Heritage Events Podcast

After six years of failed attempts to get Russia to return to compliance with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty obligations, the U.S. officially announced its intention to withdraw from the treaty on December 4, 2018. To date, much of the discussion surrounding the U.S. withdrawal from the INF Treaty has focused on the implications for Russia, the European Union, and trans-Atlantic relations. Far less attention has been devoted to the implications for U.S. strategy in the Indo-Pacific. Specifically, what does America’s withdrawal from the INF treaty mean for U.S. partners and allies in the region? How does this decision stand to effect the conventional military balance in the region? What are the implications for U.S.-China relations and how has it been received in Beijing, which is not a party to the INF treaty and has been investing in its land-based missile capabilities for decades?

The suffering of America's working class is real. Immobility, inequality, a retreat from marriage, and deaths of despair are the symptoms. In short, for much of the country, the American Dream is dead. The root cause is the collapse of local community for the working-class. The institutions of civil society that are still strong in some parts of America, specifically among the elites, are fading away as America secularizes and the classes drift apart. Join Tim Carney as he discusses his new book, Alienated America, documenting these tragic realities, and what we can do to combat them.

Equating capitalism with colonialism, Africa’s nationalist leaders rejected it and adopted socialism in the 1960s. Foreign companies were nationalized, a string of state-owned enterprises were established and a plethora of state controls on rent, prices, imports and foreign exchange were imposed to capture the commanding heights of the economy. But nowhere in Africa was the socialist experiment successful. It was a miserable fiasco in country after country including Angola (under dos Santos), Benin (under Kerekou), Ethiopia (under Mengistu), Ghana (under Nkrumah), Guinea (under Toure), Mali (under Keita), Mozambique (under Chissano), Tanzania (under Nyerere), and Zambia, among others. In 1961, workers on Ghana state farms barely produce enough to feed themselves let alone the nation. In Tanzania, Ujamaa destroyed the country’s agriculture. Ethiopia’s misguided villagization program did the same. Zimbabwe socialist experiment ended in disaster, transforming the country which used to be called the breadbasket of the region into a net food importer, with millions facing starvation. Over 4 million fled the country into neighboring countries such as Botswana, South Africa and Mozambique. Tragically, South Africa is gearing up to repeat these catastrophic mistakes.

Six states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws providing for “physician-assisted suicide.” Sometimes proposed as relief for patients undergoing pain and suffering, physician-assisted suicide constitutes a major break with the traditional medical ethics embodied in the Hippocratic Oath that call on doctors to heal patients. Many analysts across the ideological spectrum agree: the normalization of medical killing poses a threat to the poor, disabled, and vulnerable members of society. How can policymakers address the need for persons to plan for terminal illness - and improve end of life care?Our expert panel will address these and many other questions.

In the past few years, the world has seen the dramatic movement of Islamist terrorists to war zones around the world. While this is not a new phenomenon, the elevated level of terrorist travel to places like Syria and Iraq from many nations in Europe and North America was deeply concerning to many policymakers across the globe. Now as ISIS loses its last stronghold in Syria, similar concerns over returning terrorist fighters must be addressed. The U.S. led the way following 9/11 in its efforts to combat terrorist travel through intelligence sharing programs like the Visa Waiver Program and a revamped vetting system. Other countries are also following suit, with the EU recently implementing passenger name record vetting, but more remains to be done to ensure that terrorists are unable to travel to carry out their violent endeavors. Please join us for an address and conversation with Ambassador Nathan Sales on the status of the fight against terrorist travel and what needs be done going forward.

Adam Smith has been called the “father of capitalism.” The Nobel Prize winning economist George Stigler called Smith the “high priest of self-interest.” But what did Smith really think? As a virtue ethicist Smith believed that people were good (for the most part) and that self-interest, though important and different from selfishness, was not enough to create a vibrant society. This talk will cover religion, morality, and (of course) economics. For a complete list of speakers, topics, and dates of the Free Markets: The Ethical Economic Choice speaker series visit heritage.org/free-markets.

Though the First Amendment’s command that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” is straightforward, the Supreme Court’s Establishment Clause jurisprudence is anything but clear. To determine if a government action amounts to an establishment of religion, the Supreme Court has developed a number of tests looking for excessive entanglement, endorsement, or coercion, to name a few, that are inconsistently applied. When it comes to the constitutionality of passive displays on government property, such as the Ten Commandments, Christmas decorations, and war memorials with crosses, the lower courts are divided about how and when to apply the various tests, leading to unpredictable results. In The American Legion v. American Humanist Association, the Supreme Court has been asked to review the constitutionality of a 93-year-old World War I memorial in Bladensburg, Maryland that includes a 40-foot cross. Will the Supreme Court seize the opportunity to bring much-needed clarity to its Establishment Clause jurisprudence? What impact could a broad ruling have on religion in America? Join us at The Heritage Foundation the day after the oral argument at the Supreme Court as a panel of experts discuss these and many other questions surrounding this important issue.

Since the first submarine strategic deterrent patrol by USS George Washington (SSBN-598) in 1960, U.S. nuclear ballistic missile submarines (or SSBNs) have provided the most survivable leg of the U.S. Strategic Nuclear Triad. U.S. SSBNs on patrol are virtually undetectable and hold adversary strategic targets constantly at risk. Today’s force of 14 Ohio-class SSBNs carry 70 percent of deployed U.S. strategic nuclear warheads, and when they retire after a 42-year service life, they will be the longest serving submarines in U.S. Naval history. The 12 planned Columbia-class submarines will provide an overdue modernization of the U.S. sea-based strategic deterrent force and will possess advanced stealth technologies to ensure they remain survivable against evolving threats into the 2080s. Strategic nuclear modernization critics have questioned the need to modernize the U.S. SSBN force and argued that a smaller number of Columbia-class SSBNs can provide a sufficient deterrent capability. Our panel of experts will explore the importance of a modern SSBN force on deterring adversaries and the impacts of reducing the number of U.S. SSBNs.

The Heritage Foundation and The Gloucester Institute present the 2nd Annual Jay A. Parker Lecture and Reception in honor of Jay A. Parker, founding father of the emerging black conservative movement. Come engage with prominent leaders about the dangerous decline in civil discourse and salute emerging leaders who are making significant contributions to our nation. As the leader of the Lincoln Institute for Education and Research, Jay Parker earned the title, founding father of the emerging black conservative movement. He shared his voice with many black conservative intellectuals as editor of The Lincoln Review. As an active member of the American African Affairs Association, he also worked to spread freedom and democracy in newly independent African nations.

It was over three decades ago, when then-Attorney General Ed Meese initiated an important spirited national debate about the proper application of our most important governing document—the U.S. Constitution. Since then, Originalism has emerged as a serious theory of constitutional interpretation that has permeated the judiciary and the academy. Originalists believe that the Constitution and laws should be interpreted based on their actual text and original public meaning. Conversely, proponents of a “Living Constitution,” stress the need to adapt the Constitution “to cope with current problems and current needs.” These two theories will go head-to-head in a spirited debate with two well-known constitutional scholars, John Eastman and Michael Gerhardt.

The National Security Strategy of the United States (December 2017) highlighted the need for U.S. intelligence and homeland security experts to work with law enforcement and civic leaders on terrorism prevention. The National Strategy for Counterterrorism (October 2018) further stated that terrorism prevention must be an integral part of our counterterrorism strategy. Given the administration’s prioritization of terrorism prevention, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conducted a comprehensive review of its terrorism prevention programs, both internally and with the assistance of an external review by the RAND Corporation. Elizabeth Neumann, Assistant Secretary for Threat Prevention and Security Policy, will present the findings of the RAND report, followed by a discussion on how DHS is building an effective approach to terrorism prevention.

The title “Bit Player” perfectly reflects Stephen Hess’s long and distinguished career as a Washington insider. As a 25-year-old, recently discharged Army private in 1958, he suddenly found himself as part of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s speechwriting team that ultimately helped draft the famed “Farewell Address” warning of the influence of the “military industrial complex.” Then over the next two decades, Hess played bit roles aiding Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan—along the way observing up-close those presidents and many other senior political leaders. During his subsequent four-and-a-half decades at the Brookings Institution, Hess was well-positioned to monitor and comment on the achievements and failures of successive administrations. This memoir by a certified member of Washington’s old-guard establishment is rich with insight into contemporary American democracy, poignant in its reflections of avoidable missteps by even the best and most experienced leaders, and consistently good-humored in the author’s self-awareness of his own role behind the scenes of political power.

When Vladimir Putin first took power in 1999, he was a little-known figure ruling a country that was reeling from a decade and a half of crisis. In the years since, he has reestablished Russia as a great power. How did he do it? What principles have guided Putin’s economic policies? What patterns can be discerned? In this new analysis of Putin’s Russia, Chris Miller examines its economic policy and the tools Russia’s elite have used to achieve its goals. Miller argues that despite Russia’s corruption, cronyism, and overdependence on oil as an economic driver, Putin’s economic strategy has been surprisingly successful. Explaining the economic policies that underwrote Putin’s two-decades-long rule, Miller shows how, at every juncture, Putinomics has served Putin’s needs by guaranteeing economic stability and supporting his accumulation of power. Even in the face of Western financial sanctions and low oil prices, Putin has never been more relevant on the world stage.

Please join The Heritage Foundation and the International Republican Institute for a conversation about Venezuela with Senator Marco Rubio. As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, and a member of IRI’s Board, the senior senator from Florida has played a critical role in shaping a democratic transition in Venezuela. Senator Rubio will discuss the political developments in Venezuela, the new government of interim President Juan Guaidó, and next steps for U.S. policy.

Socialism is a distortion, in a collectivist direction, of human beings’ natural need for familial connection with others. But socialism and the family are incompatible. The family requires independence from governmental interference in order to flourish, and parents know its needs better than government officials can. Meanwhile, the breakdown of the traditional family leads to greater need for state assistance. The ethos of self-gratification that weakens commitment to the family also leads to increased desire for services from the state. Hence it is no accident that, historically, advocacy of socialism has always tended to go hand in hand with hostility to the traditional family structure. Anyone opposed to socialism should defend the traditional family and anyone concerned to defend the traditional family should oppose socialism. For a complete list of speakers, topics, and dates of the Free Markets: The Ethical Economic Choice speaker series visit heritage.org/free-markets.