The Adult in the Room Podcast with Victoria Taft

Publisher. Author. Raconteur. These are all terms that apply to the guest of this episode, but to his peers in the UK's House of Lords, he is Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour. The former publisher of the Daily Telegraph (UK), the Chicago Sun-Times, the Jerusalem Post, and the National Post (Canada), he has a unique perspective both as a northerly neighbor and a British Lord. On this episode he discusses his thoughts on the upcoming US elections, his longtime friendship with Donald Trump, and the unique world that is the UK news industry. Join us for a chat that is sometimes controversial, often enlightening, and certainly riveting.

Attorney & author Jeffrey Stephens (https://jeffreystephens.com) is the creator of the Nick Reagan & Jordan Sandor espionage book series. As a writer of spy thrillers, he has a unique perspective on spycraft, America's intelligence sector, and the roles that both government and business are increasingly playing in the personal lives of citizens & consumers. He joins the program to discuss is fiction work and how it's been affected by the negative perception that US intelligence has acquired, and how abuse of power hurts the dedicated men & women who work every day to neutralize threats before they make it to our shores.

John Cameron, a mild-mannered real estate agent from Seattle, now has a criminal record thanks to his presence at the disastrous January 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol. On this episode of the Adult In The Room, hear in his words why he decided to cross the country for the certification day rally that evolved into one of the darkest days in modern American political history, what he saw personally that day, and how his arrest and subsequent sentencing ignited his desire to get even more active in the political process.

Joe Kent is a retired Green Beret, so you know he's as tough as they come. But now he's taking on a whole new battlefield: the American political process. He's taking on Marie Gluesenkamp Perez for Washington's 3rd Congressional District seat, and today he returns to the show to talk more about his platform, America's conflict with the Iranian-backed Houthi pirates, his experiences in Iraq, and life as a Gold Star husband after the tragic loss of his wife in Syria in 2019.

The federal case against Hunter Biden made its way to Capitol Hill last week with hearings investigating his drug & gun charges. But for former White House Stenographer Mike McCormick, the bigger story continues to be the Biden family's connections to Burisma, the energy firm on whose board Hunter Biden sat. McCormick tells the story on this episode of a flight to Kiev that he himself was part of, and discusses the connections between the Bidens, the Klitschko Brothers, Burisma, and corruption that he believes still goes to the highest level of American government. Get Mike's latest book, The Case to Impeach & Imprison Joe Biden - ⁠https://www.amazon.com/Case-Impeach-Imprison-Joe-Biden/dp/B0CQRKXVFH&tag=victoriataft-20⁠ Visit Mike's Substack, Midnight in the Laptop of Good & Evil - ⁠https://mmccormick.substack.com⁠

Naomi Wolf's outspokenness landed her jobs within the Clinton & Gore campaigns. But she's also drawn criticism from media elites for her regular challenges to narratives of feminism, sexuality, medicine, politics, and national security. Now, in her new book, Facing the Beast: Courage, Faith, and Resistance in a New Dark Age, Wolf tackles world leaders' failed responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and how their own mismanagement led to curtailed rights, malpractice, and social shaming from moralists (mostly on the left). She joins this episode to discuss the looming challenges we are about to face in America after ceding unprecedented control of our lives to government, media, and big tech & pharmaceutical companies.

This week marks 51 years since the trial began for the five men caught burglarizing the DNC offices at the Watergate Hotel. John O'Connor has been researching the scandal for decades, publishing two books on the subject and even building a relationship with whistleblower Mark Felt, known colloquially as "Deep Throat." On this special episode, he returns to the program to talk even more in-depth on the origins of the scandal, how Nixon's downfall was initiated by rogue elements within multiple levels of government, and how current scandals within the White House relate to this embarrassing and somewhat frightening chapter in American politics.

Xi Van Fleet grew up with China's so-called "Cultural Revolution" exploding around her, transforming her homeland into an authoritarian state where the entire populace was indoctrinated into the belief that poverty was purity, that oppression was freedom, and that liberty was poisonous. After the death of Mao Zedong, she emigrated to the US and embraced the true freedom our country presents. Christmas is a time for generosity, prosperity, and celebration of faith and family, and so on this Christmas Eve edition of The Adult in the Room, Xi joins the program to discuss the dangerous path she believes America's political class are leading our country down, which is directly oppositional to those same core ideals, a topic she tackles in even greater detail in her new book ⁠Mao's America: A Survivor's Warning⁠. BUY XI'S NEW BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/Maos-America-Survivors-Van-Fleet-ebook/dp/B0BWY3JV76?tag=victoriataft-20

Spycraft isn't usually what you see in the movies or read about in adventure books. It's gritty, it's ugly, and in modern times often requires just as much history & technology expertise as marksmanship. Intelligence operators are some of the most highly-skilled, dangerous people on the planet. So, when their skills are misused by the political elite against US citizens solely for the gain of political capital, the consequences can ruin careers, lives, and fragile peace. Charles "Sam" Faddis is a former CIA operative who led the first incursion into Iraq in the run-up to the 2003 invasion of that country, and headed the WMD unit of the agency's Counter-Terrorism Center. He also served as an officer of the US Army's Judge Advocate General Corps, so he cares a great deal about preserving justice in a world where due process seems to have given way to backroom dealings within agencies that have no Constitutional mandate, and should by all rights be neutral, owing allegiance to the nation itself, not to any one member of the US government. Faddis chats with Victoria on this episode about his thoughts on members of government using American investigatory & intelligence agencies as a political cudgel, and what can be done to heal the rot that continues to grow within these extraconstitutional bureaus.

Author, commentator & podcaster Drew Thomas Allen has genuine concerns about the future of America. In his new book, America’s Last Stand: Will You Vote to Save or Destroy America in 2024?, Allen examines why the 2024 election cycle is one of the most critically important in the history of our country, why he believes the Biden administration has deeply damaged the fabric of the United States, and why he thinks it’s not too late to turn things around.

Seattle radio host Jason Rantz (https://jasonrantz.com) has witnessed firsthand how the governing policies of large, liberal-run cities have left chaos reigning. Stores closed due to rampant theft. The mentally ill, homeless and addicted left to ravage the streets and harass residents and visitors. The graft of local governments, who are latched onto the teat of government and pour billions into ineffective programs that only create more misery. It's all the subject of his new book, What’s Killing America: Inside the Radical Left's Tragic Destruction of Our Cities. Today, Jason joins Victoria to talk about the mayhem unfolding in urban centers across the country, and what can be done about it. BUY JASON'S BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/Whats-Killing-America-Radical-Destruction/dp/B0BWGQCNFY?tag=victoriataft-20

Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld is the director of the American Center for Democracy and its Economic Warfare Institute. A native of Israel, she has seen firsthand the devastation the Mideast turmoil has brought to that embattled nation, both through conventional war and the horror of terrorism. She also has extensively studied how western money from the US and its allies -- much of it extracted from taxpayers -- has ended up lining the pockets of the same fundamentalists who slaughter men, women & children with equal glee. Her research into the economics of international crime & violence have led to the publication of four books on the matter including her latest, The Soros Agenda, in which she traces how both naïveté & malice have led to prominent figures in business, government, and professional activism funding the very fundamentalists, terrorists and cartels that are out to destroy them. Dr. Ehrenfeld joins the program to discuss exactly what is going on in Israel, and how foreign aid and well-intentioned charity feeds brutal jihadist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah all the way up to Al Qaeda and ISIS.

NOTE: THIS EPISODE CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE MITCH RAPP NOVEL SERIES. New York Times bestselling author Don Bentley spent over a decade flying Apache helicopters for the US Army, including facing down Al Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan. For his service, he can count among his accolades the Bronze Star and the Air Medal with V Device. He's worked in the private sector for military contractors, spent time as a foreign intelligence and counterintelligence agent for the FBI, and served as a SWAT officer. But despite his dangerous career up until now, he's facing down perhaps his most harrowing challenge...pleasing extremely rabid literary fans. Having previously written novels set in the late Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan series, as well as his own series of thrillers starring his own character Matt Drake, Don has been named the newest successor to Vince Flynn's incredibly popular Mitch Rapp series of novels, taking over for his friend and departing author Kyle Mills. On today's episode, Don talks about his experience on the war front, and gives his thoughts on America's exit from Afghanistan and the recent tragedy in Israel. But the mood will certainly lighten as he talks about his career as a writer, navigating the pitfalls of continuity management as a legacy series author, and hilarious interactions with his colleagues. PURCHASE OFFICIAL "MITCH RAPP LIVES" APPAREL: https://cadetmaker.myshopify.com PURCHASE DON BENTLEY'S BOOKS ON AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Don-Bentley/author/B07VQJQX1P?tag=victoriataft-20

“When peace comes we will perhaps in time be able to forgive the Arabs for killing our sons, but it will be harder for us to forgive them for having forced us to kill their sons. Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.” ― Golda Meir, A Land of Our Own: An Oral Autobiography Early this past Saturday morning in Israel, while most Americans were turning in for the night or already in bed, a coordinated offensive launched from the Palestinian territory of Gaza into towns and communes near its border with Jewish-controlled Israeli territory. Their targets? Sleeping families and hundreds of revelers at a music & dance festival promoting peace. The attack is being called by some “Israel’s 9/11.” The death toll, as of this episode’s publishing, is over 1,200 Israelis, with over 2,700 wounded. Now, Israel is mobilizing for what some believe will be an overwhelming and decisive counteroffensive. The first guest on today’s special episode of The Adult in the Room Podcast is Wayne Black, a security consultant and expert who previously managed the security detail for former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Black explains why he worries an attack like the one seen out of Gaza this weekend can’t be ruled out here in the US, and what individuals can do to maximize their own safety and security in the event of danger. Then, Victoria is joined to close the show by Major General Paul E. Vallely, who gives his own analysis of the situation in Israel, and opines on the US government’s response to the crisis.

Mark Twain, allegedly quoting Disraeli, once said "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." California politicians led by Gavin Newsom seem determined to apply all three in their crusade against firearms and those who own them. They're using traditional strategies like the demonization of so-called "assault weapons" and bans of upsized magazines, but are also employing bizarre legal maneuvers such as environmental policy and exploiting stereotypes surrounding mental illness and cannabis use to crack down on what they falsely claim is the nations leading cause of death for children. C.D. "Chuck" Michel is leading the charge as the President and General Counsel for the California Rifle & Pistol Association. Today, he joins the program to talk about Newsom's recent legislative actions against gun rights and why the secret weapon to defeat them may lie within, of all places, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Adult in the Room Podcast returns with a deep dive into recent gun rights developments including the overturning of California's extended magazine ban, and a critical trial in Oregon over the constitutionality of Ballot Measure 114, an onerous gun control bill passed last year that similarly bands high-capacity magazines and creates additional background check and paperwork requirements for buyers. Is the progressive left using societal violence and chaos as a weapon against the Judicial Branch? Then, we have a brief but fascinating talk with J. Christian Adams of the Public Interest Legal Foundation about the election integrity report cards going into primary season, and where he still has concerns, including a case in Maine involving suppression of speech.

Victoria is joined on the program by author & journalist Joe Allen, whose latest book "DARK ÆON: Transhumanism and the War Against Humanity" examines both the physical and metaphysical dangers humanity faces as we stand at the precipice of artificial general intelligence. Allen believes the transhumanist movement seeks not only to leap headfirst into critically dangerous technology, but to supplant all faith and belief with themselves as a new pantheon to a new generation of intelligent machines. What are the risks, and how can we mitigate them?

Former White House stenographer Mike McCormick returns with more from the infamous Hunter Biden laptop files. What role did he play in connecting his father to Ukrainian firm Burisma? Why did he seemingly ditch his Secret Service detail while visiting family? And what is the Biden family's connection to a vicious Honduran cartel? Check out this episode of The Adult in the Room to hear all the details.

"Tucker" author Chadwick Moore returns to the program to talk the book's release, and to share more stories from his research of Tucker Carlson, including stories of his faith, his sense of honor, and even a few revelations about Carlson's relationship with the controversial Hunter Biden, a man that Carlson once counted as a friend before Biden's spiral into addiction and corruption. Pick up your copy of "Tucker" on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Tucker/dp/B0CD9JLHTS?tag=victoriataft-20

Attorney John Eastman, along with many members of the Trump Administration including the former President, have been indicted for a myriad of charges in the state of Georgia. Together, they are accused of conspiring to hijack the 2020 Presidential election in that state, and violations of racketeering law, charges that could result in some of the defendants spending the rest of their natural lives in prison. But what was John Eastman's role? Is he the mastermind behind a plot to deny the will of Georgia voters? Or is he simply an attorney who suggested potential paths to victory, and whose advice was based on prior precedent and fits within a proper interpretation of both state & federal law? Civil rights & criminal defense attorney Harvey Silverglate, who is part of the team representing Eastman, returns to the program to discuss what he can share about the case, why he believes his client will be exonerated, and what motivations the Fulton County DA might have to announce the defendants' charges at the time and in the manner that she did so.

An Atlanta-area grand jury has handed down the 4th series of indictments to former President Donald Trump, as well as many members of his leadership team for a range of alleged offenses from RICO violations to forgery. The Article III Project's Mike Davis returns to the program to explain why he believes the charges won't stick, and what political motive he feels is the impetus for them.

Jonathan Choe first made waves in Seattle as the lead reporter with the city's ABC affiliate, KOMO-4. After being unceremoniously booted via "hecklers veto," Choe struck out on his own, bringing his online audience uncensored, unfiltered, accurate presentations of what life is really like on the streets of Seattle, from violent activism to homelessness to the drug epidemic. Join Jonathan and Victoria as they take you inside some of his most notable recent stories and examine why the Emerald City is sliding ever further into decline.

Miriam Grossman, M.D. is a renowned childhood & adolescent psychiatrist, and since 2006 she has been vocal about her concerns regarding the radical effects social media and internet culture have been generating in children across the country, affecting their self-esteem, sexual identities, and mental health. In her new book Lost in Trans Nation: A Child Psychiatrist's Guide Out of the Madness, Dr. Grossman examines the history and pathology of the Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria epidemic and why pressure from bad doctors, political activists and even caregivers are contributing to a human crisis that will see thousands of young people permanently altered physically & psychologically, making already-troubling mental illness symptoms worse. ⁠BUY LOST IN TRANS NATION HERE⁠ - https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Trans-Nation-Psychiatrists-Madness/dp/1510777741?tag=victoriataft-20

Chef Andrew Gruel, a successful California restauranteur and respected food service industry consultant, made a lot of waves when he defied California pandemic lockdown orders and continued to keep his outdoor dining area open, citing the lack of evidence of outdoor spread and Governor Gavin Newsom's own hypocritical actions. Now, he's giving his unique POV on everything from lab-grown meat to New York's proposed gas appliance ban, as well as sharing his own philosophy about food, family, and cooking-as-drama.

In modern times, Americans sometimes take for granted the blessings of liberty that have been purchased for us both at the negotiating table and on the battlefield. On this special Independence Day episode of The Adult in the Room Podcast, Victoria welcomes a pair of very special guests. Mari, a citizen of the US, grew up as a child of the Cuban Diaspora and returned to her homeland to become one of the first Instagram influencers in Cuba. She documented her adventures with her family and her fiancé Yoel, showing both the beauty and darkness of life in a communist nation, and gave the world one of the clearest looks into what life inside of Cuba really is like. Three years ago, she and Yoel began the process of making the move to the United States, and now Yoel -- who has spent his entire life in Cuba -- is experiencing the freedom and liberty that many of us have enjoyed for our whole lives. Together, they are recording Yoel's American immigrant experience, from the simple joy of seeing fully-stocked grocery & hardware stores, to the wild excitement of theme parks, pro sports, and foods from around the world. Yoel & Mari join to talk about the real experience of living in the Castro regime's Cuba, especially for the younger generation who are becoming more and more aware of what life is like a mere 95 miles to the north. They explain their difficulties navigating the US immigration process, and debunk some of the myths spread by celebrities & activists that hide the truth about life on the island.Enjoy this very special episode of The Adult in the Room, and have a blessed Independence Day. Yoel and Mari on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@YoelAndMari Yoel and Mari on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mimaincuba