Now, we offer another perspective on the financial crisis of 2008 from Attorney John Dellaportas. He is the co-chair of Kelley Drye’s Securities Litigation and Enforcement practice. He defends clients in shareholder class action suits and in civil enforcement proceedings brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission
.https://www.kelleydrye.com/Our-People/John-Dellaportas
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Now how did that happen? It was then President George W. Bush, who asked that question of his Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson. So, if he didn’t know the financial collapse was coming, how could you have known? We just commemorated the 10th anniversary of the collapse of the investment firm Bear Stearns an event that presaged the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. We go back with two financial experts to re-visit what went wrong and whether it could happen again. In that process, we explore the remedies put in place at the time and whether they should provide any comfort that the steady growth of the economy since that time is real or built on another bubble ready to burst. In this episode, we are joined by Edward Pinto, who was chief credit officer for Fannie Mae in the 1980’s and no co-directs the American Enterprise Institute’s Center on Housing Markets and Finance. He is also a former FDIC and Federal Reserve economist.
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About a decade ago, it was believed that the generation after generation growth in cigarette smoking might come to an end. Young people were beneficiaries of much scientifically valid information about its harmful effects and not bombarded with marketing by big tobacco. Then, e-cigarettes came along. The goal espoused by many in the public health field was to use them as a cessation device to wean adult smokers off some of the more harmful effects of tobacco. And then, the tobacco companies and new manufacturers realized that they could be used for the purpose of re-introducing a form of smoking to young people, offering the companies new customers going forward. Congress and the FDA are now trying to get into the act to make the e-cigarette experience less pleasurable, but is it too late? We discuss the topic with Linda Richter, Phd., from the Center on Addiction.
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It depends who you talk to. America dropped out of the Obama Administration derived nuclear freeze pact with Iran and tougher sanctions have been placed on Iran unilaterally by America. And while many of the partners to the pact are still signed on, questions are emerging about their continuing willingness to trade with Iran. All of this is putting a great economic pinch on the Iranian regime, and its people, and America is being accused of causing this economic uncertainty and fomenting unrest. Members of the Trump Administration and inner circle have given mixed signals about what they would like to see next in Iran.How will this all play out? We discuss this vital subject with Raheel Raza, a Canadian citizen who is a founding member of the Muslim Reformer Movement and an international human rights activist.
PLEASE CHECK OUT THEIR WEBSITE
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We might imagine that circumcision is common practice in America, if not across the globe. The truth of the matter is that those rates are falling in our country and are only 1 percent in Europe. Worldwide, about one in three men is circumcised. So, we explore whether the practice is considered medically necessary and what the arguments are against it. Anthony Losquadro, founder and director of Intaction (intaction.org), does not feel that the intact body, as he describes it, should be altered. It’s a very interesting and serious discussion. Take a listen.
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Dr. Paul Levinson, of Fordham University, joins Larry and a live audience to discuss his concerns about the fake news industry and the ability to decipher real ‘fake news’ from fake ‘fake news’. Sadly, we are there given our President’s masterful ability to obfuscate on this topic. It’s a compelling listen. The podcast was recorded on November 7, 2018 at the Prospect Public Library in Connecticut. Funding provided by The Connecticut Humanities. Jon Krofssik engineered the podcast.
CHECK OUT THE PROSPECT LIBRARY EVENTS
CHECK OUT THE GREAT WORK OF THE CONNECTICUT HUMANITIES
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William Egginton poses the provocative question in his new book: ‘Are we in danger of losing our civic culture’? As the head of a humanities institute at Johns Hopkins University, he sees the goal of our higher educational system–to strengthen community–slipping away. And while he supports the inclusion of previously dispossessed groups, he wonders whether our culture’s new emphasis on individual rights might need further calibration to insure civic discourse and intellectual pursuits that allow for divergent viewpoints. His book, ‘The Splintering of the American Mind’ may be seen as a follow on to the 1980’s tome by Allan Bloom of ‘The Closing of the American Mind’.
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n the first of a two-part series, we look at the subject of free speech on college campuses. Why are speakers being barred or, if allowed on campus, to be shouted down? Doesn’t a liberal arts degree imply that some of the material you will read and discuss will be new, in opposition to that which you have been exposed to and valuable as you find your way in a world filled with people with contrasting ideas? Greg Lukianoff, our guest, and his co-author. Jonathan Haidt, set off a firestorm when an article they wrote made the cover of ‘The Atlantic’ and challenged the notion that universities, regrettably, have become places to protect students from certain forms of speech, rather than introducing them to new ideas. He will make his argument in this podcast. On our next podcast, William Egginton addresses a similar concern.
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If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you think you’re getting a great deal. Have you factored in your piece of the $1.5 billion in state and local taxpayer subsidies that Amazon has received since 2000? Or the costs of government benefits, like Medicaid, provided to their under-paid workforce? The Free & Fair Markets Initiative(FFMI) has been keeping a running tally of all the giveaways that this $1 trillion dollar behemoth has amassed as a by-product of the company’s aggressive and strategic lobbying efforts at all levels of government, as well as campaign contributions, to explain why this largesse goes to a company that clearly doesn’t need a handout. So, while mom and pop businesses shutter on Main Street, Amazon continues to disrupt all commerce on-line and brick and mortar with help from the politicians. It’s amazing when you think about it. Robert Engel of FFMI joins us to discuss.
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Plastics is the future or so Benjamin was lectured in the movie ‘The Graduate’. Now they may actually be seen as part of our past. Environmentalists are making a strong case that the convenience of ‘single use’ plastics, like straws and bags, isn’t worth the environmental damage they can do, particularly to the world’s oceans. And state and local governments, as well as companies, like Starbucks, Burger King and McDonald’s are testing ways to phase out some forms of sipping and packaging. Yale University’s former recycling director, C. J. May, now leading similar efforts in Waterbury, Connecticut, joins us for a conversation about this topic and recycling, in general. Jon and Larry both interview this wonderfully engaging environmental advocate and educator.
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