Brian Phillips and this week’s special guest host, Ariana Guajardo, “zoom in” with Shelley Luther - business owner, activist and candidate to represent Texas’ House District 62 - to discuss today’s hot topics.

1:25 Hot Take: Trump vs. Biden on the links!
4:35 The worst two weeks in Presidential Campaign history
8:45 The shift in the media’s treatment of President Biden
12:28 What are “women’s issues”?
15:17 School Choice
25:32 Protecting women in women’s sports
31:25 Drafting our daughters?
35:03 The Border
45:14 Survey Says!
48:10 Lies, Damn Lies & Statistics
50:38 What to watch for

Brian and Derek sit down with several key legislators, influencers, journalists and others “fighting the good fight” at the 2024 Texas State Republican Convention in San Antonio.

22:18 Senator Mayes Middleton
40:11 Tyler Norris
1:02:35 Senator Kevin Sparks
1:18:47 Representative James Frank
1:37:42 Brad Johnson
2:00:02 Hannah Beth Jones

Brian Phillips and Andrew Brown are joined by Texas House District 68 Representative David Spiller to discuss a variety of topics ranging from national presidential politics to local schools and our southern border.

0:54 Hot Takes: Caitlin-Gate - Dirty play or “Welcome to the league, Rook!”?
4:28 Political fallout after the Trump verdict
12:06 A house divided? 50% agree with Trump decision, 49% disagree
13:17 Biden’s Border Executive Order
20:55 Texas Border Security - What more can be done at the state level?
24:13 School Choice - post election analysis 
34:34 Taxpayer Funded Lobbying
41:35 Survey Says: Should state governments financially subsidize local news outlets?
45:08 Lies, Damn Lies & Statistics: Local Government Debt - 40% is local SCHOOL DEBT!
49:13 What to watch for: Trump’s poll numbers post-conviction

Brian and Derek sit down with Texas-based political consultant Tyler Norris and TPPF’s Distinguished Senior Fellow Sherry Sylvester to discuss the aftermath of the May 2024 Texas runoff election results.

0:50 Hot Takes: The Trial of the Century!
4:25 Initial reactions to May 2024 Runoff Election Results
4:44 Big Winner: School Choice
8:14 The New Politics: Are we more conservative or is it just a food fight?
17:20 Phase Two of Parent Empowerment
24:35 Property Tax Reform, School Safety and D.E.I.
27:55 New Issues to look forward to in 2025
30:35 Taxpayer Funded Lobbying
33:28 New Issue for Democrats to Fight?
40:21 Survey Says: During the pandemic, how much information released by the federal government was intentionally false and misleading?
44:40: Lies, Damn Lies & Statistics: TEA’s Mike Morath: Less than 20% of K-5 reading material is on grade level in Texas
50:37 What To Watch For: Dominos falling after Trump verdict
51:27 Dallas Professional Sports

Episode 50! Brian and Derek sit down with Jonathan Pidluzny, the Director of the Higher Education Reform Initiative at America First Policy Institute, to discuss the current status and influence of DEI on our college and university campuses and much more.

0:34 Hot Takes: Will the Cowboys and/or Texans eclipse 10 wins in 2024?
8:26 Special guest: Jonathan Pidluzny of the America First Policy Institute
9:05 Jonathan’s overall take on Texas’ response to DEI on college campuses
10:09 The overarching aims of DEI administrators
10:58 Texas as compared to other states with different approaches to DEI in education
13:27 The pervasiveness of DEI… even in Texas
15:16 What’s next to do?
16:58 What’s next for the Texas Legislature to do?
19:06 DEI’s relationship to Pro-Palestine protests
22:00 Outside groups and their influence on collegians
25:00 Overall instability as an objective
28:15 What’s the overall response & compliance levels to Texas and other states’ laws regarding DEI?
30:41 What does the public think about special programs for “marginalized people”?
35:50 Is college still worth it?
38:10 Are tribal politics interfering with what colleges and universities should be doing?
39:40 SURVEY SAYS! Polling data in the news: Immigration
45:19 LIES, DAMN LIES & STATISTICS: Relevant research: Educational spending in Texas
51:20 WHAT’RE YOU WATCHING? How will Texas grid do this summer?

Brian and Derek sit down with Better Tech for Tomorrow’s David Dunmoyer and the Honorable Zach Whiting to discuss the pros, cons, and oversight efforts surrounding A.I., digital safety for Texas families and much more.

0:20 Hot Takes: Will Biden debate Trump in person?
5:45 Conservative Approach to Tech Policy
10:55 AI: good, bad, or ugly?
35:15 The Government’s role in overseeing Technology
45:00 Survey Says! - polling data in the news
48:20 Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics – 10k illegal aliens flown into Texas!
51:00 What You're Watching – preview upcoming/developing stories

Check out the new Rebel Tech podcast for more on tech policy.

In this special episode of The Right Idea, Brian and Derek sit down with UT Senior and Editor-in-Chief of The Texas Horn, Gerrit Blizzard, to discuss the recent upheaval at the University of Texas.

Brian and Derek have the pleasure of sitting down with TPPF’s Director of Litigation, Chance Weldon, to discuss Olympic break dancing, squatter's rights (or the lack thereof), overpaid superintendents, and much more.

0:55 Olympic Breakin’: Electric Boogaloo
4:05 Squatting in America
19:25 Governor Abbott’s warning to squatters
30:30 Survey Says! 75% think the cost of living is rising, 7% can’t do math
36:00 Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics - 91 TX superintendents make over $300k
42:50 What’re You Watching?

Brian and Derek have the pleasure of sitting down with author, podcast host and founder of the Bahnsen Group, David Bahnsen, to discuss millennials’ attitudes towards work and retirement, the myth of “work/life balance,” the truth behind ESG investing, and much more.

0:23 Hot Take: Willie Nelson taking his Fourth of July Picnic to Jersey?
3:14 Overview of David’s new book: “Full Time: Work and the Meaning of Life”
4:03 The Myth of “work/life balance”
7:45 The importance of faith and work… and how God created us to work
10:45 The connection of work and life’s purpose
11:50 The too-typical millennial mindset towards retirement
14:45 “The New Right” and their Marxist attitudes towards work
18:50 State intervention on the labor force (including minimum wage) 
23:40 Trends towards or away from family growth and development vs. career growth and development 
27:00 ESG investing 
33:30 Are activists intentionally trying to take down Texas oil companies?
35:44 Texas’ Permanent School Fund recently divested $8.5 billion from BlackRock over ESG investing
38:52 What can the average person do?

Brian and Derek have the pleasure of sitting down with Jacob Howland, the Provost and Dean of Intellectual Foundations at University of Austin, to discuss the need for an entirely new type of university in response to young Americans turning away from higher education… and for good reasons.

3:55 Jacob Howland’s victory lap for UATX
6:40 The Left’s argument against higher learning like University of Austin
8:00 What sets UATX’s curriculum apart from most other universities?
13:40 What kind of faculty and students is UATX looking for, and how do they find them?
19:35 The problem with faculty and administrators at most American universities
25:14 UATX is the only university in the U.S. with a Constitution
32:50 How can UATX escape wokeness but maintain funding?
35:55 UATX location - navigating East 6th & West 6th
38:28 How will UATX face Austin’s predictable onslaught of protests?
39:55 How is the Left likely to respond to conservative universities?
42:15 Will other places of higher learning be positively influenced by UATX?
43:45 How does UATX respond to the public’s primary concerns: Cost, Quality of Education and Ideology of the University?