The U.S. is enjoying one of its best stretches of economic performance in years. Growth is strong, unemployment is low, and, though it remains elevated, inflation has fallen sharply. As the rest of the world stagnates, America seems to be booming. 

But how good are things really and can they last? And will the Fed’s continuing struggle to get inflation down eventually push the economy under? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, economist and former presidential adviser Glenn Hubbard tells Wall Street Journal editor at large Gerry Baker how the Fed is facing a tough challenge to get inflation under 3%, and why he thinks policy will remain tight for some time. But he also says the U.S. is undergoing structural changes such as the rise of generative artificial intelligence that could be improving productivity performance in the long run. 

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From deepfakes to advances in medicine and science, artificial intelligence is becoming one of the most feared and misunderstood innovations of the 21st century. So why are so many people afraid of the future of AI? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, Scale AI co-founder Alexandr Wang tells Gerry Baker how he went from MIT dropout to powering the AI industry, the effect the technology can have on the military, economics and education, and how AI can be used to distort information during crucial elections across the globe.

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After solid victories in Iowa and New Hampshire by Donald Trump, we look set already for a rematch between the former president and Joe Biden. So where does that leave the Republican party? And what should Nikki Haley do next? Should she stay on and fight or accede to the inevitable? What have we learned from this short and apparently moribund primary season about Trump's and Biden's strengths and weaknesses for the general election? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, veteran pollster and consultant Doug Shoen tells Gerry Baker why now is the time for Haley to drop out of the race, why it might be too late for a third-party candidate to come in as an alternative, and who could be on the list to be Trump's running mate and in his potential administration.

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U.S. elections now seem routinely dogged by allegations of fraud and outside interference. Not just in 2020, but in several of the most recent presidential contests the losing candidates had cried foul. And so the security of this year’s contest may be more controversial than ever. Are our electoral systems safe - and what about the threat of “misinformation”? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince explains how his company is trying to "build a better internet," how tech companies are trying to fight both hackers and widespread organized attacks and responds to criticism of the company’s internal management processes after a video of an employee being fired went viral. 

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The Iowa Caucuses are just a few days away and the New Hampshire primary follows a week after. Donald Trump maintains a big lead in the Hawkeye State and a smaller one in the Granite State. But does Nikki Haley have the momentum? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, WSJ columnist Kimberly Strassel joins Gerry Baker to discuss what’s behind Haley’s apparent advance, what chance Ron DeSantis has of finishing strong and what margin of victory Trump needs in Iowa to declare a decisive victory heading into New Hampshire.  

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The first two contests of the 2024 presidential election, the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, are just days away. So do any of Donald Trump's rivals have a chance to overtake him, and is Joe Biden a strong enough candidate to win reelection? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, veteran pollster Frank Luntz tells Gerry Baker why Iowa and New Hampshire residents are two completely different voter blocs, why Donald Trump should not refuse to debate Joe Biden, and why a third-party candidate has the potential to win electoral votes in 2024, and who that candidate might be. 

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The Free Expression podcast revisits Gerry Baker's conversation with Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Catholic archbishop of New York. The two discuss how Pope Francis is leading the church worldwide, the importance of the separation of church and state, and how a lack of religion and moral conviction is to blame for our toxic cultural environment. 

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As 2023 draws to a close, the war between Ukraine and Russia is approaching the two-year mark in what appears to be a stalemate, while the war between Israel and Hamas rages on. What have we learned? What can we expect in 2024? And how is the U.S. dealing with these challenges? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, former CIA director General David Petraeus tells Wall Street Journal editor at large Gerry Baker why the Israel/Hamas battlefield is the most “fiendishly difficult” in recent memory, why the U.S. needs to take more robust action against the Red Sea attacks by Houthi forces backed by Iran, how the withdrawal from Afghanistan contributed to Vladimir Putin’s invasion, and how modern warfare has changed since World War II.

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Is a long overdue change finally coming to America's universities? With the resignation of Penn president Elizabeth Magill, and the controversial decision to keep Claudine Gay as the president of Harvard, the concerns over liberal indoctrination on campus have reached a fresh peak. On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, University of California, Santa Cruz Professor Emeritus of German Literature John M. Ellis tells Wall Street Journal editor at large Gerry Baker why the testimony of the three Ivy League presidents on Capitol Hill exposed the intellectual inadequacy, hypocrisy and extremism of the academic leadership of the universities, highlighted the danger caused by the tyranny of diversity, equity and inclusion policies, and how conservatives have been harassed to the point of leaving the university system, leading to a new search for reforms as the backlash continues.

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From Israel to Ukraine, 2023 has been a year of spreading violent conflict, increasing instability and posing stiff challenges to U.S. global strategy, all within the context of the developing new Cold War with China and its allies, Russia and Iran. It seems likely that our adversaries will probe further in 2024, and with a presidential election in the U.S., geopolitical uncertainty will only intensify. On this episode of the Free Expression Podcast, historian Niall Ferguson tells Wall Street Journal editor at large Gerry Baker about the dangers that could come with a Russian victory in Ukraine, why Israel would benefit from a second Donald Trump administration, although it could lead to the end of NATO, and how the election in Taiwan next month will be a time of great danger as China plans its next move. The two also discuss how pro-Hamas protests on campuses have left American universities in a parlous state. 

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