College Is Broken, China Is on Defense, and Arizona School Choice Is Under Fire

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, Sam Stone is joined by Jonathan Butcher, Scot Mussi, Lou Perez, and John Lee to discuss higher education, Arizona school choice, comedy, culture, and Canada’s euthanasia controversy. The show is then turned over to Chuck Warren  who sits down with Dr. John Lee for a one on one talk on China, Iran, critical minerals, and U.S. foreign policy. The episode wraps with B’s Crime Corner and a disturbing true crime case unravleing in Ohio.

Jonathan Butcher, Acting Director of the Center for Education Policy and Will Skillman Senior Research Fellow in Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation, joins the show to discuss his book Higher Education in America: It’s Worse than You Think. Butcher breaks down the rising cost of college, the unclear pricing behind tuition, the role of federal student loans in tuition inflation, and the ideological imbalance on many campuses. He also discusses threats facing Jewish students, the impact of campus culture on young men and women, declining birth rates, and why lawmakers need to enforce the law on college campuses. The conversation also looks at trade schools, career readiness, and why America needs to rethink the idea that every student must follow the traditional college path. Want a copy of Jonathan Butcher’s book, Higher Education in America: It’s Worse than You Think? The first five listeners to DM the Breaking Battlegrounds Facebook page with “Higher Education in America” will receive a copy. Make sure to include your mailing address so we know where to send it.

Follow Jonathan Butcher on X: @JM_Butcher

Scot Mussi, President of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, joins Sam to discuss the fight over Arizona’s school choice program and a ballot initiative backed by the Washington, D.C. Teachers Union that could impact more than 100,000 students. Mussi explains why school choice matters for families, including students with special needs, and why the fight over education funding is becoming one of the biggest political battles in Arizona. He also discusses Republican enthusiasm ahead of the November midterm elections, border security, cost of living, local spending, municipal budget increases, tax burdens, and what conservatives need to do to turn voter enthusiasm into turnout.

Follow Scot Mussi on X: @ScotMussi
Follow Arizona Free Enterprise Club on X: @azfec
Website: azfree.org

Comedian, producer, and author Lou Perez joins the program to discuss a troubling medical assistance in dying case out of Canada involving a 45-year-old man with inflammatory bowel disease and mental health struggles who was assessed for euthanasia outside a Tim Hortons before dying without his family being informed. Lou and Sam discuss the ethical questions surrounding Canada’s MAID system, the consequences for the doctor involved, and the documentary Better Off Dead, which examines euthanasia practices in Canada. 

Follow Lou Perez on X: @LouPerez                                                                                             

The second to last segment, host Chuck Warren sits down with Dr. John Lee for a wide-ranging foreign policy conversation on China, Trump’s strategy, critical minerals, Iran, and America’s alliances. Dr. Lee is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute, a senior fellow nonresident at the United States Studies Centre, and an adjunct professor at the University of Sydney.

Lee discusses his article in The Hill, “After the Trump-G Summit, China, Not America, is on the Back Foot,” and argues that the Trump administration’s reindustrialization and rearming agenda has strengthened America’s strategic position rather than weakened it. He explains why Xi Jinping is now operating from a less favorable position, why America’s allies may need pressure to take defense more seriously, and why critical minerals have become a major national security priority after years of warning signs from Beijing.

Dr. Lee also breaks down the Iran situation, arguing that a successful outcome for the United States would mean setting back Iran’s nuclear ambitions and reducing its conventional military threat. He explains why China is a more rational negotiating actor than Iran, how regime security shapes Tehran’s decision-making, and why the U.S.-Australia alliance remains strategically strong despite political tensions over Trump.

Guest: John Lee
Article: “After the Trump-G Summit, China, Not America, is on the Back Foot” in The Hill

In the final segment, B’s Crime Corner returns with a disturbing true crime case out of Ohio, where two parents were convicted after their 11-year-old son, who had Hirschsprung’s disease, died in a hotel room after being denied medical treatment. B breaks down the case, the 15-year prison sentences, the unanswered questions, and the psychology behind parents who harm their own children.

Tune in to Breaking Battlegrounds, the radio show covering the latest news, politics, culture, crime, and the stories shaping America. 

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