The American Compass Podcast

What’s going on in Iran? Who controls the Strait of Hormuz? And why did America get involved in the first place?Bradley Devlin, politics editor at the Daily Signal, joins Oren to try to make sense of the current state of the U.S. military operation in Iran. They discuss why President Trump deployed troops in the first place, the various ways a peace deal could shake out, and what path forward is really in the interest of the American people.

The affordability crisis has become Washington’s favorite talking point, but the solutions proposed so far won’t solve it. From capital gains tax cuts pitched as relief to renewed enthusiasm for Chinese investment as a growth strategy, many policymakers are circling the problem without addressing its core drivers: stagnant wages, distorted incentives in trade and industrial policy, and an economy that has stopped reliably producing gains for working Americans.Chris Griswold, policy director at American Compass, joins Oren to discuss how affordability is less about marginal tax tweaks and more about rebuilding the productive foundations of the economy. They also explain why proposals to deepen economic integration with China ignore the strategic and structural realities of a state-directed competitor. Finally, they explore what a more honest political message would look like heading into the midterms, one that connects affordability to wages, industry, and national strategy rather than short-term price relief.

The fight over net neutrality was supposed to determine the future of the internet. Advocates of net neutrality warned that repealing it would lead to censorship, higher costs, and the collapse of an open web. But nearly a decade later, those predictions never materialized, and the debate has taken on new significance as broadband, 5G, and AI become central to economic growth and national power. What was once treated as a moral emergency now looks more like a case study in regulatory overreach and political panic.Ajit Pai, former chairman of the FCC, and current CEO of CTIA, joins Drew Holden to revisit the net neutrality battle and assess its legacy. They discuss why the backlash became so intense, what actually happened after net neutrality’s repeal, and how the policy shift affected investment in broadband and wireless infrastructure. They also explore the stakes of today’s telecom landscape, from the race with China over 5G and role of spectrum in AI development, and consider what it will take for the United States to maintain its technological advantage.

Chris Painter, president of Model Evaluation and Threat Research, designs ways to measure AI autonomy and catastrophic risk. He discusses using time horizon metrics to gauge sustained autonomy. They cover software-task benchmarks, observed rapid progress in capabilities, barriers to fully automated AI research, and how compute and allocation shape future risks.

Emma Waters, senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation and author of Lead Like Jael, explores alternatives to career-first and tradwife extremes. She discusses the pandemic-driven reevaluation of work, a synthesis of flexible, family-centered careers, technology’s role in enabling home-based work, and the class-based limits on these choices.

Rohit Chopra, former CFPB director and consumer protection advocate, explains how finance drifted from serving communities. He discusses rising credit card margins, the risks of non-bank lending and data-driven products, and whether novel markets are innovation or extraction. They also examine consolidation, limits on data use in credit, and reform ideas to realign finance with the real economy.

Daniel Kishi, a senior policy advisor who studies immigration and labor policy, discusses shifting enforcement from border actions to workplace accountability. He explains why targeting employers can deter illegal hiring. They explore flaws in H-1B rules, how the lottery and low wages skew the program, and use trucking as a case study of enforcement restoring wages and safety.

For decades, Americans were told that success was simple: graduate high school, enroll in a four-year college, and launch a career from there. But as college enrollment has expanded and costs have skyrocketed, the results have become increasingly difficult to justify. Many students never complete a degree, others graduate without meaningful skills, all while the system continues to push young people into a single pathway that often fails to match their talents.Dan Currell, author of The College Question, joins Oren to discuss how the college-for-all approach came to dominate Americans' jump from high school to adulthood. They discuss the incentives that keep the system expanding, the gap between what colleges promise and what many students actually gain, and how cultural expectations push families toward this path even when better options might exist for their children. They close by considering what it would take to rebuild credible alternatives, from technical education and apprenticeships to employer-led training, that could offer young Americans more reliable routes into productive work.Further Reading:“One Big Question: Hands-On Training or a Free Ride on Campus?” Oren Cass, Commonplace

Sean O'Brien, former truck driver and leader of the Teamsters, presses for workers to have real input on AI, training, and protections. Alex Karp, Palantir CEO and tech executive, discusses AI deployment, national security, and tech’s role with labor. They debate who captures AI’s gains, training and tax policies, trust and transparency, and ways to give workers a meaningful seat at the table.

The Supreme Court’s recent decision to limit the president’s use of emergency tariff authority set off a wave of commentary declaring the end of Trump’s trade agenda. But one week later, the reality looks far more complicated than what the chattering class might lead you to think. If IEEPA is off the table, what tools remain? What happens to the deals already struck? And does this ruling mark a retreat from tariff policy, or will the administration simply a shift to firmer legal ground?Mark DiPlacido, senior political economist at American Compass, joins Oren to assess where things stand. They delve into the alternative authorities available to the administration—Sections 232, 301, and 122; what a “balance of payments” means in practice; and how sectoral tariffs on steel, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and critical minerals might reshape the next phase of trade policy. They also explore what a stable endpoint for Trump’s tariff strategy would actually look like and what Congress would need to do to make a better system of global trade permanent.