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American Thought Leaders

American Thought Leaders

By: The Epoch Times
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At a time when our nation is portrayed as increasingly polarized, media often ignore viewpoints and stories that are worthy of attention. American Thought Leaders, hosted by The Epoch Times Senior Editor Jan Jekielek, features in-depth discussions with some of America’s most influential thought leaders on pertinent issues facing our nation today.Copyright 2025 The Epoch Times Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Future of European Security and Russia-Ukraine Peace Efforts: Latvia Foreign Minister Baiba Braze
    Dec 12 2025

    Amidst ongoing U.S. efforts to mediate a Russia–Ukraine peace and the release of a new U.S. national security strategy that has sent shockwaves through Europe, I’m sitting down with the foreign minister of Latvia, Baiba Braze, to get her unique perspective.

    Latvia is a small Baltic country bordering Estonia, Lithuania, Belarus, and Russia. In the 1940s, the Soviets occupied Latvia and its neighboring countries—a reality that has made Latvia hyper-vigilant against potential Russian expansionism.

    Latvia joined both the EU and NATO in 2004, alongside Lithuania and Estonia.

    Latvia is one of the few NATO countries that spends considerably more than 2 percent of its GDP per year on its military.

    “We keep reminding [other NATO countries] that it’s possible to do that, and we are showing you as our example. In our case, it’s 5 percent hard defense capabilities,” Braze said.

    Latvia is working to reallocate state funding to hit a target of 4.91 percent of GDP in defense spending by 2026 and 5 percent in subsequent years.

    In our wide-ranging interview, Braze discusses the Ukraine war, how she sees a potential peace agreement taking shape, and how pressure can be mounted on Russia. She’s traveled four times to Ukraine in the 18 months since her appointment as Latvia’s minister of foreign affairs.

    Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

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    48 mins
  • Former CDC Director Calls for Removal of mRNA Vaccines for COVID-19 | Dr. Robert Redfield
    Dec 10 2025

    Dr. Robert Redfield, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says he’d like to see the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines phased out and eventually removed from the market.

    Redfield led the CDC from 2018 to 2021. While an avid proponent of vaccines in general, he hopes that the fallout from the emergency-authorized mRNA vaccines will lead to a broader recognition that vaccine manufacturers must no longer be exempt from liability.

    Redfield is a clinical virologist who, prior to his appointment as CDC director in 2018, spent decades in HIV/AIDS research and clinical care, including service in the U.S. Army Medical Corps and later at the University of Maryland, where he co-founded the Institute of Human Virology.

    Over the past few years, he’s been at the forefront of treating patients who were injured by the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.

    In my interview with him, we covered at length the many hot topics and questions surrounding the recent pandemic and our pandemic response, among them:

    How and why was the true origin of SARS-COV-2 suppressed? What indicators were there early on that the virus was likely leaked from a lab? What did Dr. Redfield know from classified documents at the beginning of 2020?

    What were the most significant missteps America made in its response to the pandemic?

    Is there a role for gain-of-function research in America? Or should it be outlawed?

    What is the future of mRNA technology? Should mRNA technology be used for vaccines at all?

    Why weren’t the vaccine-injured publicly acknowledged and adequately cared for?

    What kinds of reforms are needed in America’s public health system?

    Redfield’s new book is titled “Redfield’s Warning: What I Learned (but Couldn’t Tell You) Might Save Your Life.”

    He argues a lab-created bird flu may be the next pandemic. But are we prepared?

    Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.


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    1 hr and 29 mins
  • Robert Kiyosaki: Why America’s Middle Class Keeps Getting Poorer
    Dec 6 2025

    “I’ve been fighting communism by teaching capitalism,” says Robert Kiyosaki, holding up a copy of Karl Marx’s “Communist Manifesto” and a copy of his book “The Capitalist Manifesto.”

    Robert Kiyosaki became famous as the author of “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” a book that has sold 48 million copies worldwide since its 1997 publication.

    Kiyosaki maintains that in today’s America, plagued by high inflation and a crumbling dollar, rich dads are getting ever richer while poor dads are getting poorer:

    “Food gets up in price, but the poor and middle class have to pay for it. So my apartment houses go up, but the poor middle class go homeless. And that’s the seed of communism, that’s the seed of revolt,” he says.

    In this episode, we dive into what he sees as the roots of America’s economic woes and what young people can do in today’s economy to build wealth and prosperity.

    Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

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    41 mins
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