During the 2016 campaign and in the early days of his presidency, President Donald Trump made ‘defeating radical Islamic terrorism’ a key part of his counterterrorism strategy. He also said that he would step up efforts to blunt other terrorist groups. At the same time, he vowed to be successful without deploying large numbers of United States soldiers. Dr. Anne Speckhard, director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism, joins us to discuss how this strategy is working out.

Learn more about The International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism at http://www.icsve.org/

 

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In America, we’ve experienced four decades of progress against preventable deaths.  We’ve cut death rates for motor vehicle accidents, homicides and smoking.  That was before the opioid epidemic, which has driven the national death rate from overdoses to 9.3 per 100,000 in 2015, up from 0.4 in 1975.  What once was rarely seen is now commonplace. Money is being spent, commissions formed, media attention growing, but have we tackled the issue in a meaningful way?  Dr. Jon Zibbell, a senior public health analyst at RTI International, who formerly worked at the CDC, will detail the nature of the problem and how difficult it will be to combat.

https://www.rti.org/expert/jon-e-zibbell

THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC AND THE SOUTHERN BORDER

Sam Quinones, author of ‘Dreamland’, tackles a number of topics pertinent to our nation.

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Did you ever look around your cities and towns and wonder why so many folks look alike?  In cities, often we see a preponderance of people of color and in suburbs and rural communities just the opposite.  An accident, you wonder?  Just the way things happened…birds of a feather?  Not quite.  In fact, finally, thanks to Richard Rothstein, author of ‘The Color of Law’, we can lay out definitively the fact that our government, liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans, consciously, relentlessly and with intent, used government policy to segregate America.  Housing discrimination has led to many of the social ills we bemoan today.  We’ll lay out the case today with Mr. Rothstein

 

 

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https://www.conventionofstates.com/

This effort is described as a project of citizens for self governance. The rallying cry of those who want to use Article V of The Constitution as a tool to amend it is that the federal government has grown to big, too unwieldy and overly intrusive in our lives. This they say is driving us into debt which is unsustainable and taking away our liberties.  Mark Meckler is a co-founder of this movement and describes its plan, goals and the importance of your participation.

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Was the period of corporate loyalty to workers simply an aberration?  In the modern era, generous salaries and benefits packages were most commonly doled out from the mid-1940’s into the early 1980’s.  Through the prism of four corporate behemoths, Rick Wartzman, director of the KH Moon Center for a Functioning Society at the Drucker Institute, describes how big businesses once took responsibility for providing their workers and retirees with an array of social benefits in his book, ‘The End of Loyalty’.  The rise and fall of good jobs and security will certainly lead to the question–what’s next for employees?  Find out on this compelling episode.

 

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https://www.jimmywebb.com/

One of the joys of my broadcast career has been the opportunity to interview Jimmy Webb on more than one occasion.  He is known for his power ballads which tells stories about people and places that are unforgettable.  And for his remarkable collaboration with the late Glen Campbell, having written for him, ‘By the Time I Get to Phoenix’, ‘Witchita Lineman’ and ‘Galveston’, among others.  And, of course, no one cannot have a reaction to the multi-layered, ‘Macarthur Park’.  In fact, Jimmy’s recently published autobiography, the one that the ‘Wall Street Journal’ said was the best of any written in the pop music era, is titled ‘The Cake and the Rain’.  He was the youngest man ever inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame and was named by ‘Rolling Stone’ magazine as one of the top fifty songwriters of all time.  And you owe it to yourself to pick up or download Jimmy doing his own songs as in the recording ‘Ten Easy Pieces’ or his most recent CD’s doing duets of his songs.  I hope you’ll take a listen to a vintage conversation.

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https://aztectwostep.com/

Rex Fowler, along with his duo mate, Neal Shulman, have spent a lifetime making music together as the folk/rock duo, Aztec Two-Step. After taking their name from a poem by beat poet, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, they have written love song and songs of conscience.  Rex Fowler reflects on the protest songs that have inspired him and the impact they have had as  the soundtrack for various movements such as anti-nukes, civil rights, women’s rights, anti-war and now in ‘the resistance’, as its called.  We sprinkle music into this podcast in order to demonstrate their power and form.

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https://www.pavlinaosta.com/

They don’t buy napkins.  They don’t play golf.  They aren’t buying cars or homes.  And they’re not even eating at Buffalo Wild Wings. So, how will this generation, which is like no other before it, continue to leave its imprint on our culture and business climate?  Pavlina Jaine Osta is a millennial pop culture commentator who likes to ‘keep it real’ when talking about her generation.  The future belongs to them, but will affect us all.

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https://congressionaldish.com/

For generations the mainland U.S. has heaped insults and injury upon the people of Puerto Rico.  It’s a history that few understand but has stripped the island of its resources and economic prosperity, while leaving its political status in question.  Jen Briney, creator of the ‘Congressional Dish’ podcast, took at trip there recently to better understand the issues as Congress considers various pieces of legislation regarding the island and its relationship to our nation.  We will also gain her insights on how Congress is now dealing with this issue and the many legislative responsibilities awaiting a slow to respond House and Senate.

As a bonus, we have included an interview with Nelson Denis, author of ‘The War Against All Puerto Ricans’ which has provided an eye-opening account on the many abuses heaped upon the island by mainland U.S.  His writings are some of the most controversial you will find about a history little known by Americans on and off the island.  It’s a vital backdrop to understanding the economic plight of the island today.

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THIS PODCAST COULD HELP SAVE YOUR LIFE PLEASE GIVE A LISTEN

Antiobiotic resistance is one of the most pressing public health issues of our time. The golden age of penicillin and other antibiotics started in 1943 but is under tremendous assault today as new antibiotics are being approved at slower and slower rates just as the battle against superbugs like MRSA has doctors wondering if we will have the tools to fight back.  We’ve taken the miracle of the antibiotic and stretched its capacity to the limit. Since antibiotics support life as we know it, their decreasing effectiveness puts our health in jeopardy.
Carole and Ty Moss, founders of Nile’s Project, paints a disturbing picture for us.

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