Meeting of Minds

In Ep. #117, Jerry speaks with Dr. John Fleming, treasurer of the state of Louisiana, for a wide-ranging conversation. Topics include:

• Do decarbonization efforts, from net zero to carbon capture, actually do anything?
• How racial gerrymandering creates a more polarized nation
• The history of property rights — and why that matters in creating wealth for ordinary Americans.

In this episode, Isaac is joined by Dr. Brian Dellinger, AI expert and professor of computer science at Grove City College. We discuss:

• What a real theology of technology looks like
• Why Christian culture is so reflexively anti-AI
• Can AI be a tool for kingdom-building?

Hint: the answer’s yes.

Check out Grove City College’s work with AI in Biblical translation here: https://www.gcc.edu/Home/News-Archive/News-Article/gcc-research-aims-to-improve-ai-biblical-translation

In this episode, Jerry welcomes Newsweek’s Jesse Edwards to unpack the controversy surrounding McDonalds’ decision to step back from its DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) hiring quotas. Together, they explore:

• Why corporations are expected to take stances on social and political issues at all
• How DEI initiatives often lead to further corporate activism — and unintended consequences
• Why these programs often harm the very people they pretend to support

Jesse shares insights from his recent Newsweek article, arguing that complex societal challenges shouldn’t be solved through corporate experiments. As he puts it: “There’s no logical reason to expect a company like McDonald’s to solve these issues by using its workforce as guinea pigs for social engineering.”

Listen in for a candid conversation on the limits of corporate responsibility — and why sometimes, fries should just be fries.

In Ep. 114, Jerry sits down with Alabama State Auditor Andrew Sorrell. Join us for a fascinating conversation on topics including:

• Sorrell’s personal experience with being debanked
• Who’s the bigger problem in debanking: big banks or regional banks?
• How debanking creates problems in the cryptocurrency industry
• How banking restrictions threaten Second Amendment rights - and how Alabama’s fighting back

In Episode 113 of Meeting of Minds, Utah State Treasurer Marlo Oaks returns for a compelling discussion on how alternative currencies—especially gold-backed systems—could offer economic resilience and restore financial autonomy to states seeking greater independence from federal monetary policy.

Jerry and Treasurer Oaks explore:

• How gold is strengthening state rainy-day funds in Utah
• The role of precious metals in safeguarding against inflation and economic instability
• The constitutional foundation for issuing gold-backed currency
• Whether Bitcoin and digital assets offer a viable alternative in currency crises

This episode dives deep into the intersection of economics, policy, and freedom—don’t miss it!

In Ep. 112, Isaac Willour from Bowyer Research sits down with Dr. Chris DeArmitt, a materials scientist, author, and public speaker known for his work discussing misconceptions surrounding the environmental impact of plastics. Join us for a conversation about corporate America’s plastic policies, recycling, and what the future of real sustainability looks like.

Check out Chris’ work here: plasticsresearchcouncil.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisdearmitt/

In Ep. 111, David Bahnsen returns to the podcast to discuss how high-achievers struggle to relate to the church, how the lessons of God’s creation carry a call to human ambition, and other lessons sparked from his recent book Full-Time: Work and the Meaning of Life.

Check out David’s recent book here: https://www.fulltimebook.com/

Oklahoma State Treasurer Todd Russ gave this speech at Lululemon's annual meeting of shareholders recently, defending a shareholder proposal urging the company to back away from partnering with non-fiduciary corporate activist groups like the Human Rights Campaign, and take seriously the controversy caused by the company's previous donations to radical organizations like Black Lives Matter & Reclaim the Block (which called for the defunding of the Minneapolis Police Department). We present Treasurer Russ' speech here for our listeners.

In Ep. 110, Jerry sits down with author Eric Dunavant, author, entrepreneur and creator of the Kingdom ROI (Return on Intention) method. They discuss Eric’s recent book, At the Bistro with Bob, the story of Dunavant’s friendship with oilman Bob Pritchard. Jerry & Eric also discuss the importance of exercising ownership of companies, how to balance transferring wisdom & wealth, and Eric’s work teaching high-net-worth people to build & maintain relationships, not just money.

Check out At the Bistro With Bob here.

In Ep. 109, Isaac Willour from Bowyer Research sits down with Tommy Martin, CEO of the Tebow Group. Join us for a wide-ranging conversation on topics like:

• Biblical lessons for business – from 1 Samuel to Paul
• How Christians should navigate the 21st century job market
• The incredible work that the Tebow Group is doing to bring faith, hope, and love to the darkest parts of the world

Check out The Tebow Group’s work here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tebowgroup/posts/?feedView=all

Financial advisor Rick Figueroa gave this speech at Meta’s annual meeting of shareholders several weeks ago, defending a shareholder proposal urging Meta to be transparent with shareholders regarding preventing AI-driven child exploitation. This proposal received one of the highest levels of vote support in Bowyer Research's history - we present Rick’s excellent speech here for our listeners.

Walker Wildmon, vice president of American Family Association, gave this speech at Apple's annual meeting of shareholders earlier this year, defending a shareholder proposal urging Apple to explain its lax policies regarding online child abuse and distribution of child pornography. This proposal received one of the highest levels of vote support in Bowyer Research's history - we present Wildmon's speech here for our listeners.

One of Bowyer Research’s clients, financial advisor David Bahnsen, recently spoke at Gilead Sciences’ annual meeting in defense of a shareholder proposal asking the company to eschew divisive DEI quotas in its supplier policies. We’re presenting the speech here for our listeners.

Learn more about The Bahnsen Group here.

In episode 108, Jerry sits down with Rich Todd, CEO and co-founder of Innovest, to talk about one of the biggest drivers in value-based investments: financial consultants. Rich & Jerry discuss the Christian philosophical rebuttal to ESG & DEI, the importance of having an investment manager with a pro-Christian culture, and what it truly means to be “equally yoked” when it comes to your investment strategy, financial influence, & proxy voting.

Recently, Jerry (as president of Bowyer Research) gave a short speech to the board of directors of BlackRock, asking the company (1) to move back to political neutrality and (2) to go back to the classical economics of shareholder capitalism as opposed to stakeholderism. We present the speech (three minutes in length) here for our listeners to listen to.

Few people are as keyed in on ESG’s “war on food” as former Nebraska State Treasurer John Murante. In Ep. 107, Murante sits down with Jerry to discuss how corporate activism is leaning heavily into anti-agriculture sentiment, how utopian visions of animal welfare create dystopia in reality, and how fiduciary duty gets applied to everything from carbon emissions to crypto investments.

Read John’s piece at NRO here: https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/11/esg-investing-hurts-the-poor-and-empowers-tyrants/

In Ep. 106, Jerry sits down with Missouri Treasurer Vivek Malek to discuss the threat of China, the ongoing battle with Vanguard’s self-perpetuating autocracy, and the ‘Three-P’ approach: protecting taxpayers’ dollars, providing opportunities, and promoting the promise of America.

In. Ep. 105, Isaac Willour from Bowyer Research sits down for a conversation with Dr. Paul Mueller, senior fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER). Join us for an in-depth discussion of a Protestant approach to economics, how ESG agendas advance elitist ideology, and how G.K. Chesterton can fix our social media problems.

Check out Dr. Mueller’s work at AIER here: https://aier.org/people/paul-mueller/

In Ep. 104, Jerry sits down with Tim Schwarzenberger, CFA, of Inspire Investing. The next installment of our miniseries on a Catholic response to ESG explores how Christian investors can apply faith and prudential judgment to today’s complex investment landscape.

They dive into the levels of Church teaching authority, discuss why reclaiming shareholder voice through proxy voting is so important, and examine how DEI and ESG frameworks often conflict with authentic Christian moral principles. Whether Catholic or broadly Christian, this conversation offers practical insights for investing faithfully and intentionally in a world of competing values.

Inspire: www.inspireinvesting.com

Follow Tim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timschwarzenbergercfa/

In Ep. 103, Jerry sits down with Jonathan Berry, managing partner at Boyden Gray PLLC, in the next episode of our miniseries on a Catholic response to ESG. Join us for a discussion ranging from subsidiarity to diversity: we cover the historical roots of ESG & DEI ideology, the 'agency problem' and how ESG casts light on it, and the way that ESG often mirrors (and perverts) religious ways of thinking.