Upstream Ideas

What inspires a local Sheriff to get involved in national politics? Retired Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke talks to Dan Proft about his 15 years in electoral politics, his experience with Black Lives Matter, restoring peace, rehabilitating ex-offenders, and being a foot soldier for freedom on this episode of Against the Current.

What binds all these politicos together? How did the Obama administration perfect the practice of “smash and grab?” What are the behind closed doors dealings of some of the potential 2020 presidential candidates? What was Tiny Dancer’s cut after leaving the Obama White House? "Clinton Cash" and "Secret Empires" author, Peter Schweizer joins Dan and Amy to discuss.

Have the 2018 midterms returned to a law and order election? According to Democrat candidate for governor in Florida, Andrew Gillum thinks cops have already failed once they need to use a taser, baton, or their gun. What’s the new active shooter protocol? How much does social media factor into police investigations? Is there any more to be done with threats on social media? New York City Police Detective and President of the CMP Protective and Investigative Group, Thomas Ruskin joins Dan and Amy to discuss.

How do you tackle the most important and challenging aspect of K-12 reform: family. There are real rewards and consequences from the decisions children make, but do educators have the courage to tell them the truth? What are the factors that drive long term success for kids? Operator of Charter Schools, Ian Rowe joins Dan and Amy to discuss.

Is the media looking for pretext to destroy Trump? Trump is telling the caravan to turn around and he's sending troops to the border for emphasis. How is this going to end? Why aren’t the migrants taking refuge in Mexico as offered? If Trump doesn’t take care of this will he lose the midterms? TheStream.org’s John Zmirak joins Dan and Amy to discuss.

How do anchors on CNN go from calls for civility to suspecting the alleged pipe bomber is definitely a Fox News viewer? Is it ridiculous to suggest that the current political discourse is responsible for an attempted terrorist attack? Have any Democrats been asked if the caravan should be allowed in? Anchor of Special Report on Fox News, Bret Baier joins Dan and Amy to discuss.

Will more suburban women ultimately vote GOP than the pollsters think? Does the electorate believe Hillary Clinton is liability to the Democrats? Should you vote with your head or emotions? Is identity politics shaming finally coming to a head? Author and culture critic, Suzanne Venker joins Dan and Amy to discuss.

Are talking heads jumping to conclusions to score political points in the ongoing pipe bomb investigation? How much forensic work is going on right now? How do you begin to narrow in on the bomber? Is there still a chance this could be domestic or international terrorism? Famed FBI Criminal Profiler, James Fitzgerald joins Dan and Amy to discuss.

How has feminism helped undermine family life? Why is there a hypersexualization of children in schools? Why do feminists deny the differences between men and women? Is the #metoo movement a cry of despair from the anything goes culture feminism has created? Columnist and senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Mona Charen joins Dan and Amy to discuss how feminism lost touch with science.

Are Trump's tariffs stunting American growth? What say Caterpillar?  Is government the means of transferring wealth or creating it? Why aren’t we trying to make steel in the U.S. as cheap as possible? Why is Trump listening to Peter Navarro? CNN Chief Economist, Steve Moore joins Dan and Amy to discuss.

Is whiteness blackness and blackness whiteness? Why are “intellectuals” who categorize people according to color heralded as the great minds of our time even though they are harkening back to the days of Jim Crow? What is angry white man syndrome? Is the political discourse in this country so bad because of the single minded D.C. press corps? Brand ambassador at Jerusalem U, Chloe Simone Valdary joins Dan and Amy to discuss.

Do Google and Facebook have the power to shift votes to candidates they prefer? Will they have an effect on the upcoming midterms? Is it virtually impossible to separate yourself from Google? What is the creepiest thing that Facebook and Google does to their users? Documentarian, Matt Taylor joins Dan and Amy to explain how these media giants are undermining our republic.

Is environmentalists’ pushback on any EPA rollback- “people will die?” Is there even a sliver of truth to that? Is our 21st-century Nazi threat not getting to 100% renewable energy as hinted by Ocasio-Cortes? How has Germany’s CO2 emissions gone up despite spending $220 billion on green energy? Founder of JunkScience.com and a member of President Trump’s EPA transition team, Steve Milloy joins Dan and Amy to discuss.

What are the issues impacting overall turnout? Is the gap beginning to close between Republicans who historically vote early and the Democrats? If there is a higher midterm turnout than in recent decades, who will it help? Does Trump’s approval rating impact the elections?  Former Campaign Manager for Howard Dean, Joe Trippi joins Dan and Amy to discuss.

Will “Beautiful” Ted win out against Beto O’Rourke, “a highly overrated guy?” Is Trump blowing smoke on promising more tax cuts? Are women across the country unhappy with Trump’s bluster but happy with his accomplishments from a policy perspective? Senior political correspondent for the Washington Examiner, David Drucker joins Dan and Amy to discuss.

Should voters consider who should be the mayor rather than who could? How does Amara Enyia differ from the other progressive candidates in the mayoral race? How has celebrity support changed her campaign? Why does she think a public bank run by a bankrupt Chicago government could ever be a good idea? Mayoral candidate, Amara Enyia joins Dan and Amy to discuss her platform and high profile supporters like Chance the Rapper and Kanye West.

What does 21st-century capitalism look like? How did America become the world’s most powerful economy? Should we be optimistic or pessimistic about the future of capitalism in America? Are tariffs always a mistake? Political Editor for The Economist and co-author of the new book “Capitalism In America: A History” with Alan Greenspan, Adrian Wooldridge joins Dan and Amy to discuss.

Congressional candidate, Jitrenda Diganvker, has dealt with the financial hardships of having to close his business, to the tragic loss of his daughters in a car accident. Through that all, he is still proud to be an American and wants to serve the country that has brought him such great opportunities since he became a citizen in 2003. First time, Republican candidate for Congress in Illinois’ 8th District, Jitendra “JD” Diganvker joins Dan and Amy to discuss.

Did John Adams and Thomas Jefferson spend most of their “friendship” hoping the other was dead? Were they together in the fight for independence but divided on everything else? Did they have a unifying hatred for Alexander Hamilton? Brown University Professor, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of “Friends Divided: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson,” Gordon Wood joins Dan and Amy to discuss.

Are sanctions against the Saudis the next move in response to the Khashoggi murder investigation? Why does Lindsey Graham think it’s a good idea to call for regime change? What is Trump going to do about the Honduras caravan headed to the border? Is the GOP having an October comeback? Anchor of Special Report on Fox News, Bret Baier joins Dan and Amy to discuss.