Episodes

December 6, 2023

Part 2: Magazine Capacity and the 2nd Amendment w/ the Hon. Roger T. Benitez, U.S. District Court, So. Cal.

Once again, for part 2, today’s guest on The Republican Professor Podcast is the Honorable Roger T. Benitez who serves as a trial court judge at the US District Court for the Southern District of California.

He was appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush.

Judge Benitez joins us through his judicial writing, his decision in Duncan v. Bonta, September 22, 2023.

To access the text for yourself and follow along (which I highly suggest), scroll down to Sept 22, 2023 and click the link. You can have your own copy. This is a link to the law firm Michel and Associates. Chuck Michel, president of the 150 year old California Rifle and Pistol Association, was a multi-time guest on The Republican Professor podcast in 2022. https://michellawyers.com/duncan-v-becerra/

https://michellawyers.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2023-09-22-Decision-Signed-by-Judge-R.-Benitez2263869.1.pdf

The Republican Professor is a pro-correctly-articulating-the-Second-Amendment podcast.

Therefore, welcome Roger T. Benitez, US District Court Judge for the Southern District of California.

The Republican Professor is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

To financially support this podcast, comment on today’s episode, or to make a suggestion for a topic or guest for the podcast or Substack newsletter, send an email to therepublicanprofessor@substack.com . We’d love to hear from you.

Warmly,

Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

The Republican Professor Podcast
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November 28, 2023

11+ Round Magazines and the 2nd Amendment w/ the Hon. Roger T. Benitez, US District Court (S.D., CA) Part 1

Lucas J. Mather 0

Today’s guest on The Republican Professor Podcast is the Honorable Roger T. Benitez who serves as a trial court judge at the US District Court for the Southern District of California.

He was appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush.

Judge Benitez joins us through his judicial writing, his decision in Duncan v. Bonta, September 22, 2023.

https://michellawyers.com/duncan-v-becerra/

The Republican Professor is a pro-correctly-articulating-the-Second-Amendment podcast.

Therefore, welcome Roger T. Benitez, US District Court Judge for the Southern District of California.

The Republican Professor is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

Warmly,

Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

November 15, 2023

The Bible and Anxiety, Part 4 with Dr. Vernon Grounds, Ph.D., author of “Emotional Problems and the Gospel,” Former President of Denver Seminary

Lucas J. Mather 0

For our fourth and final episode on the ever-relevant topic of The Bible and Anxiety, today’s return guest is, once again, author of several books including “Emotional Problems and the Gospel,” Dr. Vernon Grounds, Ph.D., founder of the counseling department at and former Chancellor, President, and long-time professor of Philosophy and Counseling at Denver Seminary.

Dr. Grounds got his bachelors from Rutgers during the Great Depression, and struggled mightily with his Christian faith. He got seminary training, and later a Ph.D. in Psychology from Drew University, where he wrote a dissertation on the concept of love in the thought of Sigmund Freud.

Vernon wrote several books, but the one we discuss and read from today is his “Emotional Problems and the Gospel” (Zondervan, 1976).

Since Dr. Ground died before we were able to record this with him, he joins this episode through his fourth chapter in the above book, which he titled “The Bible and Anxiety, Part 4.”

The Republican Professor is a pro-mental-health-in-politics, pro-ultimate-issues podcast.

Therefore, welcome Dr. Vernon Grounds, Ph.D.

Warmly,

Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

November 14, 2023

The Bible and Anxiety, Part 3 with Dr. Vernon Grounds, Ph.D., Founder of the Counseling Department and Former President, Denver Seminary

Lucas J. Mather 0

If you’d like to comment on an episode privately, or are interested in materially supporting the podcast, you may send an email to therepublicanprofessor@substack.com, or subscribe to the Substack for free (link below).

Today’s return guest is, once again, on the topic of “Emotional Problems and the Gospel,” Dr. Vernon Grounds, Ph.D., founder of the counseling department at and former Chancellor, President, and long-time professor of Philosophy and Counseling at Denver Seminary, who continues with us on the specific topic of “The Bible and Anxiety, Part III”.

He wrote several books, but the one we discuss and read from today is his “Emotional Problems and the Gospel” (Zondervan, 1976).

Since Dr. Ground died before we were able to record this with him, he joins this episode through his third chapter in the above book, which he titled “The Bible and Anxiety, Part 3.”

The Republican Professor is a pro-mental-health-in-politics, pro-ultimate-issues podcast.

Therefore, welcome Dr. Vernon Grounds, Ph.D.

Warmly,

Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

November 13, 2023

The Bible and Anxiety, Part 2, with Dr. Vernon Grounds, Ph.D., Former President of Denver Seminary

Lucas J. Mather 0

Today’s guest is, once again, on the topic of “Emotional Problems and the Gospel,” Dr. Vernon Grounds, Ph.D., former Chancellor, President, and long-time professor of Philosophy and Counseling at Denver Seminary, who continues with us on the specific topic of “The Bible and Anxiety, Part II”.

He wrote several books, but the one we discuss and read from today is his “Emotional Problems and the Gospel” (Zondervan, 1976).

Since Dr. Ground died before we were able to record this with him, he joins this episode through his second chapter in the above book, which he titled “The Bible and Anxiety, Part 2.”

The Republican Professor is a pro-mental-health-in-politics, pro-ultimate-issues podcast.

Therefore, welcome Dr. Vernon Grounds, Ph.D.

Warmly,

Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

November 2, 2023

The Bible and Anxiety w/ Dr. Vernon Grounds, Ph.D., Former President of Denver Seminary

Lucas J. Mather 0

Today’s guest is a Mark O. Hatfield type of Republican, Dr. Vernon Grounds, Ph.D., former Chancellor, President, and long-time professor of Philosophy and Counseling at Denver Seminary.

He wrote several books, but the one we discuss and read from today is his “Emotional Problems and the Gospel” (Zondervan, 1976).

Since Dr. Ground died before we were able to record this with him, he joins this episode through his first chapter in the above book, which he titled “The Bible and Anxiety, Part 1.”

The Republican Professor is a pro-mental-health-in-politics, pro-ultimate-issues podcast.

Therefore, welcome Dr. Vernon Grounds, Ph.D.

Warmly,

Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

October 16, 2023

Medicine, Liberty, & K-12 Calif. Public Education w/ Dr. Jeff Barke, M.D., Instagram’s @RxForLiberty

Lucas J. Mather 0

Dr. Jeff Barke, M.D. is perhaps the most Liberty-conscious physician in America. He carries a copy of the Constitution with him where ever he goes. He’s not just interested in making money: He’s very disturbed by the threats to Liberty we’ve continued to witness in California and beyond, and he puts his money where his mouth is in a beautiful, refreshing spirit of public service.

Dr. Barke co- founded the only school in California that is fully officially affiliated with Hillsdale College in Michigan, and it costs nothing to the students to attend because it is a public (tax-funded) charter school. It’s called Orange County Classical Academy in Orange County, California. The students don’t need to stress about having the latest fashion of expensive clothes because everyone wears a school uniform so that they can concentrate more on their studies and less on being cool. The foreign language requirement is Latin so that they can understand, in the original language, the classical underpinnings of Western Civilization.

The amazing backstory to how and why this Academy was founded is summarized by Jeff here in this conversation.

There is an interesting connection we discover between us: The Hillsdale official who had to sign off on the Academy’s Hillsdale affiliation was a Ph.D. classmate of TRP Podcast producer and host, Dr. Lucas J. Mather. Her name is Katy Arnn — well, now, Dr. Katy O’Toole, Ph.D. — Larry Arnn’s daughter. (Mather and both Arnns got their PhDs from Claremont Graduate School in the Politics Department).

Dr. Jeff Barke, M.D. grew up as a public school kid himself in the Valley in Lost Angeles. He graduated from the University of Southern California and UC Irvine’s Medical School and is a Board Certified Physician in California. He is a major in the United States Army Reserve Medical Corps, and has been an elected official for a decade in his local public school board in Orange County. As a Jewish man, he carries a firearm with him at all times. He views it as a right and a duty to defend innocent life against great bodily injury or death. He’s well-trained as a reserve law enforcement officer for a local agency.

Dr. Jeff Barke, M.D. believes that Liberty has a whole lot to do with everything, including his craft, Medicine. Essential to the standard of care is making sure that any person has proper informed consent before receiving any medical intervention, whether any vaccine or mole removal. What does that entail ? It means that the patient understands, and has a copy of, in writing, the backstory of how the vaccine came to market, what the characteristics of the studies were, exactly, and what the ingredients were, including any possible side-effects that may result. The patient has to be clear about this before, and as a condition of, the care or treatment received, as an essential bioethical component of the standard of care in medicine. This is not a new feature of medicine, but it apparently has been forgotten. Dr. Jeff Barke, M.D. takes every Friday to remind as many as who will listen about what exactly informed consent means on a different aspect of intervention, each and every Friday by Instagram reel. The history of these past reels are accessible. Each reel is less than 2 minutes and is highly informative.

Dr. Barke offers a subscription on Meta for $4.99 a month where he goes in depth on wholistic health practices that try to prevent any unnecessary medical interventions or Big Pharma dependence.

Check out his Instagram page, here : https://www.instagram.com/rxforliberty/

Find Dr. Jeff Barke, M.D. online at his website, https://www.rxforliberty.com/

The Republican Professor is a pro-liberty-in-medicine, pro-public-school-done-right podcast.

Therefore, welcome Dr. Jeff Barke, M.D., Instagram’s @RxForLiberty, a prescription for Liberty, indeed.

The Republican Professor is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

Warmly,

Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

September 28, 2023

Remembering Hawai’i State Senator (R, 1996–2016, East Honolulu) Sam Slom w/ Second Amendment Foundation Founder Alan Gottlieb (TRP Ep. 144)

Lucas J. Mather 0

Mr. Alan Gottlieb, Founder of the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) joins us today to pay tribute to the late Sam Slom, who was elected to the Hawai’i State Senate when TRP’s producer and host (Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.) lived in Hawai’i.

In fact, Dr. Mather recalls passing Slom’s campaign or senate office either in Hawai’i Kai or Kahala (I think the Kahala Mall) back in 1996 or 1997. Sam Slom served as Hawai’i State Senator from 1996 to 2016 in East Honolulu and was the only Republican in the State Senate. He was one of the founding Board Member of The Second Amendment Foundation in 1974.

Mr. Sam Slom was one of the good Republicans defending the right to keep and bear arms and invididual liberty , and it’s an honor to remember him here.

Mr. Alan Gottlieb, Founder of The Second Amendment Foundation helps us do just that.

We also discuss a bit about the kinds of cases that SAF is involved in, including some recent and famous ones. Recently, SAF won a preliminary injunction against California’s arbitrary and capricious 10+ magazine confiscation scheme. Historicallly and famously, SAF won at the US Supreme Court in D.C. v. Heller (2008) and representing plaintiff Otis McDonald in McDonald v. Chicago (2010). In that latter case, the City of Chicago spent a million dollars to deprive this black man of his right to self defense absent police protection .

If this sounds good to you, become a supporter of this work at https://saf.org/join-saf/

Enormous progress has been made ! The work continues.

The first time TRP host Dr. Mather studied the Second Amendment academically was at Marine Corps Air Station, Kaneohe Bay in 1999 in a required State and Federal Government course for his undergraduate college, Wayland Baptist University Hawai’i. The professor for the course used a textbook that gave scant and misleading information about the history, text, scope, and meaning of the Second Amendment and the right to keep and bear arms.

During that time, and a few years before when he saw “Jerry McGuire” (Tom Cruise movie) at Kahala Mall in East Honolulu (the swanky part of “town”), Mather was living downtown at the time, and noticed the office of Sam Slom, Republican elected to the Hawai’i State Senate. Mr. Slom was a Founding Board Member of The Second Amendment Foundation. He served as the only Republican in the Hawai’i State Senate from 1996 to 2016, twenty years !

On The Republican Professor Podcast, what a wonderful opportunity to remember Sam Slom, Mather’s time studying the Second Amendment for the first time academically in Hawai’i, and the careful , persistent work of The Second Amendment Foundation.

Mr. Alan Gottlieb, Founder of The Second Amendment Foundation, helped us do all that. SAF has won a recent preliminary injunction against the 10+ magazine limit here in California last week . More famously, SAF brought the challenge to DC’s onerous registration/home disarmament scheme which they won at the US Supreme Court in 2008 called D.C. v. Heller (2008). We talk about his conversation with Antonin Scalia, what it was like growing up in New York City, why the arbitrary magazine limitation is unconstitutional, how knife laws also should be challenged as problematic under the Second Amendment, and my favorite, what it was like winning the Chicago case called Otis McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010) at the US Supreme Court (filed the day they won Heller).
Enormous progress has been made since I saw Sam Slom’s office in East Honolulu and spoke with him and his team in 1996. The textbooks no longer can afford to give the disfavored Second Amendment short shrift. That has everything to do with the hard , persistent work since then . Glad to be a part of it and to have had the opportunity to document it on The Republican Professor podcast.
The work continues.

The Republican Professor is a pro-Second-Amendment podcast.

Therefore, welcome Mr. Alan Gottieb, founder of The Second Amendment Foundation.

The Republican Professor is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

Thanks for subscribing.

Warmly,

Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

The Republican Professor Podcast
The Republican Professor Newsletter on Substack

September 20, 2023

The Virtue of Prudence in U.S. Foreign Policy: Lessons for Today w/ Dr. Robert G. Kaufman, Ph.D., J.D., LL.M.

Lucas J. Mather 0

When I first met our guest today, it was during the administration of George W. Bush in 2007 at the Starbucks near Ralphs in Malibu, California between Pepperdine classes. Dr. Kaufman was discussing anything and everything with anyone who would stop by to chat, from students to homeless-looking billionaires to homeless looking homeless people. He reminded me of a real-life Socrates in the Agora, except with a nice tie.

Professor Robert G. Kaufman has taught at the Pepperdine School of Public Policy in Malibu, California since 2004. Before that, Dr. Kaufman was tenured in Bernie Sanders’ country at the University of Vermont as the only Republican faculty member. He has 4 degrees from Columbia University in New York City, including a Great Books background as undergraduate and a Ph.D. Kaufman’s law degrees are from Georgetown (JD) and his advance law studies in dispute resolution were from Pepperdine Law’s famous Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution program in Malibu, California.

The discussion today includes his controversial book “In Defense of the Bush Doctrine” (University of Kentucky Press, 2007) as well as its sister book that came nearly a decade later with the same themes, “Dangerous Doctrine: how Obama’s Grand Strategy Weakened America (University of Kentucky Press, 2016). Those books defend what he urges that a prudent, historically learned president would decide, given the right lessons from the Civil War, WW 1, WW 2, the Cold War, and the first Gulf War.

He stands by his arguments and conclusions in those books despite the well-spring of isolationist rhetoric creeping back into Republican Party politics, allegedly inspired by Trump.

Kaufman voted for Trump and would again, so he’s not a Never Trumper. But he’s not an Always Trumper, as well. And the dangers of either side are worth paying close attention to.

Professor Kaufman also offers critical reflection on presidents Trump and Biden, and suggestions for a way forward with our most critical, pressing challenges.

We also incidently mention an earlier book that I read two decades ago, his biography of the Democrat US senator from Washington, Henry “Scoop” Jackson, who had the correct view of Nixon’s detente and who helped establish the Reagan Doctrine that won the Cold War with the Soviet Union.

The Republican Professor is a pro-getting-a-better-grip-on-the-right-foreign-policy podcast.

Therefore, welcome the one and only Professor Robert G. Kaufman of the Pepperdine School of Public Policy in Malibu, California.

The Republican Professor is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

Warmly,

Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

The Republican Professor Podcast
The Republican Professor Newsletter on Substack

September 13, 2023

Anthony Bradley Unplugged, Part 2 on Anger, Virtue, & the Case for Men w/ Dr. Anthony Bradley, Ph.D.

Lucas J. Mather 0

“No one talks to us like this,” the young men on campus say to Dr. Anthony Bradley, Ph.D., long time professor of Religious Studies at Kings College in Manhattan, NYC, & now Distinguished Research Fellow at Acton Institute. https://www.acton.org/about/staff/anthony-b-bradley

In Part 1, he talks about the loss to New York City of all of its Christian colleges, including Kings College, and begins to talk about his process for writing his books, including being motivated by anger.

In Part 2, Dr. Bradley talks about being motivated by anger as a Christian scholar, that young men are hungry for models of virtue, and the basis for his hope for the future.

We had a few technical difficulties, which we overcame with Dr. Bradley’s quite remarkable patience and kindness.

Part 2 picks up the speed with the rest of the interview where we cover the struggles that men have in today’s American culture, the basis for his hope for change, what makes him the most angry, and how he goes about his work, and a bit about his family life.

He’s written such scholarly books as “Ending Overcriminalization and Mass Incarceration: Hope from Civil Society” (Cambridge University Press, 2018).

His latest we discuss at length is called : “Heroic Fraternities: How College Men Can Save Universities and America” (Wipf & Stock, 2023).

The Republican Professor is a pro-rightly-using-anger, pro-inculcating-virtue-in-men, pro-saving-America podcast.

Therefore, welcome Dr. Anthony Bradley, Ph.D.

The Republican Professor (TRP) Podcast is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

To financially support this work, comment on today’s episode, or to make a suggestion for a topic or guest for the podcast or Substack newsletter, send an email to therepublicanprofessor@substack.com .

We’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for subscribing.

Warmly,

Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.
The Republican Professor Podcast
The Republican Professor Newsletter on Substack