#RolandMartinUnfiltered - How Attacking "Woke" Actually Plays Out in Reality | Trump's Project 2025: Up Close and Personal Chapter 10-

Episode Date: November 8, 2024

The first part of Chapter10 introduces the fictional character Dr. Joy Brewer, a dedicated researcher focused on studying cancer clusters affecting Black Americans. Joy learns from her colleague, Dr. Matthias Kunz, that all federal grants linked to race or gender are being canceled, jeopardizing her life’s work. Despite her attempts to advocate for her essential research, the political climate forces her into a corner where she must reconsider her direction. This part of the chapter closes with Joy’s resolute decision to remain true to her mission, suggesting a significant personal and professional loss amidst the disaster of Trump and his ideological allies.In the second part of chapter, the fictional Webster "Web" Powers, addresses a packed ballroom in Washington, D.C., on a day he considers pivotal for his political ambitions. Web, who has transformed from a simple condo salesman into a powerful figure opposing what he sees as “woke” ideologies in education and government, relishes the fear among his audience—representatives from universities and research institutions.  He recalls how his concerns about a lack of patriotic historical education for his children led him on a crusade to eliminate anti-American content from schools, which in turn propelled him into politics. After achieving success in Florida by banning critical race theory and related concepts from education, he is ready to extend his efforts nationally. During his speech, he unveils plans to remove references to race, gender identities, and diversity from federal policies and grants, branding the funding of such initiatives as “racism.”   His announcement indicates that billions in federal research funds supporting various racial and gender-focused studies will now be terminated, causing dread among established academics who relied on these grants. Web takes pleasure in exerting control, sensing that his audience, once dismissive towards him, is now subservient to his newfound authority. Ultimately, both narratives illustrate what happens when a Trump second term guided by Project 2025 destroys the lives and work of dedicated individuals committed to social justice and scientific integrity. We'd like to thank all the artists who volunteered their time to make this episode: Danai Gurira and Joel Hurt Jones who read the chapter and  others who contributed character voices.   Sound design by Jonathan Moser  and Marilys Ernst.  Trump's Project 2025: Up Close and Personal is written by David Pepper and produced by Pepper, Melissa Jo Peltier and Jay Feldman and is a production of Ovington Avenue Productions and The Bill Press Pod.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. self. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English.

I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them.

It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hello again, good friends. I'm Bill Press, host of the Bill Press Pod, here with the next installment of this special podcast series, Trump's Project 2025, Up Close and Personal. Now, Chapter 10, The Dangerous Consequences of the Attack on Equity and Science. This attack starts with that word, woke. Yes, it's an insult that right-wing Republicans came up with to describe people and policies which simply recognize that systemic racism exists in America, that sexism exists in America,, and gender roles are fixed,

men and women, once and for all. That's it. And any attempts to mitigate the effects of this kind of discrimination in education, in housing, in employment, in health care, are decried as woke. Project 2025 and Donald Trump will take aim at anyone and anything that tries to make life better for these disadvantaged folks. Our story today begins with a scientist who spent years studying cancer clusters that disproportionately impact Black Americans. The first part of the chapter is read by the actress who played the fearsome general of the special forces for the fictional African nation of Wakanda. Here is Danai Guira. Oh, we're so close. Matthias Kunz, the director of North Charleston State's Cancer Center,

walked through the lush grass in front of Hampton Hall. The red brick building and its iconic clock tower were centerpiece of the stunning campus. And the Hampton green never looked better than on fall mornings. Still, nothing about the picturesque setting could ease the conversation among two longtime colleagues. I know, but there's nothing I can do. The grants have been canceled. Which grants? Joy asked. All of them. Immediately. Her head jerked back his way, jostling the cat-eye red glasses that had become her signature around campus.

But why? She knew the answer, but she wanted to hear him articulate it. He shrugged, an expression she'd seen a lot lately. His attitude had been different since the start of the school year. You've watched Washington for the past year. They are obsessed with eliminating woke from the federal government. Woke. Her temperature spiked just hearing the word. It was all so ridiculous.

The first target had been critical race theory. But since her work had nothing to do with that high-level law school approach, the anti-CRT frenzy never impacted her. But when they ran out of steam, the attack broadened to diversity and equity, DEI, gender. Bizarrely, childless women got tossed into the mix. And then they threw everything together with the catch-all term, woke. Somewhere along the way, even her painstaking work to save lives got caught up in the McCarthy-style frenzy of labels and accusations.

What does this have to do with being woke? We're studying cancer clusters that disproportionately impact Black Americans. It's the best of science and medicine, and we're on the verge of major breakthroughs. And by major breakthroughs, she meant tens of thousands of lives lengthened by decades. I know. We're so proud of your work, but I heard it directly, and so did the provost. The administration's bright-line policy is that no federal grants can refer to race or gender or be motivated by race or gender, so they are canceling all of them, and they will investigate any borderline cases. A light breeze blew Dr. Kunz's gray comb over out of place. He quickly reached up and pushed it back.

Joy had wrapped her jet black hair in a tight bun, so it didn't budge. Believe me, Joy said, shivering in her red leather jacket. I wish the cancer clusters we're studying didn't disproportionately impact black women, but they do. It's just basic scientific inquiry to figure out why, then prevent it. The air cooled further as they stepped into the shadow of Hampton Hall. When you grew up in the South, you always looked up the names. So after she landed the job at North Charleston State, Joy had done some digging. It turned out the grandest building on campus was named after Wade Hampton, one of the Old South's largest slave owners and a Confederate general. He'd later entered politics, playing a leading role in toppling Reconstruction. He was celebrated as the savior of South Carolina for having ushered in an era of white supremacy

that survived until only a few years before Joy was born. The most woke thought Joy ever had was the delight of fighting to improve Black health a half mile from a building celebrating one of Jim Crow's founders. But still, science was science. And in this case, the data was clear. Her work was saving lives. We've argued that again and again. They won't listen.

Even when it's to remedy a problem that black women shoulder disproportionately? Specifically when that is the case. The singular focus is what is prohibited. Joy felt sick. So much was about to be lost. Leveraging federal grants, she'd built a formidable team over the past decade. Her diverse, passionate researchers and students were tracking cancer clusters all across the country, in small towns and big cities. And they were pinpointing the

scientific and societal factors fueling disproportionately high death rates among Black women. Their work was lifting a population whose worst health outcomes have long been ignored by establishment scientists. I'm afraid you'll have to redirect your research to another purpose. She fixed her glare forward while clenching her jaw. The words hit her harder than anything thus far. Another purpose. This was her purpose. her life's mission, foisted on her by tragedy.

She was 15 when her mother's death at 39 years old had cut short her childhood and devastated her family. Her father never recovered, and she'd essentially raised her younger brother. Dad, an Atlanta math teacher, dug into the cancer that had devastated mom's body over mere months. And what he found was that young and middle-aged Black women from rural Georgia were dying of it at a rate far higher than others. He wrote letter after letter to politicians and med schools and hospital executives,

begging them to do something about it. And all he got back were form letters full of non-answers. As a white man married to a black woman, he'd of course witnessed the sting of racism most days since they'd begun dating, but the response here taught him a far more painful lesson. America's elite, systemically dismissing his concern about life and death itself, showed just how ingrained that racism was

and its devastating consequences. Three years later, as Joy entered Emory, dad died of a heart attack. When she found his binders of research and box of letters, it broke her heart too. She switched her English major to biology and dedicated her life to lengthening the lives of women like her mother. She would listen to her father's pleas when no one else would. It's all I've ever done, Matthias. I think you know that. I can't just start a new field. You're a smart woman, Joy. You even apply for research grants in a different way. Broaden your focus and adjust

the language you use and perhaps you'll still be approved. She cringed again at his words, the way he said them, demeaning in so many ways. What if she told him to just change his core mission, to strip his life work of its central purpose, to be disingenuous about what drove him? She bit her lip as another gust of wind ruffled his comb over. How many others will be impacted by this? Joy, this will devastate so much of our work. Our research on how climate change impacts different populations. Our work on infant mortality of black babies. Joy was friends with the globally recognized scientists doing this work.

And the high mortality of black mothers too? That as well. All unfunded now. So we're forced to transition on the fly. Our goal is to save as many jobs and as much research as we can. We have payroll to make even though the grants that pay it are gone. If we don't live fast,

other universities will swoop in to take all the funds. Transition. He was talking fast, but she was still stuck on that one word. This was all transactional to Matthias. Scrambling to keep the spigot flowing. Altering words, purposes. Joy looked down at her feet, glowering.

You can't just transition the calling you've served your entire life or abandon the thousands of families relying on you. The air warmed as they stepped out of the long shadow of Hampton Hall. Joy stopped talking, forcing Matthias to do the same. At just over five feet tall, she looked up at him, right in his eyes, unable to fake a smile. Matthias, I appreciate all the support you've given my work over the years, but I can't change what I'm working on any more than I can change who I am. He cocked his head. So I'm afraid I won't be able to transition.

But you understand what that means. He asked, frowning. She nodded, knowing he had one job to accomplish on this walk. Clarity as to who was in and who was out. I do. But if you're asking me to choose between staying here and staying true to who I am, I have no choice. I understand, he said.

Amid another gust, she reached up and patted him on the shoulder, said nothing more, and walked back to her lap for the final time. General Wade Hampton may have outlasted her at North Charleston State, but she was still Chris and Nina Brewer's daughter. And that mattered more. When we come back after a short break, we look at the story from the other side, the nasty, cruel side. It's a story of an anti-woke crusader from Florida who's been given the job by Donald Trump in a second administration to rid the federal government of anything having to do with woke. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time,

have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated.

I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast.

Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne.

We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things.

Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. or up away, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. Later in the podcast, Arthur David Pepper will tie each of the story elements back to Trump's own words and dangerous promises. But first, the second part of Trump's Project 2025, Up Close and Personal, Chapter 10,

The Dangerous Consequences of the Attack on Equity and Science. Here we're going to meet Webster Powers, a former Florida state representative who rode his anti-woke agenda all the way to Washington. In our fictional story, he's now in a position in a second Trump term, guided by Project 2025, to destroy the life work of thousands of scientists and educators to the detriment of the disadvantaged people they were trying to help. Lives will be lost. The film and television actor Joel Hurt Jones reads part two. Chapter 10, October, Capital Monthly. Webster Powers by Calvin Stegman, Washington, D.C.

For Webster Webb Powers, today was the Super Bowl, a Super Bowl he'd been training for for years. Welcome to the new Washington, friends, he boomed, raising his thick, pale arms in the air as he spoke. We are so glad to have you here. With a capacity of 1,500 people, every seat of the Hilton Ballroom was full. But despite his words, Webb knew that these were not his friends, nor were they excited about his new Washington. The wide-eyed stares, glares, and frowns made that perfectly clear. So did the diversity of the crowd. These people were scared, and they were right to be. He controlled all of their fates. After years of being treated like a pariah, he was the one on top.

Today marks one of the most important moments in the new administration, he continued. So I'm glad we're all here together to consecrate it. Today's triumph was a long time coming. Back when Webb was 20 pounds thinner and sported a full head of thick brown hair, he sold condos along the white sands of Florida's Gulf Coast and minded his own business. His political journey only began when, a few months into fifth grade, his oldest son Charlie began asking all sorts of questions about Indians, slaves, and blacks during the early 1900s. Why, young Charlie prodded with concern,

had they all been treated so badly? This was before homework, so Webb asked Charlie's teacher to show him the school's teaching materials, and what he saw infuriated him. Books obsessing about what had been done wrong in American history without enough celebration of all that was right. Almost as many photos of slave ships and civil rights rallies as battlefield heroes and great inventors. It was like it had been written by blacks and Indians and women and not the white Christian men who had made America what it was. Worse, it actually made those men look terrible at times. The next day, Webb pulled Charlie and his younger sister, Peggy, from the school.

But cutting off the indoctrination of his own kids was only step one. Eradicating those anti-American, anti-white, anti-Christian history books became his singular obsession. He first rallied parents across the panhandle to join his cause, filling up school board meetings, then the state house. He flipped the destined school board majority by turning out voters when few others were paying attention. Then he ran for the state house himself, facing no opposition in the general election after winning his GOP primary on his anti-indoctrination agenda. Tallahassee gave him the platform he needed to clean up classrooms statewide. Government funds and policies should never favor one race over another, nor should they favor other groups at the expense of white Christian Americans.

That is classic racism, and it needs to be snuffed out. Amid those speeches, he introduced a simple bill. A new law in Florida is restricting how schools and businesses can address the subject of race, eliminate any references to racial equity or diversity or gender or critical race theory or anything that resembled any of that garbage from any level of education in Florida. It was bold and sweeping, and it put web powers on the national political map, leading to interviews and conferences and speeches across the country. Florida is again in the middle of cultural and political debate. The pushback in Florida had been fierce, personal, and nasty, but that only confirmed how locked in the woke philosophy was

even in a red state like Florida. That and the fact that even Charlie and Peggy remained transfixed by their early exposure inspired Webb to push harder. Because if they couldn't stop it here, they couldn't stop it anywhere. And if his own kids could be brainwashed, no kids were safe. The good news was that despite the angry reaction from the woke mob, most of his colleagues in the Florida Statehouse signed on. They added more topics to remove from classrooms, like climate science. In the end, all the anger aimed their way didn't matter. They ran it over and defeated the woke, as they all liked to say. And more than he expected, Webb inspired a movement. Dozens of other states went on to pass similar laws.

All those wins were nice, of course, but they weren't the Super Bowl. That was today, when Webb would take it all national and way beyond just education. As you know, the president is following through on the promises he made last year. We have scrutinized every budget, used AI to scan every policy, and examined all grant programs the federal government oversees. The lack of eye contact, the lowered chins, gave those gathered away, along with their sighs and sagging shoulders. This audience looked down on people like him. He'd felt it in Florida, where he'd been treated like an angry dad

with no real standing to take them on. Just a rube from the panhandle. Later, the same snobbery dripped off editorial pages across the nation. But the misery in this ballroom grew not just because they were being forced to listen to a non-degreed and overweight Luddite like him. No, their pained expressions came because they knew what was coming. They knew that this sweating, angry dad was about to announce the devastation of many of their livelihoods, careers, and the institutions they served. And they were right. And as we completed our work, what we found is an even bigger scandal than we had imagined. Scandal was a powerful word these days. With the DOJ and the

FBI in the president's hands, scandal meant investigations whenever they chose them, and prosecutions whenever they chose them. So using the word scandal in this speech was an intimidation tactic, one the White House encouraged. Ten months had taught them that people resisted far less whenever they wrapped an issue in scandal, and Webb was about to wrap it big time. What we found is that billions of dollars in federal research is being invested in pure racism. Billions spent to advance the woke DEI and sexual agenda in just about every way you can imagine. In who you've been hiring, in the research you've been doing, and articles you've been writing, in the art you've been commissioning, and in the socialist ideology

you've been propagating. While most sat up, Ramrod still, a few heads in the audience, had the audacity to shake at these words, which only made him smile more. So why am I so excited about today's announcement? Simple. He paused for effect. Beginning today, as promised, we are deleting the terms sexual orientation and gender identity, diversity. He slowed down. These were terms these people had lived off of their entire lives. He wanted every word to be heard.

Equity and inclusion. Gender. Gender equality inclusion. Gender. Gender equality. Gender equity. Gender awareness. Gender sensitive. Abortion. Reproductive health.

And reproductive rights from every federal rule, agency, regulation, contract, grant, regulation, and piece of legislation that exists. Faces remained mostly frozen in place, eyes vacant, but Wed knew earthquakes were erupting within each of the arrogant heads before him. And to be clear, when I say equity and inclusion, it means we are eliminating any reference to race in all the same areas. As he practiced, he pounded the podium so that it shook his microphone, causing a loud thud to echo throughout the ballroom. Every?

He pounded again. Boom. Last? Boom. One. Boom. Did you hear that, friends? A few in the crowd nodded.

I can't hear you. He scanned left and right. Did you hear that? A number said yes out loud unhappily. Some rolled their eyes. Drips of sweat were now forming on his nearly bald head, as always happened when he was on a roll. He used a napkin to wipe them off. Louder, please!

Yes! they yelled out. Webb grinned, enjoying how pathetic they were. He had just persuaded a room of eggheads, university and hospital presidents, deans, professors, provosts, scientists, doctors, business leaders, and other researchers to shout yes to a mortal threat to their worlds. Pathetic and perfect. A DEI audience affirming its own demise. Plus, these were the people who had convinced his own kids to turn against him once they reached college, with Charlie coming out his freshman year. So watching them squirm was fitting payback. But the best part was yet to come, because this was far bigger than erasing words.

And you heard me say grants and contracts, right? A murmur. I can't hear you. Some now said yes. Again, louder. Yes, was shouted from various corners of the room, not with enthusiasm, but loudly enough so he could move on. Good. All grants and contracts with references to any of those words or race or gender generally are immediately terminated. Not a penny more from the government will support any of those words or race or gender generally are immediately terminated. Not a penny more from the government will support any of your institutions doing such racist work.

The federal government is out of the woke history, woke science, DEI, and gender sensitivity business forever. More murmurs, a few head shakes, but overall this group was far more submissive than those mobs back in Tallahassee, back when the American woke still thought it would win. Together, the people in this room received billions in federal grant money. They'd been the willing accomplices of the deep state, scooping up billions to advance a poisonous mission? For many, his announcement would surely mean the end of the gravy train, careers and jobs and institutions terminated,

the true believers who were consumed by woke and had nothing else to offer. Good riddance. For others, though, the money was the prize, always had been. For the nimble ones, this would not mean the end, just a change of purpose, a new mission funded by Webb and the federal government. They would submit and serve the new government's needs. Did this mean they were corrupt? Of course. Government was corrupt by nature.

So were those who gobbled up government funds. But Webb now controlled its direction and the new ideology the spending would advance. The difference between those openly shaking their heads at his words and those nodding told him which of the two groups they were in. We will now play a video for you explaining the specific changes and how they will impact you, followed by words of encouragement from the President. When you leave, staff will hand a packet explaining the new process of working with the federal government should you choose to keep doing so. Some faces relaxed, frowns evened out, some nods, relief everywhere. For most, he had just thrown them what they wanted. A lifeline.

And this would lead to what he and the president wanted. Submission. Money had a way of doing that. Thank you for your time. The applause was muted. The opposite of the cheers, he got in friendly, less diverse crowds. Web powers didn't care. It had taken more time than he'd hoped when the president had appointed him in February.

He'd lost his own family along the way. But now it was done. He had just fired Woefully from the United States of America. Again, an important reminder. While the stories in this episode are over, we're not done with Trump's Project 2025. In a moment, author David Pepper will tie the real policies heard in Trump's own words to these fictional stories. But first, in the next episode of Trump's Project 2025, Up Close and Personal, we'll explore the life and death effects of Project 2025's plan to gut and privatize the National Weather Service, FEMA, and the nation's hurricane response team. The fictional governor of Florida, Buck Bryce,

addresses the media as Hurricane Timothy heads towards his state. Florida's ready. I also just got off the phone with the president who assured me they have our back if we need them. Fueled by sky-high gulf temperatures, Timothy came ashore two mornings later as a monster Category 4 hurricane. Sir, what we're seeing is devastating.

Timothy is just raking the coast as bad as any storm we've ever seen. And since no one was ready for it, we've got people trapped in houses and high rises for miles. There'll be a significant death toll here, particularly seen. Bryce already knew this, but his face twitched as he heard the words. How the f*** did they get this so wrong?

They'd been assured by Washington that things would be okay. It's that the few meteorologists who raised alarms were fossils, not tapped into the latest data. Implementing Project 2025 will literally kill people. That story in the next episode of Trump's Project 2025 Up Close and Personal, Chapter 11, Hurricane Trump. Now, an important program note. Trump's Project 2025 Up Close and Personal is available on all the podcast apps and at 2025pod.com. Please subscribe, review, and most importantly, share the podcast with your friends and relatives who maybe have not yet made a plan to vote and who may not even know just how dangerous

a second Trump term in Project 2025 would be. And by the way, if you've missed any episodes or you want to share a previous episode, most likely to motivate a specific person, you'll find the first 10 chapters in your podcast app. And again, while the people and the stories in this series are fictional, the policies that bring chaos and tragedy to each of their lives and to the entire country are all too real. Next, after the break, the author of our series, David Pepper, lays out the connections between our stories and Trump's own promises and the actual language of Project 2025. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple.

Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. B one two and three on may 21st and episodes four five and six on june 4th ad free at lava for good plus on apple podcasts

i'm clayton english i'm greg glad and this is season two of the war on drugs podcast sir we are back in a big way in a very big way real people real And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is.

Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them.

It makes it real. It really them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content,

subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers. But we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else. But never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad.

That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. Once again, an important message. While this story is fiction, it's based on actual policies contained in Project 2025 and in Trump's own words and promises. Here's author David Pepper with the specific links to the text. Just like Webster Powers' words of Chapter 10, Project 2025 cannot be more clear. In fact, his words are lifted directly out of Project 2025. Quote, the next conservative

president must make the institutions of American civil society hard targets for woke culture warriors. This starts with deleting the terms sexual orientation and gender identity, diversity, equity, and inclusion, gender, gender equality, gender equity, gender awareness, gender sensitive, abortion, reproductive health, reproductive rights, and any other term used to deprive Americans of their First Amendment rights out of every federal rule, agency regulation, contract, grant, regulation, and piece of legislation that exists, end quote. That is on pages four and five, straight up front of Project 2025. In the Health and Human Services section of Project 2025, the plan takes direct aim at the Biden approach of, quote, promoting equity in everything we do for the sake of populations sharing

a particular characteristic, including race, sexuality, gender identification, ethnicity, and a host of other categories, end quote, page 449. And throughout Project 2025, various authors target programs and grants that they claim advance, quote, woke ideology, end quote. In the education section, for example, the plan calls for, quote, an accounting of how federal programs and grants spread D-E-I-C-R-T gender ideology, end quote. That's on page 358. Finally, because Project 2025 replaces experts and civil servants with political appointees, far more decisions over grant funding and contracts will now be in the hands of ideologues than actual experts. As Scientific American wrote, quote, the independence of science is being attacked across the board in this document, end quote,

says Rachel Cletus, Policy Director of the Climate and Energy Program at the Nonpartisan Union of Concerned Scientists. She continued, the importance of this science is that that's how we can ensure people's health and the environment are being safeguarded, end quote. As Axios writes, quote, throughout all scientific agencies in the government, the plan calls on the president to, quote, ensure all scientific agencies in the government, the plan calls on the president to, quote, ensure appointees agree with administration aims, end quote, which may allow political ideologues to overrule the expertise of trained scientists. Folks, it gets tossed around in politics a lot, but if taken seriously, this war on science, this war on diversity will have truly real-world implications, just as they are described in Chapter 10.

Don't let it happen. Trump's Project 2025 Up Close and Personal is available on all the podcast apps and at 2025pod.com. Now we'd like to thank all the artists who volunteered their time to make this episode. Danai Guira and Joel Hurt Jones, who read the chapter, and others who contributed character voices. Sound design by Jonathan Mosier and Marilis Ernst. Trump's Project 2025, of close and personal, is written by David Pepper and produced by Pepper, Melissa Jo Peltier, and Jay Feldman, and is a production of Ovington Avenue Productions and the Bill Press Pod. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves.

We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers. But we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-up way, you've got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else. But never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov.

Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports.

This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter and it brings a face to it. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an iHeart podcast.