Trump’s Ukraine Strategy, The Epstein Letter Controversy, and Youngkin’s Playbook
Release Date: 07/18/2025
Breaking Battlegrounds
This week on Breaking Battlegrounds we welcome three insightful guests covering education, redistricting, and the economy. Dr. Carol McNamara, Director of the Great Hearts Institute for Classical Education, joins to discuss the growing movement of classical education, how it prepares students for all fields including science and engineering, and the upcoming National Symposium for Classical Education celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Renae Cowley, partner at Foxley, Pignanelli, Cowley, Styler, columnist for the Deseret News and professional barrel racer,...
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This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, we welcome back friend of the show and #1 New York Times bestselling author Richard Paul Evans. Best known for The Christmas Box, Richard has written an incredible 41 consecutive New York Times bestsellers, with more than 35 million copies in print and translations in over 22 languages. His newest novel, The Christmas Stranger, reminds us that sometimes the universe sends us exactly who we need. After losing his family on Christmas Eve, Paul Wanlass has given up on life—until an unexpected visitor appears at his door, setting off a series of events that...
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This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, Chuck Warren and Sam Stone welcome three distinguished guests offering global expertise and fresh perspective. The Daily Telegraph’s Associate Editor Gordon Rayner shares his investigations into the BBC’s bias and how the network intentionally edited Trump’s speech to make him appear to say things he never did. Then, Zineb Riboua from the Hudson Institute joins to discuss Third-Worldism, ideology, and great power competition shaping the Middle East and North Africa. Finally, Shay Khatiri of the Yorktown Institute weighs in on Trump’s remarks about...
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This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, we kick things off with John Reid, Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, to talk about his “Real Virginia Agenda,” from workforce freedom to the gerrymandering Democrats are trying to push this week in Virginia—going against the will of Virginians—and his unconventional AI debate with opponent Ghazala Hashmi, who refused to debate him, so he debated an AI version of her using only her real quotes. Then Gary Gygi joins us to break down the upcoming Federal Reserve System meeting and what it could mean for interest rates and the...
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This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, we’re joined by , Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and PhD candidate at Columbia University, for a deep dive into the fiscal impact of immigration. Daniel breaks down his showing how education level, age of arrival, and legal status determine whether immigration boosts or strains America’s finances—revealing why high-skilled immigrants contribute net surpluses while lower-skilled, older arrivals often bring long-term fiscal costs. We’ll also hear how his experience growing up in Venezuela shapes his views on socialism, protest culture, and...
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This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, we’re diving into global strategy, national security, child protection, and the economy. First, Ryan Berg, Director of the Americas Program and head of the Future of Venezuela Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, joins the show to break down why Venezuela matters beyond narcotics and migration, the geopolitical stakes of regime change, and the implications of U.S. policy options under a potential Trump administration. Then, Mark “Oz” Geist—Benghazi hero, former Marine, and co-chair of the Protect Our Children...
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This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, Sam is joined by guest host Seth Leibsohn, who opens the show with Robert McClure, President and CEO of The James Madison Institute, to dive into Florida’s model for election integrity, tracing the course from Bush v. Gore through to the 2025 reforms and exploring how Florida’s verification systems, voting infrastructure, and transparency protocols have become a benchmark for other states. Then, Congressman Addison McDowell of North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District joins to break down the government shutdown, expose what Democrats are holding out...
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This week on Breaking Battlegrounds we’re doing something different with one guest for the full show, our friend Patrick Byrne, founder and former CEO of Overstock.com. We open with a conversation on education, from school choice to teacher unions, and how Mississippi made the leap from 50th to top 10 in the nation in education. From there, we dive into Patrick’s new docuseries , exploring his journey from being hailed as a Wall Street prophet to resigning in 2019 after claiming he was a covert government asset caught in political espionage. We close with Kiley’s Corner, where Kiley...
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This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, Chuck and Sam are first joined by Jon Levine of the Washington Free Beacon to discuss the latest from Israel, including rising regional tensions and the role of U.S. aid, as well as developments with USAID and the New York City mayor’s race. Then journalist and media creator Sagnik Basu shares his journey to the U.S. and unpacks his Pirate Wires piece, Finally, Jennifer Sey, former national gymnastics champion and CEO of XX-XY Athletics, talks about the Colorado ballot initiative to protect girls’ sports and ensure fairness and opportunity for the next...
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This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, Chuck and Sam welcomed a powerhouse lineup of guests covering it all. of Idaho joined to discuss the 58 Democrats who voted against cracking down on political violence (with another 38 Dems voting “present”), President Trump’s push to make D.C. safer, and his work on the House Appropriations Committee. Veteran media insider weighed in on the FCC’s removal of Jimmy Kimmel, what the agency’s responsibility should be, and the inside story of the Murdoch family succession deal. Former NFL kicker and now congressional candidate for Arizona’s...
info_outlineThis week on Breaking Battlegrounds, Sam is joined by guest host Michelle Ugenti-Rita, and they first welcome Henry Olsen of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, who explains what European leaders misunderstand about Trump’s stance on Ukraine and what his transactional approach to foreign policy really means. Then, RealClearPolitics’ Susan Crabtree breaks down Donald Trump’s alleged Epstein birthday letter, raising serious questions about media credibility, source verification, and political motives. Finally, Dominic Pino of National Review explores Governor Glenn Youngkin’s ambitious deregulatory successes in Virginia, the failure of massive K–12 education spending to improve student outcomes, and why FDR was right to oppose public sector unions. Plus, in Kiley’s Corner, Kiley covers two shocking criminal cases: the arrest of 17-year-old Sarah Grace Patrick for allegedly murdering her mother and stepfather while they slept, and an attempted honor killing in Washington state, where two parents are charged with trying to strangle their daughter after she refused an arranged marriage and fled to avoid being sent to Iraq. It’s an episode you won’t want to miss—tune in now!
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About our guest:
Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, studies and provides commentary on American politics. His work focuses on how America’s political order is being upended by populist challenges, from the left and the right. He also studies populism’s impact in other democracies in the developed world. You can follow him on X @henryolsenEPPC.
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Susan Crabtree is a political correspondent for RealClearPolitics. She previously served as a senior writer for the Washington Free Beacon, and spent five years as a White House Correspondent for the Washington Examiner. You can follow her on X @susancrabtree.
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Dominic Pino is the economics editor and Thomas L. Rhodes Fellow at National Review and the host of the American Institute for Economic Research podcast Econception. You can follow him on X @DominicJPino.
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