Something's Off with Andrew Heaton

Student loan debt has surpassed $1.5 trillion dollars — more than credit card debt — prompting some ascendant Democrats to push for loan cancellation and tax-funded university tuition. Heaton figures out what’s making it so expensive with filmmaker and friend Royce Sharp.

Deanna Easley rejoins Heaton to talk about welfare: when it works, when it traps, and her experiences on it. Plus, Heaton explains a Biden vs. Trump election through ostrich racing, and producer Jennings comes on with timely feedback.

Comedian Bridget Phetasy joins Heaton for a Friday Release Valve episode to sort out the week’s better headlines, from how the Philippines might trigger World War III, to man-killing birds, to black-market colonoscopies.

Did Trump win the election because economically displaced Rust Belt workers wanted a shake-up, or because old white guys can’t handle change? Tim Carney rejects that dichotomy and says that the 2016 election had more to do with the nature of the community you hail from: whether it’s connected, upwardly mobile, and optimistic, or pessimistic, disconnected, and lonely. His book, “Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse,” dives into the nature of American communities and why the disappearance of clubs, churches, and diners is hurting the nation economically and psychologically.

Gene Epstein is the director and moderator of the New York-based debate society the Soho Forum and formerly the economics editor at Barron’s. He’s also Heaton’s mentor in economics. He comes on the program to chastise Heaton for his ideological foibles, then to talk about why the Federal Reserve Board is horrible and we should scrap it entirely.

Stu Burguiere joins Heaton to weigh in on climate change as a conservative — how alarmed we should be and what good and bad policies look like.

Jerry Taylor, formerly of the Cato Institute and now president of the Niskanen Center, joins Heaton to talk about what pro-market solutions to global warming look like. Plus, Heaton spices up the Mueller report, and a new whisky-based sponsor. 

Back by popular acclaim, Andrea Jones-Rooy joins Heaton to sift through the week’s better headlines, from Pennsylvania’s new state amphibian, to dog catchers in tanks, to the Japanese version of “Breaking Bad.” Plus, why comedians don’t need to worry about getting replaced by robots anytime soon.

Neil Howe is the historian and demographer who coined the term "millennial." He also developed the Strauss-Howe generational theory — the idea that America has four types of generations which go through cycles of history together. He joins Heaton to explain a different way to look at history and to pinpoint where we are in it.

Hate is big business right now. So is fear. Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, joins Heaton to talk about his book Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt. As well as his new film, “The Pursuit,” about the power of markets to solve poverty.

Bernie Sanders just held a town hall with Fox News...and came out on top. Brian Brushwood joins Heaton to slap socialism around, but also point out the surprising policies where Sanders and Trump converge.

Is a U.S. Space Force an inevitable step to protecting satellites and commercial space activities, or just an expensive exercise in shuffling Pentagon bureaucracies? Military and aerospace expert Anthony Colangelo joins Heaton to sort things out.

Comedian Jaron Myers joins Heaton to probe the more obscure headlines of the week, from an incredibly polite Canadian car theft mystery, to robot burglars, to the world’s most ominous potatoes.

Poverty and low standards of living are often thought to be the outcome of those at the financial and social top standing on the backs of everyone else. But what are some other possibilities? Theodore Dalrymple, author of "Life at the Bottom: The Worldview that Makes the Underclass," comes on the program to talk to Andrew about the influence of a generational welfare state and its impoverishment of stable, family-based values.

We’ve been to the moon a couple of times to collect rocks and go golfing, but what benefits would we get from building a permanent colony? Robert Zubrin is the author of “The Case for Space,” founder of the Mars Society, and president of Pioneer Astronautics. He joins Heaton to talk about how to build a moon base and how to get the private sector to do it cheap.