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Millions of Americans are voting based on a picture of reality that someone else painted for them. Matt Towery calls it the mirage machine: a combination of legacy media, partisan fact-checkers, and compliant pollsters that has convinced a large swath of the public that President Donald Trump is ignorant, racist, a fascist, and a warmonger. Towery, one of the most accurate pollsters in the country and a longtime friend of Newt’s who chaired his political organization in the 1990s, joins Newt to discuss his new book, The Honoring of Ignorance: The 7 Mirages Destroying America. Drawing on four decades of watching American media transform, Towery breaks down how the mirage machine works, why most Americans never see positive news about Republican governance, and what conservatives must do to break through. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two-thirds of Americans now say they support Medicare for All, the highest level ever recorded. But Dr. Joel Zinberg warns that Medicare for All is not Medicare as we know it. It would ban the private insurance that covers more than half of Americans, eliminate Medicare Advantage and Part D drug plans, and replace the entire system with a single government program. Dr. Zinberg, Director of the Public Health and American Well-Being Initiative at Paragon Health Institute and a former White House health policy advisor to President Trump, joins Newt to explain what the Sanders bill would actually do, why countries like Britain and Canada offer a cautionary tale, how Medicaid reforms in the One Big Beautiful Bill address sustainability, and what it will take to root out the fraud draining billions from America’s health programs. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What will it take to open America's next frontier? Newt looks to the stars, beginning with Abraham Lincoln's Pacific Railway Act of 1862 as a model for unleashing private investment in space. From reusable rockets and nuclear propulsion that could shorten the trip to Mars, to a permanent American presence on the moon, the first American child born there, and hotels orbiting Earth, Newt describes how a new space economy could create jobs, inspire a generation, and see America's 300th birthday celebrated across the solar system. Inspired by Newt's new book, America's Golden Age, available now, this episode explores the coming golden age of space—and the policies that will help America get there first. Subscribe to Newt's World for more conversations about American history, innovation, public policy, and the future of our nation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Could artificial intelligence be the most important development in human history? Newt explains why he believes AI will define the next 50 years, how it differs from the computing we've known for decades, and why its real power comes from combining with medicine, robotics, and space. He shares three predictions he's willing to defend, from robotic gardeners in the 2030s to self-driving trucks and a boom in cruises, and takes on the hard questions: how free nations keep AI from becoming a tool of control, and why keeping the lead over China must be a national security priority. Inspired by Newt's new book, America's Golden Age, available now, this episode explores the promise and the risks of artificial intelligence—and how America can lead the way. Subscribe to Newt's World for more conversations about American history, innovation, public policy, and the future of our nation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What can 50-year stretches of American history teach us about 2076? Newt travels through America 50 years at a time, from the deaths of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson on July 4, 1826, to a young Abraham Lincoln campaigning for railroads he had never seen, to the age of Edison, Ford, and the Wright brothers. He then turns to the 50 years most listeners have lived through, from the gas lines and pessimism of the 1970s to the Reagan comeback and the young founders who built modern America, and explains why the biggest changes are always the ones nobody predicts. Inspired by Newt's new book, America's Golden Age, available now, this episode explores how America constantly reinvents itself—and what that pattern tells us about the next 50 years. Subscribe to Newt's World for more conversations about American history, innovation, public policy, and the future of our nation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why should Americans be optimistic about the next 50 years? On the day his new book is released, Newt explains the big idea behind America's Golden Age: science, technology, culture, and entrepreneurship are coming together to create an explosion of growth, opportunity, and choice. From the Wright brothers outpacing a government-funded rival to the telegraph, the railroad, and the aircraft carrier, Newt shows how breakthroughs build on one another—and why America, built on freedom, free enterprise, and the rule of law, is the nation where a golden age will happen. Inspired by Newt's new book, America's Golden Age, available now, this episode explores why optimism has consistently beaten pessimism in America—and why our best days are still ahead. Subscribe to Newt's World for more conversations about American history, innovation, public policy, and the future of our nation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What will America look like when it celebrates its 300th birthday in 2076? Newt takes listeners on an imaginative journey 50 years into the future, exploring how artificial intelligence, medical breakthroughs, household robotics, and space exploration could transform everyday life. From personalized healthcare and virtual reality classrooms to lunar settlements and hotels orbiting Earth, Newt shares his vision of America's next great era of innovation and opportunity. Drawing from his new book, America's Golden Age, he explains why the choices we make today will determine whether America's brightest days are still ahead. Inspired by Newt's new book, America's Golden Age, available October 20, this episode explores the possibilities ahead—and why creating a better future starts with the decisions we make today. Subscribe to Newt's World for more conversations about American history, innovation, public policy, and the future of our nation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than a trillion chips are made every year, roughly 150 for every person on earth. They power our phones, our cars, our missiles, and the artificial intelligence revolution. And more than 90% of the most advanced ones come from a single company in Taiwan, built with machines that only one company in the world can make. Rakesh Kumar, professor of computer engineering at the University of Illinois and author of The Chip Age: How Semiconductors Became the World’s Most Powerful Resource, joins Newt to explain how a sliver of silicon became the world’s most consequential resource. Drawing on six decades of innovation, espionage, and geopolitical rivalry, Kumar breaks down how the chip industry works, how fragile its supply chain really is, and what the race for chip sovereignty means for America’s competition with China. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Houthis’ slogan is ‘Death to America, Death to Israel.’ They seized Yemen’s capital in 2014. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and Israel have all bombed them. They have been sanctioned and designated a terrorist organization. And they are still standing, still expanding, and more capable than ever. On October 10th, a Houthi strike on Riyadh’s international airport killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 300. So how does a militia from Yemen’s northern mountains keep surviving? Nadwa Al-Dawsari, associate fellow at the Middle East Institute and a Yemeni American with more than 20 years of field experience in Yemen, joins Newt to explain who the Houthis really are, how Iran shaped them, why military campaigns have failed to stop them, and where they are expanding next. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For 150 years, the price tag was a promise: one price, the same for everyone. That promise is gone. Today, algorithms help landlords set your rent, software tracks your clicks to figure out the most you will pay, and two shoppers can buy the same carton of eggs in the same store on the same day for different prices. Lindsay Owens, president and CEO of the Groundwork Collaborative and author of Gouged: The End of a Fair Price and What That Means for Your Wallet, joins Newt to explain how pricing became a weaponized science. From grocery stores and airline tickets to concert seats and apartment rents, Owens breaks down who changed the rules, how artificial intelligence supercharged the shift, and what her Shopper’s Bill of Rights would do to restore a fair price. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With 27 days until the 2026 midterms, mail-in voting is already underway and the polls are moving. Since September, the generic ballot has shifted toward Democrats, and prediction markets now give them roughly a 90% chance of winning the House. But is the race as settled as it looks? Newt brings together two of the sharpest political strategists in the country, one Republican and one Democrat, to make their case. John McLaughlin, President Trump’s pollster since 2016, and Doug Sosnik, who ran the political operation in the Clinton White House, break down what the polling really shows, where the key inflection points have been, and who they think will control Congress on November 4th. With a month still to go, Newt knows from experience: a wave can build fast, and nothing is decided yet. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nearly half of American voters now call themselves independents, but Adam Brandon argues they are far more than a mushy middle ground between the two parties. In his new book, The Exhausted Majority: Building a Home for the Politically Homeless, Brandon profiles a coherent, center-right bloc of Americans tired of hyper-partisanship who simply want to see Washington get things done. Brandon served as president of FreedomWorks for over a decade and helped lead the Tea Party movement. Now he has co-founded the Independent Leadership Council with former Senator Joe Manchin, backing independent candidates in the 2026 midterms. Newt talks with Brandon to discuss why both parties keep losing ground, who the exhausted majority really is, and whether independents can become the force that finally changes how Washington works. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ukraine has become the most innovative military power in the world, building drones by the millions, fielding ground robots, and wiring the battlefield together with software. Russia is racing to match it. Iran has used $35,000 drones to force the United States to fire interceptors costing millions. And yet, only 8% of Americans are aware that AI is being used in modern warfare. Newt sits down with Jonathan Guyer, program director at the Institute for Global Affairs at the Eurasia Group, to discuss how drones and artificial intelligence are remaking warfare in real time. Drawing on his new report, War President: The Iran Trap, Guyer breaks down what the technology revolution on today's battlefields means for American strategy, public oversight, and whether Washington is paying close enough attention. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before Trace Gallagher became one of Fox News's most recognizable faces, he was a professional water skier at Six Flags Marine World, where he once taught Jimmy Buffett to ski. A knee injury ended that career and sent him on an unexpected path through announcing, local television, and eventually Fox News, where he has been a fixture since the network's launch in 1996. In his new memoir, Turns Out They Were Right All Along: Life Lessons I Learned Eventually, Gallagher reflects on the detours, setbacks, and unlikely breaks that shaped his life and career. Newt sits down with Gallagher to explore the wisdom that only comes from living it, the moments that tested him, and what three decades in breaking news have taught him about perseverance, purpose, and getting it right. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In January 2025, Tyler Hassen was running a diversified energy business in Houston. Weeks later, he was inside the West Wing as a DOGE senior insider, named Acting Assistant Secretary of Policy, Management, and Budget at the Department of the Interior with authority over $35 billion in spending and 8,000 federal employees. Now he's written the first book-length account of DOGE from someone who actually executed the work. Hassen joins Newt to discuss Inside DOGE: The Real Story from a Senior Insider — part memoir, part management autopsy. He describes late-night West Wing meetings, an $830 million contract request he says he could have designed in high school, a California water crisis that became an international media firestorm, and the personal cost his family paid. His verdict: the waste was real, the resistance was fierce, and the work is far from finished. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.