Podcast
American Thought Leaders
Hosted by The Epoch Times · EN
At a time when our nation is portrayed as increasingly polarized, media often ignore viewpoints and stories that are worthy of attention. American Thought Leaders, hosted by The Epoch Times Senior Editor Jan Jekielek, features in-depth discussions with some of America’s most influential thought leaders on pertinent issues facing our nation today.
82episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Forgotten US Territory Where Chinese Birth Tourism Thrives | Cleo Paskal
Yesterday00:56:01Summary ready💰Protect your wealth with precious metals! Call American Hartford Gold today & get up to $20,000 in free silver on your 1st order! Call 855-862-3377 or text AMERICAN to 65532 or click here: https://ept.ms/ATL-AHGThere’s one place in America where Chinese nationals can enter without a visa.It’s called the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), a U.S. territory in the Pacific, right by Guam. And it has become a major security loophole for Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence operations as well as Chinese organized crime and birth tourism ventures, said Cleo Paskal, a senior fellow at the Compass Institute.Yet there has been little political will in Washington to close this loophole, Paskal argues.In this episode, Paskal breaks down the CCP’s aggressive influence and gray-zone warfare operations in this region—areas critical to U.S. defense in any Taiwan conflict—and why this matters for U.S. security.Every U.S. president who served in the Pacific theater in World War II understood that the security of the American mainland depends on a secure Pacific perimeter, Paskal said.As such, in addition to two U.S. territories in the region, the United States has maintained Compacts of Free Association with Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands since the end of World War II.These treaties give the U.S. military exclusive defense and strategic access to these countries in exchange for U.S. security guarantees and economic support.But the Chinese Communist Party has sought to aggressively expand its influence in these islands through pressure, gray zone warfare, and disinformation campaigns. Amid all this, U.S. funding for these compacts nearly lapsed in recent years, because many in Washington apparently have forgotten their importance.In this episode, Paskal walks me through a key question: if the security of America’s mainland has always depended on control of the central Pacific, what consequences will we pay now that so few Americans know these islands—or their citizens—even exist?Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Summary
Steve Forbes: A Message to Anyone Feeling the American Dream Is Lost
3d ago00:24:00Summary readyIt is becoming increasingly common to hear the American Dream is dead, with young people today often citing housing prices, the difficulty of finding jobs, and tax burdens.Forbes Media chairman Steve Forbes has a very different take.“A free people always finds ways to move ahead, even though times and circumstances change. The problems we face today are not anything inherent in America, but in mistakes made by government. And the nice thing about that is mistakes can be undone,” Forbes said.He’s the editor-in-chief of Forbes Media and the co-author of “Inflation: What It Is, Why It’s Bad, and How to Fix It.”In this wide-ranging episode, filmed at the FreedomFest conference in Las Vegas, we dove into the rise of democratic socialist candidates, DEI hiring, inflation, how the United States should approach Taiwan and Iran, and the basic truth about prosperity that no one is teaching today.At the heart of this conversation is an extremely hopeful message: “Human ingenuity is unlimited. Have faith in the future.”Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Summary
‘35 Christians Are Killed a Day’: Inside Jihadi Violence in Nigeria | Judd Saul
5d ago00:28:08Summary readyNigeria has become perhaps the deadliest place on earth for Christians, accounting for the vast majority of Christians killed worldwide for faith-related reasons.Beyond the killings, millions more have been displaced into camps, where many now die slowly from malnutrition rather than violence, says Judd Saul.He is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, entrepreneur, and Christian missionary based in Iowa who founded Equipping the Persecuted, an organization dedicated to helping Christians facing jihadi violence in Nigeria.Saul first traveled to Nigeria in 2011 on a mission trip with his grandfather, Duane Wessels.It was an experience that reshaped the direction of his life and work. Since then, he has visited Nigeria multiple times a year.In our interview, Saul explains what forces drive the violence against Christian Nigerians, who make up about 50 percent of the population.“This is a well-organized and funded Fulani Islamic militia who are hell-bent on turning Nigeria into a caliphate,” he told me.According to Saul, an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 Christians are killed each year, averaging about 35 deaths per day.Roughly 800 Christian communities have been wiped off the map over the past three decades.Views expressed in this video are the opinions of the host and the guest and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Summary
How Generations of Girls Are Pressured to Market Themselves Online | Freya India
1w ago00:42:26Summary ready🔥IMMERSED: Round closes July 30. Invest before the round closes. Learn more about Immersed here:https://ept.ms/4yurClsFreya India is the author of “Girls: Generation Z and the Commodification of Everything.”In this episode, India unpacks how the rise of social media has radically transformed how young women view themselves and the world. She argues that an increasing number of young women no longer view themselves as human beings, but as products competing in a marketplace of likes and followers.India describes the pressure she felt growing up in the age of social media.“I really felt like I had to sell my life to strangers constantly,” she said.From Snapchat’s public friend rankings to TikTok’s algorithms that flood vulnerable users with more of what destabilizes them, many various social platforms are engineered to exploit the very insecurities almost all young people have, she argues.In this episode, we dive into many important questions: Why are so many young women today anxious or unhappy? How has the messaging of modern feminism affected young women—and what are the true consequences? How has ubiquitous pornography altered relationships, and how is it especially impacting young men? And what may help shrink the growing rift between young men and women today?Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Summary
How Beijing’s New Law Seeks to Crush Dissent Worldwide | Guermantes Lailari
1w ago01:05:49Summary readyChina’s new ethnic unity law has taken effect, and it’s going to be used to justify and expand transnational repression overseas in combination with existing laws on promoting “separatism,” said Guermantes Lailari, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel and longtime China researcher.“In this new ethnic law, they encourage people to report on other Chinese who are not promoting ‘unity.’” Lailari said.“So if you’re a Chinese person in the United States promoting Taiwan, they can prosecute you in absentia, and the court will have a ruling. And they can put out a red notice or Interpol notice on that person who’s overseas, and if that person ever travels to a country that China has bilateral extradition laws with, that person can be detained and transferred to China,” Lailari added.Lailari moved to Taiwan a few years ago to study the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) up close.“This place,” he said, “is being attacked every day, whether it’s cyber, cognitive warfare, media warfare, economic warfare, diplomatic warfare.”In our interview, he argues that the CCP poses the most serious long-term threat to Western civilization—not just militarily, but through a combination of legal, economic, psychological, and intelligence operations.In this episode, we dive into why the CCP is fixated on taking Taiwan, and what the global fallout of such a takeover would look like.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Summary
Why Today’s Young Men Feel They Have No Place in the West | Nick Freitas
2w ago00:35:39Summary readyYoung men have been under attack by popular culture for the last 20 years, argues Nick Freitas, a former Green Beret and Virginia state legislator. They have been told that masculinity is toxic, the future is female, that they are responsible for the world’s problems, and that they no longer have a place, he says.Despite this onslaught, Freitas shares a hopeful message for the young men of today: “God has created men for a particular purpose. We are supposed to be strong. We are supposed to be capable. Why? So we can honor God, protect our families, and protect our civilization.”Freitas recently wrote a book entitled “The Manbook: A Point-by-Point Guide to Sucking It Up and Getting the Job Done,” where he shares hard-won lessons on how to be a good man despite resistance, or outright attacks, from the prevailing culture.In this episode, Freitas reveals why a whole generation of men are flocking to radical ideologies—and how to prevent it.Perhaps surprisingly, Freitas puts the onus on the men of older generations, arguing that young men desire good role models and guidance. Older men, therefore, must live the kind of lives that young men would want to model.“The best argument you make is not just the one that you articulate through your words,” Freitas says, “it’s the one that you articulate through what you do in your own life.”Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Summary
How Stories Will Quietly Rebuild the American Character | Matthew Mehan
2w ago01:06:08Summary ready💰Protect your wealth with precious metals! Call American Hartford Gold today & get up to $20,000 in free silver on your 1st order! Call 855-862-3377 or text AMERICAN to 65532 or click here: https://ept.ms/ATL-AHGThere are few people who understand America’s history—both political and artistic—better than Matthew Mehan.Mehan is an associate dean and associate professor of government for Hillsdale College’s Van Andel Graduate School of Government in Washington, as well as a best-selling author of children’s literature.His recent book, “The American Book of Fables,” is a beautiful collection of fables celebrating the landscapes, virtues, and enduring principles that have shaped the American story.In honor of the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, we discuss some of these timeless lessons on freedom, friendship, and the development of moral character.On the importance of stories, he said, “American educators from the colonial period forward spent a great deal of effort to try to help people to have these virtues of civility, politeness, civic life, independence, rule of law, justice, truth telling, candor. In one sense, you can have a kind of ‘dark age’ version of these morals, but you have to have a much more adept, technologically advanced moral vocabulary and moral praxis, and that’s what fables and stories can do.”Through adept storytelling, Mehan tackles important questions such as: What is true patriotism, and why is it a virtue? How ought we practice the art of civic friendship when there is so much to divide us? What was the Founders’ vision of American republicanism, and what practices ought we implement in our daily lives to foster love of country?As Mehan argues, there is no better time than America’s semiquincentennial to reflect on the laws, the beauty, the places, the people, and the principles that gave rise to this great nation.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Summary
Why Many Elites Denigrate the Very Values That Made Them Successful | Rob Henderson
2w ago00:39:55Summary readyRob Henderson grew up in poverty in Los Angeles moving from foster home to foster home, seeing addiction, instability, and family breakdown all around him. He joined the U.S. Air Force at 17, entered Yale University at 25 with help from the GI Bill, and completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge. He climbed “every rung on the American class ladder,” as he describes it.But at Yale and other elite universities, he saw the spread of radical ideas—abolish the police, empty prisons, dismantle marriage, decriminalize all drugs—ideas that he understood would be devastating to the communities he grew up in.And that’s how he came to develop his now famous concept of luxury beliefs: “Luxury beliefs are ideas and opinions that confer status on the affluent … while inflicting costs on the less fortunate members of society,” he says.How is it that these ideas came to be so pervasive? And what are their true consequences for society?Henderson is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, contributing editor of City Journal, and bestselling author of “Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class.”Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Summary
Here’s What They Hid in Wuhan | Matt Ridley
3w ago00:47:04Summary ready💰Protect your wealth with precious metals! Call American Hartford Gold today & get up to $20,000 in free silver on your 1st order! Call 855-862-3377 or text AMERICAN to 65532 or click here: https://ept.ms/ATL-AHGIt’s been over six years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, yet much of the scientific establishment still seems unwilling to acknowledge or openly debate where this virus came from.In this episode, Matt Ridley, co-author of “Viral,” breaks down the significance of newly declassified documents released by Homeland Security Secretary Tulsi Gabbard and the evidence of a coordinated cover-up of COVID-19’s origins.Ridley delves into a key paper, “The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2,” published by Nature Medicine, exposing how the authors themselves believed that a lab leak was a likely possibility while publicly pushing the opposite narrative.Troubling questions arise: Why hasn’t the international community held China accountable for what happened at the Wuhan lab? Why is America so attentive to cybersecurity, but completely blind to biosecurity? And why are there such close ties between Western scientific research and Chinese dual-purpose facilities like the lab in Wuhan?Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Summary
The CCP Wants to Subjugate Taiwan—She’s Standing in the Way | An Exclusive With Hsiao Bi-Khim
4w ago00:31:47Summary ready“We will not let Communist Party of China define who we are,” said Taiwan’s Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim, who has been sanctioned by Beijing and labeled a “separatist.”Despite Beijing’s ever-growing hostility toward Taiwan, she is not deterred.In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party has escalated its “gray zone” operations, naval aggression, large-scale encirclement drills and missile tests, and aircraft incursions into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has promised to seize Taiwan—including by force if necessary.Beijing has also aggressively sought to isolate Taiwan internationally and peel away its allies. Only 11 countries and the Holy See still maintain official diplomatic relations with Taiwan as of 2026.“China’s cognitive warfare, psychological warfare, political warfare, legal warfare, and very aggressive interventions in our domestic society and politics [have] become an increasingly serious problem,” Hsiao said.Born to a Taiwanese father and an American mother, Hsiao previously served in Taiwan’s legislature and as the island’s top representative in Washington, where she became known for her “cat warrior diplomacy.”Although Taiwan is only about the size of Maryland, it plays a pivotal role in the global economy, producing more than 90 percent of the world’s most advanced semiconductors—the chips that power artificial intelligence, smartphones, cars, and much of tomorrow’s technology.It is also America’s fourth-largest trading partner, and nearly half of all global container ships—dwarfing even shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz—sail through the narrow Taiwan Strait, carrying trillions in trade.“Everything we’re doing today in strengthening Taiwan is to prevent an invasion, to prevent that scenario from happening,” Hsiao said.Recently, Taiwan’s National Security Bureau established a secure information-reporting channel for Chinese nationals to submit intelligence tips—a unprecedented move for Taiwan.In this episode, I sat down with Hsiao in the presidential office of Taiwan to understand what’s really at stake here and how Taiwan is working to strengthen its whole-of-society resilience and deter a greater conflict.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Summary