Hold These Truths with Dan Crenshaw

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Will Elon Musk's Starlink Transform Geopolitics? | Ilan Berman Dec 04, 2024

Show notes

American Foreign Policy Council's Ilan Berman gives us the 101 on the past, present, and possible future of the Iranian regime, Middle East geopolitics, and the potential for Starlink as a tool to topple authoritarian regimes.

· What do the Iranian dissidents want from the United States?

· Is the Iranian regime at a tipping point?

· The changing demographics in Iran

· How 1979 changed everything

· The CIA boogeyman

· Recapping U.S. – Iran historical relations

· "They've had a gun to Israel's head for a while."

· What's the Iranian regime thinking now?

· The cold-hearted rationality of Middle East politics

· Why Iran might fast-track development of a nuclear bomb

· Three scenarios for a post-ayatollah Iran

· Why the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps isn't going away

· How Elon Musk's Starlink could transform geopolitics

· China's race to dominate space-based digital connectivity

· Africa's population boom

Ilan Berman is Senior Vice President of the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington, DC. An expert on regional security in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Russian Federation, he has consulted for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency as well as the U.S. Departments of State and Defense, and has also provided assistance on foreign policy and national security issues to a range of governmental agencies and congressional offices. Follow him on X at @ilanberman.

The 'BlueAnon' Playbook for Turning Conspiracy Theories into Mainstream Narratives | David Harsanyi Nov 20, 2024

Show notes

David Harsanyi returns to discuss his new book "The Rise of BlueAnon: How the Democrats Became a Party of Conspiracy Theorists." David reveals how the Left has been consumed by a uniquely dangerous and delusional brand of conspiracy theories. And unlike those on the Right, the Left's conspiracy theories are rarely kept in check by mainstream institutions. Fun and insightful conversation with one of America's smartest conservative writers.

• How do we define a conspiracy theory?

• The psychology of crowds

• Why "Russia collusion" was an effective conspiracy theory

• How Adam Schiff played everybody

• The limits of skepticism

• Victimhood and paranoia

• The BLM riots and police assassinations

• Why the left doesn't want students to learn civics

• "I wish someone would do something about how fat I am"

• What people get wrong about Big Pharma

• Antisemitism and the left

• What happened to the groypers?

• Social media and children's mental health

• Climate alarmism

• Rachel Maddow and other successful purveyors of conspiracy theories

• "You don't need to be like your enemy."

• Delusions of living in The Handmaid's Tale

• The viability argument

• How leftists sidestep the morality debate

David Harsanyi is a senior writer at the Washington Examiner, a nationally syndicated columnist, and author of several bestselling books. A contributor to the New York Post, his work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Reason, USA Today, National Review, and numerous other publications, and he has been featured on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, NPR, ABC World News Tonight, NBC Nightly News, and dozens of radio talk shows across the country. Follow him on X at @davidharsanyi.

Modern Battlegrounds: The AI Arms Race | Paul Scharre Nov 08, 2024

Show notes

Paul Scharre is an artificial intelligence expert who led the Department of Defense's working group to establish policies on autonomous weapons systems. He joined Rep. Crenshaw to cover the latest (unclassified) capabilities of AI on the battlefield, the AI arms race with China, and the fine line between utopia and apocalypse which emerging AI tech has to offer us.

• Equipping Congress to deal with Artificial Intelligence

• How software has changed since the 1990s

• No rules: the machine is learning on its own

• Emergence of robots in the Iraq War

• The Pentagon's policy on autonomous weapons

• Drones over Ukraine

• The 4 Battlegrounds of Artificial Intelligence

• The data race with China

• "Why did ChatGPT say that?"

• Chinese spies infiltrating American tech

• Integrating more AI into the U.S. military

• China's 1984 Nightmare in Xinjiang Province

• "They literally call it SkyNet."

• Scary hypotheticals for when AI "becomes human"

• "We've seen models engage in spontaneous deception."

• AI cooperation agreements with China

• How do we regulate the next frontiers of AI?

• Could AI build a nuclear weapon?

Paul Scharre is the Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for a New American Security. He is the author of "Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence" and "Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War."

Scharre previously worked in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) where he played a leading role in establishing policies on unmanned and autonomous systems and emerging weapons technologies. He led the Department of Defense (DoD) working group that drafted DoD Directive 3000.09, establishing the department's policies on autonomy in weapon systems. He also led DoD efforts to establish policies on intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance programs and directed energy technologies. Scharre was involved in the drafting of policy guidance in the 2012 Defense Strategic Guidance, 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review, and secretary-level planning guidance.

Prior to joining OSD, Scharre served as a special operations reconnaissance team leader in the Army's 3rd Ranger Battalion and completed multiple tours to Iraq and Afghanistan. He is a graduate of the Army's Airborne, Ranger, and Sniper Schools and Honor Graduate of the 75th Ranger Regiment's Ranger Indoctrination Program.

Follow Paul on X at @paul_scharre.

A Former Never Trumper Makes the Case for Trump 2024 | Shaun Maguire Oct 30, 2024

Show notes

Shaun Maguire is a venture capitalist, tech entrepreneur, and Caltech physics PhD. He joined Rep. Crenshaw to talk about his journey from Never Trumper in 2016 to supporting President Trump in 2024. Shaun makes the analytical case for why Trump's method for foreign policy makes sense. Namely, Trump's ability to flex American power in a language that Russia, Iran, Venezuela, and China understand. Shaun also explains why parts of Silicon Valley are moving right, why our defense industrial base is in dire need of repair, and the physics of how black holes work.

Becoming a Reformed Never Trumper
Revelations About the Trump-Russia Hoax
Recruited by DARPA – War in Afghanistan
Narrative Violations – Trump at NATO
The Hunter Biden Laptop
Trump's 'Peace Through Strength' Doctrine
Trump's Record of Countering Russia
Deep Undercover Russian Spies
How to Negotiate with the East
Tips to Avoid Broken Brain Syndrome
Has X Been Good for Free Speech?
Politics in Silicon Valley
Defense Startups + DoD Procurement
tHe MiLiTaRy InDuStRiAL cOMpLeX
The Deepest Mysteries in Physics
Black Holes and the Beginning of the Universe
Quantum Gravity, Bottled Water, and "The Bulk"
Known Unknowns in Physics
How LIGO Detects Gravitational Waves (for Dummies)

Shaun Maguire is a partner at the venture capital firm, Sequoia Capital. He has founded two companies (one in space technologies and another in global internet security) and holds a PhD in physics from Caltech. Shaun also previously worked at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). He was deployed to Afghanistan for three months and his team received a Joint Meritorious Unit Award for their work. Follow him on X at @shaunmmaguire.

Rep. Crenshaw Takes the Fifth (Column) Oct 25, 2024

Show notes

*SPECIAL CROSSPOST EPISODE*

Rep. Crenshaw joined Michael Moynihan and Matt Welch for their weekly podcast series The Fifth Column. Really fun conversation covering a lot of ground. Topics include:

· How to be a Navy SEAL

· Losing an eye in Afghanistan

· Dan can't find his glasses / "I can't see shit"

· Lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan

· A case study in intelligence failure and confirmation bias

· On leaving the Taliban in power

· Has Trump been good on foreign policy?

· The Republican Party post-Trump

· Tucker "is best friends with Hunter Biden!"

· Why are you even in Congress?

· On the mechanics of Congress

· Maybe a hundred normal congressmen

· What has Dan accomplished for Texas?

· Is populism winning?

· On banning TikTok

Michael Moynihan is a former contributor for Daily Beast and Vice on HBO. Follow him on X at @mcmoynihan.

Matt Welch is the Editor at Large of Reason. Follow him on X at @MattWelch.

Subscribe to The Fifth Column on Substack here: https://www.wethefifth.com/podcast

The Historian Teaching Your Kids to Hate America: The Truth About Howard Zinn | Dr. Mary Grabar (Repost) Oct 14, 2024

Show notes

In honor of Columbus Day, we're reposting a Hold These Truths classic from 2020 with historian Dr. Mary Grabar:

You may have never heard of him, but no historian has had a greater influence on modern America than Howard Zinn. His most popular work, A Peoples History of the United States, was brought into the cultural mainstream with Matt Damon's Oscar winning 1997 film Good Will Hunting. The book is a precursor to the 1619 Project - tracing the roots of America's sins and inequities to Christopher Columbus' 1492 voyage and the rise of capitalism.

So for Columbus Day, we invited Dr. Mary Grabar, a historian and author of "Debunking Howard Zinn: Exposing the Fake History That Turned A Generation Against America", to join us for an objective look at Zinn's perspective on American history, his motivations for attacking the USA and capitalism, and the ramifications of his influence on generations of academia.

Dr. Mary Grabar is an author and a resident fellow at the The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization. She is also the founder of the Dissident Prof Education Project. Follow her on Twitter at @MaryGrabar.

What Happened to the Flying Cars? | James Pethokoukis Oct 04, 2024

Show notes

Sixty years ago, Americans could easily envision a not-too-distant future of vacations on Mars, miracle cures, clean and infinite energy, and, of course, flying cars. But the dream collapsed, we entered an era of technological and economic stagnation, and pop culture became fixated on catastrophizing the outcomes of scientific innovations. AEI's James Pethokoukis traces the origins of this "Great Downshift" in optimism and progress – largely due to 1970s regulatory decisions and changes in risk tolerance – and he gives us a roadmap for returning to the era of a risk-taking, future-oriented society.

James Pethokoukis is the author of "The Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised." He is a senior fellow and the DeWitt Wallace Chair at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he analyzes US economic policy, writes and edits the AEIdeas blog, and hosts AEI's Political Economy podcast. He is also a contributor to CNBC and writes the Faster, Please! newsletter on Substack. Follow him on X at @JimPethokoukis.

The Myth of a Divided America | Dr. Todd Rose Sep 26, 2024

Show notes

Dr. Todd Rose joins Rep. Crenshaw to discuss his latest research into Americans' views on the most controversial issues, including abortion, immigration, the defund the police movement, and antisemitism. The conclusion? It turns out Americans are a lot less divided than you might think. Dr. Rose identifies the root causes of this false polarization and calls attention to a far greater concern for the future of the country: the overwhelming majority of Americans who believe society is inherently unfair to them.

Check out Dr. Rose's latest research report here: https://populace.org/research

Dr. Todd Rose is the author of "Collective Illusions: Conformity, Complicity, and the Science of Why We Make Bad Decisions". He is the co-founder and president of Populace, a think tank committed to ensuring that all people have the opportunity to pursue fulfilling lives in a thriving society. He was a faculty member at Harvard University where he founded the Laboratory for the Science of Individuality and directed the Mind, Brain, and Education Program. Follow him on X at @ltoddrose.

Jack Posobiec on Information Warfare and Communist Revolutions Sep 20, 2024

Show notes

Jack Posobiec returns for a fascinating conversation about the history of communist revolutions and the role that information warfare plays in the shaping modern political ideologies. Jack gives us case studies in the revolutions of Russia, China, and France - along with the key differences between them and the American Revolution. He explains how Marxist and far-left movements "unhumanize" their political opponents to gain control of nations. And he dives into the tactics of information warfare and his strategy for countering far-left narratives (including a crash course in how to effectively use memes and satire to disarm opponents).

Jack Posobiec is the author of the new book "Unhumans: The Secret History of Communist Revolutions (and How to Crush Them)". He is the host of the podcast series Human Events Daily. He speaks fluent Mandarin, worked for the US Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, is a former officer in the Navy Reserve, and worked for the Office of Naval Intelligence. Follow him on X at @JackPosobiec.

COVID Origins: What the Latest Evidence Tells Us | Dr. Robert Kadlec Sep 16, 2024

Show notes

Dr. Robert Kadlec returns to the podcast to share the latest evidence for why COVID-19 likely originated from a lab in Wuhan, China. He gives us a layman's understanding of the differences between lab-created viruses and those of zoological origins. He debunks all the Fauci/CCP arguments that the Wuhan lab origin is a "conspiracy theory." And he discusses the growing concerns of a possible H5N1 bird flu pandemic – what would it take for this to become the next global pandemic and how prepared are we to stop it?

Dr. Robert Kadlec served as the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the Department of Health and Human Services under President Trump. During his career he has served as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force, Deputy Staff Director for the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Special Assistant to the President & Senior Director for Biodefense Policy under President Bush.

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