Your News Talk America with Jake Smith

Friday, May 8, 2026 · Real News. Real Talk. Real America.

9:06 ET Show Open

Topics:

• Blue states have bled $2 trillion in wealth to red states over the past decade, with New York leading the pack. The New York Post is calling it the biggest wealth transfer in U.S. history, citing economic data from the Committee to Unleash Prosperity.
• New York saw the biggest drop in cumulative adjusted gross income (AGI), losing $660 billion between 2012 and 2023.
• What happens when blue states run out of other people's money? New York City is already facing a $5 billion deficit.
• White House CEA Chair Kevin Hassett is forecasting 4% growth, attributing the U.S. investment surge to the AI boom and tax incentives. Hassett says recent import data reflects ongoing investment in manufacturing equipment, not weaker demand. (Fox Business)

Panelist: Dr. Julia R. Cartwright, Senior Research Fellow in Law and Economics at the American Institute for Economic Research.

Source: Committee to Unleash Prosperity

9:20 ET Data Center Panic Gets Electricity Prices Wrong

Topic: Evidence shows the real culprit behind rising electricity prices is not AI infrastructure. It is state energy policy.

Source: Dr. Julia Cartwright, The Daily Economy. Read here.

Panelist: Dr. Julia R. Cartwright, AIER.

9:35 ET Jake's Monologue

9:45 ET Bernie Sanders Backed TPUSA Counter "More Perfect University" Misses the Point

Topics:

• Pew Research finds that 7 in 10 Americans believe higher education is headed in the wrong direction. Nearly half say colleges are doing a fair or poor job exposing students to a wide range of viewpoints, and 46% say the same about opportunities for students to express their own views.
• College students across the country are quietly saying the same thing. They are tired of being told what to think and wondering if anyone is still willing to teach them how.
• Critical thinking requires curiosity, truth seeking, and the freedom to wrestle with difficult ideas, not activist conditioning. Students are not political commodities. They are individuals capable of reason, discernment, and independent thought.
• A new Bernie Sanders backed project, "More Perfect University," launched as a direct counter to Turning Point USA's growing influence on college campuses. Rather than fostering honest discourse, it reveals a coordinated effort to shape campus culture through ideological activism and curated narratives.
• Why does Bernie Sanders attract so many young followers when his message is a loser for that demographic?

Source: Victoria Akyea, Washington Examiner op-ed. Read here.

Panelist: Victoria Akyea, MPH, doctoral student and public health professional at The Institute for Women's Health, where she focuses on women's health, emerging adult research, and policy.

10:08 ET Houses of the Holy Coverup: A Nightmare Web of Corruption Exposed

Topic: 17 years in the making, Captain Mark Harris's TrineDay book documents what he describes as a deeply entrenched network involving government, religious extremists, organized crime, and Freemasonry. The investigation began with a routine restraining order to protect his sons and grew into a years long fight against institutional corruption.

Discussion questions for the segment:

• Your book took 17 years to assemble. That is a long time to write one book. Why did it take so long?
• You describe a "nightmare web" involving government, religion, and organized crime. What was the first thread you pulled that revealed the larger system?
• Many readers are struck by the involvement of prominent figures. How did these individuals become part of your story?
• How did your military background shape your ability to investigate and survive what you describe?
• The book centers on crimes committed against your sons. How did your role as a father influence the direction of your investigation?
• You document connections between the religious right, Freemasonry, and political power. What do you see as the core mechanism that binds these groups together?
• One of the most shocking elements is the alleged protection of a federal convict by multiple agencies. What did you uncover about how that protection worked?
• You have said the system relies on people being afraid to speak. What gave you the courage to go public? Do you fear retribution from the Deep State for exposing its corruption in your book?
• For listeners who feel powerless against institutional corruption, what practical advice would you give them?
• What do you hope Houses of the Holy accomplishes, legally, politically, or culturally, now that it is out in the world?

Book link: TrineDay

Panelist: Captain Mark Harris, USAF (ret.), author of Houses of the Holy: A Nightmare Web of Hate, Crime, and Child Abuse. Harris is a decorated Air Force special operations pilot turned whistleblower author.

10:33 ET A Pen to Change the World: The Life of J.K. Rowling

Topics:

• Joanne "Jo" Rowling is known to readers the world over as J.K. Rowling, author of the bestselling book series of all time. The creator of Harry Potter went from single mother writing in cafés on welfare to one of the richest and most influential women on the planet.
• Following her contested public stances in the cultural and political war over transgender rights, Rowling found herself a pariah in circles that had previously adored her.
• The book follows Rowling from her childhood in pastoral England, to seaside Porto where she became entangled in a violent marriage, to poverty in cloudy Edinburgh, to studios and red carpet premieres in London, and beyond. New light is shed on her formative experiences of abuse, depression, and the tragic death of her mother, whose horrifying illness left Rowling emotionally shattered. Extensive coverage is also devoted to unpacking the tortured relationship between Rowling and her father, which left an indelible mark on Harry Potter, her later books, and her decision to speak out in the battle over transgender rights.
• Woven into the story is a complete account of Rowling's involvement in the conflict over sex and gender. Rooted in her own experiences of sexual assault and domestic abuse, Rowling shifted from supporting trans rights in 2016 to later being viewed as a fierce foe of the trans community.
• Sparring with politicians and media figures, she played a key role in some of the most contested cultural debates in the UK, which played out on social media, before the highest courts, and inside the halls of power. She became a "cancelled" figure, facing condemnation from prominent actors and Potter fans, along with multiple threats on her life.

Book link: Amazon

Panelist: Solomon Schmidt, author of A Pen to Change the World: The Life of J.K. Rowling.

10:50 ET The Men Building AI Now Want to Build Better Babies

Topic: For years, Silicon Valley's most powerful men have told us that artificial intelligence would transform the world. Now, according to a Mother Jones investigation, some of those same men appear to be funding something that sounds straight out of a dystopian novel: technologies designed to help parents select, optimize, and one day perhaps genetically engineer their children. Among those reportedly backing companies involved in embryo screening, genetic analysis, and future gene editing research are tech heavyweights including Peter Thiel, Sam Altman, Brian Armstrong, and Marc Andreessen.

Panelist: Martin Mawyer, President of Christian Action Network. Bio.

11:06 ET The Virginia Supreme Court and Redistricting (Zoom segment)

Topics:

• What is the Virginia Supreme Court going to do with redistricting? Why the delay with their decision?
• The FBI raided the office of a Democratic state lawmaker in Virginia who led redistricting efforts. Federal agents searched Democratic Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas's Portsmouth office on Wednesday morning, according to multiple media reports and news footage. What is this all about?
• With under five months until the midterms and no action on the SAVE American Act, how can voters expect transparency in the midterm results?
• Has gerrymandering all but made transparency impossible in 2026?

Panelist: Ken Cuccinelli, former Virginia Attorney General, National Chairman of the Election Transparency Initiative, and Senior Fellow for Homeland Security and Immigration at the Center for Renewing America.

11:20 ET The SAVE Act Won't Close the Door, Only an Amendment Will

Topics:

• The past several weeks have seen extended debate in Congress and among the American people regarding the SAVE America Act. Avi Fortenberry argues that securing elections will require more than statutory changes. It will require amending the United States Constitution itself.
• The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act would require voters to provide proof of citizenship at the time they register to vote, and photo identification when they vote. Enshrining these requirements in federal law would help prevent noncitizens from voting, but only up to a point.
• Fortenberry believes only a constitutional amendment can permanently settle the question of who is eligible to vote in federal elections, removing ambiguity, preventing future rollbacks, and bypassing years of legal battles that could render the SAVE Act ineffective.
• With the 2026 election cycle approaching and the Senate unable to coalesce around the bill, this debate is quickly becoming the next phase of the election integrity fight.

Source: Avi Fortenberry, RealClearPolitics op-ed. Read here.

Panelist: Avi Fortenberry, President of Americans for Citizen Voting.

11:33 ET Countdown to 250

Topics:

• Spirit Airlines is gone. The arguments over what happened to Spirit focus on failed government intervention.
• Blue states have bled $2 trillion in wealth to red states in the past decade, with New York leading the pack. How can blue states survive a massive exodus unless they come crawling to Washington when other people's money runs out?
• "Countdown to 250" celebrates 250 years of American independence!

Source: New York Post

Panelist: Murray Sabrin, PhD, Mises Institute Associated Scholar and Emeritus Professor of Finance at Ramapo College of New Jersey. Judge Andrew Napolitano calls Dr. Sabrin "a courageous genius and an intellectual giant."

11:50 ET Salute the Troops

Listen live: 9 AM to 12 PM ET, weekdays

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Show notes: https://RealNewsTalk.com