American Heroes with Kathy Hoekstra is a monthly radio report from Pacific Legal Foundation, airing on American Radio Journal. Each episode defends liberty, empowers individuals, and celebrates the heroes who stand up for what’s right.
Lindsay Hoopes: The $3.5 Million Fight For Her Family’s Napa Winery
When her father became seriously ill, Lindsay Hoopes returned to Napa to carry on the family winery. Now she’s fighting more than $3.5 million in fines and legal fees stemming from a dispute with Napa County over wine tastings and other winery activities. Lindsay joins Kathy Hoekstra to share what the battle has cost her family, why she continues to fight, and what’s at stake for the winery her father built.
13 Aug 2026
Yi Fang Chen: Fighting for Equal Opportunity in New York City Schools
Yi Fang Chen came to America as a teenager with limited English and went on to earn a PhD from Stanford. Now, she is challenging New York City’s specialized high school admissions policy and fighting to ensure that her children—and all students—have access to educational opportunities based on merit, not race.
2 Jul 2026
American Heroes: A Special America 250 Edition
In this special America 250 edition of American Heroes, host Kathy Hoekstra speaks with the leaders of Pacific Legal Foundation's four litigation practice groups about the enduring principles of the Declaration of Independence and how those ideals continue to shape the fight for individual liberty today. From equality before the law and property rights to responsible stewardship of natural resources and the separation of powers, this episode explores the founding ideas that remain at the heart of PLF's work 250 years later.
9 Jun 2026
Josh Sabey and Sarah Perkins: The Government Took Their Children Without a Warrant
When their infant son developed a fever, Josh Sabey and Sarah Perkins rushed him to the emergency room. Just 36 hours later, child welfare and police officers arrived at their home at 1 a.m. and removed their two young children—without a warrant or court order. On this episode of American Heroes, Josh and Sarah share the devastating impact of that night, their fight to reunite their family, and why they chose to challenge the government's actions in court. Their case raises important questions about parental rights, due process, and the constitutional protections every family should be able to rely on.
8 May 2026
Dr. Sean McBride: Is a doctor’s call a crime?
Is a doctor’s call a crime?
Can a doctor be punished just for speaking with their patient across state lines? Dr. Sean McBride joins American Heroes to discuss his challenge to California’s telehealth restrictions, which treat even routine virtual consultations as the “practice of medicine” requiring in-state licensure—turning follow-up care into a legal risk.
31 Mar 2026
John Morgan: When the Government Wipes Out Your Property—and Your Family Legacy—Overnight
When a California law shuts down access to oil and gas, John Morgan’s family loses more than income—they lose a legacy nearly a century in the making. In this episode of American Heroes, John shares how SB 1137 wiped out the value of his property overnight and what his fight says about the future of property rights in America.
9 Mar 2026
Eva St. Clair and Rebecca Melsky: Beating Illegal Tariffs
Small business owners Eva St. Clair and Rebecca Melsky know the real impact of tariffs—because they lived it. In this episode of American Heroes with Kathy Hoekstra, they share how their companies, Princess Awesome and Boy Wonder, were destabilized by unpredictable presidential tariffs—and how their courage in joining Princess Awesome & Stonemaier Games v. Customs helped secure a landmark Supreme Court ruling reaffirming that only Congress—not the president—can impose such taxes.
Hear their personal story of struggle, triumph, and the fight to reclaim what was taken, and discover how standing up for constitutional limits can protect small businesses everywhere.
9 Feb 2026
Christina Martin: Fighting for Homeowners’ Rights
In this episode of American Heroes, host Kathy Hoekstra sits down with Pacific Legal Foundation Senior Attorney Christina Martin to examine the fight against home equity theft—when local governments seize far more than a homeowner owes in taxes. The conversation centers on Pung v. Isabella County (https://pacificlegal.org/case/pung-isabella-county-home-equity-theft/), a case now before the U.S. Supreme Court, where a Michigan family lost their nearly $200,000 home over a $1,600 tax that never should have been imposed. The county sold the home at a steep discount and kept the proceeds, wiping out the family’s equity.
Christina explains why cases like this represent an excessive and unconstitutional punishment, and how a win for the Pungs could set a nationwide precedent protecting homeowners from unfair government takings. Drawing on her decade-long career—and prior unanimous victories at both the Michigan Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court—Christina highlights why defending property rights is essential to protecting everyday Americans from government overreach.
20 Jan 2026
Jamie Leach: Her family built a safe product. The government destroyed their business
On this episode of American Heroes, host Kathy Hoekstra speaks with Jamie Leach, a registered nurse and cofounder of Leachco, Inc., a family-run Oklahoma business that spent nearly 40 years creating safety-focused baby products trusted by parents nationwide. Despite a strong safety record, federal regulators targeted one of Leachco’s most popular products—not for a defect, but because it could potentially be misused.
Jamie recounts how the Consumer Product Safety Commission refused to engage with the company, publicly labeled the product dangerous, and destroyed decades of trust almost overnight. Instead of going to a traditional court, the agency prosecuted Leachco within its own system and even appealed a favorable ruling to itself.
The result was the closure of a small family business and an ongoing constitutional fight, now supported by Pacific Legal Foundation. Jamie warns that unchecked government power doesn’t just affect one company—it puts every small business at risk.
4 Dec 2025
Sarah Dahlstrom: How federal regulations threaten Alaska's timber industry
For decades, specialized wood from Alaska’s Tongass National Forest has shaped the sound of Steinway pianos and Martin guitars and strengthened everything from NASA wind tunnels to helicopter blades. Much of that wood comes from one family-owned mill: Viking Lumber on Prince of Wales Island. Now, a broken promise from Washington bureaucrats threatens to silence the saws and erase a legacy built on generations of grit and sacrifice.
13 Nov 2025
Brian Wanner: When California tries to regulate Pennsylvania trucking
On American Heroes with Kathy Hoekstra, Brian Wanner, president of Peters Brothers, shares how Pennsylvania regulators are automatically adopting California’s trucking emissions rules—without input from local lawmakers or businesses. These open-ended regulations could cost his company—and all Pennsylvania trucking companies—millions, forcing them to buy extended warranties for trucks they could service themselves.
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