The WallBuilders Show

Lives Fortune Sacred Honor And The People Behind The Declaration

A Declaration of Independence signature looks heroic from 250 years away. In real time, it can put a target on your back. We dig into what that kind of courage actually costs, why the signers weren’t instantly celebrated, and how a nation’s memory changes once the fighting ends and the stories finally get told.We’re also marking the run-up to America’s 250th anniversary by sharing practical ways to celebrate Independence Day with purpose: get your friends, family, or church together, read the Declaration out loud, and sign it as a public pledge to preserve liberty for the next generation. Along the way, we talk about our new book, Lives, Fortune, Sacred Honors, built around short, story-rich biographies of all 56 Declaration signers so you can stop thinking of them as a faceless group and start seeing them as men with specific risks, careers, families, and convictions.You’ll hear standout stories like Oliver Wolcott hauling the torn-down King George III statue from New York back to Connecticut, melting it down, and turning it into tens of thousands of musket balls. We also spotlight James Wilson, a signer of both the Declaration and the Constitution, a key voice for the rule of law, and a founder whose fight in Pennsylvania shows what happens when people throw off tyranny but forget to build lasting order.If you care about American history, the American Revolution, constitutional principles, and the role of faith in public life, share this with someone who’s skeptical, curious, or simply tired of shallow takes. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: which Declaration signer do you most want to learn about next?Support the show

Texas Is Building Textbooks That Tell The Whole Story

Texas is about to do something that almost never happens in modern education: force textbooks to tell the full story. From the hearing rooms of the Texas State Board of Education, we explain why a vote on social studies standards is not just a state issue, but a national inflection point that could influence American history curriculum, civics education, and textbook publishing for the next 40 to 60 years. If you care about what students learn about the founding, religious liberty, and the meaning of citizenship, this is the kind of behind-the-scenes fight that decides the future long before election day headlines. We unpack how we got here, including the long arc of secularization and how “separation of church and state” became a slogan that shaped classrooms and courts. David Barton connects the dots across generations: what professors teach becomes what teachers teach, which becomes what lawyers argue, which eventually becomes what judges decide. Then we get specific about the breakthrough that changes everything: moving from a system where publishers could ignore half the standards to a law requiring 100 percent alignment, plus a Texas-driven approach to publishing that makes it harder for national textbook companies to water down the content. We also tackle the philosophical fight underneath the policy, from DEI-driven division to the argument for a shared American identity and a renewed “melting pot” civic culture. We discuss classical education, why the Bible appears as literature in reading lists, and how that context helps students understand major works and speeches, including Martin Luther King Jr. We close with the practical playbook: show up, testify, pay attention to state board of education races, and recruit serious candidates who will hold the line on standards. Subscribe, share this with a friend who cares about schools, and leave a review so more people can find the show and get equipped to act.Support the show

The Courageous Church - with Bob Pearl

Nearly 5,000 men show up in Washington State, and what we hear afterward isn’t a victory lap, it’s a sober signal that something is shifting. We talk through highlights from FreedomCon at the Gorge and why it feels less like a passing revival moment and more like an awakening that pushes outward into families, churches, and communities.Then Dr. Bob Pearl from Birchman Baptist joins us to unpack his book Courageous Church: Standing Boldly for Truth in a Cowardly World. We get practical about what “courage” looks like when the pressure is real, when the culture calls everything “politics,” and when pastors feel the temptation to stay quiet. Bob argues that abortion, marriage, and gender aren’t partisan talking points, they’re biblical issues tied to what we believe about God, humanity, and truth. We also dig into why courage is contagious, why community matters, and why you cannot sharpen iron with a marshmallow.We close by connecting the spiritual to the civic, including Bob’s appointment to the Texas Commission on Marriage and Family and what it means to bring convictions into the public square without surrendering the church’s mission. If you’ve been discouraged by headlines, this conversation is a reminder to look for what God is doing on the ground and to stand where you’re planted.Subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of faith and culture, share this with a pastor or friend who needs encouragement, and leave a review so more people can find the show.Support the show

Building on the American Heritage Series: Demystifying the Courts

Courts shape our daily lives, but most of us were taught a version of the judiciary that the Constitution never actually designed. We dig into the biggest myths head-on: the idea that federal judges are appointed for life no matter what, that the judiciary is an “independent” branch beyond real restraint, and that only the Supreme Court can decide what’s constitutional. Using the Federalist Papers, founding-era practice, and early historical examples, we lay out a clearer picture of Article III and the checks and balances that are supposed to keep every branch accountable to the people.From there, we shift to a forgotten powerhouse in American law: the jury. We talk about when juries were central to “courts of justice,” why juries originally weighed both the law and the facts, and how that citizen check protected against judges who drifted into policy-making. We also walk through how limiting juries changed the system, including why juries sometimes refused to convict under laws they believed were unjust, and what that tells us about due process and liberty.We then connect America’s due process safeguards to the hard lessons learned from abusive court systems in history and the moral arguments that helped drive reform. Finally, we tackle the modern question of judicial “neutrality” and why a judge stops being neutral the moment the bench starts writing policy instead of interpreting and applying the law. If you care about constitutional law, judicial accountability, jury trials, and the real balance of power, this conversation will sharpen your instincts. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.Support the show

Founders Under Fire

The Founding Fathers are quoted constantly and understood rarely, and that gap is where bad history thrives. We dig into the real human cost behind the Declaration’s pledge of “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor” and share standout stories from our new book, Lives, Fortunes, and Sacred Honor. You’ll hear what it meant for John Hart to spend a year on the run after signing, and why Francis Lewis’s family story, including Elizabeth Lewis’s imprisonment and failing health, puts teeth into the word “sacrifice.” We also talk honestly about complexity, including William Whipple’s connection to the slave trade and the significance of his decision to free Prince Whipple and publicly oppose slavery. Then we shift gears into a surprisingly fun piece of American history: sports and athletic life at the White House. From Teddy Roosevelt’s boxing and jujitsu to Taft and Wilson’s golf, to Coolidge’s infamous mechanical horse workouts and Hoover’s invention of Hooverball, we trace how presidents have always interacted with popular culture. That context helps when modern headlines spark outrage, because it reminds us that “new” controversies often have older roots than we think. We close with a direct answer to concerns about growing Muslim political participation in local elections. The takeaway is practical and constitutional: many races are uncontested and turnout is low, so the community that organizes wins. If you want better outcomes, recruit better candidates, contest every seat, and actually show up to vote. Subscribe, share this with a friend who cares about local government, and leave a review so more people can find the show.Support the show