EP 233 Why Are All My Favorite Stores Closing?

EP 233 Why Are All My Favorite Stores Closing?

https://www.amazon.com/Retail-Therapy-Industry-Broken-What/dp/1472965108 The decline in brick and mortar retail stores is a real trend that threatens a lot in the way of jobs which are dependent upon this sector, but also the great memories of what a joy we experienced getting to know  shopkeepers in our downtown’s, for example,who influenced our thinking about fashion, books, music …

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EP 232 Can We Put a Please Do Not Disturb Sign on the Grand Canyon?

EP 232 Can We Put a Please Do Not Disturb Sign on the Grand Canyon?

https://www.amazon.com/Grand-Canyon-Sale-Private-Interests/dp/0520291476 One third of all the land in America is public. Protected?  Well, that’s another question altogether. In his book, ‘Grand Canyon For Sale’, Stephen Nash makes a compelling case that it is less so than we might suspect or want.  As his fulsome description of the beauty, majesty and awe inspiring sweep of this …

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EP 231 America’s Living Dangerously on Its Fault Lines

EP 231 America’s Living Dangerously on Its Fault Lines

https://www.amazon.com/Fault-Lines-History-United-States/dp/0393088669 You do get the feeling that America’s coming apart, don’t you?  In political terms, we either talk past each other or, in this period, don’t talk to each other at all.  So, how did we get here and is there any way to repair the divide? Julian Zelizer, our guest on this podcast and …

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EP 230 Why is The Supreme Court America’s Most Dangerous Branch of Government?

EP 230 Why is The Supreme Court America’s Most Dangerous Branch of Government?

https://www.amazon.com/Most-Dangerous-Branch-Supreme-Constitution/dp/1524759902   Can you imagine telling many of the nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court that you were interviewing them for a book that was focused on their overreach on many issues that should be resolved by the people’s representatives and not these unelected, lifetime appointees?  David Kaplan, author of ‘The Most Dangerous Branch’, did …

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EP 229 Why Are So Many Americans Dying For A Paycheck?

EP 229 Why Are So Many Americans Dying For A Paycheck?

https://www.amazon.com/Dying-Paycheck-Management-Employee-Performance/dp/0062800922 Is your job making you sick?  There seems to be an epidemic of bad practices in the modern American workplace that, quite literally, may be killing people.  And don’t think you have to be a coal miner or work on an oil rig in the middle of the Atlantic to find those conditions. Through …

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EP 228 Why Is Smoking At An All Time Low In America?

EP 228 Why Is Smoking At An All Time Low In America?

https://www.rstreet.org/team/joel-nitzkin/ While smoking is at an all time low in America, many are concerned that nicotine addiction through vaping and e-cigarettes may provide a gateway for a new generation of puffers.  Dr. Joel Nitzkin is a strong advocate for tobacco harm reduction and a Senior Fellow for tobacco policy at the R Street Institute and …

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EP 227 From Gutenberg to Google: A History of the Future

EP 227 From Gutenberg to Google: A History of the Future

https://www.amazon.com/Gutenberg-Google-History-Our-Future/dp/0815735324 We hear it all the time.  The disruption of this digital age is the greatest in history.  And, perhaps, we take comfort in knowing that the obstacles we face are not of our own making.  Tom Wheeler, of the Brookings Institution, and former Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, argues through the lens of …

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EP 226 The White Working Class In America

EP 226 The White Working Class In America

https://www.amazon.com/White-Working-Class-Overcoming-Cluelessness/dp/1633693783 Americans may have thought that we discarded a class system when we threw a tea party in Boston many years back.  If we did, Joan Williams is here to report–it’s back. And much of it revolves around the fact that our self image as a country with a large and growing middle class, with …

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EP225 Are Stronger Political Parties The Cure For What Ails American Democracy?

EP225 Are Stronger Political Parties The Cure For What Ails American Democracy?

https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300232752/responsible-parties Was America really ever supposed to have parties, or factions, as some called them at the founding of the republic?  Yale political scientist, Ian Shapiro, first answers that question as a predicate to making the case that what our democracy really needs are stronger parties, primarily with more cohesion in Congress.  Parties are designed …

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EP 224 Dr. Elaina George: Are We Addicted To Fast Food?

EP 224 Dr. Elaina George: Are We Addicted To Fast Food?

http://drelainageorge.com/ The United States of Fast Food might be an apt description of our culture.  And it’s now verifiable. The Centers for Disease Control study reveals a startling statistic: 40% of Americans eat fast food every day.  Really? Come to think about it, if we add processed foods and quickie meals made at home, it …

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