Your News Talk America · Show Notes

with Jake Smith · June 18, 2026 · Real News. Real Talk. Real America.

9:00 · Show Open: The Media Is Still Gushing Over Obama

The Obama Presidential Center holds its official dedication ceremony today in Chicago. The Media Research Center marks the moment by looking back at years of over the top press praise for the former president.

• The most extreme examples of media praise of Obama.
• How journalists helped shape Obama's legacy through favorable coverage.
• The gap between the media's treatment of Obama and its treatment of conservative leaders.

Panelist: Geoff Dickens, MRC Director of Media Analysis · NewsBusters

9:20 · Client Segment

Community Bank Delaware

9:35 · Monologue

Is this the deal?

9:45 · Are Strong Families the Cure for America's Mental Health Crisis

The nation's mental health crisis seems to keep getting worse, but JP De Gance argues the remedy may be much closer to home than we think.

• The problem is sharpest among youth. Research published in Pediatrics finds as many as 40 percent of high schoolers report persistent sadness and hopelessness.
• De Gance makes the case that strong families are a powerful protective factor that public policy keeps overlooking.

Source: Townhall · Are Strong Families the Cure for America's Mental Health Crisis

Panelist: JP De Gance, President of Communio

9:50 · Is the Stagflation Sky Falling

Are we heading back to the 1970s? Todd Sheets pushes back on the sky is falling mentality around stagflation.

Source: Todd Sheets · Is the Stagflation Sky Falling

Panelist: Todd Sheets, author of the newsletter On Wealth and Progress and the book 2008: What Really Happened · Substack

10:00 · Five Charged in the White House UFC Plot, and a Supreme Court Showdown

The FBI has charged five people in connection with a plot to attack the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House. FBI Director Kash Patel announced the multistate operation, and officials say additional suspects remain at large.

• Why is the Justice Department charging this as conspiracy to commit murder, and how strong is the case the FBI has laid out?
• Trump faces a Supreme Court showdown as major rulings loom. Over the next two weeks the justices will rule on the effort to curb birthright citizenship and on the firing of a member of the Federal Reserve.
• Which cases are you watching most closely right up to the end of the Court's current term?

Panelist: Kaelan Deese, Department of Justice Reporter, The Washington Examiner · @KaelanDC

10:30 · The Warning Signs Families Saw

Relatives of two men charged in the plot saw warning signs before authorities moved in, including a mother who alerted police days before the event about her son's online communications and a recent stockpile of weapons.

• Bryan Omar Roa, 24, of Calimesa, California, allegedly told a family member that one day they would wake up and he would be gone, and that he intended to travel to Washington, D.C. where something big would happen, according to a federal complaint in the Central District of California.
• On June 10, just days before the event, that family member found Roa, an amateur mixed martial arts fighter, had left. Relatives considered reporting him but did not contact police before he returned home.
• When families see these signs, what is the right move, and how should law enforcement be set up to act on a tip in time?

Panelist: Rafael A. Mangual, Nick Ohnell Fellow at the Manhattan Institute

10:50 · The Virginia Gun Law Fight

What is happening in Virginia is worth watching well beyond Second Amendment circles, with implications for American federalism and the relationship between state and local government.

• After Democrats took full control in Richmond with Governor Spanberger and the 2025 elections, they advanced a sweeping package of gun control measures, including a ban on future sales of certain semiautomatic firearms and magazines over 15 rounds.
• Now local prosecutors and sheriffs in a growing number of counties are refusing to enforce the law, reviving the Second Amendment sanctuary movement. Scott McKay calls it a chickens coming home to roost moment for the Left.

Source: The American Spectator · Sanctuary Policy Is a Double Edged Sword

Panelist: Scott McKay, Contributing Editor at The American Spectator and publisher of The Hayride, covering Louisiana and national politics.

11:00 · Biolabs, Ukraine, and the Strait of Hormuz

• Your response to the outgoing DNI disclosure that US tax dollars have funded biolabs across dozens of countries?
• Why is there still no peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia, and is this war a stalemate at this point?
• When the Strait of Hormuz reopens fully and Russian oil is sanctioned again, how much does that hurt Putin?

Panelist: Dr. John Marshall Callahan, Professor at the Institute of World Politics and former Deputy Spokesperson at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

11:30 · The UK Digital Crackdown and Why Bluesky Escapes Accountability

• What is Bluesky, and how does it differ from the larger platforms?
• As the UK tightens its digital speech rules, why is Bluesky escaping the same scrutiny, and should it face a ban there too?

Panelist: Alvin Lui, President of Courage Is A Habit

11:50 · Salute the Troops

Today we remember those aboard the B-52 that crashed earlier this week, and the families they leave behind.

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