The Federalist Radio Hour

Kelsey Harkness, senior reporter at The Daily Signal, recently returned from a trip to the U.S.-Mexican border in San Diego. She joins Bre Payton, staff writer at the Federalist, to discuss her reporting on border patrol, the wall, and Trumps religious liberty executive order. Border walls and fences under the Trump administration have become very symbolic of this whole political debate, Harkness said. But whats interesting about San Diego is that, to them, walls and fences are nothing new. Walls and fences have existed since the 90s. Later in the hour, Senior Counsel at The Becket Fund, Hannah Smith, explains the state of the administrations position towards current religious liberty cases. Shortly after the executive order was announced, HHS Secretary Price, in short order, announced his agency would be acting on this executive order to provide some relief to The Little Sisters [of the Poor]. andnbsp;

Molly Ball, politics writer for The Atlantic, joins Mary Katharine Ham in studio to recap Thursdays freak outs over the healthcare bill passed in the House. They also discuss the ways technology is invading our home lives, particularly parenting, and Ball shares her in-depth profiling of Kellyanne Conway. After the GOP-controlled House passed some regulatory changes to the ACA on Thursday, false narratives spread through the media, including rumors about pre-existing conditions and Republicans celebrating with beer afterwards. Part of the reason theres been so much more talk of the politics than the policy is because policies take a while to set in. Polices take awhile to be implemented...so the immediate consequences are going to be felt in politics, Ball said. andnbsp; andnbsp;

Thomas G. West, professor of politics at Hillsdale College, said he has been working on his new book, The Political Theory of The American Founding: Natural Rights, Public Policy, and the Moral Conditions of Freedom, over the course of the last 20 years. On this episode of Federalist Radio, West defends his interpretations of what the founders meant by ideas like nature, equality, and justice. The basic meaning of equality for the founders is that we are equal in the sense that no body has the right to rule us without our consent, West said. Thats what equality means, and thats the fundamental meaning of liberty, too. West writes about the importance of localism at the time of founding. Their idea was: the closer to home, the better, he said.

Caroline Glick is an Israeli-American writer, senior editor, and columnist for The Jerusalem Post. While visiting the U.S., she joined Federalist Radio Hour to discuss Americas current relationship with Israel and the greater Middle East, the Israeli reaction to Donald Trump, and the propaganda stunts of Hamas. Glick addressed some of the critiques of President Trumps foreign policy and his meeting on Wednesday with PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas at the White House. I think that theres been a romanticization of American foreign policy that its about saving the world, Glick said. Russia is back as an important player in the Middle East and a heavy influence in Irans regime.  They are the North Korea of tomorrow. They are the Kim Jong Un of tomorrow but with jihadist aspirations and world imperialist aspirations, Glick said. The only way you can overthrow the regime in Iran...is to get the Russians to stop protecting the regime.

Bre Payton, staff writer at the Federalist, and Inez Stepman, senior contributor at the Federalist, discuss the ins and outs of style, beauty, Vogue, fashion, and why conservatives should care about the culture. There should still be a way that a woman opens a magazine and sees something thats relevant to her life, Stepman said. Theres a not insubstantial minority of women who vote Republican. Theres a not insubstantial minority of women who voted for Donald Trump, and they read fashion magazines too. Payton and Stepman argue over whether Melania Trump is fashionable. Theres a difference between beautiful and fashionable...Its not that I think her outfits are ugly. Its that they dont convey any sense of style, Stepman said. To me they almost look like she sent the gopher out to pick out some stuff at Gucci. andnbsp;

Olivier Knox, Chief Washington Correspondent for Yahoo! News, joins Mary Katharine Ham in studio to discuss this weekends White House Correspondents Dinner, tensions with North Korea, the election in France, and JaRules Fyre Festival disaster in the Bahamas. I think Trump not going this year [to the White House correspondents dinner] was a much needed corrective, Ham said. It feels a bit like Washington pretending to be L.A. for a couple of days. Knox breaks down the presidential election in France and how far-left and far-right hold different meanings than in the U.S. Basically all the French parties are fundamentally statist. They believe in a very strong role for the government in Paris, he said. andnbsp;

Mary Katharine Ham, senior writer, and Gracy Olmstead, associate managing editor, host the Federalist Radio Hour to discuss the tension between the DNC and pro-life democrats, the outrage at Bill Nye, and the retirement of Dale Earnhardt Jr. from NASCAR. Bernie Sanders and Tom Perez received blowback after endorsing a pro-life candidate for mayor of Omaha. The Cecile Richards view is the view of the Democratic Party and now they are saying you cant have another [view] in this party, Ham said. Thats fairly dangerous to building a coalition that can actually win. NASCAR race attendance is down, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. may have been the best face to bring in both the older and younger fans. Its a real open question where the sport goes from here. Its an interesting evolution of a sport that really was this niche southern working class sport, Ham said.

Daniel J. Mitchell, senior fellow at the Cato Institute, joins Federalist Radio to discuss President Trumps tax plan, why the border adjustment-tax is a bad idea, corporate tax rates, and how Congress is trying to juggle tax reform. The problem with the Trump tax plan, good on paper but heres the problem. Were in a fiscal environment where we already have $500 million per year deficits, Mitchell said. And if we leave government on auto pilot, were going to wind up by the middle of next decade have trillion dollar annual deficits. Veronique de Rugy, senior fellow at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center, joins for the last segment to share her positive and negative reactions to Trumps tax plan. The problem with the approach they are taking is that economic growth alone is going to be enough, and theres no indication that this White House is going to reverse its position on cutting spending, she said.

On Wednesday Ajit Pai, Chairman of the Federal Communications Council, announced his plan to eliminate net neutrality rules put in place by the Obama administration in 2015. After his announcement, he joined Ben Domenech in studio to discuss internet regulation, privacy issues, cable cord-cutters, and rickrolling. Net neutrality, if it means a free and open internet, is something that everybody agrees upon, Pai said. We had a free and open internet before Title II. That is the dividing line...Title II is the wrong regulatory framework to preserve that value. Domenech and Pai discussed the relationship between consumers and corporations, including privacy of users, 5G networks, and cable bundles.  At the end of the day its going to settle, I hope, where the consumer is the one who is paying a lower price for the content that he or she wants.

David Azerrad is the Director, B. Kenneth Simon Center for Principles and Politics and AWC Family Foundation Fellow at the Heritage Foundation. Azerrad and Domenech discuss President Trumps first 100 days in office, the definition of Trumpism, and the differing schools of thought within the conservative movement. On the executive front, [Trump] is delivering. Working with Congress is a complicated matter, especially given the tensions within the Republican party, Azerrad said. Given the weakness of Congress in the modern era, theyre definiltey looking for direction from the President. Azerrad defines the Trumpism movement and responds to the critiques who believe the term is meaningless. A temperament that is bold and aggressive and springs from this view of the world that is anchored in conflict. Conflict between nations, and conflict between the classes at home, he said.

Ben Domenech interviews Mollie Hemingway about her new book, Trump vs. The Media, on this episode of Federalist Radio. They discuss the ways the media echo chamber failed to do their job the last eight years, and how that has destroyed their credibility in covering the Trump administration. You would hope after the media failure of 2016 there would be some introspection, Hemingway said. You have the same people who ran the same Iran echo chamber, running the story on Russia. Social media, especially Twitter, has led to more groupthink among journalists and a way for reporters to signal to each other. I think we are seeing the end of that American project of trying to have common stories that everyone can join together around to discuss, Hemingway said. And youre going to see, if this last six months is any indiction, many major media not even trying to pretend anymore.

In less than six years, Lauren Zelt went from a professional ballerina dancing with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, to the Director of Media Affairs on Mitt Romneys presidential campaign. Zelt sits down with Mary Katharine Ham to talk about her childhood dedication to dancing, her career-ending injury, and how she found herself in the world of political media. Slowly but surely all the other activities in my life fell away in favor for dance, Zelt said. While all my other friends were picking out their prom dresses and going to graduation, I was on stage. Zelt speaks out about the dark side of the dance community, the pressure, and competition. People are always looking for way to undermine you and get ahead of you, she said. Theres so much competition, and theres so few jobs, and theres so few people who actually make it. When her ballet career suddenly ended at age 21, Zelt not only had to find a new career path, but a new identity. I needed to grieve the person that I left behind, and that just takes a long time... I wanted to become a new person and I didnt want to think about the person that I used to be.

Alice Ekman is a research fellow at Center for Asian Studies of the French Institute for International Relations. Ekman joins todays Federalist Radio to discuss the global conflicts surrounding the South China Sea, U.S. relations with China, Ekman provides a background on how China views their own leadership and some of their regional iniatives. Overall its really interesting to see that China wishes to challenge existing security alliances that exist in the region, she said. There has recently been some controversy within the world of Hollywood and China, regarding the Chinese interests in American films. We should not always see these investments as directly guided by the Communist Party of China, Ekman said. You have to also take into account the bureaucratic limitations taking place in Chinas domestic policy. Later in the hour, Ekman gives her perspective as a native French women on Marine Le Pen and the current election in France.

Eric Geller is a cyber security reporter at Politico and he joins Federalist Radio to discuss intelligence gathering, encryption, DNC leaks, and what professional hackers look like in real life, as opposed to Hollywoods depiction. This is an issue that doesnt t just affect the State Department or Target. It really affects all of us, and yet none of us are thinking about it, he said. Its becoming something that you dont have to be a techie to understand the significance of. Geller shares some important tactics and apps that individuals can use to protect their personal information. Think about the possibility that the worst possible person to be reading something is reading it right now, and imagine how that would be depending on the piece of information.

Kate Havard reviews Harold Blooms new book, Falstaff: Give Me Life, which is the first in his Shakespeare personalities series. Havard and Domenech discuss the complexities of Shakespeares characters, Shakespeare in politics, and the newest Star Wars teaser trailer. [Bloom] elevates Falstaff to this mystical category of a prophet and a saint who disdains morality and stands for freedom from society...but also without any real vice or flaws, Havard said. I think thats the most frustrating aspect of Blooms book, is that he wants make [Falstaff] this beacon of amorality. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is this years Star Wars film to be distributed by Disney. I think these Star Wars movies are great when they talk about new worlds and bad guys and adventures...and the more it gets into metaphysics physics of the force, the less I care about it, Havard said.