PodcastsEducationDad Saves America

Dad Saves America

John Papola
Dad Saves America
Latest episode

186 episodes

  • Dad Saves America

    The TSA Wastes $12 Billion and Still Fails 90% of the Time

    2026/03/28 | 58 mins.
    The TSA is running out of staff, airport security lines are spiraling out of control, and Congress still can’t resolve its fight over DHS funding. This isn’t just a temporary breakdown. We’re seeing what happens when a $12 billion government “solution” finally gets stress-tested. Despite collecting billions in additional fees from travelers every year, the TSA still can’t maintain basic service and even fails its core security mission at an alarming rate when fully funded.
    Before 9/11, airport security was largely operated by private entities. Today, a handful of U.S. airports still use private contractors under TSA rules and regulations. They follow the same general procedures, but consistently deliver faster lines and better service. The rest of the country is stuck in the middle of Washington turf wars that treat air travel as a bargaining chip, tying essential operations to unrelated legislation while workers go unpaid and travelers miss flights.
    If private airport security is a proven model, why are most of us stuck with substandard government service? What would a system built on real incentives and accountability actually look like?
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    Check my sources over on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/dadsavesamerica/p/the-tsa-wastes-12-billion-and-still?r=24ayxm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
    _____________________________________
    Purchase a T-shirt, hoodie, and more over on our merch store: https://shop.dadsavesamerica.com/
    Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/14JDhwuONM4
    Make a tax-deductible donation to Dad Saves America: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://secure.anedot.com/emergent-order-foundation/dad-website?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
    Visit our website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dadsavesamerica.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


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  • Dad Saves America

    You Can’t Simulate the Meaning of Your Life - Arthur Brooks

    2026/03/26 | 2h 5 mins.
    I sat down with Harvard professor and bestselling author Arthur Brooks to unpack why so many people, especially young men, feel lost in modern life. Drawing on his new book, “The Meaning of Your Life,” Arthur explains how the digital simulation most of us live in keeps us distracted, while failing to satisfy our desire for meaning. Love, happiness, and faith are side effects of pursuing truth and purpose, not goals you can eventually reach. We discuss whether culture or politics is the true source of our society’s troubles, how religion is successfully transmitted across generations, and which habits make for strong marriages in the long run.
    Join Arthur’s free “The Meaning of Your Life Virtual Experience” on March 27, a live, immersive journey designed around the groundbreaking findings in his new book, “The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness.” Learn more at http://themeaningofyourlife.com/
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    Follow Arthur Brooks on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/arthurbrooks?s=20
    Preorder a copy of Arthur’s new book: http://themeaningofyourlife.com/
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    Outline:
    [0:00] Reflecting on making “The Pursuit” together
    [2:13] What does it mean to be an adult?
    [7:40] What are your emotions telling you?
    [11:37] Left vs right in 2026
    [19:48] Are we more in need of policy reform or cultural repair?
    [27:48] The psychogenic epidemic and the cycles of history
    [37:47] No period of history is all good or all bad
    [40:58] How to be masculine in a feminine era
    [44:58] We’re living in a gnostic simulation
    [47:03] What does “meaning” actually mean?
    [52:02] How to raise your kids in your values
    [55:04] Contempt destroys marriages
    [1:00:39] Getting back into religion in middle age
    [1:06:53] Choosing persuasion over coercion makes us human
    [1:13:37] Exit the Matrix, find your mate, and find meaning
    [1:20:41] 4 strategies that will save most marriages
    [1:24:46] Finding your career calling in the AI era
    [1:33:17] Is Bryan Johnson is right about mortality?
    [1:36:34] The fight between fear and love
    [1:41:20] Why men struggle to “feel” their faith
    [1:48:15] Science and faith aren’t in conflict
    [1:53:30] Has the Enlightenment gone too far?
    _____________________________________
    Purchase a T-shirt, hoodie, and more over on our merch store: https://shop.dadsavesamerica.com/
    Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/H0jgDwtGNqM
    Make a tax-deductible donation to Dad Saves America: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://secure.anedot.com/emergent-order-foundation/dad-website?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
    Visit our website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dadsavesamerica.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


    Get full access to Dad Saves America at www.dadsavesamerica.com/subscribe
  • Dad Saves America

    $8 Gas. Oil Cut Off. Has Trump’s Iran Gamble Backfired?

    2026/03/21 | 1h 17 mins.
    Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, and gas prices are on the rise. Fossil fuels power every aspect of modern life, from transportation to manufacturing to food. If something doesn’t change fast, we could be facing an inflation crisis once again. I’m breaking down how climate extremism, price controls, and the Middle East’s “resource curse” have created the perfect storm for worldwide economic mayhem.
    As gas surpasses $8 per gallon in some parts of California, you’d think Gavin Newsom might rethink his climate and energy policies, but with only eight oil refineries left in the state, the damage is done. Texas, on the other hand, has a much stronger local infrastructure to weather the storm. In the end, our choices are gambling on a utopian fantasy or embracing the reality of physics.
    _____________________________________
    Check my sources over on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/dadsavesamerica/p/8-gas-oil-cut-off-has-trumps-iran?r=24ayxm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
    _____________________________________
    Purchase a T-shirt, hoodie, and more over on our merch store: https://shop.dadsavesamerica.com/
    Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zgc3w-0u3V0
    Make a tax-deductible donation to Dad Saves America: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://secure.anedot.com/emergent-order-foundation/dad-website?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
    Visit our website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dadsavesamerica.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


    Get full access to Dad Saves America at www.dadsavesamerica.com/subscribe
  • Dad Saves America

    The 97% Success Formula They Won't Teach in Schools - Ian Rowe

    2026/03/19 | 1h 36 mins.
    I sat down with Ian Rowe, an education entrepreneur and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, to unpack why raising kids with a sense of agency is the key to lifelong success. Ian defines agency as free will guided by moral discernment, closely related to the concept of “ordered liberty.” Today, low expectations and racial victimhood narratives are trapping kids in cycles they could otherwise escape. We dig into why the “success sequence” of education, work, marriage, and then children is so effective at preventing poverty. In a culture where good advice is smeared as “victim blaming,” Ian offers a more productive and hopeful vision for the most disadvantaged Americans.
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    Follow Ian Rowe on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/IanVRowe?s=20
    Purchase a copy of Ian’s book, “Agency”: https://a.co/d/0cWhn8dy
    _____________________________________
    Outline:
    [0:00] Ian and I have a lot in common
    [2:58] What is agency and why does it matter?
    [6:04] How religion breaks the cycle of disfunction
    [14:52] Entrepreneurship is a problem-solving mindset
    [18:07] Is the mental health crisis a self-fulfilling prophecy?
    [25:08] How do kids transition into adulthood?
    [35:37] Why is the “success sequence” controversial?
    [39:21] We need to bring back shame
    [43:48] The problems facing black Americans
    [59:22] Are black voters shifting politically?
    [1:05:59] How racial guilt gets in the way of teaching
    [1:11:45] Teachers have forgotten how to teach
    [1:17:04] Identity obsession vs universal virtues
    [1:25:58] Truth, nihilism, and the black market of ideas
    _____________________________________
    Purchase a T-shirt, hoodie, and more over on our merch store:
    https://shop.dadsavesamerica.com/
    Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/TKXE5FBwy50
    Make a tax-deductible donation to Dad Saves America: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://secure.anedot.com/emergent-order-foundation/dad-website?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
    Visit our website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dadsavesamerica.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


    Get full access to Dad Saves America at www.dadsavesamerica.com/subscribe
  • Dad Saves America

    Islamic Terror Rising: Does America Need a New Crusade?

    2026/03/14 | 1h 29 mins.
    A series of terrorist attacks in Virginia, Michigan, NYC, and even my own city of Austin has brought the radical Islamic threat back to American soil. Rather than confronting the ideological nature of these acts, the public conversation is quickly redirected toward gun control, mental health, or non-specific “extremism.” The perpetrators, on the other hand, are usually quite happy to tell you what they believe.
    From the Reconquista to the War on Terror, the Christian West has been locked in a struggle with the Muslim world. In modern America and Europe, we suffer from a “crisis of confidence,” as Jimmy Carter put it, which undermines are ability to confront the real civilizational fight in front of us. Some young people have succumbed to nihilism, while others have embraced a strange alliance between leftist politics and radical Islam. Will we be able to reverse the demoralization of America in the face of real threats?
    _____________________________________
    Check my sources over on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/dadsavesamerica/p/islamic-terror-rising-does-america?r=24ayxm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
    _____________________________________
    Purchase a T-shirt, hoodie, and more over on our merch store: https://shop.dadsavesamerica.com/
    Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/TymfmuuwLok
    Make a tax-deductible donation to Dad Saves America: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://secure.anedot.com/emergent-order-foundation/dad-website?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
    Visit our website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dadsavesamerica.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


    Get full access to Dad Saves America at www.dadsavesamerica.com/subscribe

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About Dad Saves America

Proud papa, filmmaker, entrepreneur, and arm-chair philosopher John Papola explores the biggest issues facing our country through the lens of fatherhood, releasing exclusive interviews and deep dives every week. We need to make sure the next generation of Americans is raised to thrive in a free society and be champions of civilization. Dad Saves America has hosted all sorts of experts in the studio, including Jonathan Haidt, Dr. Drew, Michael Shellenberger, Bret Weinstein, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Adam Carolla. www.dadsavesamerica.com
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