Family Policy Matters is a 15-minute show featuring interviews with national, state, and local experts on a wide range of policy issues important to North Carolina families. Hosts are John L. Rustin, President of NC Family and Thomas Graham, Pastor Outreach Coordinator for NC Family.
North Carolina Family Policy Council Weekly Podcast
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Hadley Heath Manning, Senior Fellow at Independent Women and author of "The Dating Decade" report, to discuss the challenges that are resulting from the modern dating culture. Read the report
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Dr. Kenneth Finn, a pain medicine physician and author of Cannabis in Medicine: An Evidence-Based Approach, to discuss a scientific look at the real-life harms that come with the legalization of marijuana. More about Dr. Kenneth Finn Dr. Ken Finn is a pain medicine physician with over 30 years of clinical experience in Colorado Springs, who in 2025 relocated to Arizona to continue his practice in comprehensive pain management. He is board certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation as well as pain medicine, and holds certification in cannabis science through the University of Colorado. He serves as an associate professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine's Colorado Springs branch. Dr. Finn is the former president of the American Board of Pain Medicine and has served on its examination council for more than 25 years. He has played an active role in cannabis and drug policy, including service on Colorado's governor's task force for Amendment 64, which legalized recreational marijuana, and four years on the state's medical marijuana scientific advisory council. He has been invited to present before the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs, testified before the Canadian Senate on marijuana legislation, and addressed the New York State Assembly on cannabis policy. In 2025, he was one of 25 experts selected from over 43,000 applicants to testify before the U.S. Department of Justice on marijuana rescheduling. He is also the editor of Cannabis and Medicine: An Evidence-Based Approach, a multi-author medical textbook with contributors from four countries, and co-founder of the International Academy on the Science and Impacts of Cannabis, where he continues to work on global drug policy issues, including collaboration with United Nations bodies.
This week on Family Policy Matters, NC Family's Mitch Prosser and Adamo Manfra take a deep dive into the importance of parenting, both for the health of the family and for the health of the community.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Melissa McKay, founder of the Digital Childhood Institute, to discuss her efforts to protect children online and the App Store Accountability Act. Learn more: https://digitalchildhoodinstitute.org
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Dr. Jared Horvath, a neuroscientist and author of the book The Digital Delusion: How Classroom Technology Harms Our Kids' Learning - And How To Help Them Thrive Again, to discuss the damage that technology has done to learning and what can be done to fix it.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Luke Healy, an Ambassador for Independent Women, to discuss his experience being pulled into transgender ideology as a child and his experience as a detransitioner.
This week on Family Policy Matters, NC Family's Mitch Prosser and Adamo Manfra take a deep dive into marriage and the role that it plays in building strong families, communities, and even a strong nation.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes David Closson, the Director of the Center for Biblical Worldview at the Family Research Council, to discuss his book Life After Roe: Equipping Christians in the Fight for Life Today. Learn more about the book: https://www.davidclosson.com/post/life-after-roe-equipping-christians-in-the-fight-for-life-today
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Danny Funt, a reporter and author of the book Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling, to discuss the increasing dangers that have come with the rapid proliferation of sports gambling. Learn more about Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling:https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Everybody-Loses/Danny-Funt/9781668062029
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Danny Funt, a reporter and author of the book Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling, to discuss the increasing dangers that have come with the rapid proliferation of sports gambling. Learn more about Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Everybody-Loses/Danny-Funt/9781668062029
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Ben Quine, Vice President of Christians Engaged, to discuss the monumental event upcoming, America Reads the Bible. On April 19-25, 2026 Christian leaders from across the country will gather in Washington D.C. to read the Bible cover-to-cover as both a celebration of America's 250th anniversary and a call for America to return to a Biblical worldview. Learn more: https://www.americareadsthebible.com/
This week on Family Policy Matters, NC Family's Mitch Prosser and Adamo Manfra take a deep dive into the first and most foundational right named in the United States Declaration of Independence and the implications it has for modern culture. Listen to previous episodes of The Truths We Hold: https://ncfamily.org/we-hold-these-truths/
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes David Barton, a prominent historian and founder of WallBuilders, to discuss the importance of learning America's true history, especially in light of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Celebrate America's 250th with NC Family!
This week on Family Policy Matters, NC Family Vice President Mitch Prosser welcomes Katy Faust, Founder and President of Them Before Us, to discuss the Greater Than initiative and the effort to overturn Obergefell and protect children's rights to both their biological mother and father. Learn more: https://greaterthancampaign.com
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Fred and Anita Von Canon to discuss Weekend to Remember, Christian marriage retreats run by FamilyLife. Learn more about Weekend to Remember: https://www.familylife.com/weekend-to-remember/
This week on Family Policy Matters, NC Family's Mitch Prosser and Adamo Manfra discuss a Biblical view of government and the role that Christians should play. Listen to previous episodes of The Truths We Hold: https://ncfamily.org/we-hold-these-truths/
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Paul "Skip" Stam, a lawyer and former member of the State House of Representatives, to discuss the propaganda tactics that the abortion industry has utilized to advance their agenda.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Paul "Skip" Stam, a lawyer and former member of the State House of Representatives, to discuss the propaganda tactics that the abortion industry has utilized to advance their agenda.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Paul "Skip" Stam, a lawyer and former member of the State House of Representatives, to discuss the propaganda tactics that the abortion industry has utilized to advance their agenda.
This week on Family Policy Matters, NC Family's Mitch Prosser and Adamo Manfra discuss the foundational truths represented in the Declaration of Independence and how they impact NC Family's work 250 years later.
This week on Family Policy Matters, NC Family's John Rustin, Mitch Prosser, and Jere Royall discuss the activities of the North Carolina General Assembly and the US Congress in 2025 and how it will affect families.
This week on Family Policy Matters, NC Family President John Rustin welcomes Dr. Farr Curlin, physician, professor and Co-Director of the Theology, Medicine and Culture Initiative at Duke University, to discuss the recent HHS report on the impacts of transgender procedures on minors.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Dr. Wilfred McClay, historian and author, to discuss cultivating the art of conversation.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Dr. Wilfred McClay, historian and author, to discuss cultivating the art of conversation.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Daniel Darling, director of The Land Center for Cultural Engagement and the author of several books, to discuss the role of the family in the health of our nation.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Maria Keffler, author of the book Desist, Detrans & Detox: Getting Your Child Out of the Gender Cult and co-founder of Advocates Protecting Children, to discuss how to protect your children from the cult-like tactics that the transgender movement has utilized.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Maria Keffler, author of the book Desist, Detrans & Detox: Getting Your Child Out of the Gender Cult and co-founder of Advocates Protecting Children, to discuss how to protect your children from the cult-like tactics that the transgender movement has utilized.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Renee Griffith, Director of the EduBuilder program, to discuss her work empowering North Carolina's leaders in education.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Clare Morell, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, to discuss the benefits of phone-free environments for children.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Clare Morell, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, to discuss the benefits of phone-free environments for children.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Dr. Monique Yohanan, a Senior Fellow at the Independent Women's Forum, to discuss vaccine policy from a perspective that balances parental rights with public health concerns. The opinions expressed by our guests are their own and do not necessarily represent the opinions or perspectives of NC Family.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Dr. Monique Yohanan, a Senior Fellow at the Independent Women's Forum, to discuss vaccine policy from a perspective that balances parental rights with public health concerns. The opinions expressed by our guests are their own and do not necessarily represent the opinions or perspectives of NC Family.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Josh Wood, Executive Director of Them Before Us, to discuss the damage that divorce causes to children and society at large and what policies can be put in place to mitigate these effects.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Beverly Willett, author and co-chairman for the Coalition of Divorce Reform, to discuss the great importance of saving marriages and reducing unnecessary divorces. Learn more about Beverly Willett's book, Disassembly Required
This week on Family Policy Matters, NC Family Vice President Mitch Prosser welcomes Andy Crouch, author and partner for theology and culture at Praxis, to discuss how technology is hurting our ability to build relationships and what habits we can create to counteract this.
This week on Family Policy Matters, NC Family Vice President Mitch Prosser welcomes Andy Crouch, author and partner for theology and culture at Praxis, to discuss how technology is hurting our ability to build relationships and what habits we can create to counteract this.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Dr. Marty McCaffrey, Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Perinatal Quality Collaborative of North Carolina, to discuss how the medical community can improve care for babies born with genetic abnormalities.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Mississippi's Attorney General Lynn Fitch to discuss the Mississippi Access to Maternal Assistance program (MAMA), and how it is helping women and children across the state.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes John Stonestreet, President of the Colson Center, to discuss the new Truth Rising documentary and study co-produced by the Colson Center and Focus on the Family. This documentary will be available to stream on September 5, 2025. Learn more about Truth Rising here: https://www.truthrising.com
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Patrick T. Brown, a Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, to discuss a pro-family perspective on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Tonya Baker Nelson, President and CEO of Hand of Hope Pregnancy Centers, to discuss their work in providing aid to victims of human trafficking.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Reverend Paul Sullins, Research Associate Professor at The Catholic University of America, to discuss how Christians can approach scientific research in a healthy way.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Tucker Young, NC Family's summer intern, to discuss his experience learning about the legislative process and effective advocacy from a Biblical perspective.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Dr. John West, Vice President of the Discovery Institute, to discuss his new book Stockholm Syndrome Christianity and how the Church is being held captive by secular culture.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Dr. Kevin Sabet, President and CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, to discuss the importance of effective drug policies.
This week on Family Policy Matters, NC Family President welcomes Walt Heyer and Dr. Jennifer Bauwens to discuss their new book Embracing God's Design: Addressing the Spiritual and Psychological Crisis Behind Transgender Identity and how Christians can approach transgenderism.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Dr. Kent Lasnoski, author of the book Human Embryo Adoption, vol. 2, Catholic Arguments For and Against, to discuss the theological implications involved in embryo adoption.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Allison Ellis to discuss her new book, Finding Our Words: Words That Made America, and the importance of studying the words and documents that were foundational in the creation of America.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Representative Jennifer Balkcom to discuss HB 519—Parents' Medical Bill of Rights, a bill she sponsored that would affirm the rights of North Carolina parents to oversee the medical care of their children.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Jeff Hamilton, Founder of Dad Academy, to discuss the importance of intentional fathers and how men can become great dads.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Dr. John Cuddeback, Professor of Philosophy at Christendom College, to discuss the benefits and challenges of raising children "different."
© 2020-2026 Ivy Podcast Discovery LLC
