InfluenceWatch Podcast

Episode 218: Civil Asset Forfeiture

May 13th, 2022  |  22 mins 59 secs

Hello I’m Michael Watson and this is the InfluenceWatch Podcast. In much of the country, the cops can take your stuff even if they aren’t able to convict you of a crime through a process known as civil asset forfeiture. This week’s guest, Scot Turner, executive director of the advocacy group Eternal Vigilance Action, tried to fix this when he was serving in the Georgia State Legislature; today he joins us to discuss asset forfeiture, how he tried to reform it, and the obstacles to protecting due process and the Fourth Amendment.

Episode 217: The SCOTUS Leak

May 6th, 2022  |  35 mins 29 secs

Join our host, Mike Watson, as he, Sarah Lee, and Ken Braun discuss the unprecedented SCOTUS leak that happened earlier this week.

Episode 216: Governing for Impact

April 29th, 2022  |  15 mins 53 secs

Join our host, Mike Watson, as he interviews CRC Investigative Researcher, Parker Thayer, about his latest discovery. It's a leftist group funded by George Soros: Governing For Impact.

Episode 215: States Newsroom's Latest Frontier

April 22nd, 2022  |  20 mins 13 secs

Must Read Alaska writer, Suzanne Downing, joins host Michael Watson on a discussion about Arabella's latest venture with the States Newsroom in the Last Frontier State. Just a reminder to our listeners that as a 501(c)(3), our mission is to investigate those working to influence the public policy process, not weigh in on election outcomes or support or oppose individual candidates.

Episode 214: Post the Sign or Get a Fine

April 15th, 2022  |  20 mins 28 secs

This week, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the consumer price index measure of inflation had surged to 8.5 percent year-on-year. Accelerating inflation and surging gas prices have led numerous states to take action to ease the pain, but few have taken the unusual steps Illinois has to ensure the state’s political class gets the credit it thinks it deserves for it by requiring merchants to post notices or include on receipts statements that certain taxes have been suspended. Joining me to discuss Illinois’s recent tax actions and the state’s compulsory advertising for them is Adam Schuster, vice president of policy at the Illinois Policy Institute.

Episode 213: Tech, Musk, & Philanthropy

April 8th, 2022  |  27 mins 29 secs

1st amendment, big tech, elon musk, first amendment, free speech, philanthropy, spacex, tesla, twitter

Elon Musk is a mystifying and complex figure. What do you think will happen now that he is the largest single shareholder of Twitter and is on the board? We are wondering, too. Join Mike Watson for a roundtable discussion with Ken Braun and Sarah Lee about tech, Elon Musk, and philanthropy.

Episode 212: A New ERA: The Employee Rights Act

April 1st, 2022  |  22 mins 14 secs

We’ve discussed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act on the show before—it’s a laundry list of bad ideas pushed by Big Labor and its allies in Congress that would increase unions’ power to coerce workers into joining and paying dues and increase their power to disrupt national economic and social life. But for supporters of individual employee rights, there is now an alternative model of labor relations reform: The Employee Rights Act, recently re-introduced with an expanded vision of the modern workplace. Joining me to discuss the proposed legislation is Vinnie Vernuccio, president of the Institute for the American Worker.

Episode 211: Dark Money & Demand Justice

March 25th, 2022  |  24 mins 23 secs

arabella advisors, demand justice, kbj, ketanji brown jackson, scotus, supreme court

Mike sits down with Hayden Ludwig to discuss the dark money web surrounding Demand Justice and its efforts behind the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the SCOTUS.

Episode 210: Race to the Bottom

March 18th, 2022  |  28 mins 37 secs

Join Mike Watson as he chats with Luke Rosiak, author of Race to the Bottom. They cover how teachers' unions helped erode public education during the spread of COVID-19.

Episode 209: Protecting Big Labor's Paycheck

March 11th, 2022  |  29 mins 31 secs

In 2020 as the coronavirus hit and governments ordered mass lockdowns of length and scope unprecedented in American history, Congress passed the “Paycheck Protection Program” or PPP to help small businesses maintain their payrolls with forgivable loans. But before 2021, labor unions were not supposed to receive funds from PPP; my guest, the Freedom Foundation’s Maxford Nelsen, documented as many as 226 forgivable loans made under PPP totaling over $36 million that went to labor unions and related organizations. Max joins us today to discuss this and the Freedom Foundation’s other work on government worker unions.

Episode 208: Blackrock Loves China

March 4th, 2022  |  24 mins 41 secs

blackrock, larry fink, woke, woke boardroom

Today, Sarah Lee hosts as Will Hild from Consumer's Research discusses the man behind the "woke boardroom", Larry Fink, and his empire, BlackRock.

Episode 207: Saving our Elections

February 25th, 2022  |  21 mins 34 secs

election integrity, election reform, heritage action, save our elections

Our host Mike Watson and guest, Jessica Anderson of Heritage Action discuss their efforts regarding state level election reforms to have safer, more secure elections.

Episode 206: Equality and the Value of Humans

February 18th, 2022  |  13 mins 28 secs

black lives matter, black lives matter global foundation network, blm, color us united, financial disclosures, irs, washington examiner

Equity is based on arbitrary concepts like fairness. Equality is based on the value of humans. Join us this week as we discuss the stark differences between equity and equality with Christian Watson from Color us United.

Episode 205: When Rules Begin to Apply

February 11th, 2022  |  26 mins 41 secs

Our guest today went digging for the federally mandated financial disclosures that the BLM Global Network Foundation was supposed to file. He couldn't find them which only raised more questions. Where did all the money go that BLM shoveled in during the 2020 riots go? Join us in a discussion about BLM's lack of financial accountability with our guest, Andrew Kerr from the Washington Examiner.

Episode 204: An Education on Image

February 4th, 2022  |  25 mins 33 secs

The teachers' unions are receiving a lesson for themselves on the subject of image. Join us for a discussion with Dan Gainor of Media Research Center about how they are tracking the teachers' unions efforts to create a more positive image.

Episode 203: Did ZuckBucks buy the 2020 Election? - Virginia's Response

January 28th, 2022  |  23 mins 59 secs

2020 election, election 2020, election integrity, virginia, voter fraud, zuckbucks

Since we shined a light on ZuckBucks and how it influenced the 2020 Election, many state legislatures are responding to prohibit private dollars going to local election superintendents' offices. Join Mike Watson for a discussion with CRC President Scott Walter and researchers Hayden Ludwig and Parker Thayer about the Virginia Legislature's response to ZuckBucks.