America Trends

  Twenty years after its debut, it’s a good time to assess the impact that the women of the acclaimed HBO series had on the dating, sexual mores by women, fashion and, well, even cupcakes.  According to Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, author of ‘Sex and the City and Us’ these four single women changed the way … Continue reading EP 165 HOW DID SEX AND THE CITY CHANGE AMERICA?

President Donald Trump boldy proclaimed that new federal legislation he signed will save hundreds of thousands of lives. It’s a bold assertion(what would you expect), but is it remotely true?  The answer is no, according to Dr. Alison Bateman-House, an Assistant Professor in the Division of Medical Ethics at New York University. The legislation, already … Continue reading EP 164 WILL RIGHT TO TRY HELP FEWER DIE?

Well, not really. However, America must re-think its approach to treating the mentally ill and can’t make prisons, tent cities and the streets of America the default mode for those suffering with it. Howard Husock, vice president for research and publications, at the Manhattan Institute,along with colleague Carolyn D. Gorman co-wrote a provocative op-ed piece … Continue reading EP 163 BRING BACK THE ASYLUM FOR THE MENTALLY ILL

In a society that jails so many, more the average country(as Yogi Bear might have said), you’d think we’d have figured out ways to use prison time more wisely to insure that these same folks don’t return, costing society more to incarcerate them again and victims the pain of re-offending.  And, yet, we still struggle … Continue reading EP162 CAN WE KEEP PRISONERS FROM RETURNING FOR THREE HOTS AND A COT?

THIS PART OF THE EPISODE DEALS WITH THE TRADE WAR AND WHAT IT MEANS TO US

THE FIRST PART OF THIS EPISODE GIVES YOU A HISTORY OF HOW WE GOT HERE Our resident trade expert, Alan Tonelson, author of ‘Race to the Bottom’ and founder of the blog site RealityChek, says the answer is ‘yes’. He better be right because we are in one. He has felt for years that many … Continue reading EP 161A CAN AMERICA WIN A TRADE WAR?

How many boring, staff meetings have you attended where everyone goes along to get along?  It’s probably a countless number. Or one where the brave soul opens with ‘just to play devil’s advocate’ and in the process jettisons his own case.  There is some incredible research to demonstrate that one outlier, one dissenter, can change … Continue reading EP 160 ROCKING THE BOAT BEFORE IT CAPSIZES

  Just as some argue against public monies in health care and retirement plans, there are a growing number of people questioning the public investment in education.  On this episode of our podcast, Bryan Caplan, a professor of economics at George Mason University, argues that the primary function of education is not to enhance students’ … Continue reading EP 159 Is There A Case Against Spending Public Funds On Education?

A doctor in Connecticut, David Young, has waited to bring his family’s dog, Simon, home for many months now.  Instead, Simon is holed up in a shelter under orders from the State of Connecticut to be euthanized. You’ll hear from Dr. Young in this podcast as he tells his story.  You be the judge. And … Continue reading EP 158 DOES FIDO HAVE ANY RIGHTS?

By its very construct, our government, with its checks and balances and election cycles, is more reactive than proactive.  And it is this deliberative nature that keeps a check on abuse of power or so we imagine. Yet, the languid nature of our governmental system is often very slow to respond to fast changing developments … Continue reading EP 157 CAN AMERICA’S LAWS KEEP UP WITH TECHNOLOGY?

  We see in the headlines that there are coming technological breakthroughs that promise a more certain future, from the ability to individualize medicine to target your body’s specific needs to self driving cars which will make you even more efficient as it frees up travel time for more work activity.  It’s all quite appealing, … Continue reading EP 156 ARE WE OVER RELIANT ON TECHNOLOGY AND BIG DATA?

  In an earlier podcast, we focused on the social isolation of older men. It’s a pandemic in our society and a previous U.S. Surgeon General(do we still have one)said that the condition was the cause of more medical problems than smoking or heart disease. Now we have a new study, commissioned by global health … Continue reading EP 155 ALL THE LONELY PEOPLE, WHERE DO THEY ALL COME FROM

    Among U.S. adults ages 50 and older, the divorce rate has roughly doubled since the 1990’s, according to a recent Pew Research Center report. It’s a startling figure until you think about. Previous generations thought there was a stigma to divorce. No longer. And they often didn’t live long enough to make this decision. … Continue reading EP 154 WHY ARE BABY BOOMERS DIVORCING AT SUCH HIGH RATES?

    In studying the changing climate in the Arctic region, you can foreshadow what patterns we will detect where we live.  In his new book, ‘Brave New Arctic: the Untold Story of the Melting North’, Mark Serreze, a renowned climatologist and Director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, has come to the … Continue reading EP 153 Brave New Arctic

Ian Bremmer’s new book, ‘Us Vs. Them: The Failure of Globalism’,  captures the public’s disquiet with the way elites have sold us a present that holds much for the few and little for the many.  He tells us that you can pick your grievance–free trade, open borders, demographic shifts, failed wars or rampaging technology–and its … Continue reading EP 152 WELCOME TO ERA OF US VS.THEM

We might imagine that the conviction of Bill Cosby is a watershed moment for women across the country crying out to be heard as to the assaults they have suffered at the hands of men in their life. It’s about time when we consider these statistics: one in three women will experience some form of … Continue reading EP 151 IS OUR SOCIETY FINALLY COMING TO GRIPS WITH THE CRIME OF SEXUAL ASSAULT?

To some, the syndrome defies definition. To others who’ve experienced it, it’s a living hell. Best simplified, it is a set of behaviors that involve the mental manipulation of a child by one parent in order to destroy the relationship they once shared with the other parent. That systematic take down of the other parent … Continue reading EP 150 PARENTAL ALIENATION A STAPLE IN HIGH CONFLICT DIVORCE

Why does America lose every war it starts? It’s a provocative question given the talent of our military and the tremendous amount of money we spend on defense. And yet when was the last true victory we’ve had? WWII? Dr. Harlan Ullman, who served on the Senior Advisory Group for the Supreme Allied Command in … Continue reading EP 149 The Anatomy Of Failure

In 2016, two events brought us back to an examination of Appalachia in ways we hadn’t, perhaps, since the 1960’s ‘War on Poverty’. One was the headline that it was ground zero for America’s ‘forgotten tribe’ of white working class voters who made up Trump Country. The other was the publishing of the influential book, … Continue reading EP 148 WHAT YOU ARE GETTING WRONG ABOUT APPALACHIA

About a decade ago Lenore Skenazy was labeled the worst mom in America after news accounts across the country depicted her as derelict in letting her then nine-year-old son, Izzy, ride a New York subway alone. Since then she has been a clarion voice for giving children more independence and trusting that you have given … Continue reading EP 147 Free Range Kids