EP 513 The Food and Drug Administration: What Goes On Behind Closed Doors?

EP 513 The Food and Drug Administration: What Goes On Behind Closed Doors?

How do you know the food you’re eating is safe to consume?  That the labels on food tell you something meaningful about what you’re going to eat?  That the food supply, which now includes many staples from overseas, has been inspected?  Presumably, we have a powerful regulatory agency in the Food & Drug Administration(FDA) that …

Read More Read More

EP 512 A New Era in the Car Culture is Emerging

EP 512 A New Era in the Car Culture is Emerging

America loves its cars but the romance may be cooling a bit as the increasingly urban society recognizes that the ‘internet of motion’ can provide them with many options for living the life previously available only to someone who had a car.  Our guest, Tom Standage, the author of ‘A Brief History of Motion’ takes …

Read More Read More

EP 511 Reinventing Schools More Crucial In Wake of the Pandemic

EP 511 Reinventing Schools More Crucial In Wake of the Pandemic

https://www.progressivepolicy.org/ When I worked for my state Commissioner of Education in Connecticut in the early 1980’s the educational establishment was abuzz with the concept of ‘equity and excellence’.  Yet nearly 50 years later, despite lots of money and resources thrown at our old model of education, one reformer John Dewey in the early twentieth century …

Read More Read More

EP 510 Taking a Knee For Racial Justice

EP 510 Taking a Knee For Racial Justice

https://www.davezirin.com/ Amid a wave of police shootings in 2016, NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick began a series of quiet protests on the field, most notably refusing to stand and taking a knee during the national anthem.  Much controversy ensued in the wake of his action and while he has found himself, despite a strong showing on …

Read More Read More

EP 509 Do Private Equity Investments Outperform Publicly Traded Ones?

EP 509 Do Private Equity Investments Outperform Publicly Traded Ones?

https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Private-Equity-Transformative-Investments/dp/0231198825 Once a little regarded niche of the investment world, private equity has grown into a juggernaut, with impacts on a wide range of industries as well as financial markets. While most pension funds and endowments rely to a large degree on publicly traded securities and bonds, the portfolios of many of these funds add …

Read More Read More

EP 508 This Pandemic Will Not Be the Last

EP 508 This Pandemic Will Not Be the Last

https://www.kyleharper.net/books/ It takes a lot of knowledge, research and time to write 500 pages on the way that infectious disease has intersected with the history of humanity on this planet. Kyle Harper, our guest and author of ‘Plagues Upon the Earth’ does a masterful job of breaking it down for us on this podcast.  If …

Read More Read More

EP 507 Buying a Car Going Forward Puts You in the Driver’s Seat

EP 507 Buying a Car Going Forward Puts You in the Driver’s Seat

https://www.maxzanan.com/ The friendly car salesman is still waiting for you at the showroom to take you for a test drive, but you are now entering what was a lose/lose battle with a lot more information and many more choices.  Just as we previously did a podcast on the changing nature of purchasing a home, our …

Read More Read More

EP 506 To Raise a Boy in 21st Century America

EP 506 To Raise a Boy in 21st Century America

https://www.toraiseaboy.com/ Much attention has been paid to the plight of young girls in American society as we attempt to knock down barriers to their dreams and build more protections from predatory practices often visited upon them.  What about the boys?  Much research tells us that they are falling short in academic performance, suffering greater rates …

Read More Read More

EP 505 A Soldier Reflects on His Afghanistan Experience

EP 505 A Soldier Reflects on His Afghanistan Experience

https://survivingsonbook.com/about-the-author/ We all watched as America accomplished a very messy end to the twenty year Afghanistan War, the longest in our history.  So what was it like on the ground for those who fought in it and how did they view the withdrawal, given their sacrifice?  Was it all in vain?  Scott DeLuzio, author of …

Read More Read More

EP 504 Who Gets Assigned the Dirty Work in Our Society?

EP 504 Who Gets Assigned the Dirty Work in Our Society?

https://www.eyalpress.com/ It’s a dirty job but someone has to do it.  We are not talking about the third shift at a factory in this podcast  We are focusing on ethically challenging positions that many ‘respectable’ citizens will not do and yet avoid considering the consequences for those who, for one reason or another, are required …

Read More Read More