EP 472 Populism, Nationalism, Socialism Combine to Define Crisis Moment in American Politics

EP 472 Populism, Nationalism, Socialism Combine to Define Crisis Moment in American Politics

https://www.amazon.com/John-B.-Judis/e/B001HCY4VQ%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share A clash of competing political movements in America result in leaders presiding over a fractured and dispirited electorate and a troubled political economy.  And while President Joe Biden has attempted to restore the political order to something reminiscent of more conventional times, his success or failure could usher in a new wave of strident …

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EP 471 Was Germany Alone a Nation That Practiced Eugenics?

EP 471 Was Germany Alone a Nation That Practiced Eugenics?

http://www.minnastern.com/ The answer to the question posed in our title of this episode is an emphatic ‘no’.  Regrettably, the practice of eugenics has occurred in the United States, more specifically in California, through the 1970’s. And it has occurred in many other countries. You could look it up or just listen to our podcast, featuring …

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EP 470 Is There a Way to Make Social Media Platforms Less Polarizing?

EP 470 Is There a Way to Make Social Media Platforms Less Polarizing?

https://www.chrisbail.net/ In this moment of increasing social isolation, social media platforms, like Facebook and Twitter, are some of the key tools we have to communicate and understand one another.  While many consider these platforms to be a mirror to define our place in society, our guest tells us they function more like a prism that …

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EP 469 Can I Recycle This?

EP 469 Can I Recycle This?

https://www.jennieromer.com/ Americans aren’t particularly good at recycling.  We have no federal policy related to it and plastics manufacturers, for instance, fight the process in Congress where the effort really needs to begin.  ‘Reduce, reuse, recycle’ was a mantra from back in the 1970’s which is still applicable today.  And as our guest reminds us if …

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EP 468 Why Passionate Sports Fans May Be Happier Than the Rest of Us

EP 468 Why Passionate Sports Fans May Be Happier Than the Rest of Us

https://www.larryolmsted.com/ Are you a sports fan who has been told that you’re wasting your time watching your favorite team night in and night out?  Recent studies suggest that this devotion may pay off in making you happier and healthier than those who have no interest.  With the onset of fantasy sports, not a single team …

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EP 467 Madame Speaker Wields Strong Gavel

EP 467 Madame Speaker Wields Strong Gavel

https://www.mollyball.com/ Nancy Pelosi is the most powerful member of Congress–again.  She is Speaker of the House for a second time and wielding tremendous power with a Democrat in the White House. While misunderstood and maligned by many, she is, perhaps, the most effective person in that role since Sam Rayburn.  Her Republican predecessors, John Boehner …

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EP 466 Americans Love Money But Understand So Little About It

EP 466 Americans Love Money But Understand So Little About It

https://cinergyfinancial.com/ I am certain you’ve discussed money matters with a friend or relative and been shocked at how little they know about the subject.  It’s obvious by knowing the terrible decisions that they have made over time.  Or, perhaps, you’re that person. Money is the universal language of America and yet only six states require …

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EP 465 Has the Time Come for the Rich to Pay Their Fair Share in Taxes?

EP 465 Has the Time Come for the Rich to Pay Their Fair Share in Taxes?

https://bjmeconomics.com/principals It’s hard to look at America and not recognize that money will have to be spent in the period ahead on a range of emerging priorities, including addressing income inequality, infrastructure, day care, health coverage and the long tail of the pandemic.  The question is where do you get the money to address these …

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EP 464 Drug Cartels and Guns: A Deadly Combination

EP 464 Drug Cartels and Guns: A Deadly Combination

https://www.ioangrillo.com/ While we often think of the epidemic of gun violence as happening on the streets of America, it is even worse in the countries south of us in the Americas.  The source of the supply is the same, primarily United States gun manufacturers. How those guns start as legal products and become entwined with …

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EP 463 America’s Complicated Relationship with Guns

EP 463 America’s Complicated Relationship with Guns

https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/faculty_scholarship/4030/ America’s Second Amendment is summed up in just a few words and yet massive amounts of ink have been spilled trying to explain it, massive amounts of blood spilled in defense of it and massive sums spent on legal efforts to try and curtail it and still gunfire rings out across our land like …

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