21 episodes

Big Ideas with Ben Weingarten features compelling long-form conversations with exceptional thinkers and doers on the most important ideas and issues of our time, and all time. Discussions focus on topics ranging from national security and foreign affairs, to economics and politics and philosophy and culture with a classical Liberal bent and a grounding in history. Big Ideas with Ben Weingarten challenges the prevailing progressive orthodoxy with a contrarian conservative/libertarian counter-narrative based in individual liberty, limited government, free enterprise and a strong, national interest-oriented and prudently used defense. Host Ben Weingarten is a Senior Fellow at the London Center for Policy Research, Senior Contributor at The Federalist and Founder & CEO of ChangeUp Media, a conservative media consulting and production company.

Big Ideas with Ben Weingarten ChangeUp Media LLC

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    • 4.8 • 120 Ratings

Big Ideas with Ben Weingarten features compelling long-form conversations with exceptional thinkers and doers on the most important ideas and issues of our time, and all time. Discussions focus on topics ranging from national security and foreign affairs, to economics and politics and philosophy and culture with a classical Liberal bent and a grounding in history. Big Ideas with Ben Weingarten challenges the prevailing progressive orthodoxy with a contrarian conservative/libertarian counter-narrative based in individual liberty, limited government, free enterprise and a strong, national interest-oriented and prudently used defense. Host Ben Weingarten is a Senior Fellow at the London Center for Policy Research, Senior Contributor at The Federalist and Founder & CEO of ChangeUp Media, a conservative media consulting and production company.

    Rep. Mike Gallagher on the Challenge of Communist China

    Rep. Mike Gallagher on the Challenge of Communist China

    Rep. Mike Gallagher (@RepGallagher) (R-WI) is a leading China hawk in Congress, where he serves on the Armed Services Committee, with a background in U.S. Marine Corps Intelligence and as a staffer on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

    I had Rep. Gallagher on the podcast to discuss his views on what China really wants, to the parallels between the CCP and the Soviet Union, and the relevance of the Cold War paradigm, to ideological warfare and the challenges America faces in waging it, countering Chinese influence across all sectors of American life, Huawei and whether America needs a national industrial policy, Taiwan, and much more.
    What We Discussed The Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) ultimate goals, and the relevance of its Communist ideology to them Why China poses a greater threat to the U.S. than the Soviet Union during the Cold War The imperative to wage ideological warfare against the CCP, and the challenge America faces in its arguable lack of moral clarity about its mission Countering CHina's influence over U.S. corporations, academic institutions, our media, etc. How to triumph in 5G, and more broadly in strategically significant technological areas against the CCP, and whether we need a national industrial policy Rep. Gallagher's assessment of China's military might Whether America should recognize Taiwan The aims of the new congressional China Task Force Thanks for Listening!
    Check out other episodes, show notes and transcripts at benweingarten.com/bigideas.
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    ___________
    Backed Vibes (clean) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

    • 31 min
    Rep Brad Wenstrup on the New Cold War with Communist China and Deep State Corruption

    Rep Brad Wenstrup on the New Cold War with Communist China and Deep State Corruption

    Rep. Brad Wenstrup (@RepBradWenstrup) (R-OH) is a doctor, Army Reserve officer, and Iraq War veteran who sits on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

    I had Rep. Wenstrup on the podcast to discuss his views on  what he describes as an emerging new cold war with Communist China, and the weaponization and hyper-politicization of our national security and intelligence apparatus.
    What We Discussed The CCP’s tightening of the noose on Hong Kong Whether America should ditch the One-China Policy and recognize Taiwan Long-term fiscal dangers as a consequence of the coronavirus The railroading of General Flynn and Russiagate/Spygate Weaponization and hyper-politicization of the national security and intelligence apparatus, and whether it should be reformed The state of the FISA court and FBI Thanks for Listening!
    Check out other episodes, show notes and transcripts at benweingarten.com/bigideas.
    Subscribe, rate and review: iTunes | Stitcher | Google | YouTube
    Follow Ben: Web | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
    Advertising & Sponsorship Inquiries: E-mail us.
    ___________
    Backed Vibes (clean) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

    • 38 min
    Hedge-Fund Manager Kyle Bass on Winning the Economic and Ideological Battle with Communist China

    Hedge-Fund Manager Kyle Bass on Winning the Economic and Ideological Battle with Communist China

    Kyle Bass (@Jkylebass) is the Chief Investment Officer of Hayman Capital Management, and arguably the most outspoken China hawk on Wall Street.

    I had Bass on the podcast to discuss his views on the U.S.-China economic competition, what a U.S. grand strategy with respect to China might look like, and much more.
    What We Discussed Why Bass believes China is a paper tiger China's ignored Achilles' heel The Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) effort to set up a competing global reserve currency How the CCP has ensured a predominant pro-Beijing narrative in the U.S., through developing relationships with our political class, titans of  financial services and other powerful sectors of the economy, and Hollywood--to our great detriment How America can use capital market reforms to end the CCP's unfair trade practices What Bass would do if he was advising the Trump administration on trade vis-à-vis China Whether America can decouple from China, and what the consequences would be The economic viability of China's Belt and Road Initiative The stakes of the competition with Huawei in 5G telecommunications technology Making China pay for its culpability in the coronavirus crisis China's biggest Achilles heel Bass's three major recommendations for a U.S. grand strategy with respect to China Thanks for Listening!
    Check out other episodes, show notes and transcripts at benweingarten.com/bigideas.
    Subscribe, rate and review: iTunes | Stitcher | Google | YouTube
    Follow Ben: Web | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
    Advertising & Sponsorship Inquiries: E-mail us.
    ___________
    Backed Vibes (clean) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

    • 40 min
    The Democrat-Deep State-Media Cover-Up that Protected the Russiagate Narrative -- Revisiting Awangate with Luke Rosiak

    The Democrat-Deep State-Media Cover-Up that Protected the Russiagate Narrative -- Revisiting Awangate with Luke Rosiak

    Luke Rosiak (@lukerosiak) is an investigative reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation where he broke arguably one of the biggest scandals in the history of the federal government -- one the media refused to cover and the prosecutors refused to prosecute. 
    This is the story of Awangate, which proved no match for Russiagate -- but should have on its merits.
    It is the subject of Rosiak's Obstruction of Justice: How the Deep State Risked National Security to Protect the Democrats, a book that has taken on new significance as the treasonous Russian collusion narrative collapses.
    I had Luke Rosiak on the podcast to reflect on the story of the Awans, and its far broader significance for our nation.
    What We Discussed How the Awans amassed so much power on Capitol Hill The breathtaking litany of criminality of the Awan conspiracy Why and how House Democrats and the Department of Justice covered up Awangate – and House Republicans enabled it Why Rosiak is confident members of Congress were blackmailed and are still susceptible to blackmail by the Awans, how deep the blackmail threat runs and why Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz’s behavior proves it How politicians and bureaucrats put self-interest above national security The inextricably intertwined relationship between Russiagate and Awangate, and what both “investigations” say about the Deep State The Democrat-Media-Deep State collusion over Awangate Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her underlings’ role in rigging the Awan case for the Democrats’ benefit The government’s failure to do anything to prevent future Awans from infiltrating Congress Thanks for Listening!
    Check out other episodes, show notes and transcripts at benweingarten.com/bigideas.
    Subscribe, rate and review: iTunes | Stitcher | Google | YouTube
    Follow Ben: Web | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
    Advertising & Sponsorship Inquiries: E-mail us.
    ___________
    Backed Vibes (clean) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

    • 44 min
    Robert Spencer on Islamic Supremacism, U.S. Middle East Policy, Defeating Jihad

    Robert Spencer on Islamic Supremacism, U.S. Middle East Policy, Defeating Jihad

    Robert Spencer (@jihadwatchRS) is the director of the invaluable counterjihadist website, Jihad Watch, and a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. He is the author of eighteen books, including the New York Times bestsellers The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) and The Truth About Muhammad. His latest book is The History of Jihad From Muhammad to ISIS.
    Mr. Spencer's work sits at the nexus of a number of seminal issues, from national security and foreign policy, to identity politics and free speech, and theology and political philosophy. The battle being waged by Islamic supremacism against the West implicates all of these matters, and Mr. Spencer's insights make him uniquely qualified to discuss them. 
    I had him on the Big Ideas podcast to touch on everything from Islamic supremacist ideology and the goals, tactics and strategies its adherents use to impose it, to free speech and the deplatforming of counterjihadists like Spencer himself to the Sunni v. Shia battle in the Middle East and how we can actually triumph in the global jihad being waged against the West.
    What We Discussed Why the story of Muhammad is so integral to understanding Islamic supremacism, jihad and the Middle East today Mecca vs. Medina in Islamic history, and its practical consequences How Islam defines peace Spencer's view on the prospects of Islamic reformation, and separating political Islam from individual practice Why former CIA Director John Brennan was wrong in his definition of "jihad" Enforcement of Sharia speech codes in the West Jihad Watch's experience getting deplatformed from PayPal The state of the Middle East and what U.S. national interest in the region requires from a policy perspective What Spencer would advocate if he were named counterjihad czar How to vet for Sharia supremacy Defeating jihad, and much more Thanks for Listening!
    Check out other episodes, show notes and transcripts at benweingarten.com/bigideas.
    Subscribe, rate and review: iTunes | Stitcher | Google | YouTube
    Follow Ben: Web | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
    Advertising & Sponsorship Inquiries: E-mail us.
    ___________
    Backed Vibes (clean) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

    • 36 min
    U.S. Amb. to Germany Richard Grenell on Iran Sanctions Snapback, U.S. Energy Competition with Russia in the EU, Chancellor Merkel

    U.S. Amb. to Germany Richard Grenell on Iran Sanctions Snapback, U.S. Energy Competition with Russia in the EU, Chancellor Merkel

    Richard Grenell is the U.S. Ambassador to Germany, and the longest serving UN spokesman and political appointee in American history, where he served from 2001 to 2008.
    Amb. Grenell occupies one of the most critical positions in American diplomacy in Berlin, not only because Germany represents the EU's largest economy and has disproportionate influence on the continent, but because of its pivotal role with respect to both Iran's efforts to evade U.S. snapback sanctions, and Russia's efforts to provide energy to and thus leverage over European nations.

    During our discussion we touched on the ambassador’s efforts to persuade the Germans to cease trade with Iran and comply with the U.S. sanctions regime – and how those who resist can justify their stated intolerance of Jew-haters while seeking to do business with a regime dedicated to Israel’s destruction -- Germany’s place in an America First foreign policy, energy, Nord Stream 2 and America’s efforts to counter Russia through selling liquefied natural gas to Germany, Chancellor Merkel and German politics and Amb. Grenell’s dogged efforts to deport a Nazi officer who had been living in the United States for decades.
    Thanks for Listening!
    Check out other episodes, show notes and transcripts at benweingarten.com/bigideas.
    Subscribe, rate and review: iTunes | Stitcher | Google | YouTube
    Follow Ben: Web | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
    Advertising & Sponsorship Inquiries: E-mail us.
    ___________
    Backed Vibes (clean) Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

    • 26 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
120 Ratings

120 Ratings

Wykamist ,

Ben is the best

The best podcast around. Hands down

jaaaacccckkkkk ,

Ben,

Thank you for another excellent interview. I’m looking forward for more.

Scott

wakefoot ,

Not enough episodes

Ben, do more of these!

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