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How are states trying to tackle benefit cliffs? In this episode of Defending Ideas, Josh Bandoch of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity (FREOPP) discusses his new report looking into what states are doing to address the benefit cliff problem. Bandoch and host Nic Dunn also explore what’s missing from the national debate over welfare reform and why a successful safety net should be more than a way to prevent hardship. It should, instead, help people build better lives.  Show Notes: How States Can Solve Benefit Cliffs: A Comprehensive Approach to Supporting Upward Mobility by Josh Bandoch The Safety Net We’d Build Today: Empowerment Accounts as a State-Led Pilot Concept by Nic Dunn Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

Which states have the strongest election policies? And what can they teach us about how elections should really be run? R Street Institute's Chris McIsaac joins Defending Ideas to discuss a new 50-state election scorecard. The ranking judges states on 18 policies, including voter registration, voter verification, how lists are maintained, early voting, and vote-by-mail. McIsaac also dives into how ballots are counted, what happens during audits, and what sets Utah and other top ranking states apart. The conversation with host Nic Dunn also covers hot button topics like AI-generated deepfakes, election misinformation, and why it's better for states to run elections instead of the federal government. Show notes: Election Policy Landscape Stabilizes as Midterms Approach: Series Introduction Election Policy Landscape Stabilizes as Midterms Approach—Part 1: Citizenship Verification The R Street Institute's Election Policy 50-State Scorecard Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

Are religious institutions afforded special rights under the Constitution? And what does that mean for religious liberty, the rule of law, and the role of government? On this episode of Defending Ideas, Nic Dunn talks with William J. Haun, nonresident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, and Sutherland’s Bill Duncan, about the constitutional role of religious institutions and why religious freedom is about more than government exemptions and accommodations. They discuss the growing number of legal battles over religious freedom, why churches and other religious institutions deserve space to govern themselves, and how strong civil society can help prevent government from becoming the center of everything. The conversation also explores the distinct roles of the family, religious institutions, and government—and why protecting those institutions is essential to a free and self-governing society. Show notes: Not to Caesar but to Peter by William J. Haun Religious Freedom and Parental Authority by William C. Duncan Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

Is AI really on track to destroy humanity, or are we confusing small risks with science fiction? On this episode of Defending Ideas, Nic Dunn sits down with Chris Koopman, CEO of Abundance Institute, and Ford Copple, tech policy analyst at Sutherland Institute, to discuss the growing debate over AI safety, regulation, data centers, and technological innovation. They look at one of the biggest questions surrounding AI: how seriously should we take predictions of catastrophe? Koopman and Copple say there is a difference between real criminal threats, like cyberattacks and scams, and doomsday scenarios that probably won't happen. The conversation then explores the controversies over data centers. Copple explains what his research shows about construction jobs, permanent employment, and tax revenue, while Koopman discusses how communities can best evaluate the potential benefits of data center projects. Dunn, Koopman, and Copple also explore AI regulation, energy demand, nuclear power, and how communities can make evidence-based decisions about rapidly changing technology without either ignoring legitimate concerns or allowing fear to dictate policy. Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

Head Start is at the center of a heated public debate over federal regulations and how best to support families. But what exactly should the federal government do, and what should states be empowered to do, to fix America’s social safety net?   On this episode of Defending Ideas, Nic Dunn speaks with Alex Adams, Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), about his efforts to reduce ineffective federal regulations and give states more room to innovate.   Dunn and Secretary Adams also discuss the 30th anniversary of TANF and what its history can teach us about the future of social welfare reform. The conversation examines broader safety-net reform, federalism, state leadership, and the balance between federal accountability and local flexibility.   Adams argues that, ultimately, federal oversight should focus on outcomes, taxpayer accountability, and preventing fraud, waste, and abuse. That gives states and localities greater freedom to decide how to best help their friends and neighbors. Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

What would America look like without strong families, churches, civic organizations and local communities? We're starting to find out and the picture is...not good. But there is a better way to live. Michael Tanner, Senior Fellow at FREOPP, joins host Nic Dunn to explain why civil society is so important and why its decline should concern all Americans. Tanner and Dunn explore how good civil society can strengthen relationships, increase happiness, reduce political tribalism, and help Americans rediscover a sense of shared community. They discuss why Americans should put down their phones, ignore most national political battles, and spend more time investing in family, friends, and faith communities. Show notes: Civil Society Under Threat – https://freopp.org/whitepapers/civil-society-under-threat/ Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

America’s social safety net is supposed to help families through difficult times, ultimately moving people toward work and independence. But navigating a maze of disconnected programs and agencies can make that goal harder to achieve. The good news is that there is a solution. On this episode of Defending Ideas, host Nic Dunn talks with Daniel J. Erspamer, CEO of the Pelican Institute, about Louisiana’s effort to create a “One Door to Work” model. This initiative brings safety net and workforce programs together around a common goal: helping people get jobs and achieve financial independence. They discuss what Louisiana has accomplished, what the state learned from Utah, the federal barriers that remain, and why giving states more flexibility could lead to better welfare reform across the country. The conversation also explores why state-led experimentation has played such an important role in past welfare reforms and why a new generation of states could help reshape America’s safety net around upward mobility. Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

Could giving states more freedom to experiment help America find better answers to our toughest challenges?  On this episode of Defending Ideas, Sen. John Curtis of Utah joins host Nic Dunn to discuss how state-level experimentation can lead to better policy on some of the country’s most difficult questions. From AI and data centers to wildfire prevention, forest management, and public lands, Curtis and Dunn explore why a marketplace of ideas generally leads to better outcomes than a one-size-fits-some approach.  Curtis also explains why he believes policymakers should embrace pilot programs, encourage innovation, and demand accountability so they can learn what works – and what doesn’t. Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

Thirty years after the landmark welfare reform law, what should the next generation of social safety-net reform look like? Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan joins Defending Ideas to discuss the future of welfare reform and how policymakers can build a system today that helps more families move toward work and economic independence. Speaker Ryan and host Nic Dunn examine RISE pilots, a state-led approach that tests whether combining multiple welfare benefits into a single, trackable monthly payment can simplify the social safety net, improve work incentives, and help families move out of poverty. The conversation explores how technology could help reduce benefit cliffs, better coordinate programs, and improve accountability. Ryan explains why states should have the freedom to test different welfare reform approaches and why good data is essential if we want to know what works before expanding reforms more broadly. Ryan, who is also the founder of the American Idea Foundation, a professor of the practice at the University of Notre Dame, and a Distinguished Visiting Fellow in the Practice of Public Policy at AEI, discusses with Dunn universal basic income and why RISE offers a more promising path forward for welfare reform and, ultimately, people's economic independence. Show Notes:  Reforming the Safety Net through RISE Pilot Programs - American Idea FoundationAmericans Are Getting Caught in the Safety Net - Paul Ryan and Les Ford Wall Street Journal op-ed The Safety Net We’d Build Today: Empowerment Accounts as a State-Led Pilot Concept - Nic Dunn report for Sutherland Institute Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

America spends a ton of money on our social safety net, yet many people still feel trapped. That means maybe the biggest problem isn't how much we spend. On this episode of Defending Ideas, Erine Gray, founder and CEO of Findhelp, joins Nic Dunn to explain why navigating America's fragmented network of government programs, nonprofits, churches, and other community organizations can be just as hard as qualifying for the benefits themselves. Gray shares the personal experiences that led him to build Findhelp, what he learned working inside Texas' public-benefits system during the financial crisis, and why he believes AI, better data, and greater coordination could make the safety net more effective, without adding more programs or spending. Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

What can Utah teach America about the future of conservatism?  On this episode of Defending Ideas, Nic Dunn sits down with Todd Weiler, the new president and CEO of Sutherland Institute and a member of the Utah State Senate. They discuss the future of the conservative movement, the importance of principled and evidence-based policymaking, and why states may be better positioned than Washington, D.C., to tackle some of America's biggest challenges by bringing policymaking closer to the people it affects. Weiler shares his vision for Sutherland and explains why Utah's experience – from family policy and religious freedom to immigration, affordability and a citizen legislature – offers lessons that other states and the nation can learn from. They also explore why returning to true center-right conservatism could be the way to fix many of the rifts in our current politics. Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

No two children learn exactly the same way. So why should families be expected to rely on a one-size-fits-all education system?  In this episode of Defending Ideas, Nic Dunn speaks with Shaka Mitchell of the American Federation for Children and Sutherland Institute education policy fellow Christine Cook Fairbanks about the growing movement for education choice.  They discuss how parents have driven recent reforms, the legal and political challenges facing education choice programs, the new federal education freedom tax credit, and how policymakers can build an education system that serves children rather than forcing every kid into the same model. Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

We want referees to enforce the rules, not play for one team. Should the same principle apply to county clerks and elections officials?  In this episode of Defending Ideas, host Nick Dunn sits down with Kevin Johnson, Executive Director of the Election Reformers Network, and Davis County Clerk Brian McKenzie to discuss whether county clerk elections should be nonpartisan. They explore the unique role of election administrators, the political pressures they can face, and whether removing party labels could strengthen public confidence in elections. Show notes:  Reform Options for County Clerk Elections  Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

Why does the federal government keep expanding into every corner of our lives? It's not always by passing new laws. Guidance documents, letters, handbooks, and informal directives from federal agencies can cause headaches for states, schools, businesses, and regular people.  In this episode of Defending Ideas, host Nic Dunn is joined by Kevin Williamson, National Correspondent at The Dispatch and Writer in Residence at Competitive Enterprise Institute, as well as Sutherland Institute constitutional law and religious freedom fellow Bill Duncan, to examine how federal guidance works and why it raises serious concerns about accountability and constitutional authority. They discuss regulatory “dark matter,” the decline of congressional responsibility, practical examples of federal agencies pressuring states, and how federalism, transparency, and a renewed commitment to separation of powers could help rein in Washington’s influence. Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

The Supreme Court has spoken. And the internet has some...interesting opinions.  On this episode of Defending Ideas, Utah Valley University's Senior Director of the Center for Constitutional Studies Dr. Matthew Brogdon and Sutherland Institute's Bill Duncan discuss several of the Supreme Court's most talked-about rulings this year.  They unpack the legal reasoning behind the decisions on birthright citizenship, executive power, the Federal Reserve, and more. Brogdon and Duncan explain why many popular interpretations you see online often fall short, and how we should be thinking about these cases instead. Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.