EP 568 Welcome Back, Baby, to the Poor Side of Town

EP 568 Welcome Back, Baby, to the Poor Side of Town

Our guest, Howard Husock, author of ‘The Poor Side of Town and Why We Need It’, has a warm spot for what he considers ‘naturally occurring affordable housing’, the kind that used to be available to those who were finding their way in this country as they went from an apartment to a starter home …

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EP 567 How Can We Whip Inflation Now?

EP 567 How Can We Whip Inflation Now?

It’s likely that when you see double digit increases in the price of food, energy and other essentials, you are in a state of inflation.  As anyone who uses our currency, in whatever fashion knows, that’s the place we find ourselves today.  It’s having a major impact on household budgets and causing reactions in markets …

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EP 566 Diverse Democracies Can Easily Come Apart. Can We Keep This One Together?

EP 566 Diverse Democracies Can Easily Come Apart. Can We Keep This One Together?

  President Biden has been stressing the fragility of democracy in the context of a growing authoritarian strain around the globe. Poster child for this is the most irascible person on the international stage, Russian thug Vladimir Putin. And then there are authoritarian populists in our own midst, like Donald Trump, making the cause of …

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EP 565 Commercial Fishing Arrives in the 21st Century

EP 565 Commercial Fishing Arrives in the 21st Century

  Remember Steinbeck’s “The Old Man and the Sea”?  It is a striking image of a curmudgeonly type of grisled character trolling the waters aimlessly.  As it relates to modern day commercial fishing in America, particularly New England, nothing could be further from the truth.  New 21st century approaches to fishing are addressing the negative …

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EP 564 Is America Falling Behind China?

EP 564 Is America Falling Behind China?

It is very hard to typify what America’s relationship is with China.  We are economically co-dependent and yet we’re competitors.  Some say we’re frenemies in the world; yet others say be realistic and recognize that they are adversaries, growing into potential enemies, based upon their growing defense posture and designs on Taiwan.  And when we …

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EP 563 A Summer Going Down the QAnon and White Supremacist Rabbit Hole

EP 563 A Summer Going Down the QAnon and White Supremacist Rabbit Hole

The International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism(ICSVE) has spent a lot of time monitoring and reporting on the actions and motivation of threats from extremists abroad.  Circumstances on the ground in America have forced the Center to focus new attention on the activities of  home grown extremists in our midst.  What might have …

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EP 561 Labor Unions Seem to be Having a Resurgence

EP 561 Labor Unions Seem to be Having a Resurgence

The numbers suggest that America is in the midst of one of the largest labor upheavals in decades. The resurgence in workers declaring their rights has benefited labor unions who are now emboldened and getting a second look from younger workers. The new found confidence that the worker is in a stronger position is exemplified …

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EP 560 What Does the Baby Formula Shortage Tell Us About the Regulatory Process Around Food Safety?

EP 560 What Does the Baby Formula Shortage Tell Us About the Regulatory Process Around Food Safety?

The baby formula crisis in America caught many off guard, but not our guest on this podcast. Richard Williams, Ph.D., served as the director for social science with the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the Food and Drug Administration. He is the author of ‘Fixing Food: An FDA Insider Unravels the Myths …

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EP 559 Would You Lose Sleep If Daylight Saving Time Became Year Round?

EP 559 Would You Lose Sleep If Daylight Saving Time Became Year Round?

The U.S. Senate recently, by consent vote, sent to the House of Representatives what its sponsor Sen. Marco Rubio calls ‘The Sunshine Protection Act’.  The measure would give us permanent daylight saving and an extra hour of afternoon sunshine in the winter.  The idea is to encourage people to shop, eat out and be more …

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