The Narrative with Aaron Baer

Ready to go deeper? Today's episode is the inaugural roundtable discussion where The Narrative podcast hosts are joined by experts to take a deep dive into a particularly complex topic–equipping you with the understanding necessary to make informed decisions as a Christian.

Odds are you've likely seen the heavy media bias against Ohio's school choice expansion this past year, extolling the cost, claiming it's a misuse of taxpayer funds, and decrying private schools as the lesser education option.

Aaron Churchill and Rabbi Yitz Frank join CCV's Ohio Christian Education Network Executive Director Troy McIntosh and podcast hosts CCV President Aaron Baer and Communications Director Mike Andrews to unpack why these common anti-school choice arguments are based on cherry-picked data or fail to consider the most important factor in school choice--parental satisfaction.

Ready for an in-depth breakdown of school choice fact vs. fiction? Don't miss today's special edition episode!

More about the Experts

Rabbi Eric “Yitz” Frank serves as President of School Choice Ohio and the executive director of Agudath Israel of Ohio since 2013. In that capacity, he is engaged in multiple projects to educate community organizations about various governmental programming, funding opportunities, and serves as a liaison to the Ohio Department of Education on behalf of Jewish day schools. Rabbi Frank was previously appointed by the Ohio Senate to serve on the NonPublic School Graduation Requirements Advisory Committee and is a member of Governor DeWine’s School Safety Working Group.

An expert in education policy and nonpublic schools, Rabbi Frank also serves as the President of the Ohio Council for American Private Education. He is a volunteer lay leader serving on the community relations committee of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland and President of Congregation Zichron Chaim, located in Beachwood. Rabbi Frank also does government relations and policy work at the federal level related to the National School Lunch Program, ESEA, IDEA, and other related issues.

Aaron Churchill is the Ohio research director for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, where he has worked since 2012. In this role, Aaron oversees research and commentary aimed at strengthening education policy in Ohio. He writes regularly on Fordham’s blog, the Ohio Gadfly Daily on topics such as state assessment and school accountability, school funding, and educational choice including public charter schools, private school choice, interdistrict open enrollment, and homeschooling. His work has appeared in media outlets, such as the Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch, Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Dayton Daily News, and Toledo Blade. He has also been a guest on NPR’s All Sides with Ann Fisher and The Sound of Ideas and participated in various panels discussing education issues in Ohio. Aaron earned degrees from the University of Maryland, Wheaton College (IL), and Carnegie Mellon University.

If you're ready for a breath of zesty fresh air, don't miss today's fast-paced episode of The Narrative with Seth Gruber–founder of The White Rose Resistance, CCV Communications Director Mike Andrews, and Church Ambassador Network Executive Director Chris Lightfoot.

Listen in to discover why pastors must still preach against the biblical issues of Gnosticism, child sacrifice, and sex cults because of the theological ties to modern cultural issues like abortion, homosexuality, and transgenderism. Seth also breaks down how LGBT activists are fundamentally religious, not unbiased advocates of bodily autonomy.

You'll also get to hear CCV President Aaron Baer and Mike do a fast-five take on the latest updates on election inference in Ohio ballot issues, the rollback of common-sense regulation on abortion pills, Attorney General Dave Yost fighting for school transportation for Columbus students, the Libs of TikTok Kaleidoscope expose, and former President Trump coming out against the Florida abortion amendment.

For more, check out Seth's talk on "All Human Conflict is Ultimately Theological," The1916Project.com, and TheLastStand.com.

More about Seth Gruber

The son of a pregnancy resource center director, Seth Gruber was helping save unborn children from abortion while still in his mother’s womb. He has been a voice and defender for preborn babies ever since. He is the host of The Seth Gruber Show (FKA, UnAborted with Seth Gruber) and travels as a speaker to educate the public, discredit the opposition, and inspire the Church to end the great evil of our time.

Seth founded The White Rose Resistance in 2022, which has quickly become the fastest-growing pro-life ministry in America. Seth is launching a new book and a vital documentary, “The 1916 Project,” to further awaken The American Church to her pivotal role in today’s culture war. At thirty-two, Seth’s passionate work for the preborn, The Church, and America is just getting started.

Highlighting findings in her new book "False Flag: Why Queer Politics Mean the End of America," Joy Pullmann shares how undermining the traditional family undermines the foundations of our country on today's episode of The Narrative. How did we go from a culture celebrating masculinity and femininity, children, and truth to one that sets sex and sexuality as the core of humanity? Listen in to understand how transgender activists co-opted feminist ideology and why Joy has hope this aggressive movement could collapse.

You'll also get to hear Aaron, David, and Mike discuss the ruling on the 24-hour waiting period for abortions and the call Center for Christian Virtue put out for stories about schools pushing social transition in the classroom.

More about Joy Pullmann

Joy Pullmann is executive editor of The Federalist. A happy wife and the mother of six children, her ebooks include "Classic Books For Young Children," and "101 Strategies For Living Well Amid Inflation." An 18-year education and politics reporter, Joy has testified before nearly two dozen legislatures on education policy and appeared on major media including Tucker Carlson, CNN, Fox News, OANN, NewsMax, Ben Shapiro, and Dennis Prager. Joy is a grateful graduate of the Hillsdale College honors and journalism programs who identifies as native American and gender natural. Joy is also the cofounder of a high-performing Christian classical school and the author and coauthor of classical curricula. Her traditionally published books also include "The Education Invasion: How Common Core Fights Parents for Control of American Kids," from Encounter Books.

What is the new Issue 1? Should you vote for it? Don't miss today's episode of The Narrative podcast with Sen. Rob McColley breaking down 2024's Issue 1 redistricting amendment, including its background and campaign funders, why "citizens not politicians" is anti-democracy, and the disastrous consequences to come if it's passed.

You'll also get to hear Aaron, David, and Mike discuss the prevalence of abortion at the Democratic National Convention and preview CCV's 2024 Voter Guide, available on BuckeyeBallot.com

More about Sen. Rob McColley

State Senator Rob McColley is serving in the Ohio Senate after being appointed in December 2017. He was elected by his Senate colleagues to serve as Senate Majority Floor Leader for the 135th General Assembly. Prior to being appointed to the Senate, he was a State Representative and served in House leadership as Assistant Majority Whip. Before being elected, he served in the Community Improvement Corporation of Henry County. He is also a former trustee of the Ohio Fallen Heroes Memorial and the Henry County Community Foundation, as well as a board member for the Henry County Board of Developmental Disabilities and the Center for Child and Family Advocacy. 

Senator McColley lives in Napoleon with his wife, Denise, their daughter Anna, and their twin boys Matthew and Michael.

🔊 Talk to Us

We want to hear from you! As a valued listener, your feedback is critical for us to keep The Narrative insightful, relevant, and helpful. If you have a particular guest, topic, or question you'd like us to cover, let us know! We’ll answer your questions on an “Ask Us Anything” episode later, so send in your questions now.

👉  Leave us a voicemail or text at 614-769-7077.

👉  Email us at [email protected].

To learn more about Center for Christian Virtue and to get involved, visit CCV.org.

⭐️ How are we doing?

If you've found any episode of The Narrative insightful, let us know by leaving a review or rating! It helps us to know what you're enjoying and brings the podcast to other listeners, meaning you're helping equip your neighbors to understand today's hottest cultural and political topics. So, thank you!

🔎 About The Narrative

The Narrative breaks away from the script to cut through the typical media narratives and helps you understand the root causes of today’s culture and political controversies.

Join Center for Christian Virtue (CCV) President Aaron Baer, Policy Director David Mahan, Communications Director Mike Andrews, and world-renowned experts as they dissect current issues and events from multiple angles and viewpoints, equipping you to be a critical thinker on some of the hottest topics today.

Support the show: https://www.ccv.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Should we criticize the Church? What about its leaders? If so, how and when would we do it?

Megan Basham, an author and reporter for the Daily Wire, joins The Narrative podcast to answer these questions in the context of her new book, Shepherds for Sale. Along with co-hosts CCV President Aaron Baer, Policy Director David Mahan, and Communications Director Mike Andrews, Megan discusses the key decision between admitting misunderstanding and compounding foolishness, how the secular left has strategically coopted universal truths of the Gospel, and how Church leaders should respond to breaking news and crises like COVID.

Before the conversation, Aaron, David, and Mike uncover how the children's hospitals' gender clinics have changed following the enactment of the SAFE Act, and how the media is ignoring the savings school choice is providing Ohio.

More about Megan Basham

Megan Basham is a culture reporter for the Daily Wire and the author of the new book Shepherds for Sale: How Evangelical Leaders Traded the Truth for a Leftist Agenda and Beside Every Successful Man: A Woman’s Guide to Having It All. She is a frequent contributor to Morning Wire, one of the top ten news podcasts in the United States. She has also written for the Wall Street Journal, the Telegraph, First Things, National Review, and the leading Evangelical publication World Magazine, where she worked as a film and television editor.

Connect with Megan on www.dailywire.com/author/megan-basham; on X (Twitter), @megbasham; and on Instagram, @journalistmeganbasham

Katy Faust–Founder and President of Them Before Us, has an upcoming new book, Pro-Child Politics (releasing September 24), which highlights the need and benefits of placing children's needs above adults' desires on a broad range of policy issues–from porn to debt, and foreign policy to religious liberty–with top experts contributing to each chapter and topic in the book.

Maria Baer, a contributor to the book, joins Katy on The Narrative podcast to dive into the heart of the book, with a special emphasis on Maria's chapter on digital technology and what parents can do to protect their children.

Before the conversation, co-hosts CCV President Aaron Baer and Communications Director Mike Andrews share the latest updates on the SAFE Act/Save Women's Sports Act (HB68) court case that had put the law on hold, and the realities of the Kamala Harris-Tim Walz presidential candidate ticket.

This and more on today's episode of The Narrative podcast!

More about Katy Faust

Katy Faust is Founder and President of Them Before Us, a global children’s rights nonprofit, and the co-author of a book of the same title. She publishes and speaks widely on why marriage and family are matters of justice for children. Her articles have appeared in Newsweek, USA Today, The Federalist, Public Discourse, WORLD magazine, Washington Examiner, The American Mind, and The American Conservative. She is on the advisory board for the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship. Katy helped design the teen edition of CanaVox which studies sex, marriage, and relationships from a natural law perspective. She and her co-author detailed their philosophy of worldview transmission in Raising Conservative Kids in a Woke City. Pro-Child Politics is her third book. Katy and her husband are raising their four children in Seattle.

More about Maria Baer

Maria Baer is a reporter, writer, and podcaster. She is the co-host of the weekly Breakpoint This Week podcast with John Stonestreet and a writer for Breakpoint. She is also published regularly at Christianity Today magazine, WORLD magazine, and The Gospel Coalition. Maria is based in Columbus, Ohio, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from the Ohio University Scripps School of Journalism in 2009. 

This week on The Narrative podcast, Dr. Jay Richards–Director of the DeVos Center for Life, Religion, and Family at The Heritage Foundation–breaks down Project 2025 and why the left has been so upset over it, how gender ideology attacks what it means to be human, and why he's optimistic that the cultural transgender tide will turn.

To open the episode, CCV President Aaron Baer and Policy Director David Mahan share their perspectives on what it means to be living in history right now and their thoughts on Kamala Harris as the Democrat's potential presidential nominee. Aaron also explains why the proposed redistricting amendment on the ballot this fall would be detrimental to Ohio's democratic process.

To keep up with Dr. Richards, follow him on X (formerly Twitter), @DrJayRichards, or check out Heritage.org.

More about Jay Richards, PhD

Jay W. Richards, PhD, is Director of the DeVos Center for Life, Religion, and Family and the Senior Research Fellow in American Principles and Public Policy at The Heritage Foundation. He is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute and Executive Editor of The Stream.  

Jay is the author or editor of more than a dozen books, including Fight the Good Fight: How an Alliance of Faith and Reason Can Win the Culture War, released earlier this year. He has also created and produced several documentaries, written numerous articles and essays which have been published in major outlets, appeared on hundreds of radio and television programs, and spoken extensively at universities, conferences, public policy meetings, and organizations around the world.

Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon is kicking off the latest volume of The Narrative! Seth joins CCV President Aaron Baer and Communications Director Mike Andrews to uncover why Christian humor and mockery is essential in the fight against bad ideas. They also discuss whether Elon Musk has moved to the political right and why it's okay to work with atheists even if they don't have the objective moral foundation of Christians.

Before the conversation, Aaron and Mike discuss the new Republican platform, the attempted assassination of former President Trump, and why we're excited about Ohio Senator JD Vance getting picked as the Republican nominee for Vice President.

Check out BabylonBee.com for more of Seth's work, or see him live on Thursday, October 3, at The Essential Summit. Get your discounted tickets now with coupon code "EarlyBird20" through July 31 on EssentialSummit.org.

More about Seth Dillon

Seth Dillon is the CEO of The Babylon Bee, the world's most trusted, factually accurate news source. Taking on the tone of a traditional news media publication, the Bee satirizes real-world events and public figures.

Dillon's experience with censorship and deplatforming has placed him on the front lines of the battle for free speech in the public square. He now speaks on college campuses and at conferences across the country about the effectiveness of humor, the moral imperative of mockery, and the dangers of censorship.

He occasionally signs off X (formerly Twitter) to enjoy time with his wife and two sons in Juno Beach, Florida.

On today's episode of The Narrative, Jason Thacker, Senior Fellow and Director of the Research Institute at The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), joins CCV Policy Director David Mahan to discuss the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of Christianity. Listen in to find out what makes AI distinct from human intelligence, the danger and benefits it poses, and why it cannot be morally neutral.

Before the conversation, David and CCV Communications Director Mike Andrews share the incredible story of how HB183–a bill that preserves single-sex bathrooms–went from being dead on Tuesday to passed out of the Ohio House with a supermajority on Wednesday because of the power of relationships and the engagement of the Body of Christ.

More about Jason Thacker

Jason Thacker serves as Senior Fellow and Director of the Research Institute at ERLC, focusing on pro-life and other bioethical issues including abortion, reproductive technologies, medical care, euthanasia, and end-of-life decision making. In addition to his work at the ERLC, he serves as assistant professor of philosophy and ethics at Boyce College and Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the author or editor of several books including the Essentials in Christian Ethics series, Baptist Social Ethics (forthcoming), The Age of AI, Following Jesus in a Digital Age, and The Digital Public Square. He is a graduate of The University of Tennessee and Southern Seminary, where he is currently a PhD candidate in Christian ethics and public theology.

🔊 Talk to Us

We want to hear from you! As a valued listener, your feedback is critical for us to keep The Narrative insightful, relevant, and helpful. If you have a particular guest, topic, or question you'd like us to cover, let us know! We’ll answer your questions on an “Ask Us Anything” episode later, so send in your questions now.

👉  Leave us a voicemail or text at 614-769-7077.

👉  Email us at [email protected].

To learn more about Center for Christian Virtue and to get involved, visit CCV.org.

⭐️ How are we doing?

If you've found any episode of The Narrative insightful, let us know by leaving a review or rating! It helps us to know what you're enjoying and brings the podcast to other listeners, meaning you're helping equip your neighbors to understand today's hottest cultural and political topics. So, thank you!

🔎 About The Narrative

The Narrative breaks away from the script to cut through the typical media narratives and helps you understand the root causes of today’s culture and political controversies.

Join Center for Christian Virtue (CCV) President Aaron Baer, Policy Director David Mahan, Communications Director Mike Andrews, and world-renowned experts as they dissect current issues and events from multiple angles and viewpoints, equipping you to be a critical thinker on some of the hottest topics today.

Support the show: https://www.ccv.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's episode of The Narrative, Former US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, CCV President Aaron Baer, and Policy Director David Mahan break down the Biden administration's attempt to force women out of sports, what would happen if we shut down the US Department of Education, and the three areas of opportunity and growth for education with this fall's election.

Before the conversation, Aaron and David discuss the Our Bodies, Our Sports bus tour, several key bills that have stalled at the Statehouse, the Southern Baptist Convention's new resolution against in vitro fertilization (IVF), and CCV's inaugural annual conference, The Essential Summit, featuring Dr. Ben Carson, The Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon, and Hillsdale President Larry Arnn.

Learn more about the Summit at EssentialSummit.org. Watch CCV's mini-documentary on the passage of Ohio's Save Women's Sports Act and SAFE Act, "Culture Change: The Story HB68," on YouTube.

More about Sec. Betsy DeVos

Betsy DeVos is the nation’s leading advocate for the educational freedom of all students, having served as the 11th U.S. Secretary of Education from 2017 to 2021. For more than three decades, she has tirelessly pursued public policy reforms that get government out of the way and allow all students the freedom, flexibility, resources and support they need to choose where, when and how they learn.

Her advocacy has helped create new educational choices for K-12 students in more than 25 states and the District of Columbia and expanded post-high school education options for students of all ages. Betsy is a graduate of Calvin College and is married to entrepreneur, philanthropist and community activist Dick DeVos. Together, they have four children and thirteen grandchildren.