Carolina Journal Radio No. 872: John Locke Foundation welcomes new CEO for fourth decade of advancing liberty

The John Locke Foundation will soon begin its fourth decade of work advancing liberty in North Carolina. As it moves forward, Amy O. Cooke will lead the organization as its fourth CEO. Cooke discusses her history with the liberty movement, her return to her family’s N.C. roots, and her hopes for her new role leading the state’s premier free-market think tank. 2020 is shaping up to be an important election year in North Carolina. The ballot features races for U.S. president, U.S. Senate, and governor. Voters also will determine control of the N.C. General Assembly. One of the state’s leading political pundits and prognosticators is author, columnist, and John Locke Foundation Chairman John Hood. He shares his thoughts about the top issues and campaigns to watch during the course of the year. A U.S. House committee led by Democrats recently blasted the U.S. Education Department’s handling of issues related to student loan debt. But the committee’s ranking Republican, North Carolina’s Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-5th District, chastised her colleagues. She suggested the group ought to focus on more pressing concerns. You might have heard of the “Game of Thrones,” but you’re much less likely to have heard of the “Game of Worms.” Political scientist Bruce Bueno de Mesquita of New York University discussed the latter “game” during a recent lecture at Duke. Citing the Concordat of Worms of 1122, the professor points to changes in relations between church and crown that helped pave the way for today’s economic divide between northern and southern Europe.