The Heartlander Report

Herzog Foundation
Herzog Foundation
  • 5.0 (12)
  • News Commentary
  • Updated Weekly

A weekly national news podcast for American families, covering school choice, parental rights, and religious liberty. Every Friday, a Heartlander News writer breaks down the court rulings, statehouse fights, and culture stories shaping the country. From the newsroom at heartlandernews.com.

  1. 3d ago

    Honoring Christian Teachers and Missouri’s Map Is Reversed

    Stuart McMillian opens with two hard court stories: the lone holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy trial, Michael Desronvil, who says the focus belongs on the three children, and the aggravated-murder conviction of former American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn in the death of his wife, Ashley. The hour also covers the Department of Education restoring Title IX’s 1972 biological definition of sex, a Gallup finding that 41 percent of Americans now view socialism favorably, and a University of Missouri ban after a non-student advocated political violence at a Turning Point USA event.  The center of the program is a Supreme Court order that Missouri use its 2022 congressional map in November, not the GOP-favored Missouri First map used in the primary. Rep. Bob Onder calls that a rejection of 1.2 million primary votes and argues the Missouri Plan hands judicial nominations to legal elites. Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt describes how anonymous sourcing still produces stories the White House says are false. The second half honors 12 educators at the Herzog Foundation’s Excellence in Christian Education Awards, with video remarks from Sen. Ted Cruz on school choice, and notes two Christian songs on the Billboard Hot 100. 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:01:13 – Clancy Juror Speaks 00:02:59 – Flynn Verdict, Title IX 00:05:18 – Campus Violence Debate 00:06:42 – Missouri Map Ruling 00:08:04 – Scrap the Missouri Plan 00:10:10 – How the Plan Works 00:13:36 – Proposition A Vote 00:13:59 – Leavitt on Fake News 00:16:48 – Amish, Coal, Chicago 00:17:31 – Christian Teacher Awards 00:19:25 – Cruz on School Choice 00:22:15 – Math Teacher Honored 00:26:21 – Christian Songs Chart  Follow Heartlander News on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.  You can also sign-up for our newsletter and follow our coverage at HeartlanderNews.com. To learn more about the Herzog Foundation, visit HerzogFoundation.com. Like and follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram, or sign up to receive monthly email updates. #ChristianEducation #Education #EducationPolicy #EducationReform #FaithAndLearning #Family #FaithInEducation #Faith #Homeschool #ChristianSchool #PrivateSchool #EducationNews #News #Religion #ReligiousNews #PublicSchool #SchoolNews #NewsShow #SchoolChoice

  2. Sep 25

    Trump at the U.N., The Mifepristone Battle, and Missouri’s Map Fight

    Michaela Estruth opens with President Trump at the United Nations, where he framed a choice over Iran, predicted pressure on Cuba’s regime, and said the government should call artificial intelligence “superintelligence.” An EPA official told Audrey Streb the administration wants AI to speed energy permitting. Senator Josh Hawley argues Missourians should vote on data centers and that no project should raise power or water costs. He also pressed Flock after a Senate hearing on its camera network, saying the company tracks more than license plates and that executives skipped the hearing. The episode then covers a White House fight with CNN, Politico, and MS Now over press access, a judge’s order restoring those outlets, and FDA nominee Heidi Overton’s testimony on mail-order mifepristone. Estruth argues the administration is stalling on restoring in-person safeguards while states sue. Missouri also receives rural hospital money under the Rural Health Transformation Program. Stuart McMillian talks with Rep. Bob Onder after the Eighth Circuit kept the Republican-drawn Missouri First map for November, pending any last move by the Supreme Court. 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:00:30 – Trump Addresses the U.N. 00:01:42 – Pressure on Cuba 00:02:17 – Calling It Superintelligence 00:03:35 – AI Permits and Data Centers 00:06:20 – Hawley on Flock Cameras 00:07:26 – White House Press Ban 00:10:10 – Judge Restores Access 00:10:44 – Overton on Abortion Pills 00:12:00 – FDA Delay on Safeguards 00:16:54 – Missouri Rural Health Funds 00:19:51 – Missouri Map Battle Follow Heartlander News on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.  You can also sign-up for our newsletter and follow our coverage at HeartlanderNews.com. To learn more about the Herzog Foundation, visit HerzogFoundation.com. Like and follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram, or sign up to receive monthly email updates. #ChristianEducation #Education #EducationPolicy #EducationReform #FaithAndLearning #Family #FaithInEducation #Faith #Homeschool #ChristianSchool #PrivateSchool #EducationNews #News #Religion #ReligiousNews #PublicSchool #SchoolNews #NewsShow #SchoolChoice

  3. Sep 18

    Vance’s Fraud Task Force and This Week’s Court Fights

    Michaela Estruth discusses Vice President J.D. Vance's visit to Kansas City, where Operation Heartland Surge announced $245 million in recovered theft, charges against more than 80 people, and the suspension of 870,000 alleged PPP borrowers. Vance, Attorney General Todd Blanche, and FBI Director Kash Patel said the work now extends to Medicaid, including claims that hospitals hid banned procedures for minors under other billing codes. Estruth asked Vance how to lock anti-fraud work into lasting law and whether Medicaid cases are on the list. He said the task force is looking, invited Democrats to join, and warned thieves that the way to get rich should be building something, not stealing from taxpayers.  The episode also covers the Supreme Court blocking Trump’s mail-in ballot rules, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s Houston message that climate alarm is being used to scare the public, Texas’s new classical social-studies standards, and Nashville teachers who say they were pressured to change grades. After the break: Washington parents asking the Court to stop a runaway-shelter law, a Massachusetts family fighting state custody, and an Idaho bathroom-law settlement that paid a female student $34,000. 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:00:44 – Court Blocks Ballot Order 00:03:17 – G20 Energy in Houston 00:04:45 – Zeldin on Climate Rhetoric 00:06:38 – Texas History Standards 00:07:12 – Nashville Grade Pressure 00:09:06 – Vance Fraud Task Force 00:11:19 – Estruth Questions Vance 00:14:27 – Making Fraud Laws Last 00:18:38 – Washington Shelter Law 00:21:05 – Massachusetts Custody Fight 00:23:00 – Idaho Bathroom Settlement  Follow Heartlander News on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.  You can also sign-up for our newsletter and follow our coverage at HeartlanderNews.com. To learn more about the Herzog Foundation, visit HerzogFoundation.com. Like and follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram, or sign up to receive monthly email updates. #ChristianEducation #Education #EducationPolicy #EducationReform #FaithAndLearning #Family #FaithInEducation #Faith #Homeschool #ChristianSchool #PrivateSchool #EducationNews #News #Religion #ReligiousNews #PublicSchool #SchoolNews #NewsShow #SchoolChoice

  4. Sep 11

    Remembering 9/11 and Charlie Kirk

    Michaela Estruth marks two hard anniversaries in the same week: 25 years since the September 11 attacks and one year since the assassination of Charlie Kirk. President Trump hosted first responders and victims’ families in Washington and posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Wells Crowther, the “man in the red bandana.” Heartlander reporter Audrey Streb speaks with retired FDNY captain Tom Colucci, now a Catholic priest, who says the worst and best of that day strengthened his faith. The episode also covers a first-of-its-kind Republican midterm convention in Dallas, a failed Nike shareholder proposal asking the company to study risks tied to gender-ideology advocacy, and Louisiana’s Fifth Circuit fight over mail-order mifepristone. Estruth reports that unregulated shipment of the chemical abortion pill can undermine state law, conceal coercion, and send women to emergency rooms. The second half returns to Kirk’s memorial through Frank Turek and historian Michael Federer, who urge listeners to reject rumor, honor a grieving family, and keep attention on the work Kirk left unfinished. 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:00:38 – Trump Hosts 9/11 Families 00:01:24 – Medal for Wells Crowther 00:03:06 – Firefighter Turned Priest 00:04:38 – Faith After the Attacks 00:06:06 – GOP Midterm Convention 00:08:19 – Nike Rejects Risk Study 00:10:08 – Louisiana Abortion Pill Case 00:11:24 – Coercion and State Law 00:13:28 – Emergency Room Aftermath 00:16:42 – Restoring Dobbs Promise 00:17:38 – One Year After Kirk 00:17:56 – Rumors Called Demonic 00:21:09 – Federer on Kirk’s Legacy 00:23:34 – Wisdom Meets Passion 00:25:56 – Unity Over Infighting  Follow Heartlander News on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.  You can also sign-up for our newsletter and follow our coverage at HeartlanderNews.com. To learn more about the Herzog Foundation, visit HerzogFoundation.com. Like and follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram, or sign up to receive monthly email updates. #ChristianEducation #Education #EducationPolicy #EducationReform #FaithAndLearning #Family #FaithInEducation #Faith #Homeschool #ChristianSchool #PrivateSchool #EducationNews #News #Religion #ReligiousNews #PublicSchool #SchoolNews #NewsShow #SchoolChoice

  5. Sep 4

    Kansas Schools Caught Hiding Gender Policies From Parents

    Dr. Josh Mann and Michaela Estruth lead with exclusive audio from a Kansas City, Kansas public-school meeting that later appeared in a first-of-its-kind Department of Justice lawsuit. The Civil Rights Division sued the district for facilitating gender transitions for minors without parental consent. Heartlander News first reported the meeting 18 months earlier. In the recording, officials discuss changing DEI titles after a federal crackdown, holding “underground railroad conversations,” looking for loopholes, and keeping a student’s preferred name from parents. One teacher describes a young student coming out at school and routing the matter through a social worker rather than the child’s father. The episode then turns to growing concern over Flock license-plate cameras, including investigations, polling, and new data limits. Stuart McMillian reports on Turning Point USA’s PREP Year, a nine-month Christian classical alternative to four-year college now expanding to a second campus. He also interviews Show-Me Institute analyst Avery Frank on Missouri’s public-school staffing boom: fewer students since 2000, far more teachers and administrators, and salary dollars spread thinner across a larger workforce. 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:00:33 – DOJ Sues Kansas Schools 00:02:46 – Recorded Roundtable Meeting 00:03:56 – DEI Title Change Explained 00:07:04 – Searching for Loopholes 00:08:32 – Parental Rights at Stake 00:09:53 – Hiding Names From Parents 00:12:39 – License Plate Cameras 00:15:26 – TPUSA PREP Year 00:17:37 – Carrying Kirk’s Legacy 00:18:58 – Missouri Staffing Boom 00:20:09 – Fewer Students More Staff 00:22:26 – Teacher Pay Tradeoff 00:24:40 – Where the Money Goes 00:26:04 – Check Local Districts Follow Heartlander News on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.  You can also sign-up for our newsletter and follow our coverage at HeartlanderNews.com. To learn more about the Herzog Foundation, visit HerzogFoundation.com. Like and follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram, or sign up to receive monthly email updates. #ChristianEducation #Education #EducationPolicy #EducationReform #FaithAndLearning #Family #FaithInEducation #Faith #Homeschool #ChristianSchool #PrivateSchool #EducationNews #News #Religion #ReligiousNews #PublicSchool #SchoolNews #NewsShow #SchoolChoice

  6. Aug 28

    Remembering Dolly Parton and The Lake of America

    Josh Mann and Michaela Estruth open with the death of Dolly Parton at age 80 after a brief battle with cancer. They reflect on her cultural impact, philanthropy, larger-than-life public persona, and the quieter faith she spoke about more openly in later years. The conversation then turns to President Trump’s executive order renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America amid an escalating trade dispute with Canada. After talks collapsed, 50 percent tariffs on roughly $20 billion in Canadian goods took effect, with Canadian retaliatory measures scheduled for September 8. Estruth reports on Meta’s $17.1 billion settlement with 47 states over alleged harms to children on Facebook and Instagram. The deal includes some new parental controls but no admission of wrongdoing and leaves key algorithm practices intact. Additional stories include a California homeschool-charter case seeking Supreme Court review after religious language and curriculum were rejected, Israel’s high ranking on the World Happiness Report despite ongoing war, a devastating glacial outburst flood in Nepal, Iran-linked cyberattacks on U.S. water facilities, and new data showing record marijuana use alongside a historic low in alcohol consumption. 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:00:31 – Dolly Parton Dies 00:01:23 – Cultural Impact Recalled 00:02:13 – Faith and Public Life 00:03:51 – Lake Ontario Renamed 00:04:17 – Canada Tariff Standoff 00:06:44 – Meta Child Safety Deal 00:10:15 – Settlement Limits 00:12:16 – California Homeschool Suit 00:14:10 – Ninth Circuit Ruling 00:15:30 – Supreme Court Petition 00:16:24 – Israel Happiness Ranking 00:19:31 – Family and Fertility 00:21:38 – Nepal Outburst Flood 00:24:14 – Water System Hacks 00:26:09 – Marijuana Use Record  Follow Heartlander News on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.  You can also sign-up for our newsletter and follow our coverage at HeartlanderNews.com. To learn more about the Herzog Foundation, visit HerzogFoundation.com. Like and follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram, or sign up to receive monthly email updates. #ChristianEducation #Education #EducationPolicy #EducationReform #FaithAndLearning #Family #FaithInEducation #Faith #Homeschool #ChristianSchool #PrivateSchool #EducationNews #News #Religion #ReligiousNews #PublicSchool #SchoolNews #NewsShow #SchoolChoice

  7. Aug 21

    Fauci Advisor Pleads Guilty to Hiding COVID Records

    Michaela Estruth joins Josh Mann to unpack several major stories from the week. The lead discussion centers on David Morens, a top former advisor to Dr. Anthony Fauci, who pleaded guilty to defrauding the United States by moving official COVID-related emails—including discussions of the lab-leak hypothesis—to a private Gmail account to evade FOIA requests. The correspondence also shows efforts to keep sensitive material off federal systems and even celebrate the concealment. Additional coverage includes new FBI data showing a 9.3 percent drop in violent crime from 2024 to 2025—the largest year-to-year decline in nine decades—with murders falling to levels not seen since the mid-1950s. The conversation then turns to stalled tariff negotiations with Canada, a New Jersey school district’s ban on adult volunteers with Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a Liberty University student’s scholarship case potentially headed to the Supreme Court, fabricated political polls that were treated as legitimate, and the ongoing Meta lawsuit alleging the company prioritized profits over the safety of young users.Chapters: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:00:32 – Morens Guilty Plea 00:02:27 – Private Gmail Strategy 00:04:52 – Censorship and Celebration 00:06:15 – Violent Crime Decline 00:09:47 – Canada Tariff Threat 00:12:46 – FCA Religious Discrimination 00:17:24 – Scholarship Case to SCOTUS 00:20:16 – Fake Political Polls 00:26:01 – Meta Youth Harm Lawsuit Follow Heartlander News on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.  You can also sign-up for our newsletter and follow our coverage at HeartlanderNews.com. To learn more about the Herzog Foundation, visit HerzogFoundation.com. Like and follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram, or sign up to receive monthly email updates. #ChristianEducation #Education #EducationPolicy #EducationReform #FaithAndLearning #Family #FaithInEducation #Faith #Homeschool #ChristianSchool #PrivateSchool #EducationNews #News #Religion #ReligiousNews #PublicSchool #SchoolNews #NewsShow #SchoolChoice

  8. Aug 14

    NASA’s Nuclear Push for the Moon and Mars

    Heartlander News reporter Stuart McMillian joins Dr. Josh Mann to recount his exclusive tour of the Idaho National Laboratory alongside NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. The focus is SR-1 Freedom, the first fission-powered spacecraft designed for nuclear electric propulsion and a path to Mars, with a hard launch target of December 2028. Isaacman stresses the urgency of the second space race as China prepares to land Chang’e 7 at the lunar South Pole, while the Department of Energy and NASA accelerate reactor development at record speed.  McMillian describes walking through restricted prototype facilities, radiation-shielded labs, and vibration-test rigs that simulate rocket launch conditions. The conversation then turns to the Air Force’s decision to base F-15E Strike Eagles at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, preserving the historic 442nd Fighter Wing.  Additional stories cover recent Democratic primary results, where moderate candidates defeated more progressive challengers in Missouri and Wisconsin, and a new survey showing nearly one in six Americans have already acted on AI medical advice without consulting a physician. 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:00:34 – Nuclear Power for Space 00:00:50 – Isaacman at Idaho Lab 00:01:08 – Winning the Space Race 00:01:40 – SR-1 Freedom Mission 00:02:10 – China’s Lunar Challenge 00:03:18 – DOE Rapid Deployment 00:03:58 – Building Reactor Hardware 00:05:29 – 2028 Mission Deadline 00:07:04 – Tour of Idaho Lab 00:08:26 – Prototypes and Restricted Areas 00:10:39 – Reactor Testing Rigs 00:12:13 – Nuclear Technology Revival 00:14:16 – AI and Energy Needs 00:15:49 – China as Space Rival 00:18:06 – F-15s to Whiteman 00:19:58 – Democratic Primary Results 00:23:35 – AI Medical Advice Survey Follow Heartlander News on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.  You can also sign-up for our newsletter and follow our coverage at HeartlanderNews.com. To learn more about the Herzog Foundation, visit HerzogFoundation.com. Like and follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram, or sign up to receive monthly email updates. #ChristianEducation #Education #EducationPolicy #EducationReform #FaithAndLearning #Family #FaithInEducation #Faith #Homeschool #ChristianSchool #PrivateSchool #EducationNews #News #Religion #ReligiousNews #PublicSchool #SchoolNews #NewsShow #SchoolChoice

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About

A weekly national news podcast for American families, covering school choice, parental rights, and religious liberty. Every Friday, a Heartlander News writer breaks down the court rulings, statehouse fights, and culture stories shaping the country. From the newsroom at heartlandernews.com.

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