Heritage Explains

Apr 02 2025 407 ep. 20 mins 2k

Heritage Explains Podcast artwork

A podcast that explains major policy issues at a 101 level. Experts from America's leading public policy organization break down major news stories and policy debates raging in culture and Congress alike.

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How Do We Stop Asylum Fraud? | Lora Ries

Apr 02 2025 14 mins

It’s clear that the Trump administration’s commitment to securing the southern border is working. But the question now is, how do we keep it working? What changes need to be made to the immigration system to keep us from heading back to the uncontrolled illegal migration of the Biden years?One critical component, argues Heritage Immigration expert Lora Ries, is the reform of th

How Did Congress Get Rid of Black Lives Matter Plaza? | Zack Smith

Mar 26 2025 17 mins

In the summer of 2020, with the George Floyd Riots in full swing, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser decided that 16th Avenue would gain a new status in American history. She designated the two block section of the Avenue closest to the white house as Black Lives Matter Plaza. The slogan was painted in 35-foot yellow letters on the street. Whether they wanted to or not, DC residents and visito

Why Was the Covid Lab Leak Theory Suppressed? | Jeff Smith

Mar 19 2025 20 mins

From the earliest times of the pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Francis Collins, and apparently the entire scientific community insisted that the virus emerged from nature, jumping from an animal species to humans. Many pointed out the flaws in this reasoning, finding the possibility of COVID leaking from a laboratory much more likely. Scientific organizations, leftist politicians,

How Do You Shut Down the Department of Education? | Lindsey Burke

Mar 12 2025 14 mins

At the direction of President Trump, Education Secretary Linda McMahon is now preparing the Department of Education for what she refers to as its “final mission”: winding down the department itself. This will be a complicated process, but here to explain what it may look like is Lindsey Burke, Director of the Center for Education Policy here at the Heritage Foundation. —Follo

Is America Entering a New Golden Age? | Ryan Walker

Mar 05 2025 16 mins

This week, President Trump addressed a joint session of Congress. Clocking in at over an hour and forty minutes, the speech was the longest address a president has delivered to America’s legislature in recent history. It covered the president’s accomplishments so far in his administration, from DOGE to border enforcement to economic policy, as well as shedding some light on the

Is the War in Ukraine Going to End? | Rob Greenway

Feb 26 2025 14 mins

President Trump’s posture toward the war in Ukraine is very different from his predecessor. To understand what we might expect to see in Ukraine over the next few weeks, months, and years, I sat down with Rob Greenway, Director of the Allison Center for National Security, here at the Heritage Foundation—Follow Rob Greenway on X: https://x.com/rc_greenway?lang=enLearn more about

Why is Trump Cutting NIH Funding? | Jay Greene

Feb 19 2025 23 mins

American taxpayer money can be used to great effect, and we like to think that our civil institutions would always be dedicated to delivering such good return on investment. But that is not always so. The Trump Administration’s DOGE effort has shed much light in recent weeks on waste, fraud, and abuse throughout the federal government. Now the spotlight has been turned on NIH. He

Will Trump’s Ban on Gender Mutilation Survive? | Sarah Parshall Perry

Feb 12 2025 14 mins

On January 28th, President Trump signed an executive order on banning the use of federal funds for so-called “gender transitions”. But some states Attorneys general have taken exception to this, and filed suit. Here to explain their position, and its likelihood for success, is Heritage Senior Legal Fellow, Sarah Parshall Perry. —Follow Sarah Perry on X:https://x.com/SarahPPer

What’s Going On With USAID? | David Ditch

Feb 05 2025 21 mins

$32,000 for a “transgender comic book” in Peru. $2 million for sex changes and “LGBT activism” in Guatemala. Hundreds of millions of dollars to fund “irrigation canals, farming equipment, and even fertilizer used to support the unprecedented poppy cultivation and heroin production in Afghanistan,” benefiting the Taliban This sounds like the wishlist of a crazy progressi

What’s Next for Border Enforcement? | Lora Ries

Jan 29 2025 9 mins

Over just the last week, the number of daily border crossings has crashed compared to the Biden administration. Border enforcement in the interior has been seriously undertaken. The US military has been deployed to assist Customs and Border Protection. Here to walk us through the details of this Sea Change is Lora Ries, Director of the Border Security and Immigration Center, here