Education Choice, China Myths, and the Cost of Government Overreach

On the May 26, 2026 broadcast, headmaster Priscilla Rahn made the case for Excalibur Classical Academy as enrollment opens in Centennial, Helen Raleigh dismantled three myths about the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing, attorney Jon Boesen described a downtown Denver grown dirty and dangerous, and theater owner Susan Kochevar tracked property taxes that quadrupled in four years and a Congress that recessed without finishing its work.

A Tuition-Free Classical Academy Opens in Centennial

Start listening at 8:16 – Hour 1

Priscilla Rahn is the headmaster of Excalibur Classical Academy, a private classical Christian school opening in Centennial this fall for kindergarten through third grade. Rahn said years inside public education, including a stretch active in the teachers union, showed her how far the profession had drifted from its purpose, and she came to see new schools as the most immediate remedy for parents who cannot wait for a board to flip.

The first year carries full-scholarship tuition, and Rahn outlined how families can sustain enrollment afterward through scholarship-granting organizations and the federal education tax credit that takes effect in January 2027, which lets donors give $1,700 per person and claim an equal credit. Grandparents, she noted, could together direct $3,400 to a child’s education. After-school music, athletics, and care run until 5:30 at no charge the first year for working parents.

Rahn framed the school as a way for parents to reclaim their place as the first educators of their children, leaving values and faith to families while the academy delivers a liberal arts curriculum of math, phonics, music, grammar, and the classics. She pointed interested families toward the virtual and in-person information sessions in June.

“And so we’ve got to save as many children as we can.”

Priscilla Rahn, Headmaster of Excalibur Classical Academy

Debunking Three Myths From the Trump-Xi Summit

Start listening at 31:36 – Hour 1

Helen Raleigh, a senior contributor at The Federalist and author of Confucius Never Said, examined her piece “Pomp Without Substance? Debunking 3 Myths from the Trump-Xi Summit in Beijing”. The first myth held that the Iran war weakened President Trump and strengthened China. Raleigh said the evidence points the other way: China remains the world’s largest oil importer, most of its crude moves through the Strait of Hormuz, and U.S. actions against Venezuela and Iran have squeezed Beijing’s access to discounted oil.

The second myth held that China is rising while the United States declines. Raleigh pointed to China’s slowing growth, a collapsed property market, mounting local-government debt, and the demographic damage of the one-child policy, and called it telling that Xi compared his one-party state to democratic Athens. She added that the recent conflicts exposed failures in Chinese-made weapons in Venezuela, Pakistan, and Iran, with consequences for any future move on Taiwan.

The third myth treated the summit as a failure because it produced no breakthrough. Diplomacy sometimes means talking to an adversary without conceding ground, Raleigh said, and the absence of a deal showed the U.S. side held firm. Kim Monson connected the analysis to retired General Joe Arbuckle’s earlier argument that recent U.S. moves form one coherent strategy aimed at China.

“I think the war hurts China much more than it hurts the United States.”

Helen Raleigh, senior contributor at The Federalist

Safety and Decline in Downtown Denver

Start listening at 63:43 – Hour 2

Jon Boesen of Boesen Law said he now warns out-of-town family and friends about the do’s and don’ts of visiting downtown Denver. Each year, he said, fewer of the people he offers Rockies tickets to take him up on it, because they no longer want to deal with panhandlers and the risk of getting mugged in a city he once loved to share with his children.

Boesen offered practical advice drawn from years of telling clients to “get off the X,” his shorthand for moving away from a developing threat. Travel in groups of four, never alone; stay visible and well-lit; avoid back alleys; keep car windows up and doors locked at intersections; and use a horn or voice to draw attention if confronted. People now carry whistles downtown, he noted, a precaution he called sad but sensible.

He traced the change to public policy in blue cities, pointing to prosecutors who decline charges, no-bail releases, and officers who see little reason to arrest people who return to the street within hours. Boesen said he remains an eternal optimist and hopes voters in cities like Los Angeles wake up to the alternatives.

“It’s the failure to prosecute. It’s letting people out with no bail.”

Jon Boesen, Boesen Law

Soaring Property Taxes and a Runaway Congress

Start listening at 73:54 – Hour 2

Susan Kochevar, owner of the 88 Drive-In Theatre, said the property taxes on her nearly seven-acre theater climbed from about $13,000 four years ago to $40,000 two years ago to $60,000 this year, all due before she opens the gates and earns a dollar. She warned that still more increases are being floated even as families struggle to stay in their homes.

Kochevar criticized economic-development deals that hand tax breaks to new arrivals while long-standing businesses carry the full burden, letting government pick winners and losers. Kim Monson added a related worry about cities staging free movies and concerts or building top-tier recreation centers that compete with the private theaters, gyms, and venues taxpayers already fund. Government putting its thumb on the scale, both argued, distorts the market and erodes the proper role of government.

On Congress, Kochevar faulted lawmakers for recessing over Memorial Day without acting on the immigration bill, contrasting their schedule with entrepreneurs who keep working until the job is done. She tied the moment to the Texas primary between Ken Paxton and John Cornyn, to her concerns about election integrity, and to Governor Polis’s decision to commute the sentence of former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters.

“And now this year they’ve jumped all the way to $60,000 a year.”

Susan Kochevar, owner of the 88 Drive-In Theatre