
Michael Watson
Co-Host of InfluenceWatch Podcast
Michael conducts research for Capital Research Center. A graduate of the College of William and Mary, he previously worked for a Washington, D.C. public relations firm.
Michael Watson has hosted 210 Episodes.
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Episode 18: Teachers Unions & Power Over Taxpayers
April 5th, 2018 | 48 mins 28 secs
aft, american federation of teachers, democracy alliance, labor, national education association, nea, oklahoma, public finances, strike, taxpayers, teacher unions, teachers, unions, west virginia
Teachers unions strike for higher pay in Oklahoma and West Virginia, with more states yet to come. What does this mean for YOUR tax dollars, as well as for parents and children?
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Episode 17: Amy Wax & Affirmative Action
March 29th, 2018 | 52 mins 37 secs
affirmative action, amy wax, ford foundation, mismatch, university of pennsylvania
In yet another leftist blow up on college campuses, radical students and faculty are attacking University of Pennsylvania professor Amy Wax for opposing affirmative action.
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Episode 16: Cambridge Analytica
March 22nd, 2018 | 56 mins 22 secs
analytics, bannon, cambridge analytica, catalist, consultancy, data, facebook, mercer, politics, scandal, social media, trump, zuckerberg
Trump-connected political consultancy and data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica has single handedly dropped Facebook's stock value over 10%. Why? A major scandal involving user data accompanied by hints of dark political manipulations. We tell you the truth about the scandal.
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Episode 15: #GunControlNow vs. #2A
March 15th, 2018 | 47 mins 40 secs
2nd amendment, americans for responsible solutions, ar-15, assault rifles, assault weapons, constitution, everytown, florida, gun control, gun owners of america, gun restriction, handguns, march for our lives, marjory stoneman douglas high school, michael bloomberg, moveon, national association for gun rights, national rifle association, nra, parkland, second amendment, second amendment foundation, semi-automatic
In the wake of the Parkland, Florida school massacre, gun control advocates have become filled with hope this could be their moment. Who are they, who is funding them, and who is fighting them to defend the 2nd Amendment?
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Episode 14: Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions
March 8th, 2018 | 50 mins 29 secs
aipac, bds, boycott, conservative, divestment, israel, j-street, jewish voices for peace, palestine, peace, sanctions, students for justice in palestine, united nations
The movement for Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS) against Israel is a mainstay on college campuses - for some due to the Jewish state's policies and for others due to its very existence. How did it get this way, and who are the players on both sides?
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Episode 13: Janus v. AFSCME (with guest Mark Mix!)
March 1st, 2018 | 44 mins 26 secs
afscme, conservative, constitution, first amendment, free speech, labor unions, legal, libertarian, mark janus, mark mix, national right to work, politics, right to work, supreme court, union dues, unions
Special guest Mark Mix (National Right To Work) discusses the vital Supreme Court case Janus v. AFSCME and his organization's role in it.
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Episode 12: Stump the Experts! Live at CPAC
February 22nd, 2018 | 54 mins 14 secs
american bridge 21st century, capital research center, conservative political action conference, cpac, david brock, dr. steven j. allen, matthew vadum, steve allen
We're at CPAC 2018! Today, we hosted a panel where we invited listeners to ask us their questions about influential organizations and try to stump us. We even got a question from a David Brock employee...
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Episode 11: The Brocktopus
February 15th, 2018 | 43 mins 30 secs
anita hill, conservative, david brock, democratic politics, hillary clinton, media matters for america, politics, shareblue
Heard of political operative David Brock? If you haven't, you've definitely seen his intricate political machinations.
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Episode 10: De Blasio’s New York
February 8th, 2018 | 39 mins 23 secs
berlinrosen, bill de blasio, campaign, corruption, democrat, democratic party, fight for $15, mayor, money, new york, new york city, nyc, politics, progressive agenda committee, seiu, seiu 1199, service employees international union, special interests, working families party
Who is Mayor Bill de Blasio? Who wanted him in office and why? And why ought we be concerned about him and his potential run for president?
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Episode 9: Koch vs. Soros
February 1st, 2018 | 56 mins 14 secs
americans for prosperity, billionaire, cato, charity, charles koch, conservative, corruption, david koch, democracy alliance, donor, foundation, foundation to promote open society, george soros, influence, koch brothers, koch industries, koch seminar network, libertarian, mercatus center, money, money in politics, open society, open society foundations, philanthropy, policy center, politics, reason foundation, special interest, super pac
Who impacts our politics more, the Koch Brothers or George Soros? And to what end? We detail their political empires.
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Episode 8: The Opioid Crisis
January 25th, 2018 | 43 mins 46 secs
addiction, conservative, crisis, drugs, fentanyl, heroin, libertarian, opiates, opioids, painkillers, politics, prescription, public health, rural america, trump
We discuss the opioid crisis, the influencers who contributed to it and those trying to stop it, and the battle over the President's Nationwide Public Health Emergency to address the opioid crisis.
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Episode 7: Behind the Immigration Battle Lines
January 18th, 2018 | 45 mins 46 secs
center for immigration studies, conservative, daca, deferred action for childhood arrivals, fwd.us, government, government shutdown, illegal immigration, immigration, libertarian, migration policy institute, policy, politics, president, racism, shithole, trump, trump administration, undocumented
We discuss DACA, the president's "vulgar" comments, and the influencers on both sides of the immigration debate.
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Episode 6: Government Shutdown?!
January 11th, 2018 | 41 mins 2 secs
big government, budget, conservative, debt, deficit, federal, government, libertarian, money, politics, shutdown, special interests, spending
Negotiations over the federal budget have started in Washington, leading to the possibility of a government shutdown if no deal is reached. What does this mean, and who are the special interests looking to protect their funding in the budget?
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Episode 5: Uprising in Iran
January 4th, 2018 | 37 mins 26 secs
analysis, conservative, deal, foreign policy, iran, nuclear, obama, ploughshares fund, politics, protests
Protests for reform have broken out in Iran, with the theocratic state cracking down leaving 21 people dead. How did we get to this point, and what does it tell us about President Obama's nuclear deal with the regime?
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Episode 4: Year in Review
December 28th, 2017 | 40 mins 27 secs
For our final show of the year, Scott and Mike take us through the biggest stories of 2017 to tell us about why they matter and the influencers behind them.
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Episode 3: The Battle Over Net Neutrality
December 21st, 2017 | 34 mins 58 secs
conservative, fcc, free market, internet, net neutrality, politics, regulations
The FCC votes to remove Obama-era Net Neutrality regulations. Will this really hurt the internet and raise your prices? Who wanted Net Neutrality and why?