America Trends

Veronica Stoddart That’s the slogan of a local travel agency on the east coast.  And if you are looking to travel now or in the future, you might want to listen to and consult the series of episodes we have produced on the ‘future of travel’.  It’s the next best thing to being there as … Continue reading EP 26 PLEASE GO AWAY

Niki Kapsambelis, author of ‘The Inheritance’, provides a case study of one family and its genetic link to Alzheimer’s Disease as a way to look at the problem in a broader context and consider where we are in the fight to stop a rampant problem which afflicts more people than ever in our aging culture.  … Continue reading EP 25 ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE: CAN WE FIND A CURE

Much has been written recently about the perilous position brick and mortar retail is in.  Yet, it still commands about 9 out of every ten shopping dollars. So, what is the future of stores versus on-line shopping and, in particular, are malls a wave of the past?  We also look at the well documented struggles … Continue reading EP 24 IS THE MALL A DYING CONCEPT?

During the 2016 campaign, then candidate, Donald Trump, made a clear and convincing case that our nation’s infrastructure was crumbling.  From his vantage point in New York City, he saw a Penn Station terminal at its breaking point, a LaGuardia Airport which looks ‘third world’ and highways that defy conventional movement, strewn with potholes and … Continue reading EP 23 IS AMERICA’S INFRASTRUCTURE CRUMBLING?

Is there any going back to the norms and conventions of political campaigns prior to 2016 when just about every rule was broken?  Will we accept conventional candidates or look for the outsider?  Will political advertising, relegated to a bit role, re-emerge as a powerful force?  Will social media techniques take hold from here?  We’re … Continue reading EP 22 WILL FUTURE POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS LOOK LIKE 2016 OR…

Michael Puett is the ‘it’ professor at Harvard University these days.  His ability to take Chinese philosophy, centuries back, and distill it into a guidepost for the students of the 21st century has created an incredible stir on campus–and off.  So how does Chinese thought translate into better ways to approach life today?  Why, you … Continue reading EP 21 WHAT’S ‘THE PATH’ THAT HARVARD STUDENTS ARE ON?

His name is on the lips of every American these days–Vladimir Putin.  How has he reclaimed the international spotlight as the leader of a country that by most objective measures has barely functioning economy?  His bravura, unusual methods for attacking political systems and military adventurism which results in few casualties or critics are key elements … Continue reading EP 20 CAN PUTIN CARRY OUT HIS “MASTER PLAN”?

Is one of the greatest technological achievements of the 20th century about to show itself not to be up to the task in the 21st?  I’m speaking of the electrical grid and its many quirks.  While it’s given us incredible reliability–99.7%–more frequent outages demonstrates it may not be up to the task of handling new … Continue reading EP 19 IS THE POWER GRID ON ITS LAST LEGS?

  In his now stunning best seller, J.D. Vance, ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ author and former resident of what he considers a hillbilly culture provides a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis–that of poor, white Americans.  While the disintegration of this group has been reported on before, it has never been written about with … Continue reading EP 18 WHAT’S HAPPENING TO MAKE THE HILLS CRY?

If you believe the U.S. Surgeon General, social isolation is a greater factor in the early demise of Americans than cancer, diabetes or obesity.  How did we all start ‘Bowling Alone’? That book by Robert Putnam years back gave us the first insight into this trend.  And Billy Baker’s writing in ‘The Boston Globe’ recently … Continue reading EP 17 WHAT KILLS MORE AMERICANS–CANCER OR LONELINESS?

  It’s becoming a more relevant question by the day as we are able to unlock the genetic code one person at a time.  But, how much do you really want to know and what will you do with the information?  Bonnie Rochman, author of ‘The Gene Machine’, answers all of the questions we thought … Continue reading EP 16 HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR BABY’S GENETIC INHERITANCE?

  The business professor and consultant, Clayton Christensen, first coined the term ‘disruptive innovation’ and now extends that concept to frame the theory of ‘jobs to be done’ to describe a product and its benefit to customers.  Karen Dillon, a protégé, and co-author his latest book, ‘Competing Against Luck’ describes in this podcast.

  If there was one topic Donald Trump really took out of the ‘never debate’ file and put front and center it was the issue of trade.  You might wonder how many decimated communities and burnt out factories, standing as shadowy hulks,were needed to remind us of an industrial past long since gone.  And, of … Continue reading EP 14 WILL TRADE DEALS GOING FORWARD BE FAIRER TO THE UNITED STATES?

OK that’s a somewhat oblique headline.  One of the leading management consultants in the world, Subir Chowdhury, joins us to look at the secret sauce in making companies and organizations successful in the period ahead.  You’ll have to listen to find out what the difference is between those who will succeed and those who will … Continue reading EP 13 WHAT’S ‘THE DIFFERENCE’?

Newspapers in America have a had a really bad decade as they grapple with the needs of the 21st century reader.  They have been contorting themselves to adapt–shorter articles, on-line versions, cost cutting measures of all sorts.  Is it working?  Who better to tell us than Kevin Convey, former editor of The Boston Herald and … Continue reading EP 12 EXTRA EXTRA HEAR ALL ABOUT

  Col. David Hunt, co-author of ‘Without Mercy’, a novel about an unthinkable attack on our country, which may actually be plausible, weighs in on the big questions about our military going forward.  It is prepared for the unconventional warfare of this era?  How much money are we prepared to spend on defense and how … Continue reading EP 11 THE FUTURE OF THE U.S. MILITARY

New studies suggest that the millennials, those born between 1980 and 1994, really have perfected self involvement. They make us boomers look like pikers.  Is that your experience?  How much are they a reflection and an exaggeration of their boomer parents, a product of the selfie age or do we plain have them all wrong? … Continue reading EP 10 AND YOU THOUGHT BABY BOOMERS WERE THE “ME” GENERATION? MEET THEIR MATCH–THE MILLENNIALS

Jim Barry, the digital answer man and spokesman for the Consumer Technology Association, hopes that these old walls can’t listen to what we’re about to say.  But your home really is pretty dumb compared to what it will be in the future.  How smart will we begin to design homes?  How can you retrofit yours … Continue reading EP 09 HOW DUMB IS YOUR HOME?

It’s disturbing news that if you fast forward to 2030 our life expectancy in the US begins to look more like Mexico than Sweden.  Why is this?  Some of the factors are discernible with the naked eye(obesity), but others require a look at many other developing social trends.  We discuss this fascinating topic with Dr. … Continue reading EP 08 WHY IS LIFE EXPECTANCY DECREASING IN THE U.S.?

  Author David Schoenbrod, author of ‘DC Confidential’ joins us to figure out why we lack trust in Congress and how we fix these things going forward.  And it’s not necessarily for the reasons often cited, like partisan divides.  It’s a bi-partisan problem which will require some new thinking.  And that’s what you get on … Continue reading EP 07 WHAT ARE THE TRICKS OF WASHINGTON THAT MAKE IT DYSFUNCTIONAL AND HOW DO WE CHANGE THIS?