Category: podcast

EP 709 Does Israel Have an End Game in Mind in Its Response to Hamas’ Brutal Attack?

EP 709 Does Israel Have an End Game in Mind in Its Response to Hamas’ Brutal Attack?

The words we hear from Israeli government and military officials is that the end game is to rid Gaza of Hamas, the terrorist group that runs it and committed unspeakable atrocities against Israeli citizens on October 7.  Yet, if history is a guide, the overwhelming military response now being visited upon Hamas, and civilians who cannot get out of the way, by Israel Defense Forces may have the opposite effect and breed a new generation of terrorists, thus allowing the cycle of violence to erupt again and again.  Our guest today, Robert Pape feels that Israel is undertaking this campaign with military tactics, but should be approaching it with a political strategy.  Robert Pape, a professor of political science and director of the University of Chicago Project on Security and Threats, has a four-pronged approach which he offers toward the end of our conversation which he feels might pave the road to a more lasting peace.  The whole exchange is really worth a listen.  Much history is shared to give context to what you are seeing.

EP 708 Can You Trust On-Line Reviews?

EP 708 Can You Trust On-Line Reviews?

Fake on-line reviews permeate every sector of commerce, from the purchase of hard goods to the doctor you to choose, to the restaurant you try,  to the plumber who has five stars.  Does he really?  It’s a complex web of lies that has developed in this vital space for e-commerce.  Finally, the federal government, under the auspices of the Federal Trade Commission, is going about the process of rule making in this area because the bad practices are costing all of us money as we blindly believe that ‘fellow customers’ experiences’ are what they say they are, when in truth, they are not.  There are all kinds of deceptive practices, too numerous and complex to describe, which result in fake reviews, payment for positive reviews, and the suppressing of negative reviews.  Isn’t this fraud and shouldn’t government hold people to account?  The question is who should that be?  The tech companies, like Google and Yelp, for example, the platforms on which products are sold, like Amazon, or the sellers themselves?  Kay Dean, who founded fakereviewwatch.com, helps us unpack a world we better begin to understand or expect disappointment given the ever increasing dependence we place on on-line reviews. She is an invaluable resource in this space.

EP 707 Cities Represent the Future For Countries Around the Globe

EP 707 Cities Represent the Future For Countries Around the Globe

 

Forty countries around the world had a majority of their populations living in cities in 1960, whereas today that figure is more than one hundred.  And that trajectory is projected to continue in dramatic fashion throughout the century, in both developed and developing nations. For the first time in human history half of humanity lives in cities. Will those cities continue to be the epicenters of our greatest achievements or will they be riven with strife, division and growing inequality?  The answer lies in our ability to remake much about cities to avoid the worst impacts of many people in relatively dense centers, including pandemics and the effects of climate change.  Our guest, visionary Oxford professor, Ian Goldin, and his co-author, Tom Lee-Devlin of the prestigious Economist Magazine, having written “Age of the City: Why Our Future Will Be Won or Lost Together” are betting on the resilience and creativity of the urban environment, historically and in the present, to win the day.  Let’s hope they’re right.

EP 706 In the Wake of the Opioid Crisis, Are There Better Ways to Deal with Chronic Pain?

EP 706 In the Wake of the Opioid Crisis, Are There Better Ways to Deal with Chronic Pain?

There’s a commercial on television with a famous chef telling us that the most important tool he uses in his kitchen is his brain. And that’s the same organ needed to deal with chronic pain according to our guest, Dr. Afton Hassett, an associate professor and Director of Pain and Opioid Research at the University of Michigan.  In her new book, “Chronic Pain Reset: 30 Days of Activities, Practices, and Skills to Help You Thrive,” she takes you through a multi pronged approach including pain self-management, that allows patients to function more effectively.  Given that nearly 50 million people in the U.S. alone are affected by chronic pain and the painkillers we have been using, like Oxycontin, have had such devastating consequences for so many, other modalities such as massage, physical therapy, acupuncture, mindfulness, yoga and others deserve an opportunity to provide relief.  As more studies are done demonstrating the effectiveness of these approaches and insurance companies are beginning to pay for some of them, perhaps we can deal with chronic pain, which outdistances diabetes, hypertension, and depression, in new cases.

EP 705 The Overlooked Americans Deserve Our Attention

EP 705 The Overlooked Americans Deserve Our Attention

Our guest, by her own admission, is now a West Coast liberal, a professor no less at USC in public policy, and yet she has great appreciation for the sturdiness and values of Americans in the nation’s heartland.  Having grown up in Danville, Pennsylvania, she is no stranger to the people she interviewed for her book, “The Overlooked Americans: The Resilience of Our Rural Towns and What It Means for Our Country.”  Since she did not fly over rural America but actually talked to many people who feel left behind, not just about them, and buttressed those conversations with much research, her conclusions may surprise you.  For example, she concludes that rural Americans are open-minded and tolerant and that, for the most part, rural Americans are doing just fine.  Want to hear more?  Hit play below…

EP 703 Is America Capable of the Work to Retain Democracy?

EP 703 Is America Capable of the Work to Retain Democracy?

Anyone who’s paying attention has got to ask him or herself whether America can do the hard work of retaining a vibrant democratic system.  It requires constant tending and adapting by its citizens.  We must maintain a level of commitment to making the laws fair, bringing all citizens into the process, providing a foundational understanding of what a democracy really is and serving on local boards and voluntary organizations committed to the complex web of demands that go into of this.  As our guest points out, to cut to the quick, at its root having a democracy means ‘no boss.’  I doubt you ever thought of it that way.  Our chief executive, known as a President, really has limited constitutional authority to act.  The system was designed to involve a range of actors in all branches and at all levels of government.

Given the threats that we have seen to our democracy, we ask Brook Manville, our guest, who along with co-author with Josiah Ober, wrote “The Civic Bargain: How Democracy Survives”, whether our democracy is in trouble and, if so, why. Clearly it is being tested as more groups demand their right to participate in a little tested concept of a multi-racial, multi-ethnic democracy.  He offers a guide to a democratic renewal, calling on citizens to recommit to a “civic bargain” with one another to guarantee civic rights of freedom, equality, and dignity.
SPECIAL EDITION 14 Israel, Ukraine and American Politics Collide at a Tremulous Moment in History

SPECIAL EDITION 14 Israel, Ukraine and American Politics Collide at a Tremulous Moment in History

Francis Rooney, who was the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See from 2005 to 2008 and later a U.S. Congressman, gives us his unique perspective on domestic politics and international affairs at a period in our history with together the combination is making the American public very uneasy about what may lie ahead.

EP 702 Why is the Army Having Such Difficulty Recruiting?

EP 702 Why is the Army Having Such Difficulty Recruiting?

America has had an all volunteer armed forces for 50 years now and the likelihood of going back to a draft anytime soon is remote.  Yet, our military obligations are many as we have service members positioned around the globe, most recently deploying thousands to watch the simmering powder keg in the Middle East.  A small percentage of young Americans would seriously consider military service–2023 is the worst year for recruiting since the All Volunteer Force began–and many others do not qualify because of emotional, physical, and academic reasons.  The military is well aware that it has a problem and is using bonuses, special training programs and considering changes in standards to address this problem.  In fact, they are even initiating new branding campaigns and attempting to use social media more effectively.  The other issue they’re facing at this moment is a hot job market in America as private employers are adding to pay and benefits.  And capping all this is that there is no particular patriotic motivation to join on the heels of less than conclusive efforts in the Middle East and uncertainty as to whether China is an enemy or a competitor.  To discuss all of this with us is Lindsay Cohn, Ph.D. and an Associate Professor of National Security Affairs at the Naval War College.

EP 701 Whitelash in the Wake of Obama Presidency Part of Historical Tug of War

EP 701 Whitelash in the Wake of Obama Presidency Part of Historical Tug of War

As a diverse group of people in America celebrated the progress represented by the ascension of Barack Obama to the presidency, others, predominantly white, used it as a pretense to produce a new and fearsome wave of white backlash–a whitelash.  Emerging in the moment, coupled with news that America would be a majority-minority country in a few decades, were two diametrically opposed racial movements.  The first was the longstanding nativist movement of white Americans that questioned the validity of the president’s citizenship, his Christian faith, and his fidelity to America.  The second was Black Lives Matter, the latest incarnation of a century-long movement for black humanity, which arose from the frustration with the limitations of a black president and the “black faces in high places” politics that took hold in the decades after the civil rights movement.  Meanwhile, the post-Obama era prompted the resurgence of a third movement: white supremacy enforced by any means necessary–the number one threat today according to the FBI.  It’s all part of pulling on the rope which has gone on throughout American history.  Some progress is made in making America a multi-racial democracy and this is followed by resistance to it.  Joining us to give context to what we are seeing is Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Wesley Lowery, author of “American Whitelash: A Changing Nation and the Cost of Progress.”

EP 700 Is Nuclear Power Making a Comeback?

EP 700 Is Nuclear Power Making a Comeback?

 

As we transition from a fossil fuel-based energy sector to one focused on renewables, like wind and solar, where does nuclear power fit in?  Is it a clean fuel?  Do we trust its safety enough to invest in new plants, as many in the United States will be reaching their lifespan in the next twenty years?  These are all difficult questions for an industry that supplies 20 percent of our electricity, with 98 plants in thirty states.  Given that we still haven’t addressed the storage of radioactive waste on a federal level, the impacts of our own use of nuclear power will be with us for years to come.  And then there’s the excitement about the possibility of moving from nuclear fission to nuclear fusion and the promise–down the road–of ‘unlimited energy.’  To discuss these issues we call upon a true expert, Robert Rosner, a theoretical physicist, and long-time faculty member, at the University of Chicago.  He served as the Argonne National Laboratory’s Chief Scientist in the early 2000’s and was Argonne’s Laboratory Director for a number of years after that.  His remarkable insights will require you to pay attention to the science of it all.