Lee Smith welcomes career educator and philosopher Jake Tawney for a thought-provoking discussion on one of the most consequential issues facing classrooms today: the rise of artificial intelligence in education. In Episode Fifty of Roots, Rights & Reason, Tawney challenges the conventional debate over AI by arguing that the most important questions are not about technology itself, but about what it means to be human, how students learn, and whether artificial intelligence is gradually replacing the very skills education is meant to cultivate.

Throughout the conversation, Smith and Tawney explore the distinction between AI algorithms and conversational interfaces like ChatGPT, examining how these tools may shape human communication, critical thinking, and intellectual development. Tawney warns that technologies designed to automate reasoning inevitably risk diminishing the human capacities they replace, while also offering practical guidance for parents, educators, and policymakers seeking to navigate AI responsibly in the classroom. The episode presents a timely and philosophical examination of a rapidly evolving technology and its profound implications for the future of education, human formation, and society itself.

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Lee Smith welcomes renowned political philosopher, Harvard professor, and author Harvey Mansfield for a candid conversation about the decline of one of America’s most influential institutions. Drawing from his latest book, Where Harvard Went Wrong, Mansfield reflects on more than seven decades at Harvard and explains how the university gradually shifted from a place of intellectual diversity to one increasingly shaped by political activism, ideological conformity, and institutional groupthink.

Throughout the episode, Smith and Mansfield examine the cultural and political forces that transformed higher education, from the student rebellions of the 1960s to the rise of modern campus activism. The discussion explores Harvard’s recent controversies, including leadership failures, declining public trust, grade inflation, antisemitism concerns, and the growing divide between academic elites and the broader American public. While acknowledging the serious challenges facing Harvard and other universities, Mansfield also offers a measured assessment of the path forward and why restoring intellectual balance remains essential to the future of higher education in America.

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In Episode Forty-Eight of Roots, Rights & Reason, host Lee Smith welcomes award-winning journalist, filmmaker, and New York Times bestselling author Jan Jekielek for a sobering discussion about one of the most disturbing human rights atrocities of the modern era. Drawing from his newly released book Killed to Order, Jekielek exposes the Chinese Communist Party’s state-run forced organ harvesting industry and explains how prisoners of conscience, particularly Falun Gong practitioners, became targets of a system driven by political repression, dehumanization, and profit.

Throughout the episode, Smith and Jekielek examine how decades of Western engagement with Communist China overlooked mounting evidence of brutality in pursuit of economic partnership. The conversation explores the CCP’s use of propaganda, coercion, and global influence operations, while highlighting growing efforts in the United States to expose forced organ harvesting and hold those responsible accountable. It is a powerful discussion about morality, totalitarianism, and the true nature of America’s greatest geopolitical adversary.

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In this episode of Roots, Rights & Reason, Lee Smith welcomes Carson Holloway, Washington Fellow in the Claremont Institute’s Center for the American Way of Life and author of No Liberty to Libel: The Constitutional Case Against New York Times v. Sullivan. Holloway examines one of the most consequential Supreme Court decisions in modern history, arguing that the “actual malice” standard established in New York Times v. Sullivan has strayed from the Constitution’s original meaning and made it extraordinarily difficult for public figures to defend their reputations against false and damaging claims.

Drawing on the Founders’ understanding of natural rights, Holloway explains that reputation was once regarded as a fundamental right alongside life, liberty, and property. As today’s media landscape is shaped by rapid information cycles, anonymous sourcing, and the widespread reach of digital platforms, the conversation raises urgent questions about accountability, public trust, and the future of American discourse, and whether the Supreme Court may be ready to revisit one of its most influential First Amendment precedents.

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In this episode of Roots, Rights & Reason, Lee Smith welcomes C. L. Max Nikias for a compelling conversation on leadership, resilience, and the enduring wisdom of the classical world. Drawing from the works of Homer and Xenophon, Dr. Nikias explains how the traits of great leaders, vision, discipline, courage, and self-restraint have been understood for centuries and remain essential today.

From his personal journey as an immigrant to his leadership at one of America’s top universities, Dr. Nikias reflects on the principles that shape strong leadership in times of uncertainty. This episode explores how classical education informed the Founding Fathers, why resilience is the defining test of leadership, and what it will take to cultivate the next generation of leaders in a rapidly changing world.

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In this episode of Roots, Rights & Reason, Lee Smith welcomes historian Victor Davis Hanson for a clear and grounded look at what defines the “Western way of war” and how it is shaping modern conflict. Hanson explains that, at its core, this approach relies on overwhelming technological superiority, precision targeting, and strategic infrastructure disruption; seeking decisive outcomes without prolonged ground engagements. Drawing on current tensions in the Middle East, he contrasts this doctrine with insurgent-style warfare, arguing that restraint from entering drawn-out, on-the-ground conflicts is not weakness, but strategic discipline.

The conversation expands into a broader geopolitical lens, exploring how economic pressure, supply chain disruption, and coalition dynamics function as extensions of military force. Hanson outlines how blockades and targeted strikes can weaken regimes not only militarily but internally, accelerating political fracture and forcing high-stakes decisions from leadership. With historical parallels ranging from World War II to the Cold War, this episode offers a clear-eyed assessment of how modern power is exercised, and what victory may look like in an era where dominance is measured as much by strategic patience and leverage as by force.

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In this episode of Roots, Rights & Reason, Lee Smith welcomes returning guest J. Michael Waller for a timely discussion on the concept of multipolarity and its growing influence in global affairs.

Smith and Waller examine competing visions of global order, from alliance-based systems rooted in shared interests to spheres of influence dominated by adversarial regimes. The conversation explores the role of NATO, the rise of China, shifting dynamics in the Middle East, and the future of American leadership on the world stage. At a moment of rapid geopolitical change, this episode offers a clear-eyed assessment of what is at stake in the debate over the balance of global power.

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In this episode of Roots, Rights & Reason, Lee Smith welcomes renowned legal scholar Richard A. Epstein for a timely and thought-provoking examination of birthright citizenship and the original meaning of the 14th Amendment. Drawing on decades of scholarship in constitutional and Roman law, Epstein challenges widely accepted interpretations and argues that modern legal frameworks have strayed far from the historical statutes that once governed citizenship in the United States.

Together, they explore the role of naturalization laws, the legal distinction between allegiance and jurisdiction, and the broader implications for national sovereignty and the rule of law. As debates over immigration and citizenship continue to shape the American political landscape, this conversation offers a deeper look at the legal foundations and consequences behind one of the most contested constitutional questions of our time.

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