EP 942 The Middle Class and Its Long Fade: How Did We Get Here?

EP 942 The Middle Class and Its Long Fade: How Did We Get Here?

 America built this thing we call the middle class.  It was purposeful and forward-looking public policy in the 1930’s which recognized that the strength of our democracy required a vibrant sector that could aspire to a middle -class life of owning a home, putting your children through college and retiring comfortably.  It resulted in a …

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EP 941 Do We Have Too Much or Too Little Free Speech?

EP 941 Do We Have Too Much or Too Little Free Speech?

 How can we have too much free speech?  And should everyone have access to large platforms to express increasingly outrageous and unbridled opinions?  That was what I was asking in this conversation in the context of the infamous Tucker Carlson interview with avowed Nazi sympathizer Nick Fuentes.  Why platform him and extend his audience four …

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EP 940 Simple Changes Can Give Older Americans a More Healthful Life

EP 940 Simple Changes Can Give Older Americans a More Healthful Life

Routines, purpose and morning rituals can be key determinants as to whether older Americans’ lifespan will be one in which their health allows them to remain active and engaged.  And Dwayne Clark, co-author of “The Miracle Morning After 50: A Proven Path to Joy, Vitality and Purpose for Aging Adults,” provides evidence of that in …

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EP 939 Why Did Martin Luther King, Jr. Consider Barry Goldwater America’s Most Dangerous Man?

EP 939 Why Did Martin Luther King, Jr. Consider Barry Goldwater America’s Most Dangerous Man?

Senator Barry Goldwater, the Republican nominee for President in 1964, was in no way a virulent racist, like others in his era, including Bull Connor, George Wallace or Strom Thurmond.  But he reached a higher plateau in American politics and his views on ‘freedom’ were in direct contrast with those of Martin Luther King, Jr., …

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EP 938 Why Have Soldiers, Lawyers and Bankers Replaced Diplomats in U.S. Foreign Policy?

EP 938 Why Have Soldiers, Lawyers and Bankers Replaced Diplomats in U.S. Foreign Policy?

Throughout history diplomats have played keys roles in settling disputes among nations by winning alliances, splintering enemy coalitions, and making peace with their bitterest foes.  And, yet, in the post- Cold War period America has relied more upon the strength of its military, international covenants and economic muscle, as the world’s reserve currency, to impose …

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EP 937 America’s Aggressive Posture on the World Stage is a Feature Not a Bug

EP 937 America’s Aggressive Posture on the World Stage is a Feature Not a Bug

 Our guest took on a sweeping assignment in his new book “To Dare Mighty Things: U.S. Defense Strategy Since the Revolution.” But Michael O’Hanlon, of the Brookings Institution, and the author of this ambitious work came away convinced that there has been a steadier strategic theme throughout our history than he had earlier imagined.  Whether …

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EP 935 Did You Realize Youth Prisons are Shutting Down Across the Country?

EP 935 Did You Realize Youth Prisons are Shutting Down Across the Country?

It’s fair to say that I had no idea that a society which likes to lock all of our troubles away, was now releasing many youthful offenders into different types of therapeutic settings, which take various forms.  This phenomenon has been going on for the last twenty years as one state after another has shuttered …

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EP 934 A College President’s Reflections on the Crisis in Higher Education

EP 934 A College President’s Reflections on the Crisis in Higher Education

 A series of threats have landed on the doorstep of leaders in higher education. These include a demographic cliff which jeopardizes the very existence of some institutions, the advent of AI and the uncertainties it presents for faculty and students prospects going forward, attacks on academic freedom from the Trump Administration, along with threats to …

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EP 933 Our National Security Strategy Has Changed: No Longer the World’s Policeman on the Beat

EP 933 Our National Security Strategy Has Changed: No Longer the World’s Policeman on the Beat

 The post-World War II world has seen America defending and trying to export democracy and free markets through its military might and the development of international organizations having the same purpose.  Under the Trump Administration II, and its recently released National Security Strategy the new approach can best be described as an ‘America First’ national …

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