Head Start is at the center of a heated public debate over federal regulations and how best to support families. But what exactly should the federal government do, and what should states be empowered to do, to fix America’s social safety net?

On this episode of Defending Ideas, Nic Dunn speaks with Alex Adams, Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), about his efforts to reduce ineffective federal regulations and give states more room to innovate.

Dunn and Secretary Adams also discuss the 30th anniversary of TANF and what its history can teach us about the future of social welfare reform. The conversation examines broader safety-net reform, federalism, state leadership, and the balance between federal accountability and local flexibility.

Adams argues that, ultimately, federal oversight should focus on outcomes, taxpayer accountability, and preventing fraud, waste and abuse. That gives states and localities greater freedom to decide how to best help their friends and neighbors.

6 0

What would America look like without strong families, churches, civic organizations and local communities? We're starting to find out and the picture is...not good. But there is a better way to live.

Michael Tanner, Senior Fellow at FREOPP, joins host Nic Dunn to explain why civil society is so important and why its decline should concern all Americans.

Tanner and Dunn explore how good civil society can strengthen relationships, increase happiness, reduce political tribalism, and help Americans rediscover a sense of shared community. They discuss why Americans should put down their phones, ignore most national political battles, and spend more time investing in family, friends, and faith communities.

Show notes:
Civil Society Under Threat – https://freopp.org/whitepapers/civil-society-under-threat/

6 0

America’s social safety net is supposed to help families through difficult times, ultimately moving people toward work and independence. But navigating a maze of disconnected programs and agencies can make that goal harder to achieve. The good news is that there is a solution.

On this episode of Defending Ideas, host Nic Dunn talks with Daniel J. Erspamer, CEO of the Pelican Institute, about Louisiana’s effort to create a “One Door to Work” model. This initiative brings safety net and workforce programs together around a common goal: helping people get jobs and achieve financial independence.

They discuss what Louisiana has accomplished, what the state learned from Utah, the federal barriers that remain, and why giving states more flexibility could lead to better welfare reform across the country.

The conversation also explores why state-led experimentation has played such an important role in past welfare reforms and why a new generation of states could help reshape America’s safety net around upward mobility.

3 0

Could giving states more freedom to experiment help America find better answers to our toughest challenges? 

On this episode of Defending Ideas, Sen. John Curtis of Utah joins host Nic Dunn to discuss how state-level experimentation can lead to better policy on some of the country’s most difficult questions. From AI and data centers to wildfire prevention, forest management, and public lands, Curtis and Dunn explore why a marketplace of ideas generally leads to better outcomes than a one-size-fits-some approach. 

Curtis also explains why he believes policymakers should embrace pilot programs, encourage innovation, and demand accountability so they can learn what works – and what doesn’t.

Instead of imposing the same rules on every state, contentious issues like immigration, social safety net reform, and election policy could benefit from 50 states testing 50 different approaches.

4 1

Thirty years after the landmark welfare reform law, what should the next generation of social safety-net reform look like?

Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan joins Defending Ideas to discuss the future of welfare reform and how policymakers can build a system today that helps more families move toward work and economic independence.

Speaker Ryan and host Nic Dunn examine RISE pilots, a state-led approach that tests whether combining multiple welfare benefits into a single, trackable monthly payment can simplify the social safety net, improve work incentives, and help families move out of poverty.

The conversation explores how technology could help reduce benefit cliffs, better coordinate programs, and improve accountability. Ryan explains why states should have the freedom to test different welfare reform approaches and why good data is essential if we want to know what works before expanding reforms more broadly.

Ryan and Dunn also discuss universal basic income and why RISE offers a more promising path forward for welfare reform and, ultimately, people's economic independence.

Ryan is also a Distinguished Visiting Fellow in the Practice of Public Policy at American Enterprise Institute and a Professor of the Practice at the University of Notre Dame.

Show Notes: 

Reforming the Safety Net through RISE Pilot Programs - American Idea Foundation https://americanideafoundation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/AIF-White-Paper_Reforming-the-Social-Safety-Net-1.pdf
Americans Are Getting Caught in the Safety Net - Paul Ryan and Les Ford Wall Street Journal op-ed https://www.wsj.com/opinion/americans-are-getting-caught-in-the-safety-net-fed222f4
The Safety Net We’d Build Today: Empowerment Accounts as a State-Led Pilot Concept - Nic Dunn report for Sutherland Institute https://sutherlandinstitute.org/the-safety-net-wed-build-today-empowerment-accounts-as-a-state-led-pilot-concept/

6 0

America spends a ton of money on our social safety net, yet many people still feel trapped. That means maybe the biggest problem isn't how much we spend.

On this episode of Defending Ideas, Erine Gray, founder and CEO of Findhelp, joins Nic Dunn to explain why navigating America's fragmented network of government programs, nonprofits, churches, and other community organizations can be just as hard as qualifying for the benefits themselves.

Gray shares the personal experiences that led him to build Findhelp, what he learned working inside Texas' public-benefits system during the financial crisis, and why he believes AI, better data, and greater coordination could make the safety net more effective, without adding more programs or spending.

5 0

What can Utah teach America about the future of conservatism? 

On this episode of Defending Ideas, Nic Dunn sits down with Todd Weiler, the new president and CEO of Sutherland Institute and a member of the Utah State Senate. They discuss the future of the conservative movement, the importance of principled and evidence-based policymaking, and why states may be better positioned than Washington, D.C., to tackle some of America's biggest challenges by bringing policymaking closer to the people it affects.

Weiler shares his vision for Sutherland and explains why Utah's experience — from family policy and religious freedom to immigration, affordability and a citizen legislature — offers lessons that other states and the nation can learn from.

They also explore why returning to true center-right conservatism could be the way to heal the current divides in the Republican Party.

4 1

No two children learn exactly the same way. So why should families be expected to rely on a one-size-fits-all education system?

In this episode of Defending Ideas, Nic Dunn speaks with Shaka Mitchell of the American Federation for Children (@SchoolChoiceWorks) and Sutherland Institute education policy fellow Christine Cook Fairbanks about the growing movement for education choice.

They discuss how parents have driven recent reforms, the legal and political challenges facing education choice programs, the new federal education freedom tax credit, and how policymakers can build an education system that serves children rather than forcing every kid into the same model.

5 0

We want referees to enforce the rules, not play for one team. Should the same principle apply to county clerks and elections officials? 

In this episode of Defending Ideas, host Nick Dunn sits down with Kevin Johnson, Executive Director of the Election Reformers Network, and Davis County Clerk Brian McKenzie to discuss whether county clerk elections should be nonpartisan. They explore the unique role of election administrators, the political pressures they can face, and whether removing party labels could strengthen public confidence in elections.

Show notes: 
Reform Options for County Clerk Elections – https://www.electionreformers.org/articles/reform-options-for-county-clerk-elections

3 0

Head Start is at the center of a heated public debate over federal regulations and how best to support families. But what exactly should the federal government do, and what should states be empowered to do, to fix America’s social safety net?

On this episode of Defending Ideas, Nic Dunn speaks with Alex Adams, Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), about his efforts to reduce ineffective federal regulations and give states more room to innovate.

Dunn and Secretary Adams also discuss the 30th anniversary of TANF and what its history can teach us about the future of social welfare reform. The conversation examines broader safety-net reform, federalism, state leadership, and the balance between federal accountability and local flexibility.

Adams argues that, ultimately, federal oversight should focus on outcomes, taxpayer accountability, and preventing fraud, waste and abuse. That gives states and localities greater freedom to decide how to best help their friends and neighbors.

6 0

What would America look like without strong families, churches, civic organizations and local communities? We're starting to find out and the picture is...not good. But there is a better way to live.

Michael Tanner, Senior Fellow at FREOPP, joins host Nic Dunn to explain why civil society is so important and why its decline should concern all Americans.

Tanner and Dunn explore how good civil society can strengthen relationships, increase happiness, reduce political tribalism, and help Americans rediscover a sense of shared community. They discuss why Americans should put down their phones, ignore most national political battles, and spend more time investing in family, friends, and faith communities.

Show notes:
Civil Society Under Threat – https://freopp.org/whitepapers/civil-society-under-threat/

6 0

America’s social safety net is supposed to help families through difficult times, ultimately moving people toward work and independence. But navigating a maze of disconnected programs and agencies can make that goal harder to achieve. The good news is that there is a solution.

On this episode of Defending Ideas, host Nic Dunn talks with Daniel J. Erspamer, CEO of the Pelican Institute, about Louisiana’s effort to create a “One Door to Work” model. This initiative brings safety net and workforce programs together around a common goal: helping people get jobs and achieve financial independence.

They discuss what Louisiana has accomplished, what the state learned from Utah, the federal barriers that remain, and why giving states more flexibility could lead to better welfare reform across the country.

The conversation also explores why state-led experimentation has played such an important role in past welfare reforms and why a new generation of states could help reshape America’s safety net around upward mobility.

3 0