past. Here’s our discussion about the American founding and why remembering our history matters for the future of the American experiment.

Matthew Spalding is the Kirby Professor in Constitutional Government and Dean of the Van Andel Graduate School of Government at Hillsdale College and oversees the Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship at Hillsdale’s Washington, D.C. campus. His new book, The Making of the American Mind: The Story of Our Declaration of Independence, was released in December 2025. Spalding is also the best-selling author of We Still Hold These Truths: Rediscovering Our Principles, Reclaiming Our Future and the original executive editor of The Heritage Guide to the Constitution, the first line-by-line analysis of each clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Appointed executive director of the President’s Advisory 1776 Commission, which produced The 1776 Report, he is currently a senior academic advisor for America250 projects. Prior to joining Hillsdale, Spalding was vice president for American Studies at The Heritage Foundation and founding director of its B. Kenneth Simon Center for Principles and Politics.

He is a senior fellow at the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy and serves on the boards of The Steamboat Institute, Faith & Law, the James Wilson Institute, and New College of Florida. He received his BA from Claremont McKenna College and his MA and PhD from the Claremont Graduate School.

Links:
The Making of the American Mind: The Story of Our Declaration of Independence

The 1776 Report

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Our national debt–which recently crossed the $40 trillion threshold–is a critical issue that must be addressed to preserve our future. In this episode based on his new book, Tom Newell (pastor, former state legislator, and current Chief of State for the Oklahoma Department of Education) explains that America’s addiction to borrowed money and borrowed ideas isn’t primarily a math problem. It is a discipleship problem — the result of ideas about money, freedom, and the proper role of government that were never grounded in Scripture or the American founding. Drawing on the biblical framework of sphere sovereignty, the moral philosophy of Adam Smith and Frédéric Bastiat, and a sharp contrast with the ideas of Keynes and Marx, he traces how dependency — financial, governmental, and spiritual — has replaced the stewardship and self-government that built American freedom. And he explains how and why we must recommit to these ideas and prioritize financial stewardship in our homes, churches, states, and country. [Description partially developed from book description].

Tom Newell has pastored churches in Oklahoma, Missouri, and Pennsylvania for twenty-five years, serving his denomination at both the state and national level. He has also taught business and economics as adjunct faculty at Seminole State College — a combination that turns up throughout this book, where theology and economics are never treated as separate conversations. In 2010, Tom was elected to represent Oklahoma’s 28th district in the state legislature. He served on the Speaker’s leadership team, chaired several high-profile committees, and was named an “Emerging Leader” by the National Conference of State Legislatures. After leaving the legislature, Tom served as a senior fellow and government affairs director for a national free-market think tank. He went on to serve as CEO of SALLT, a Christian organization that trains leaders to leverage their influence for the good of their community, and then as Vice President of Government Affairs for yes. every kid. He has since served as chief of staff to two statewide elected officials — the Governor of Oklahoma, and currently the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Link to The Wrong Glasses

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Esther is often remembered for her courageous entrance into the Persian throne room as she hazarded death to save her people form genocide. But that is not the most remarkable (in my opinion) moment in the book. In Esther 7, Esther finally and boldly confronts Haman–the master manipulator who bears the king’s authority–and her erratic, egotistical husband-king who signed her death warrant and that of her people. In this chapter, we study the critical second banquet and learn about the importance of courage tempered by wisdom; patience and trust; and how God often uses dramatic reversals to judge evil and protect His people.

Series overview: Once upon a time—and I mean in God’s perfect time—a Jewish orphan girl named Esther became a Persian Queen. But, as many of you know, this book is less fairy tale and much more mystery—a book full of lessons about the mysteries of divine calling, evil and justice, finding courage to stand for truth, and understanding God’s eternal purposes in history and in our story. Though her husband claimed the title “king of kings,” Esther’s ultimate allegiance lay elsewhere—to the high King of the universe. In that sense, here’s the story and the lessons we should learn from Esther: the King’s Queen.

Outline:

Key Takeaways:

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The right of parents to direct the education, health care, and religious instruction of their children is under scrutiny and assault in our schools, courts, child welfare systems, and the broader culture. How should parents respond—and what can pastors, churches, and other concerned citizens do to protect children and preserve the God-given role of parents?

In this episode, Vernadette Broyles, President and Chief Counsel of the Child & Parental Rights Campaign, joins me to discuss the legal and cultural battles surrounding parental rights, children’s health, and the protection of female sports and spaces.

Key Takeaways and Links:

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The advanced AI revolution is here; and much of the national conversation is focused on breakthroughs in productivity, national security, and healthcare. But what happens if AI becomes powerful enough to reshape government surveillance, human relationships, and even our understanding of human purpose? In this conversation, Randan Steinhauser from The Alliance for Secure AI. explains how we can secure AI for the good of humanity—and ensure that this transformative technology serves human flourishing rather than undermining it.

In the episode, we cover topics such as the geopolitical implications of AI, the dangers of domestic surveillance and concentrated technological power, how AI may reshape our relationships with one another, and why questions about human dignity and purpose must remain at the center of the conversation. Here’s the latest on securing AI for the good of humanity as AI rapidly changes and changes the world.

Randan Steinhauser is the Founding Partner of Steinhauser Strategies, which she launched in 2013 after relocating to Austin from Washington, D.C. Randan specializes in issue advocacy, non-profit, and corporate communications. Randan’s career began in the Governor’s Office in South Carolina. In 2009 she joined the staff for U.S. Senator Jim DeMint in Washington, D.C. and later transitioned into the non-profit world working in foreign policy and education reform for former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. She has worked in more than 30 states on issue advocacy and political campaigns. Randan assists clients with media relations, coalition development, strategic communications, and government affairs. Originally from South Carolina, Randan is a graduate of The University of South Carolina. She attended The Women’s Campaign School at Yale University and earned her Master’s in Communication from Johns Hopkins University. She is the proud mother of five including a set of identical twins.

Key Links:

X: Randan Marie Steinhauser

Alliance for Secure AI

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Esther is a remarkable story because it turns on, of all things, a case of royal insomnia. In Esther 6, the same divine hand that guided David’s sling guides the hand of a Persian servant to select a record of Mordecai’s forgotten service to the king, Haman faces humiliation and a forecast of the consequences of fighting against God, and a great and just reversal is set in motion. In this sermon, I explore these themes and the comforting thought that God never sleeps so we can.

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What does Christian engagement in public life look like in New Zealand? And what lessons should we learn from a nation further down the road of secularization and hostility toward Christian principles? In this episode, Bob McCoskrie from Family First New Zealand shares about his personal journey into ministry and his calling to engage the culture and government for the good of his nation; the systemic differences in New Zealand’s government (including an unwritten constitution) and recent debates over the anti-smacking law, marriage redefinition, euthanasia, and freedom of speech; the state of the church in New Zealand and increasing pressure to remain silent; and what gives him hope as he looks to the future. His perspective is a reminder that faithful citizenship is not ultimately about controlling political outcomes—it is about remaining faithful, speaking truth, serving others, and trusting God with the results.

Bob McCoskrie is the Founder and National Director (Chief Executive) of Family First New Zealand, a leading pro-family and pro-life advocacy organisation established in 2006. A former talkback radio host on Radio Rhema and South Auckland social worker, Bob has spent decades championing strong marriages, stable families, and the protection of life as the foundations of a strong nation. He holds a Master of Commerce with Honours from the University of Auckland and a Diploma of Teaching from the Auckland College of Education. Since founding Family First, Bob has become one of New Zealand’s most prominent public voices on family policy. He has led national campaigns on issues including the anti-smacking legislation, the redefinition of marriage, abortion law reform, cannabis legalisation, euthanasia, gender ideology in schools, and protections for women and children

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The 2022 Dobbs decision marked a historic victory for the pro-life movement—but it also ushered in a new era of challenges and opportunities.

In this episode, Sue Swayze Liebel—Director of State Affairs for SBA Pro-Life America and a leading pro-life advocate—joins me to discuss where the movement stands today. We explore the rapidly changing legal landscape; state-by-state battles over abortion; the rise of chemical abortion; and the growing importance of serving women, children, and families with compassion and practical support.

We also examine how Christians can engage faithfully in the public square, why the pro-life cause remains the defining human rights issues of our time, and what lies ahead as advocates continue working to protect the unborn. Whether you’re seeking to better understand the post-Dobbs landscape or looking for practical encouragement to make a difference, this conversation will equip you to strategically impact the life issue.

Sue Liebel is the Director of State Affairs for SBA Pro-Life America, where she leads nationwide efforts to advance pro-life legislation and elect leaders who will protect women and unborn children. A longtime Indianapolis resident with over 30 years of experience in policy development, lobbying, and political strategy, Sue has worked with organizations including the United Way and the Indy Chamber of Commerce. Since the Dobbs decision, she has been instrumental in supporting state-level victories, including Indiana’s groundbreaking post-Roe legislation. Passionate about empowering the Church and communities to provide real support for women, Sue also oversees initiatives like Her Plan, a comprehensive Pregnancy & Life Assistance Network. A dedicated advocate who lives out her faith in the public square, Sue continues the legacy of trailblazing women like Susan B. Anthony by fighting for policies rooted in dignity, truth, and compassion.

In this episode:

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