America Trends

If you think it’s rough out there today in the job market, hang on for dear life because robots, automation and AI have yet to have the convulsive impact they will have in virtually all fields.  And it’s not just service workers or entry level positions that will be affected, according to Darrell West of … Continue reading EP 185 THE FUTURE OF WORK

There are many myths about aging.  And there are new scientific developments exploding them one by one.  We have now learned that the mid-life crisis is more like a mid-life slump and when you get past the pressures often associated with this stage awaiting you is a great time of renewal, re-connection and gratitude.  Some … Continue reading EP 184 FACT: LIFE GETS BETTER AT 50

Alfredo Corchado has been reporting on all things ‘the border’ for many years.  Much included in his reporting has changed just since Donald Trump came down the escalator at Trump Tower and gave his take on the border situation and disparaged an entire culture.  Mr. Corchado joins us to correct the stereotypes that many Americans … Continue reading EP183 THE FUTURE FOR MEXICAN-AMERICANS IN AN AMERICA GROWING MORE INTOLERANT

  Perhaps, you took for granted the notion that a secure and stable middle class life awaited you upon graduation from college and you’re finding out that it’s a real struggle just to get by. This picture is becoming the norm for too many young people ‘squeezed’ by college debt, stagnant wages, little job security … Continue reading EP182 FEELING SQUEEZED IN THIS ECONOMY? YOU’RE NOT ALONE

When President Trump bristles at losing American troops in Montenegro, because of a defense pact, does he have a point?  Aside from the fact that America must honor such commitments, it does raise the legitimate question as to whether the eastward expansion of NATO since the end of the Cold War is really in our … Continue reading EP 181 IS NATO RIGHT FOR EASTERN EUROPE?

If America creates most of the innovative drug therapies in the world, why can’t America consumers catch a break when it comes to the pricing of these drugs?  It’s a questions that has alluded policymakers in this country for years. And to blame it on any one thing–advertising, cost of research or the insurance companies … Continue reading EP 180 CAN ANYTHING BE DONE TO LOWER PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICES?

While that is not a headline you often read, the fact of the matter is there is good news to report.  The authors of a new report from the American Enterprise Institute tell us that there are several signs of improving conditions, including a decline in self-reported racial prejudice, economic gains which find black men … Continue reading EP 179 Black Men Making It In America

If you’ve seen the ‘Terminator’ movies, you have an idea of what may be in store for wars of the future.  And it’s clear that a growing part of America’s arsenal of war involves technologies that would be considered autonomous.  The essential question is after you’ve programmed these autonomous killers, where does human interaction come … Continue reading EP 178 Army Of None

In this podcast, we call upon one of the nation’s leading scholars and authors(‘After Roe’ and ‘Beyond Abortion’) of human reproduction and public policy, Professor Mary Ziegler, to provide perspective on the issue as it once again takes center stage in America.  You will be surprised to go back to 1973 and the Roe v. … Continue reading EP 177 THE POLITICS OF ABORTION: THEN AND NOW

  In states friendly to public sector unions, the members have had benefits few others in our society, unionized or not, have retained.  These include good wages, great health benefits and pensions. The United States Supreme Court recently ruled in the Janus v. AFSCME case that agency fees are unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds.  Twenty-two … Continue reading EP 176 PUBLIC UNIONS DEALT A SEVERE BLOW BY THE SUPREME COURT

We like to think of ourselves as the hardest working people on the planet and, yet, that image is changing, according to the latest data from the U.S. Labor Department’s annual American Time Use Survey.  Much of this trend reflects baby boomers retiring and still working, but fewer hours. There are other factors at play, … Continue reading EP175 AMERICANS ARE WORKING LESS

Dr. Angela Duckworth has become a legend in the field of psychology with her research and book on the impact that grit has in predicting someone’s academic and career success.  Grit being perseverance and passion–and it is measurable.  In fact, she’s built the scale.  So if you’ve ever had a chip on your shoulder because … Continue reading EP 174 MORE GRIT=MORE SUCCESS

It’s not likely you would approach someone with that greeting.  Yet, if a doctor doesn’t get an answer to that question for women being screened for breast cancer, then the diagnosis could well be incomplete or plain wrong.  Dense breast tissue is something that 40 percent of the women in America have. And it is … Continue reading EP 173 Dr. Nancy Cappello: Are You Dense?

Whether it’s a 9-11 calamity or a financial meltdown or product recall, companies must be prepared to respond in real time to emerging threats to their business.  With the speed at which information travels, getting behind a crisis means sustaining losses from which you may never recover. In their book, ‘Mastering Catastrophic Risk’, Professors Michael … Continue reading EP 172 HOW COMPANIES CAN BETTER MANAGE CATASTROPHIC RISK

  It’s seems as if we have a lot of young people today who are adrift, particularly our boys, and they have no direction home.  And the ways we go about trying to ‘reform’ them don’t work. Jails aren’t the answer. Detention doesn’t result in changed behavior..  So, what do we do? Dr. J. Stuart … Continue reading EP 171 ARE WAYWARD KIDS CHANGEABLE?

You live in a major city and have a great job.  And you interact every day with service workers waiting on you in restaurants, handling your dry cleaning and other tasks.  Have you ever stopped to wonder where they live in these metropolitan areas and how far they travel each day to get there? One … Continue reading EP 170 AFFORDABLE HOUSING SHORTAGE REACHES CRITICAL PROPORTIONS

You’d think that Americans would be a very happy people. We have the world’s greatest economy, more entertainment options than ever before, a big land to traverse and enjoy and mobility.  And, yet, we rank very poorly on indices measuring the happiness quotient. And while our discontent cannot all be traced to technology, it is … Continue reading EP 169 YOUR HAPPINESS HAS BEEN HACKED

Even if the Trump presidency ended today in the muck of scandal, his impact will be felt for years to come.  Why is that you ask? He, the White House counsel, Don McGahn and Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell have executed a brilliant strategy to quickly fill the U.S. district and appellate courts with young … Continue reading EP 168 IT’S TRUMP’S LAW NOW

  There’s a growing ‘clean meat’ and vegan movement focused on the many destructive and unethical practices involved the production and consumption of meat. At the same time, as economies improve worldwide the global meat business is at an all time high. How do we reconcile these two divergent trends? Renee King-Sonnen joins us to … Continue reading EP 167 WILL MAN WONDER IN FIFTY YEARS WHY WE ATE MEAT?

Unraveling racial segregation is the key to reducing racial inequality.  Let that concept sink in for a moment.  Analyzing historical data from 1865 to the present, Richard Sander, our guest on this podcast, and his co-authors Yana Kucheva and Jonathan Zasloff, prove that racial integration has an enormously powerful effect on lifting people out of … Continue reading EP 166 LIVING IN INTEGRATED NEIGHBORHOODS UNLOCKS POTENTIAL