Heritage Events Podcast

China’s Belt and Road Initiative turns five years old this fall, first unveiled by President Xi Jinping in a pair of speeches in late 2013. The infrastructure and connectivity initiative has proven far more ambitious, and far more controversial, than anyone could have predicted at that time. Under the BRI umbrella, China has already spent, pledged, or invested over one hundred billion dollars in infrastructure projects spanning the globe. However, since mid-2017, international concerns about the BRI—and the outgrowth of Chinese “sharp power”—have been mounting. The U.S., EU, India, Australia and others have criticized the BRI model—which they accuse of fueling corruption, failing to meet international standards, and leveraging “debt-trap diplomacy” for geopolitical ends--while beginning to promote their own infrastructure initiatives and visions for the region. Please join our expert panel as we examine the future prospects of the BRI, Chinese perspectives on the BRI at Five and changing international attitudes toward the initiative, and the evolving U.S. and allied policy responses.

Sri Lanka was plunged into a political crisis in late October when President Maithripala Sirisena suspended parliament and attempted to install his former ally and former president Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister. Decried as illegal and unconstitutional by incumbent Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his supporters, the extra-constitutional maneuver has been opposed by a majority in parliament and several court rulings. Nevertheless, Sirisena and Rajapaksa have refused to disband their new shadow government and the country’s political crisis endures. The turmoil is unfolding at a time Sri Lanka is grappling with the consequences of a major expansion of Chinese influence and investments, portrayed as a warning to others about the risks of Chinese “debt traps” and the strategic ambitions underpinning the Belt and Road Initiative. As China and India compete for influence in Colombo and prepare for the potential return of the Rajapaksas, the Trump administration has suspended a major aid package and urged the country to resolve the crisis through democratic means.

Ambassador John Bolton unveils the Trump administration’s new Africa Strategy.

Rapid changes in reproductive technologies combined with the redefinition of marriage have resulted in more and more children intentionally denied a relationship with one or both of their biological parents. Meanwhile, the media claims that “all kids need is love.” A new children’s rights organization is shedding light on the very real and lasting cost children pay when the desires of adults are prioritized over children's rights. Them Before Us is providing a platform to bring these children together and give them a voice. Join us as we explore the philosophical, legal and practical underpinnings of the rights of children in family structure, and how viewing matters of marriage and parenthood through the lens of children can persuade a skeptical culture.

Our military faces a wide array of challenges across the globe today. China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and transnational terrorism all require U.S. military resources, but defense budget cuts have left the force underfunded and undersized for the tasks we are asking it to perform on a daily basis. The National Defense Strategy Commission, a bipartisan effort to assess the state of the military, alarmingly assesses that the U.S. military, for the first time since the end of the Cold War, is at risk of losing an armed conflict with Russia or China. Please join us for a unique opportunity to hear Senator Jon Kyl, a commissioner on the Commission, discuss these challenges into the future and Congress’s responsibilities in addressing them.

Over 70 years ago, U.S. Navy aircraft carriers supplanted battleships as preeminent warship with their ability to strike enemy warships or land targets hundreds of miles away. Since World War II, U.S. aircraft carriers and the carrier air wing have operated relatively unthreatened, providing unrivaled air support and power projection capability in every U.S. conflict. Recently, an increasing number of critics are predicting the end of the aircraft carrier era. They cite the growing threats from anti-ship missiles, such as China’s DF-21D “carrier killer”; the proliferation of increasingly quieter attack submarines; and advanced integrated air and missile defense capabilities. They also argue that current carrier strike fighter aircraft and their weapons lack sufficient range to engage targets in a denied/degraded environment. Aircraft carrier proponents argue that a modern U.S. supercarrier uniquely provides a globally deployable U.S. airfield that can rapidly respond to emergent crises and does not depend the approval of any host nation. While they acknowledge the increased threats to the carrier strike group and its air wing, they argue that introduction of the fifth generation F-35, long-range unmanned carrier-based tankers, advanced weapons and electronic warfare systems, and the employment of new operational tactics will enable the aircraft carrier to remain relevant for the foreseeable future. Can the new USS FORD-class aircraft carrier and a modernized carrier air wing provide effective sea-based power projection against near-peer competitors like Russia and China, should the U.S. Navy develop smaller aircraft carriers with new weapons systems and carrier aircraft to meet these 21st Century threats, or should the U.S. move on from the aircraft carrier?

Rev. Robert Sirico will recount his own moral, intellectual and spiritual development. Animated by a strong sense of social justice, he began a well-intentioned but ill-conceived career in leftist activism. A serious grappling with the classics of economics lead him to reevaluate his ultimate commitments. In meditating on the nature of the human person, choice and action in society, he began to return to the Catholicism of his youth to discover the moral foundation of a flourishing society. Rev. Robert Sirico challenges the popular political presumption that increased government intervention and welfare programs are the most moral approach to helping the poor. In his lecture, “The Moral Case for a Free Economy,” he argues that a dynamic free market, based on voluntary association and freedom from unnecessary regulation, is the best way not only to help the poor but to meet society’s needs as a whole. The free market best supports the God-given creative nature of the human person. For a complete list of speakers, topics, and dates of the Free Markets: The Ethical Economic Choice speaker series visit heritage.org/free-markets.

The United States Government has prosecuted over 400 Islamist terrorists since 9/11. While several of those convicted will spend the rest of their lives in prison, the overwhelming majority will one day reenter society. Over the next five years, nearly a quarter of the U.S.’s terror convicts will complete their terms of imprisonment. This raises a critical and little examined question regarding U.S. counterterrorism strategy: what is being done in U.S. prisons to prepare this growing and unique segment of the prison population for re-entry into society? What capacity is being built outside prison to reduce the likelihood that they return to violence? How can the Trump administration most effectively respond to this looming problem? Two individuals – through their personal experiences as a former jihadi imprisoned for terrorism related charges and a former counter terrorism official who led the effort to thwart his terrorist aims – will offer policy solutions tailor towards ameliorating this pending and pressing national security threat.

There is a philosophic battle being conducted at universities and in the media which will determine the future of our country. On one side are the defenders of the classical liberal position, best expressed in the Declaration of Independence, supporting the unalienable right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness “. On the other side are the statists of all political persuasions who believe highly educated elites working in government know what is best for all of us. Join us as John Allison examines the fundamental ideas underlying each of these positions and their implications for human flourishing. For a complete list of speakers, topics, and dates of the Free Markets: The Ethical Economic Choice speaker series visit heritage.org/free-markets.

One of the key criticisms of capitalism is that it creates more inequality than other systems. That may or may not be true. The effective inequalities among elites and citizens in the former Soviet bloc were gigantic. That, however, is beside the point. The fundamental worldwide economic problem is poverty. The history of the development of market economies in the past 50 years is unparalleled in human history, witnessing a decline in poverty, by any plausible measure, that no other system can achieve. There are no examples of socialist systems solving problems of poverty, though there are many examples of socialist systems causing or perpetuating poverty of the most abject sort. For a complete list of speakers, topics, and dates of the Free Markets: The Ethical Economic Choice speaker series visit heritage.org/free-markets.

Every day 21 veterans are overcome by mental, psychological, and emotional stress and die by suicide. That number is far too high. We must take action to protect the brave men and women who protect our country through their service. Recent studies demonstrate that disciplined religious practice helps veterans build resilience against depression and suicidal thoughts. Join us for a discussion with experts on this important topic. The discussion will be followed by a screening of the award-winning short film, Surrender Only to One, which features the stories of veterans who have struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The American republic is rife with conflicts, hostility, and incivility. Competing visions have led to a dangerous moment of cultural self-destruction. Yet the roots of the crisis are deeper than many realize. Os Guinness argues that we face a fundamental crisis of freedom, as America's genius for freedom has become her Achilles' heel. Our society's conflicts are rooted in two rival views of freedom, one embodied in "1776" and the ideals of the American Revolution, and the other in "1789" and the ideals of the French Revolution. Once again America has become a house divided, and Americans must make up their minds as to which freedom to follow. This grand treatment of history, civics, and ethics in the Jewish and Christian traditions represents Guinness's definitive exploration of the prospects for human freedom today. He calls for a national conversation on the nature of freedom and poses key questions for concerned citizens to consider. In the tradition of Alexis de Tocqueville, Guinness provides a visitor's careful observation of the American experiment. Discover here a stirring vision for faithful citizenship and renewed responsibility, not only for the nation but also the watching world. Os Guinness is the author of more than thirty books, including The Global Public Square, A Free People's Suicide, Renaissance, Fool's Talk, and Impossible People. He has been a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and a senior fellow at the EastWest Institute. He is a frequent speaker and prominent social critic and a passionate advocate of freedom of religion and conscience for people of all faiths and none.

In 2015, disturbing undercover videos of abortion industry representatives discussing the sale of aborted baby body parts shocked the nation, led to multiple Congressional investigations, and resulted in criminal referrals of procurement companies and abortion providers. But questions about the scientific value and ethical considerations to fetal tissue research remain. Is such research necessary? Should the government fund this research? Do ethical alternatives exist? How should policymakers respond? Join us for an illuminating discussion with expert panelists to learn more about how current practices can be reformed to prioritize good science alongside life-affirming conduct.

Identity politics directly threatens the achievements of the Enlightenment, the Founding and the Civil Rights Movement, from freedom of speech to freedom of association and conscience. By partitioning America into ethnic, racial and sexual groups with antagonistic demands and grievances, Identity Politics returns us to the Plessy decision legalizing separate but supposedly equal treatment and it recalls the Dred Scott era of some Americans being less than citizens. But it actually takes further back, to the pre-Renaissance medieval idea that we are mere cogs inside the collectives into which we are born. Enough liberals and conservatives have now come to see this. The only question that remains is: Is there anything that can be done at this point? An ideologically diverse panel of intellectuals from across the country will help us sort out solutions.

Washington had Alexander Hamilton, and Jefferson had Albert Gallatin. In the first fight to set federal fiscal policy for the new American nation, Gallatin won. He cut taxes, reduced by the national debt by half, reformed government finances and funded both the Louisiana Purchase and the War of 1812. In his new book Jefferson’s Treasure, Gregory May explains why Gallatin, more than Hamilton, was America’s financial founder.