Breaking Battlegrounds

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, hosts Chuck Warren and Sam Stone are joined by Jonathan Butcher, Dr. Lars Powell, and Sine Kerr for a wide-ranging conversation on education, censorship, insurance, and the future of Arizona.
Jonathan Butcher, Acting Director of the Center for Education Policy and Will Skillman Senior Research Fellow in Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation, joins the show to break down the Trump administration’s restoration of Title IX protections, the legal fight over Biden-era gender identity rules, and what the changes mean for women’s sports. He also discusses restorative justice in schools, classroom discipline, school choice, the Heritage Education Freedom Report Card, the “Mississippi Miracle,” and why civics education remains essential to the American experiment.
Follow on X: @JM_Butcher
Book: The Polarization Myth: America’s Surprising Consensus on Race, Schools, and Sex
In B’s Crime Corner, Brennen revisits the death of Kurt Cobain and the growing calls to reexamine the case. She walks through the forensic concerns that continue to raise questions, including the shotgun evidence, blood spatter issues, heroin levels, missing syringe concerns, and why some believe the case deserves a fresh look as a potential murder rather than a suicide.
Dr. Lars Powell, Executive Director of the Center for Risk and Insurance Research at the University of Alabama, joins the program to discuss research suggesting spam filters may have sent Republican fundraising emails to junk folders, potentially costing GOP campaigns an estimated $117 million in donations. He explains how the data was analyzed, what the findings may show about email bias, and why the issue matters. The conversation also expands into rising insurance costs, building standards, and how stronger construction can reduce losses and make coverage more affordable.
Find him on LinkedIn: Lars Powell
Finally, Sine Kerr, Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Arizona, joins Chuck to discuss the campaign trail, the major issues driving the race, and her vision for the state alongside Andy Biggs. She talks about Arizona water policy, agriculture, affordability, tax policy, Medicaid fraud, energy prices, and why she believes Arizona needs stronger leadership and a more serious long-term strategy.
Follow on X: @SineKerr
Catch Breaking Battlegrounds live on 960 AM in Phoenix every Saturday at 9:00 AM, with full episodes and exclusive podcast-only segments dropping every Friday wherever you get your podcasts.
Stay connected:
• Substack: @breakingbattlegrounds
• Website: breakingbattlegrounds.vote
• News: breakingbattlegrounds.news
• X: @breaking_battle
• Instagram: @breakingbattlegrounds
• Facebook: Breaking Battlegrounds
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We are one of the top 2.5% most popular shows out of 3,779,399 podcasts globally. We interview policymakers, elected officials, & world-recognized reporters about the opportunities & hurdles the U.S faces.

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, Chuck Warren is joined by Brian McDonald, Annie Chestnut Tutor, & Jay Feely for a packed show on the new Greenland agreement, China's control of critical minerals, Russia, NATO, artificial intelligence, data privacy, Arizona's water crisis, Social Security, the national debt, & the 2026 midterm elections.
Brian McDonald, columnist & geopolitical analyst, breaks down the new Greenland agreement & why the Arctic has become increasingly important to American national security. From rare earth minerals & China's dominance in critical mineral processing to emerging Arctic shipping routes & the Golden Dome missile defense system, Brian explains the strategic importance of Greenland for the United States & NATO. He also discusses Russia's potential military ambitions beyond Ukraine, European security concerns, the future of NATO, & whether the U.S. can repair its relationship with Denmark following tensions over Greenland.
Follow Brian on X: @iamBrianBJ
B's Crime Corner takes on the disturbing Mississippi murder investigation involving a 29-year-old mother of four found hanging from a tree behind an abandoned house in Jackson. B breaks down the homicide investigation, reported arrests, unanswered questions surrounding the woman's death, & the public debate over whether race played a role in the tragedy.
Then Annie Chestnut Tutor, policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation's Center for Technology and the Human Person, joins to discuss the future of artificial intelligence, the risks of autonomous AI, & the growing debate over whether AI development should slow down. Annie examines concerns surrounding AI-generated bioweapons, cyberattacks, consumer data privacy, & the dangers AI chatbots can pose to children. She also discusses U.S.-China cooperation on AI safety, the need for stronger consumer protections, & how local communities should approach the rapid expansion of data centers while balancing innovation with human safety.
Follow Annie on X: @AnnieChestnut
Check out her work: www.heritage.org/staff/annie-chestnut-tutor
In our podcast-exclusive segment, Jay Feely, former NFL kicker & Republican nominee for Arizona's 1st Congressional District, joins Chuck to discuss his 2026 congressional campaign, Arizona's growing water concerns, the Colorado River negotiations, border security, housing affordability, & the national debt. Jay explains his position on water conservation & how water shortages could impact Arizona farmers, housing development, & economic growth. He also discusses the financial outlook for Social Security & Medicare, government spending, inflation, Trump Accounts, & his differences with his Democratic opponent on economic policy. Jay shares how his NFL career shaped his perspective on public service & what he hopes to accomplish if elected to Congress.
Follow Jay on Instagram & X: @jayfeely
Facebook: Jay Feely for Congress
Website: www.jayfeelyforcongress.com
Catch Breaking Battlegrounds live on 960 AM in Phoenix every Saturday at 9:00 AM, with full episodes and exclusive podcast-only segments dropping every Friday wherever you get your podcasts.
Stay connected:
• Substack: @breakingbattlegrounds
• Website: breakingbattlegrounds.vote
• News: breakingbattlegrounds.news
• X: @breaking_battle
• Instagram: @breakingbattlegrounds
• Facebook: Breaking Battlegrounds
Enjoy the show? Leave a 5-star review & share!
We are one of the top 2.5% most popular shows out of 3,779,399 podcasts globally. We interview policymakers, elected officials, & world-recognized reporters about the opportunities & hurdles the U.S faces.

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, we are joined by Katie Harbath, Kip Herriage, U.S. Senator Jon Husted, & Gary Gygi for a packed show on AI, politics, the Federal Reserve, data centers, immigration, college sports, the national debt, & the future of the American economy.

Katie Harbath, founder of Anchor Change & author of the upcoming book Disrupting Politics: A Front Row Seat to the Collision of Technology & Democracy, explains how social media transformed campaigns, why authenticity still matters, how candidates are adapting to podcasts & influencers, & what AI could mean for elections, information, & everyday life.
Follow Katie on X, Facebook, & Instagram: @KatieHarbath
Substack: Anchor Change with Katie Harbath
Check out Disrupting Politics: A Front Row Seat to the Collision of Technology & Democracy, October 6 or pre-order through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, or Simon & Schuster.

B’s Crime Corner takes on a new Florida murder case. Attorney Steven Cozzi was representing clients in a legal battle against plastic surgeon Dr. Tomasz Kosowski when Cozzi vanished from his law office. B breaks down the trial, surveillance footage, & the trail of evidence found prosecutors say connects Dr. Kosowski to the disappearance.

Then Kip Herriage, Managing Partner & Founder of Vertical Research Advisory, joins to discuss the Fed’s latest rate hike, Kevin Warsh, inflation, oil prices, Iran, AI, data centers, & the market outlook. Kip spent 15 years on Wall Street, helped take seven companies public, & raised hundreds of millions in venture capital. Vertical Research Advisory has outperformed the market in 19 of 22 years averaging 38% annually since calling the October 2022 bear-market bottom.
Follow on X: @KHerriage
Website: vraletter.com

U.S. Senator Jon Husted of Ohio discusses his push to cap foreign athletes on college rosters, the Ratepayer Protection Act & who should pay for data-center energy infrastructure, legislation targeting driver’s licenses for people in the country illegally, energy costs, & his Upward Mobility Act aimed at easing the benefits cliff.
Follow on Instagram & X: @SenJonHusted
Facebook: Senator Jon Husted
Official Campaign X: @TeamHusted
Website: www.jonhustedforsenate.com

Gary Gygi, President & CEO of Gygi Capital, closes with his take on the Fed, interest rates, inflation, the global oil market, U.S. debt, government spending, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, & whether stronger growth plus spending cuts can put the country on a more sustainable path.
Follow Gary on X: @GaryGygi
Check out his investment advisory services at gygicapital.com
or call 801-787-0342

Catch Breaking Battlegrounds live on 960 AM in Phoenix every Saturday at 9:00 AM, with full episodes and exclusive podcast-only segments dropping every Friday wherever you get your podcasts.
Stay connected:
• Substack: @breakingbattlegrounds
• Website: breakingbattlegrounds.vote
• News: breakingbattlegrounds.news
• X: @breaking_battle
• Instagram: @breakingbattlegrounds
• Facebook: Breaking Battlegrounds
Enjoy the show? Leave a 5-star review & share!
We are one of the top 2.5% most popular shows out of 3,779,399 podcasts globally. We interview policymakers, elected officials, & world-recognized reporters about the opportunities & hurdles the U.S faces.

Twenty-five years after 9/11, what has America learned, and what have we forgotten?
This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, hosts Chuck Warren and Sam Stone tackle 9/11, socialism, child trafficking, police trauma, and the growing debate over government surveillance and Flock cameras.
Dr. Juliana Geran Pilon, Senior Fellow at the Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization and an author, joins Chuck and Sam to examine what America has and has not learned since 9/11. She warns that America remains vulnerable not only physically, but psychologically and ideologically.
Website: www.julianapilon.com
In B’s Crime Corner, we break down the Florida operation that recovered 163 missing children. Chuck, Sam, and B discuss vulnerable children, abusive situations, foster care, trafficking, and how predators use dependency, isolation, and trust to exploit victims.
Next, Lieutenant Randy Sutton (Ret.), a retired police lieutenant with more than 34 years in law enforcement and founder and executive producer of The Wounded Blue, discusses police suicide, post-traumatic stress, and what happens when injured officers are abandoned by the departments they served. He explains how witnessing death and tragedy can follow officers home and why reducing the stigma around treatment is critical.
Sutton also shares how his own experience led him to create The Wounded Blue and Cops Coffee, which donates 100% of its profits to support injured and disabled U.S. law enforcement officers.
Check out Randy Sutton and The Wounded Blue:
Website: www.thewoundedblue.org
Cops Coffee: copscoffee.org
X: @LtRandySutton
Instagram: @lt.randysutton @WoundedBlue
Finally, Laura Bondank-Harmon, Manager of Legal Programs for the Cato Institute’s Project on Criminal Justice and Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies and Managing Editor of the Cato Supreme Court Review, joins the show to examine Flock cameras, automated license plate readers, AI surveillance, privacy, and the Fourth Amendment.
She explains how these systems collect far more than a license plate, creating searchable records of vehicles and their movements. Chuck and Sam ask where the line should be drawn between fighting crime and creating a surveillance state.
Check out Laura Bondank-Harmon’s work:
Cato Institute on X: @CatoInstitute
Website: Cato.org
Catch Breaking Battlegrounds live on 960 AM in Phoenix every Saturday at 9:00 AM, with full episodes and exclusive podcast-only segments dropping every Friday wherever you get your podcasts or watch on Youtube.
Stay connected with Breaking Battlegrounds:
• Substack: https://substack.com/@breakingbattlegrounds
• Website: https://breakingbattlegrounds.vote
• News: https://breakingbattlegrounds.news
• X: @breaking_battle
• Instagram: @breakingbattlegrounds
• Facebook: Breaking Battlegrounds
Enjoy the show? Leave us a 5-star review and share it with a friend.
Breaking Battlegrounds is one of the top 2.5% most popular shows out of 3,779,399 podcasts globally. We interview policymakers, elected officials, and nationally and world-recognized reporters about the opportunities and hurdles the United States faces.

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, Chuck Warren and Sam Stone cover the potential cost of the Democratic Socialists of America’s agenda, pressure on Iran, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Federal Reserve, and a major breaking development in the Lindsay Clancy case.

Adam Michel, Director of Tax Policy Studies at the Cato Institute, breaks down his analysis of the DSA platform and why he estimates its largest proposals could require roughly $70 trillion to $200 trillion in additional federal spending over ten years. Michel explains why taxing wealthy Americans alone would fall far short, while also discussing a federal jobs guarantee, Social Security, declining birth rates, immigration, and America’s growing fiscal pressures.
Follow Adam on X: @adamnmichel
Read his substack Liberty Taxed: A Blog on US Tax Policy

In B’s Crime Corner, we break down the latest twist in the Lindsay Clancy case announced today and the major questions now surrounding what happens next. The conversation looks at the broader implications of the defense arguments and what this case could mean for how postpartum mental health, criminal responsibility, and even workplace or legal decisions involving women are handled in the future.

Ludovic Hood, Senior Fellow with Hudson Institute’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East and a former U.S. Foreign Service officer, examines Iran, sanctions enforcement, the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf security, Iran’s regional influence, and the future of cooperation between Israel and Arab states.
Follow Ludovic on X: @Ludo_Hood

Gary Marx, President of Madison Strategies and the Concord Fund and Senior Advisor to the Judicial Crisis Network, gives an on-the-ground look at Russia’s war against Ukraine. After multiple trips to the country, Marx discusses Ukraine’s expanding drone war, attacks reaching Moscow and St. Petersburg, missile strikes, air-defense shortages, the battlefield “kill zone,” and how the war could eventually end.
Follow Gary on X: @Garymarx
Listen to Peace & Power Ukraine

Finally, Gary Gygi, President and CEO of Gygi Capital, breaks down jobs, inflation, interest rates, tariffs, federal deficits, and the Federal Reserve. Gygi explains why upcoming inflation data could influence the Fed’s next move and why federal spending remains central to America’s fiscal outlook.
Follow Gary on X: @GaryGygi
GygiCapital.com

Catch Breaking Battlegrounds live on 960 AM in Phoenix every Saturday at 9:00 AM, with full episodes and exclusive podcast-only segments dropping every Friday wherever you get your podcasts or watch on Youtube.

Stay connected with Breaking Battlegrounds:
• Substack: https://substack.com/@breakingbattlegrounds
• Website: https://breakingbattlegrounds.vote
• News: https://breakingbattlegrounds.news
• X: @breaking_battle
• Instagram: @breakingbattlegrounds
• Facebook: Breaking Battlegrounds

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Breaking Battlegrounds is one of the top 2.5% most popular shows out of 3,779,399 podcasts globally. We interview policymakers, elected officials, and nationally and world-recognized reporters about the opportunities and hurdles the United States faces.