America Trends

Dr. Tracey Wilen has has had a distinguished career as a researcher and speaker on the impact of technology on society, work and careers. She has worked at Apple, HP and Cisco Systems and was a visiting scholar at Stanford University.  Her latest book, ‘Digital Disruption: The Future of Work, Skills, Leadership, Education, Careers in … Continue reading EP 86 DIGITAL DISRUPTION IN THE NEW YEAR: TEN PREDICTIONS

How often have you heard that statement in recent years? There’s no doubt that our religious beliefs and practices have been, and still are, undergoing radical transformation. Are you still practicing the faith of your birthright? Do you attend conventional services? Are you involved in a religiously complex relationship? You’re not alone. Kenneth Woodward, a … Continue reading EP 85 I’M SPIRITUAL, NOT RELIGIOUS

Do you think the Constitution is a living, breathing document meant to adapt to the times or one embedded in stone with principles that are sacrosanct and not malleable?  It’s an age old question.  One of the afherents of the latter interpretation of the Constitution, Ilan Wurman, joins us for a thoughtful discussion of what … Continue reading EP 84 WHAT IS ORIGINALISM AND HOW DOES IT PLAY INTO OUR ONGOING DEBATE ABOUT GUNS?

  Did you hear about the New York City man who works, lives, eats, sleeps and exists in one building in the concrete jungle?  It’s true.  He never has to leave that environment because he has everything he needs under one roof.  Or does he?  While most of us like to get outside, at least … Continue reading EP 83 HAVE YOU TAKEN WILDNESS OUT OF YOUR LIFE?

That screaming headline encapsulates America’s changed relationship to the matter of private and public debt. It’s the only way to understand why we’ve all taken on debt–risky mortgages, students loans, sub-prime car loans–you name it, sensing that it’s OK and, in fact, encouraged in our society. Why not? Our public debt requires a constant bumping … Continue reading EP 82 THE DEBT EXPLOSION: WHO CARES?

Have you ever caught your self telling a joke with racial overtones? There is a culture of denial within America’s white community about the existence of racism. In a poll a few years back, only 22 percent of white people believed that racism is a major societal problem. Paul Kivel is not one of them. … Continue reading EP 81 DOES RACISM STILL EXIST?

Back in the 60’s many young people got in vans and VW wagons and toured the country following their new found rock legends.  Today, many of the same people are back on the road again this time to escape financial hardship and to find work.  The term now is ‘wheel estate’ as a whole sub-culture … Continue reading EP 80 BABY BOOMERS ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Didn’t you have the feeling that the old South had given way to a region that had turned the corner of its regrettable past?  As blacks have gained political power and immigrants have moved into the region, the winds of change seemed strong.  Yet, now in the wake of Charlottesville, the debate over Confederate monuments … Continue reading EP 79 THE NEW SOUTH: HOW MANY SHADES OF GRAY?

How well do you know the history of the United States or how the government really works? And do you think you would be capable of passing the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services naturalization test? We will put a few average Americans to the test along with author, Solomon Skolnick, on this episode. One aspect … Continue reading EP 78 COULD YOU PASS THE GREAT AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP QUIZ? SHOULD YOU HAVE TO?

Today, many young people, women and others are feeling the need to get busy trying to achieve change in the political and social realm in America. On this special edition of America Trends, we explore a remarkable effort to make dramatic social change in Boston back in the 1980’s when two men, Curtis Davis and Andrew … Continue reading EP 77 SOCIAL CHANGE IS HARD WORK

Amanda Litman headed up the e-mail operation(not that one)for the Hillary Clinton for President campaign in 2016. She was devastated by the loss but quickly re-grouped to found an organization and write a book encouraging millennials to ‘run for something’ on the state or local level. Thousands have come forward to seek practical advice from … Continue reading EP 76 RUN FOR SOMETHING

In truth, there is no country on earth that is gender- blind. Men dominate the politics and power around the globe. (Iceland comes closest in being gender- equal.) Catherine Mayer, founder of the Women’s Equality Party in the United Kingdom, imagines what it would be like if women were on the same footing as men … Continue reading EP 75 IF WOMEN RULED THE WORLD

Geoff Dembicki writes about millennials who think ‘gee, we’re going to be around long enough to suffer the dire consequences many climate scientists believe await mankind if we don’t wean ourselves off fossil fuels’. So, he explores what his generation is doing politically to become more active in this arena. And he finds that their … Continue reading EP 74 ARE WE SCREWED?

  That’s according to Peter Kalmus, an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in California. Alarmed by drastic changes in the Earth’s climate systems, Kalmus, embarked on a journey to change his life and the world in the process. He cut his carbon footprint by 90 percent. How did he do it, what insights … Continue reading EP 73 LIFE ON 1/10TH THE FOSSIL FUELS PROVES TO BE AWESOME

No, that’s not the horse who won America’s heart back in the day.  It’s an old term to sescribe a maritime nation’s forgetfulness of the oceans’ role in its prosperity and security. And it’s the name of Seth Crospey’s new book.  He served as deputy Undersecretary of the U.S. Navy under Ronald Reagan and George … Continue reading EP 72 SEABLINDNESS

President Trump proposes to cut the number of green cards issued each year from one million to 500,000 and issuing them based on skill levels.  While our guest, Edward Conard, believes he may be on to something regarding the skills assessment he feels that fewer green cards will not support the economic growth necessary to … Continue reading EP 71 AMERICA’S GOT TALENT…JUST NOT ENOUGH OF IT

Operation RedMap is one of the great successes of modern politics and yet it remains a mystery to many. Yet its implications are apparent to all. A Republican House of Representatives guaranteed through 2020 despite more popular Congressional votes going to Democrats. How is this possible? If you can draw the Congressional lines, all things … Continue reading EP 70 IS GERRYMANDERING WHAT’S BROUGHT GOVERNING TO A HALT?

By so many measures, Brooklyn is a borough of New York City that is rising. In her book, ‘The New Brooklyn’, Kay Hymowitz describes the process and who has benefited greatly from the re-emergence of Brooklyn and who has not. The Manhattan Institute scholar will give us a sense of what it takes for a … Continue reading EP 69 THE NEW BROOKLYN AND GENTRIFICATION IN URBAN AMERICA

Two bi-partisan studies done in 2004 and 2008, by Congress, of the threat of an Electro Magnetic Pulse attack indicate that as few as three weapons detonated over different parts of the country could cripple the nation. Yet, we barely know what the term means. It may mean that the North Korean threat could affect … Continue reading EP 68 CONGRESS UNDERSTANDS THE THREAT FROM AN ELECTRO-MAGNETIC PULSE ATTACK, SO WHY DON’T WE?

Recently, U.S. Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, visited Fort Knox, where we stash the nation’s gold supply. Yet the last time anybody went in to see the gold, other than, workers there,  was in 1974.  And the last time it was counted was in 1953.  This begs the question: how important is gold to a health … Continue reading EP 67 ONE NATION UNDER GOLD