EP 891 A Longtime Washington Insider Provides His Perspective on How D.C. is Functioning

EP 891 A Longtime Washington Insider Provides His Perspective on How D.C. is Functioning

   Attorney Ira Shapiro is a man who has seen it all in Washington. As a long-time U.S. Senate staffer, he has written three books about the upper chamber. The collection has been described by one scholar as an ‘epic trilogy’, capturing sixty years of Senate history.  He was the chief U.S. trade negotiator with …

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EP 890 U.S. Supreme Court Tells Plaintiffs to Take Another Approach to Challenging Trump Policies

EP 890 U.S. Supreme Court Tells Plaintiffs to Take Another Approach to Challenging Trump Policies

 Many lawsuits have been brought against the second Trump Administration on the basis of overreach of its authority in trying to enact policies. President Trump declared victory over ‘radical left wing judges’ when the U.S. Supreme Court declared that the concept of the ‘universal’ injunction, wherein one lower federal court can make a ruling which …

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EP 889 A True Crime Case Which Shows the Hold the Genre Has on Americans

EP 889 A True Crime Case Which Shows the Hold the Genre Has on Americans

In 2019, the quiet suburb of New Canaan, Connecticut was shocked by the disappearance of Jennifer Dulos, a mother of five who vanished one morning after dropping her kids off to school.  In 2020, her husband Fotis Dulos–with whom she was locked in a contentious divorce–and Fotis’s lover, Michelle Troconis, were charged with Jennifer’s murder, …

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EP 888 Brain Gain to US Quickly Becoming a Brain Drain

EP 888 Brain Gain to US Quickly Becoming a Brain Drain

America is a leader in scientific pursuits.  This fact that is underpinned by much evidence.  While the United States represents only 4 percent of the world’s population it accounts for over half of science Nobel Prizes awarded since 2000, hosts seven of the Times Higher Education Top 10 science universities, and has introduced to the …

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EP 887 Evil Regimes Require Many Ordinary People Just Doing Their Jobs

EP 887 Evil Regimes Require Many Ordinary People Just Doing Their Jobs

 The type of extensive evil that went on under Adolf Hitler back in the 1930’s and 40’s requires an apparatus that enlists ‘average’ Germans of the era doing their jobs.  No one man could have done it alone.  Bringing this story forward, in authoritarian regimes around the globe there are people looking away at the …

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EP886 Beverage Container Recycling Made Easier

EP886 Beverage Container Recycling Made Easier

 Ten states in this country have container deposit legislation, popularly called “bottle bills”.  The first one was passed in Oregon decades ago.  Container deposit legislation requires a refundable deposit on certain types of recyclable beverage containers in order to boost recycling rates.  First these measures were seen as an antidote to litter and an environmentally …

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EP 884 Supermarkets and Grocery Preferences Are Changing

EP 884 Supermarkets and Grocery Preferences Are Changing

Just as big box retail stores have given way to more boutique and on-line retail environments, grocery shoppers are drawn these days to stores with a curated selection of essentials at lower prices. Stores like the brother rivals of Aldi’s and Trader Joe’s are examples.  Do we really need 10 choices of olive oil?  Too …

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EP 883 Homelessness Remains a Daunting Challenge

EP 883 Homelessness Remains a Daunting Challenge

Gallup ranks homelessness as one of Americans’ top three concerns.  As it dovetails with the affordable housing crisis in this country, more and more people recognize how they, themselves, are a paycheck away from instability as it relates to having a roof over their heads.  The homelessness we are experiencing today finds its roots in …

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EP 882 The Long Tail of Trump’s Economic Policies

EP 882 The Long Tail of Trump’s Economic Policies

 Whether your focus is on tariffs, the independence of the Federal Reserve or the reconciliation law and its tax and debt implications, the first six months of the second Trump Administration will have far-reaching effects on the American economy.  Perhaps, it’s most important to watch the bond market reaction to the falling value of the …

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