Dad Saves America

I sat down with Joel Kotkin to discuss how California’s utopian ideology and Gavin Newsom’s disastrous governance have the turned the state into a cautionary tale.
Joel breaks down how one-party rule became the norm in California, with the Democratic Party tying itself to both Silicon Valley oligarchs and public sector unions and leaving the middle class to fend for itself.
With welfare fraud scandals in the news and Newsom’s likely 2028 presidential run, Joel warns America about what’s at stake if California’s institutional and cultural failures go national.
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Follow Joel Kotkin on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/joelkotkin
Learn more about Joel’s work: https://joelkotkin.com/
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Outline:
[0:00] California’s ideology and culture
[9:43] How Republicans lost California
[21:45] Why can’t California have a sane election?
[27:41] Hollywood stopped trying to appeal to people
[34:43] Silicon Valley’s military origins
[39:38] Was Silicon Valley’s utopianism inevitable?
[43:46] The oligarchs and unions run California
[51:58] How Gavin Newsom failed up
[1:02:50] California’s fraud epidemic
[1:07:02] The feedback loop of radical politics
[1:15:49] Is there anything good about Newsom?
[1:18:53] Can we restore the political center?
[1:20:53] Is the Iran war worth the cost?
[1:24:54] Trump was necessary crazy
[1:35:26] Where’d the curious students go?
[1:42:26] Can we have freedom without religion?
[1:50:27] Community is physical, not abstract
[1:54:12] What makes Judaism different
[2:07:37] Are we in a civilizational clash with Islam?
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Communist Twitch streamer Hasan Piker stopped by the New York Times's "The Opinions" podcast to promote shoplifting, terrorism, and Chairman Mao. Joining him was staff writer for the New Yorker Jia Tolentino, who justified stealing from Whole Foods (rebranded as “micro-looting”) and banning private schools.
Of course, the same people who espouse Marx’s “labor theory of value” often went to private schools themselves and can easily afford Whole Foods prices. The New York Times has been running cover for communism since the 1930s, but they’re barely trying to sanitize the pitch this time around.
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Check my sources over on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/dadsavesamerica/p/hasan-piker-im-pro-stealing-from?r=24ayxm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
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Purchase a T-shirt, hoodie, and more over on our merch store: https://shop.dadsavesamerica.com/
Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/g2pISPIcVzw
Make a tax-deductible donation to Dad Saves America: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://secure.anedot.com/emergent-order-foundation/dad-website?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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I sat down with libertarian reporter John Stossel to discuss his journey from pro-regulation consumer watchdog to small-government debunker of liberal economic dogma. We cover his accidental entry into journalism, his libertarian awakening, and why liberty is such a hard sell to the average person.
John is a long-time critic of media fear-mongering, creating the 1994 ABC special “Are We Scaring You to Death?” His more than 50-year career has taken him from Portland local news to ABC, Fox Business, and now his independent venture, Stossel TV.
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Follow John Stossel on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/JohnStossel?s=20
Watch Stossel TV on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@stosseltv?si=IYpeyB-fUcmL9JNz
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Outline:
[0:00] How John ended up in journalism
[4:10] Has journalism changed over the years?
[7:00] Liberty isn’t intuitive for most people
[10:44] Exposing media fear-mongering
[14:30] Was the media ever really trustworthy?
[16:47] Is “corporate greed” actually dangerous?
[21:40] The great communicators of economics
[23:39] Conservative vs libertarians vs liberals
[31:34] Steel-man the other side, then debunk it
[34:38] Why government is so inefficient
[39:07] Will we ever learn the lesson of communism?
[42:03] Social media has revolutionized citizen journalism
[46:19] The challenges facing Gen Z
[48:47] Bad news makes a better story than good news
[55:38] Rethinking the libertarian view on immigration
[1:01:25] John’s conflicted views on President Trump
[1:08:12] Kids should be working
[1:14:12] John’s upbringing and religious background
[1:19:42] How John approaches his interviews
[1:21:41] The iconic mustache and marriage
[1:28:03] Fatherhood should be playful
[1:29:21] Transitioning from TV to YouTube
[1:33:01] Should we be scared of AI?
[1:36:04] Dealing with the mess of the healthcare system
[1:39:56] Dads and moms have different strengths
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Purchase a T-shirt, hoodie, and more over on our merch store: https://shop.dadsavesamerica.com/
Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dYSTrFWHyqs
Make a tax-deductible donation to Dad Saves America: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://secure.anedot.com/emergent-order-foundation/dad-website?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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Zohran Mamdani spent Tax Day celebrating New York City’s new tax on luxury second homes. It was sold as a fix for the city’s $5 billion budget deficit, but only covers at most 10% of the gap. At the same time, Mamdani is promising a whole new set of expensive programs that would dig the hole even deeper.
California is in the same boat, pushing a 5% wealth tax on billionaires as the state budget collapses under the weight of pension promises they never planned how to pay for. Across the country, blue state politicians are doubling down on soaking the rich even as millionaires and billionaires flee to Florida and Texas.
This is the communist spiral to hell: tax more, spend more, repeat.
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Check my sources over on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/dadsavesamerica/p/first-they-tax-the-billionaires-then?r=24ayxm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
_____________________________________
Purchase a T-shirt, hoodie, and more over on our merch store: https://shop.dadsavesamerica.com/
Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/uWtHet5j5lQ
Make a tax-deductible donation to Dad Saves America: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://secure.anedot.com/emergent-order-foundation/dad-website?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Visit our website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dadsavesamerica.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


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I sat down with energy economist and CEO of PetroNerds Trisha Curtis to learn about the oil and natural gas industries, the global energy market, and how the war in Iran affects gas prices at the pump.
Trisha breaks down how fracking revolutionized American energy production, reinforcing the petrodollar as the global reserve currency. While states like California have turned away from the energy security of fossil fuels in favor of unreliable, renewable “green energy,” the U.S. still is the top player on the global stage compared to Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Iran.
The Biden administration bet everything on a net-zero future of solar and wind, undermining American energy security in the process. Under the second Trump administration, the U.S. is rebuilding the energy abundance that made it a global power in the first place.
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Follow Trisha Curtis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trisha-curtis-petronerds/
Follow Trisha Curtis on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/TrishaJCoffee?s=20
Watch PetroNerds on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@petronerds633?si=4L6gSOePdngmeG-L
Learn more about PetroNerds: https://petronerds.com/
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Outline:
[0:00] Why oil and gas matter in our everyday lives
[14:25] The link between GDP and oil consumption
[21:43] Why coal is still relevant in 2026
[27:24] Is natural gas safe?
[29:56] Energy density and transportation costs
[36:42] Food production, fertilizer, and ethanol
[45:53] The reality of “drill baby drill”
[58:21] What is “fracking”?
[1:07:31] How do we know how much oil there is?
[1:16:50] What is the “petrodollar”?
[1:19:02] Oil drilling is different in Canada
[1:22:21] The different flavors of oil
[1:30:30] California’s assault on oil
[1:33:24] The petrodollar is the global reserve currency
[1:41:39] Renewable “green energy” fails on the physics
[1:55:58] The oil subsidy myth vs inflation reality
[2:01:47] Monopolies come and go in the oil industry
[2:05:47] Why don’t people notice when prices go down?
[2:11:41] The war in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz
[2:22:55] Selective focus in geopolitics
[2:30:24] Can we stabilize the Middle East?
[2:36:18] Utopianism can’t solve real problems
_____________________________________
Purchase a T-shirt, hoodie, and more over on our merch store: https://shop.dadsavesamerica.com/
Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/BNFGie73VwM
Make a tax-deductible donation to Dad Saves America: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://secure.anedot.com/emergent-order-foundation/dad-website?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Visit our website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dadsavesamerica.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


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