WSJ Opinion: Free Expression The Wall Street Journal

With the explosion of protests on university campuses and as Donald Trump sits in a courtroom facing felony charges, the 2024 presidential race is at a new level of volatility. Polls show Joe BIden trailing Trump in the key swing states, leaving the current President with only the slimmest of margins as a path to reelection. Six months out, what might change? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Cook Political Report Amy Walter and Gerry Baker discuss which states may decide the future of the presidency and the issues which mean the most when going to the polls. 

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Have our elite universities become seedbeds of hatred? Since Hamas’ murderous attacks on Israel on October 7th, and the war in Gaza that followed, demonstrations have exploded on the campus of American universities. In the last two weeks, the mayhem has escalated. Columbia University especially has been overrun by angry protesters, many of them pushing nakedly antisemitic messages and harassing Jewish students - who have been advised to steer clear of campus for their own safety. One Columbia professor who has challenged the encampments, Shai Davidai, has even found himself barred from the campus. On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, Davidai tells Gerry Baker about the growth of Hamas and Hezbollah-supporting organizations at Columbia and other universities and describes the threat they pose not just to Jews but to the wider population. 

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As the Biden administration and international public opinion up the pressure on Israel to suspend its campaign against an enemy sworn to destroy it, the right of the Jewish state to defend itself seems to be challenged. Can Israel finish the job against Hamas? Will Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remain in office despite fierce domestic criticism? What are the wider geopolitical issues at stake? On this episode of the Potomac Watch podcast, policy analyst Reuel Marc Gerecht tells Gerry Baker why an occupation of Gaza by Israel is likely necessary, how pro-Palestinian voters in the United States have influence over Joe Biden’s policy decisions, and why Iran and questions about its nuclear program continue to linger over the entire war.

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With more and more parents giving their children access to smartphones earlier in their lives a common troubling thread seems to be arising that is affecting the way children are growing up.

On this episode of the Free Expression Podcast, Gerry Baker speaks with Jonathan Haidt, Author of “The Anxious Generation” How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.

Haidt discusses the dangers that are present on social media platforms and how easily accessible they are to kids with very little obstacles to get in the way of them being harmed psychologically. 



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After over 140 people were killed at a concert venue in Moscow, Islamic State in Khorasan Province, or ISKP, an Afghanistan-based offshoot of ISIS, quickly claimed responsibility. Who are ISKP and what wider threat do they pose to the West and the U.S. in particular? On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, Afghan Armed Forces Lieutenant General Sami Sadat tells Gerry Baker why he thinks ISKP will strike again and soon - - perhaps even in the U.S. He also explains how the chaotic and hurried U.S. departure from Afghanistan in 2021 and the Doha Accord of 2020 helped set the conditions for the resurgence of the terrorist menace. According to Sadat, the Biden administration's plans to fight the enemy from "over the horizon" are doomed to fail. 

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With the Federal Reserve signaling it still plans to cut interest rates this year, has the inflation threat really abated? Heightened optimism about a soft landing has cooled somewhat as inflation at the start of the year has shown signs of persisting. What happens next will have big political implications too. In an election year, more voters seemingly have a negative opinion of how Joe Biden is handling the economy. If interest rates don’t fall appreciably, it won’t help his re-election prospects. On this episode of the Free Expression podcast, former Obama White House chief economist Jason Furman tells Gerry Baker why he’s concerned about continuing inflation risks, how rising mortgage rates are causing so much pessimism in households nationwide, and what he thinks the Fed will do next. 

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