American Thought Leaders

The Epoch Times
The Epoch Times
  • 4.9 (1.2K)
  • Politics
  • Updated Semiweekly

At a time when our nation is portrayed as increasingly polarized, media often ignore viewpoints and stories that are worthy of attention. American Thought Leaders, hosted by The Epoch Times Senior Editor Jan Jekielek, features in-depth discussions with some of America’s most influential thought leaders on pertinent issues facing our nation today.

  1. 2d ago

    EXCLUSIVE: Kash Patel: The FBI’s War on Scam Centers Around the World

    In this exclusive interview with FBI Director Kash Patel, we dive into the FBI’s campaign to take down scam centers around the world, from Burma to the United Arab Emirates. Last year, the FBI launched Operation Blackout, a 16-month campaign that dismantled four of the world’s largest scam centers. Working with international partners—notably including China’s Ministry of Public Security—the FBI seized over $15 billion, arrested more than 300 individuals, and freed thousands of trafficked victims who had been forced to work at these scam compounds. The amount of money Americans have reported losing to fraud has increased over threefold from 2020 to 2025, according to data from the Federal Trade Commission. And nearly half of that in 2025 went to romance cryptocurrency scams—known as pig-butchering scams. Scammers use texts to build trust before luring victims into fake investments that drain their life savings. Then they move and launder the money through crypto wallets. So what can people do to avoid being scammed? Will the FBI be returning all the seized money? And why has the FBI chosen to work with China on tackling these scam compounds? How can the Chinese regime be trusted to work in good faith? In this wide-ranging interview, we also discuss the FBI’s fight to catch spies, investigate transnational repression, cut bureaucratic red tape, and prevent the next terrorist attack. Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

    EXCLUSIVE: Kash Patel: The FBI’s War on Scam Centers Around the World

  2. 4d ago

    How One Peace Agreement Gave America a New Route Through Iran and Russia’s Backyard | Ambassador Narek Mkrtchyan

    Almost a year after the Washington Declaration, Armenia is trying to turn a hard-won peace with Azerbaijan into something lasting. In this conversation, Armenia’s ambassador to the United States, Narek Mkrtchyan, explains what the agreement means on the ground and why the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity could reshape the region and the country’s future. “We sit in a very tough neighborhood. We sit in a very interesting geography. We are at the crossroads of Europe, Middle East, Central Asia, South Caucasus,” Mkrtchyan says. Mkrtchyan describes how Armenia is trying to turn geography into strategy through the development of diplomacy, new trade routes, and international partnerships. He views this as more than a peace process—it’s a chance to redefine Armenia’s place in the region. “In the center is the concept of crossroads of peace,” Mkrtchyan says. Recently, Armenia also got approval for the biggest artificial intelligence factory in the region—a $4 billion project that officials say could help make the country a hub for computing power and advanced technology. Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

    How One Peace Agreement Gave America a New Route Through Iran and Russia’s Backyard | Ambassador Narek Mkrtchyan

  3. 6d ago

    The Multi-Billion Dollar Industry Using Trafficked Slaves to Scam Americans | Timothy Blackwood

    Americans are ripped off in the billions annually through romance “pig-butchering” scams—the most dominant type. But who’s really behind them? The shocking reality is the vast majority of these scammers are trafficked victims, enslaved across more than 60 countries and forced to scam or face torture. “You’re working 17-hour days. You’re catatonic. You’re not getting sleep. You start to doze. They‘ll electrocute you, and if you refuse to scam, they’ll torture you,” said Timothy Blackwood, an award-winning Canadian-American film director. His film “Scam Slave: From Hell to Home” follows a Ugandan man promised a high-paying job in Thailand, only to be kidnapped by a Myanmar-based crime syndicate. “There’s all different types of scams going on there. There’s villas, there’s strip clubs, there’s clinics to support the staff that are managing and running these compounds,” Blackwood says. These scam centers in Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar generate billions that fund even more advanced operations. “It’s not simply in the horrific statistics of how many billions of dollars are being scammed from Americans annually, but the human cost to people’s lives.” In this episode, I dive into how these operations stay hidden and what can actually be done to stop them. Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

    The Multi-Billion Dollar Industry Using Trafficked Slaves to Scam Americans | Timothy Blackwood

  4. Aug 1

    The Hidden Realities of Buying Eggs, Sperm, or a Womb | Katy Faust

    💰Protect your wealth with precious metals! Call American Hartford Gold today & get up to $20,000 in free silver on your 1st order! Call 855-862-3377 or text AMERICAN to 65532 or click here: https://ept.ms/ATL-AHG Since the sexual revolution and the introduction of no-fault divorce in 1969, the institution of marriage in America has undergone a profound transformation. Katy Faust, founder of children’s rights organization Them Before Us and co-author of a book by the same name, argues that marriage has changed from a permanent, child-centered union to a vehicle for adult fulfillment. And now new reproductive technologies—from IVF to surrogacy—are making parenthood possible in ways never seen before. For many, this is progress. But at what cost? Faust argues that for decades, we have prioritized adult desire over a child’s fundamental right to be known, loved, and raised by their biological mother and father. In this episode, she walks me through many complex questions: What makes something a natural right? What is the true impact of divorce on children? Why isn’t surrogacy just a neutral transaction? And for countries facing shrinking birth rates, why is IVF perhaps not the right solution? Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

    The Hidden Realities of Buying Eggs, Sperm, or a Womb | Katy Faust

  5. Jul 31

    How the CCP Is Turning America Against Itself | Tianliang Zhang

    The values Americans hold dear—such as freedom of speech, religious liberty, and democratic elections—are weaponized by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), says Tianliang Zhang, an author, historian, and popular commentator on China affairs. In this episode, he argues that the CCP devised a master plan called “America against America” to exploit those very freedoms and openness in order to undermine U.S. interests. The concept was developed by Wang Huning in 1989, chairman of China’s top political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). “But how to implement that, that’s the unrestricted war,” Zhang says. Unrestricted warfare is a CCP doctrine of leveraging everything as a tool of war, whether it be fentanyl, the media, or election integrity. How is this war waged in practice? The transnational repression targeting Falun Gong practitioners is one such example. The Falun Gong meditation practice was popular in China during the 1990s. An estimated 70 million to 100 million people took it up, crediting it for health benefits and mental well-being. In 1999, the CCP unleashed a nationwide persecution, subjecting the practitioners to various abuses, including slave labor and forced organ harvesting. “CCP sees it as [the] number one threat in its history … so they use American media, they use the freedom of speech here, they use the justice system here to persecute Falun Gong [practitioners],” Zhang said. The CCP’s goal, Zhang says, is to “eliminate all the independent thoughts” that do not conform to communist ideology. Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

    How the CCP Is Turning America Against Itself | Tianliang Zhang

  6. Jul 29

    How Cuba Penetrated America’s Security Elite | John Suarez

    🔥IMMERSED: Round closes July 30. Invest before the round closes. Learn more about Immersed here: https://ept.ms/44RDBfk “The Cuban regime has been very successful at portraying itself as harmless,” but in reality, Cuba’s intelligence service is “more formidable than the KGB,” says John Suarez, the executive director of the Center for a Free Cuba. A new 100 page State Department report details the full scope of Cuba’s operations, penetrating all levels of the U.S. government, including the CIA and State Department. How did a country like Cuba become what the State Department describes as the “capital of 21st century communism?” Suarez says the regime’s long-term infiltration operations recruit agents early, especially via university exchanges. For instance, Ana Belén Montes spied for Cuba for 17 years as a senior Defense Intelligence Agency analyst, leaking critical information that compromised U.S. intelligence operations. In another case, a high-ranking U.S. diplomat, Victor Manuel Rocha, shaped American foreign policy for 40 years to benefit Havana until his arrest in 2023. The Chinese Communist Party is among Cuba’s top backers, installing infrastructure in Cuba to spy on U.S. communications. In this episode, we trace how this small island built a global intelligence network and how sympathizers in free societies help whitewash the regime. Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

    How Cuba Penetrated America’s Security Elite | John Suarez

  7. Jul 25

    Why Taiwan is Fighting the World’s Largest Cyber War | Wang Ting-yu

    🔥Check out Immersed and invest in the future of AI-powered spatial computing. Round closes July 30: https://ept.ms/4fY9c4b Taiwan faces millions of cyberattacks and intrusion attempts every day, as well as a dizzying onslaught of disinformation from Beijing. There are few people who understand what Taiwan is really up against better than Taiwanese legislator Wang Ting-yu, a leader in the Taiwanese Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee. He’s been sanctioned three times by Beijing and repeatedly threatened for speaking out. In this episode, he reveals Taiwan’s three-step strategy to withstand the Chinese Communist Party’s psychological onslaught. Winning the battle for truth, he believes, is imperative to preserving the life of any democratic nation. And he also breaks down the importance of this tiny island nation. Taiwan produces two-thirds of the world’s semiconductors—and nearly all of the advanced ones—but its importance stretches far beyond this single product. Wang details Taiwan’s strategic position, its role in critical supply chains, and its role as a frontier of human freedom. Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

    Why Taiwan is Fighting the World’s Largest Cyber War | Wang Ting-yu

  8. Jul 24

    How Anti-Semitism Took Hold in America | Batya Ungar-Sargon

    Historically, America was always one of the friendliest countries towards Jews compared to many countries in Europe, says Batya Ungar-Sargon. But in recent years, there’s a major shift on the left with anti-Semitism on the rise, she says. In this episode, she breaks down the ideological shifts reshaping American politics and explains why she rejects the modern “victimhood hierarchy.” Ungar-Sargon is the author of "The Jews and the Left" and host of “Batya!” on NewsNation argues. Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

    How Anti-Semitism Took Hold in America | Batya Ungar-Sargon
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At a time when our nation is portrayed as increasingly polarized, media often ignore viewpoints and stories that are worthy of attention. American Thought Leaders, hosted by The Epoch Times Senior Editor Jan Jekielek, features in-depth discussions with some of America’s most influential thought leaders on pertinent issues facing our nation today.

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