Dad Saves America

Latest Episodes:

The TSA Wastes $12 Billion and Still Fails 90% of the Time Mar 28, 2026

Show notes

The TSA is running out of staff, airport security lines are spiraling out of control, and Congress still can’t resolve its fight over DHS funding. This isn’t just a temporary breakdown. We’re seeing what happens when a $12 billion government “solution” finally gets stress-tested. Despite collecting billions in additional fees from travelers every year, the TSA still can’t maintain basic service and even fails its core security mission at an alarming rate when fully funded.

Before 9/11, airport security was largely operated by private entities. Today, a handful of U.S. airports still use private contractors under TSA rules and regulations. They follow the same general procedures, but consistently deliver faster lines and better service. The rest of the country is stuck in the middle of Washington turf wars that treat air travel as a bargaining chip, tying essential operations to unrelated legislation while workers go unpaid and travelers miss flights.

If private airport security is a proven model, why are most of us stuck with substandard government service? What would a system built on real incentives and accountability actually look like?

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Check my sources over on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/dadsavesamerica/p/the-tsa-wastes-12-billion-and-still?r=24ayxm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

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You Can’t Simulate the Meaning of Your Life - Arthur Brooks Mar 26, 2026

Show notes

I sat down with Harvard professor and bestselling author Arthur Brooks to unpack why so many people, especially young men, feel lost in modern life. Drawing on his new book, “The Meaning of Your Life,” Arthur explains how the digital simulation most of us live in keeps us distracted, while failing to satisfy our desire for meaning. Love, happiness, and faith are side effects of pursuing truth and purpose, not goals you can eventually reach. We discuss whether culture or politics is the true source of our society’s troubles, how religion is successfully transmitted across generations, and which habits make for strong marriages in the long run.

Join Arthur’s free “The Meaning of Your Life Virtual Experience” on March 27, a live, immersive journey designed around the groundbreaking findings in his new book, “The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness.” Learn more at http://themeaningofyourlife.com/

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Follow Arthur Brooks on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/arthurbrooks?s=20

Preorder a copy of Arthur’s new book: http://themeaningofyourlife.com/

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Outline:

[0:00] Reflecting on making “The Pursuit” together

[2:13] What does it mean to be an adult?

[7:40] What are your emotions telling you?

[11:37] Left vs right in 2026

[19:48] Are we more in need of policy reform or cultural repair?

[27:48] The psychogenic epidemic and the cycles of history

[37:47] No period of history is all good or all bad

[40:58] How to be masculine in a feminine era

[44:58] We’re living in a gnostic simulation

[47:03] What does “meaning” actually mean?

[52:02] How to raise your kids in your values

[55:04] Contempt destroys marriages

[1:00:39] Getting back into religion in middle age

[1:06:53] Choosing persuasion over coercion makes us human

[1:13:37] Exit the Matrix, find your mate, and find meaning

[1:20:41] 4 strategies that will save most marriages

[1:24:46] Finding your career calling in the AI era

[1:33:17] Is Bryan Johnson is right about mortality?

[1:36:34] The fight between fear and love

[1:41:20] Why men struggle to “feel” their faith

[1:48:15] Science and faith aren’t in conflict

[1:53:30] Has the Enlightenment gone too far?

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$8 Gas. Oil Cut Off. Has Trump’s Iran Gamble Backfired? Mar 21, 2026

Show notes

Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, and gas prices are on the rise. Fossil fuels power every aspect of modern life, from transportation to manufacturing to food. If something doesn’t change fast, we could be facing an inflation crisis once again. I’m breaking down how climate extremism, price controls, and the Middle East’s “resource curse” have created the perfect storm for worldwide economic mayhem.

As gas surpasses $8 per gallon in some parts of California, you’d think Gavin Newsom might rethink his climate and energy policies, but with only eight oil refineries left in the state, the damage is done. Texas, on the other hand, has a much stronger local infrastructure to weather the storm. In the end, our choices are gambling on a utopian fantasy or embracing the reality of physics.

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Check my sources over on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/dadsavesamerica/p/8-gas-oil-cut-off-has-trumps-iran?r=24ayxm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

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The 97% Success Formula They Won't Teach in Schools - Ian Rowe Mar 19, 2026

Show notes

I sat down with Ian Rowe, an education entrepreneur and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, to unpack why raising kids with a sense of agency is the key to lifelong success. Ian defines agency as free will guided by moral discernment, closely related to the concept of “ordered liberty.” Today, low expectations and racial victimhood narratives are trapping kids in cycles they could otherwise escape. We dig into why the “success sequence” of education, work, marriage, and then children is so effective at preventing poverty. In a culture where good advice is smeared as “victim blaming,” Ian offers a more productive and hopeful vision for the most disadvantaged Americans.

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Follow Ian Rowe on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/IanVRowe?s=20

Purchase a copy of Ian’s book, “Agency”: https://a.co/d/0cWhn8dy

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Outline:

[0:00] Ian and I have a lot in common

[2:58] What is agency and why does it matter?

[6:04] How religion breaks the cycle of disfunction

[14:52] Entrepreneurship is a problem-solving mindset

[18:07] Is the mental health crisis a self-fulfilling prophecy?

[25:08] How do kids transition into adulthood?

[35:37] Why is the “success sequence” controversial?

[39:21] We need to bring back shame

[43:48] The problems facing black Americans

[59:22] Are black voters shifting politically?

[1:05:59] How racial guilt gets in the way of teaching

[1:11:45] Teachers have forgotten how to teach

[1:17:04] Identity obsession vs universal virtues

[1:25:58] Truth, nihilism, and the black market of ideas

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Islamic Terror Rising: Does America Need a New Crusade? Mar 14, 2026

Show notes

A series of terrorist attacks in Virginia, Michigan, NYC, and even my own city of Austin has brought the radical Islamic threat back to American soil. Rather than confronting the ideological nature of these acts, the public conversation is quickly redirected toward gun control, mental health, or non-specific “extremism.” The perpetrators, on the other hand, are usually quite happy to tell you what they believe.

From the Reconquista to the War on Terror, the Christian West has been locked in a struggle with the Muslim world. In modern America and Europe, we suffer from a “crisis of confidence,” as Jimmy Carter put it, which undermines are ability to confront the real civilizational fight in front of us. Some young people have succumbed to nihilism, while others have embraced a strange alliance between leftist politics and radical Islam. Will we be able to reverse the demoralization of America in the face of real threats?

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Check my sources over on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/dadsavesamerica/p/islamic-terror-rising-does-america?r=24ayxm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

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Former Woke Mom Exposed "Gender-Affirming Care" Fraud Mar 12, 2026

Show notes

I sat down with Mia Hughes, author of “The WPATH Files,” to discuss her work exposing the junk science and corruption behind “gender-affirming care,” youth transition, and transgender activism. As she describes it, this is one of the worst crimes in medical history, made worse by the fact that the only people who’ve been punished are those who’ve spoken out against it. Mia’s exposé revealed the idea laundering and circular references between WPATH and medical institutions, using weak data to justify irreversible hormonal and surgical interventions for adults suffering from severe mental illness and for children, who by definition cannot consent. European countries have begun to back off, and the post-2024 election “vibe shift” in the U.S. has brought about some improvements, but in countries like Canada, this is far from over.

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Follow Mia Hughes on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/_CryMiaRiver?s=20

Read “The WPATH Files”: https://environmentalprogress.org/big-news/wpath-files

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Outline:

[0:00] The JK Rowling backlash woke Mia up

[11:05] The trans issue isn’t just a fringe culture war issue

[21:19] Does trans identity have any historical basis?

[28:46] Why trans activists deny “autogynophilia”

[39:08] The “vibe shift” doesn’t mean trans madness is over

[42:24] John Money and the origins of gender ideology

[50:44] How gender identify became a civil rights category

[1:01:57] Why did gay people support trans activism?

[1:10:02] Normal puberty distress is twisted into “gender dysphoria”

[1:20:01] “Gender-affirming care” is full of ethical contradictions

[1:30:54] Doctors are emotionally blackmailing parents

[1:38:36] What is WPATH?

[1:46:10] Are randomized controlled trials possible in gender medicine?

[1:57:14] How WPATH captured the whole medical establishment

[2:09:35] We need a new Nuremberg trial

[2:15:27] The role of severe mental illness in gender transition

[2:26:25] Doctors know that kids can’t consent to transition

[2:38:21] Why it’s impossible to hold anyone accountable

[2:43:06] Is the whole field of psychology basically a scam?

[2:48:26] Canada hasn’t backed down from trans madness

[2:57:07] Why can’t the left let go of transgender politics?

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Trump’s Iran Strike, Israeli Influence, and the Iraq War Hangover Mar 07, 2026

Show notes

President Trump’s strikes on Iran have reignited the American foreign policy debate. For decades, libertarians like myself have hammered the mistakes of the War on Terror, especially in Iraq. Ron Paul’s 2007 presidential debate performance laid out the blowback risks of interventionism, highlighting a specific story of American meddling in Iran—one I believed until very recently. President Trump is resetting long-held assumptions about regime change and endless war, forcing me to rethink the complexity of geopolitics. Caught between conspiracy theories of Israeli control and premature declarations of “mission accomplished,” Americans must decide for themselves what to think in these tumultuous times.

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Check my sources over on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/dadsavesamerica/p/trumps-iran-strike-israeli-influence?r=24ayxm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

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Pastor Doug Wilson: America Was Built on Christian Nationalism Mar 05, 2026

Show notes

I sat down with Pastor Doug Wilson to unpack his views on “Christian nationalism” and American identity. Every legal system rests on moral assumptions—Doug argues that those assumptions should be Christian. We discuss whether America was historically a Christian nation, how immigration and assimilation shape a country’s cultural cohesion, the dangers of theocracy, and what would happen to Catholics in his ideal vision of America.

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Follow Doug on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/douglaswils?s=20

Learn more about Doug’s work: https://dougwils.com/

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Outline:

[0:00] What is “Christian Nationalism”?

[5:19 5:30] Were things better in the “good old days”?

[11:23 11:34] Immigration disrupts the national order

[19:29 19:40] What does it mean to be American?

[32:30] Pastor Doug’s political philosophy

[41:29] Religious liberty and the First Amendment

[49:31] Does universal liberalism grow out of Christianity?

[57:13] How America integrated Catholics

[1:05:02] Who gets to live in a Christian nation?

[1:12:27] Free will, predestination, and Calvinism

[1:17:10] What about when people break the Christian laws?

[1:26:10] Liberty, gay marriage, and drug laws

[1:42:37] Summing up Pastor Doug’s worldview

[1:45:04] Grappling with Andrew Tate and Nick Fuentes

[1:51:59] Is Christianity in crisis or revival?

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Lionel Shriver: The “Nation of Immigrants” Myth Makes America Weak Feb 26, 2026

Show notes

I sat down with Lionel Shriver, author of “A Better Life,” to unpack why the American immigration debate has become so unreasonable. She argues that the “nation of immigrants” mythology is a kind of progressive moral blackmail, preventing Americans from asking basic questions about assimilation, national self-interest, and cultural cohesion. We also discuss whether Islamic immigration is compatible with liberal democracy and why immigration can’t fix collapsing birthrates. Lionel makes the case that the West has lost its sense of self-confidence—and now, its instinct for self-preservation.

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Order a copy of “A Better Life”: https://a.co/d/0g6H0sGW

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Outline:

[0:00] Writing a novel on immigration

[12:03] Why Americans struggle to discuss immigration

[19:51] White leftists don’t actually hate themselves

[26:53] Assimilation in the U.S. vs Europe

[42:20] Should we allow Islamic immigration?

[53:24] Uncontrolled migration and welfare can’t work

[1:01:45] The fertility crisis argument for immigration

[1:13:56] Western values must be actively defended

[1:21:01] Spoiled leftists just won’t wake up to reality

[1:30:56] Female virtue signaling and luxury beliefs

[1:38:21] Is our politics bound to keep getting crazier?

[1:43:06] Trump vs globalist totalitarianism

[1:51:16] The internet is supercharging social contagion

[1:57:06] “Toxic masculinity” and the feminization of society

[2:15:14] Individual sovereignty vs the survival of humanity

[2:26:45] We encourage bad and ignore good behavior

[2:37:15] “No pain, no gain” is the truest cliché

[2:42:48] Self-contemplation is bad for your mental health

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The Old Left Understood Status. The Mamdani Left Weaponizes It. - Rob Henderson Feb 20, 2026

Show notes

I sat down with Rob Henderson, author of “Troubled” and known for coining the term “luxury beliefs,” to explore how status, envy, and social mobility shape society. Rob shares how growing up in foster care, enlisting in the Air Force at 17, and eventually attending Yale and Cambridge forced him to confront what material success can—and can’t—deliver. Hunter-gatherer societies suppressed status through rigid egalitarianism, but as civilizations grew, status competition became an increasingly powerful force. Today, elite strivers hijack class politics to engage in their own battle between the “haves” and the “have-mores,” while serious discussions about class have begun to shift from left to right.

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Learn more about the “Troubled” movie: https://troubledthemovie.com/

Follow Rob on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/robkhenderson

Read Rob’s work on Substack: https://www.robkhenderson.com/

Purchase a copy of “Troubled”: https://www.amazon.com/Troubled-Memoir-Foster-Family-Social/dp/1982168536

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Outline:

[0:00] The sociology of status

[7:36] Class analysis flipped from left to right

[15:57] The haves, the have-nots, and the have-mores

[21:41] The traits that build wealth

[26:59] Narcissism comes in 2 flavors