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You've come to a place where we look ahead, not entangled in the daily back and forth of the headlines. What will our society look like in 20 years? How vastly different are the forces at play which really drive us forward? Where we work....how we live....the way we run our businesses and even ho…

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    • Oct 1, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekdays NEW EPISODES
    • 37m AVG DURATION
    • 877 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from America Trends

    EP 904 Black Capitalists Amassing Wealth for the Common Good

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 1, 2025 36:46


    To many, the term “Black Capitalists” tips an equation upside down.  Black people were the labor force that built the infrastructure of American capitalism through the violent dictates of legalized slavery, so is it possible in this moment to see Black people as beneficiaries of this system?  And if they are starting to amass capital, … Read More Read More

    EP 903 Is Anyone Paying Attention to Children in Middle Childhood? We Should

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2025 39:29


    Oh, the times they are a changing'.  While the focus in a slew of parenting books has been on infancy, adolescence and the teenage years, little has been focused on as it relates to ages 6-12, which is deemed middle childhood.  To many parents there's a sense that the heaviest lifting for them is over.  … Read More Read More

    EP 902 The Long Tail Effects of Being a Foster Child

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 24, 2025 39:55


     There are over 400,000 children in foster care in America, costing the state and federal government over $30 billion a year.  So, is the system working?  It's hard to say the system is failing, but perhaps it's more accurate to say that adults all along the way–from the biological families to a host of caregivers–are … Read More Read More

    EP 901 The Current State of Higher Education

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 22, 2025 38:00


     Most of what we hear lately about higher education relates to the legal battles between the Trump Administration and Harvard, the nation's oldest university.  And while prior to this the leading issue in the news was student debt and overall affordability of college, there are a number of issues that have come to the fore.  … Read More Read More

    EP 900 The Flames of California Will One Day Affect Most Americans Wherever You Live

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 17, 2025 38:39


      We like to imagine that we are safe and immune from much of what we see on the news.  In the case of wildfires, people on the east coast might see it as a west coast phenomenon.  Yet, there have been such fires in New Jersey and the Carolinas recently.  Even those living outside … Read More Read More

    EP 899 Animal Festivals and Other Human Behaviors: When Do the Animals Have Their Say?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 15, 2025 36:32


    As a dog parent, I bristle at doggie dress-ups at the local pet supply store, yet I still eat meat.  Call me a hypocrite.  I accept the critique.  And yet when it comes to animals, there is a stratification as to how we treat them and the title of a book published a few years … Read More Read More

    EP 898 Are Forever Chemicals a Forever Problem?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 10, 2025 32:00


     Let's start with the basics.  What are ‘forever chemicals?'  And so this podcast begins with Professor Matt Simcik, an environmental chemist from the University of Minnesota, trying to explain to me, a layman, what they are.  They have been in the news lately and there are now efforts around the country to limit their use … Read More Read More

    EP 897 Why Noise Pollution Isn’t Just Annoying but Bad for Our Health

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 8, 2025 33:38


     Pneumatic drilling from building sites.  The dull roar of planes overhead.  Your fellow worker's phone conversations in an otherwise silent office.  The suburban drone of lawn mowers and blowers.  Noise seems to be everywhere, and it can disrupt our sleep, ratchet up our stress, destroy our concentration–yet it's a problem we shrug off once the … Read More Read More

    EP 896 Gerrymandering Is on Full Display and Ahead of Schedule in Texas

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 3, 2025 30:44


    While both parties have long histories with gerrymandering Congressional districts for partisan advantage, it's fair to say Republicans have taken it to a new low by interrupting the every ten -year process, based on the census, and doing it at halftime of this cycle.  In the process, they are encouraging Democrats to do the same.  … Read More Read More

    EP 895 Independent Voters are Little Discussed and Yet the Key to Many of Our Elections

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 2, 2025 39:03


     When political discussions take place, they are often focused on how Democrats or Republicans, conservatives versus liberals or red in relation to blue look at an issue.  They leave out a component of the electorate which grows in number and importance year after year–the independent or unaffiliated voter.  In fact, if you really analyze the … Read More Read More

    EP 894 College Sports Governance and Economics Have Become the Wild, Wild West

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 30, 2025 45:39


     Can your star quarterback on a powerhouse Division 1 football program get paid as it stands today?  After the recent $2.8 billion settlement in House v. NCAA, which enables universities to directly pay college athletes for their athletic participation, the answer is yes.  First came the NIL ruling in which college players could get paid … Read More Read More

    EP 893 A Little Discussed Law Still Hard at Work to Expand Home Ownership in America

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2025 34:15


    The U.S. Congress passed the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)in 1977 with the key objective of ending redlining, the decades-old practice of neighborhood discrimination by banks against African Americans and others based on race and income.  The race-based rejection of loans to creditworthy residents of redlined neighborhoods delayed the American dream of homeownership for generations.  Our … Read More Read More

    EP 892 Strongman Presidency Has a Clear Goal

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2025 38:07


      There is irony in a man determined to use the powers of the presidency and the administrative state capacity to disassemble the administrative state, aka ‘the deep state.'  Yet that is what we are seeing with the Trump Administration. The military, Department of Justice, homeland security and ICE are all aspects of the administrative … Read More Read More

    EP 891 A Longtime Washington Insider Provides His Perspective on How D.C. is Functioning

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 22, 2025 39:16


       Attorney Ira Shapiro is a man who has seen it all in Washington. As a long-time U.S. Senate staffer, he has written three books about the upper chamber. The collection has been described by one scholar as an ‘epic trilogy', capturing sixty years of Senate history.  He was the chief U.S. trade negotiator with … Read More Read More

    EP 890 U.S. Supreme Court Tells Plaintiffs to Take Another Approach to Challenging Trump Policies

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 20, 2025 37:27


     Many lawsuits have been brought against the second Trump Administration on the basis of overreach of its authority in trying to enact policies. President Trump declared victory over ‘radical left wing judges' when the U.S. Supreme Court declared that the concept of the ‘universal' injunction, wherein one lower federal court can make a ruling which … Read More Read More

    EP 889 A True Crime Case Which Shows the Hold the Genre Has on Americans

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 18, 2025 37:55


    In 2019, the quiet suburb of New Canaan, Connecticut was shocked by the disappearance of Jennifer Dulos, a mother of five who vanished one morning after dropping her kids off to school.  In 2020, her husband Fotis Dulos–with whom she was locked in a contentious divorce–and Fotis's lover, Michelle Troconis, were charged with Jennifer's murder, … Read More Read More

    EP 888 Brain Gain to US Quickly Becoming a Brain Drain

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 13, 2025 37:24


    America is a leader in scientific pursuits.  This fact that is underpinned by much evidence.  While the United States represents only 4 percent of the world's population it accounts for over half of science Nobel Prizes awarded since 2000, hosts seven of the Times Higher Education Top 10 science universities, and has introduced to the … Read More Read More

    EP 887 Evil Regimes Require Many Ordinary People Just Doing Their Jobs

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2025 41:12


     The type of extensive evil that went on under Adolf Hitler back in the 1930's and 40's requires an apparatus that enlists ‘average' Germans of the era doing their jobs.  No one man could have done it alone.  Bringing this story forward, in authoritarian regimes around the globe there are people looking away at the … Read More Read More

    EP886 Beverage Container Recycling Made Easier

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 7, 2025 32:58


     Ten states in this country have container deposit legislation, popularly called “bottle bills”.  The first one was passed in Oregon decades ago.  Container deposit legislation requires a refundable deposit on certain types of recyclable beverage containers in order to boost recycling rates.  First these measures were seen as an antidote to litter and an environmentally … Read More Read More

    EP 885 The Doctor Will See You Now, When Scheduled–Really

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2025 37:48


     Do you ever go to your primary care physician and are seen on time?  In a modern-looking facility?  Without the doctor having his or her hand on the door to signal a need to get to the next patient? In our sophisticated society, do you think we can get it right in combining cutting-edge technology … Read More Read More

    EP 884 Supermarkets and Grocery Preferences Are Changing

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2025 36:45


    Just as big box retail stores have given way to more boutique and on-line retail environments, grocery shoppers are drawn these days to stores with a curated selection of essentials at lower prices. Stores like the brother rivals of Aldi's and Trader Joe's are examples.  Do we really need 10 choices of olive oil?  Too … Read More Read More

    EP 883 Homelessness Remains a Daunting Challenge

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2025 36:50


    Gallup ranks homelessness as one of Americans' top three concerns.  As it dovetails with the affordable housing crisis in this country, more and more people recognize how they, themselves, are a paycheck away from instability as it relates to having a roof over their heads.  The homelessness we are experiencing today finds its roots in … Read More Read More

    EP 882 The Long Tail of Trump’s Economic Policies

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2025 40:05


     Whether your focus is on tariffs, the independence of the Federal Reserve or the reconciliation law and its tax and debt implications, the first six months of the second Trump Administration will have far-reaching effects on the American economy.  Perhaps, it's most important to watch the bond market reaction to the falling value of the … Read More Read More

    EP 881 Debunking RFK, Jr. and His Vaccine Fantasies

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2025 45:58


     How does America end up with a Secretary of Health and Human Services who is at such great odds with physicians in America on the essential safety and efficacy of vaccines?  Leading medical organizations are now suing Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. over his agency's COVID-19 recommendations regarding vaccines for children and those who are pregnant.  … Read More Read More

    EP 880 The Trade-Offs Made in Fighting COVID: Was the Price Worth It?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2025 35:42


    We may be the only podcast to continue the conversation about our responses to COVID, but that's fine with me.  It's that important because we will be there again and yet we've barely touched the surface in doing a serious examination of our public policy responses. The COVID pandemic quickly led to the greatest mobilization … Read More Read More

    EP 879 Class Decisive in Recent Election

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 14, 2025 35:12


     The far right has been masterful at manipulating class anger to outmaneuver progressive goals and liberals often put ‘the smoking gun' right in the hands of their political opponents.  Can this tendency be reversed?  Yes, but a lot of work needs to be done to change messengers, messaging and there needs to be a blunt … Read More Read More

    EP 878 Why America’s Love Affair with Lawns Offers Little Value to the Environment

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2025 36:39


                Americans spend endless hours growing, tending, and cutting their lawns.  In fact, 40 million acres of land in the United States is covered by turf grass, making it the most irrigated crop in the country.  To what end?  It has virtually no value to flora and fauna and there … Read More Read More

    EP 877 Are Abortions in America Decreasing After the Dobbs Decision?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2025 36:54


     When Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 in the Dobbs. vs. Jackson Women's Health Organization case, it was the decision that anti-abortion activists had been waiting to see for over 50 years.  While the decision did not ban abortions nationwide, it did throw the matter back to the states.  … Read More Read More

    EP 876 Marijuana Legalization: Is the Whole Thing Going Up in Smoke?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2025 31:12


    States, one by one, began legalizing marijuana, back in 2012 with Colorado leading the way.  It was sold to the public as a way to unclog the criminal justice system, bring tax revenue and strong regulation, which would ensure quality.  In truth the record shows that illegal shops have grown in number even in states … Read More Read More

    EP 875 Is It Racist? Is It Sexist?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 30, 2025 38:51


    These are tricky waters to navigate, but two scholars, Jessi Streib and Betsy Leondar-Wright, have co-authored a book called “Is It Racist? Is It Sexist?: Why Red and Blue White People Disagree, and How to Decide in the Gray Areas,” wade through it in their new book.  It's based on interviews with 125 white interviewees … Read More Read More

    EP 874 Arctic Melting Creates Global Tensions

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2025 35:40


     High in the Arctic, myth is melting into reality: as temperatures rise, newly ice-free waters are turning the Northwest Passage from a fable into navigable waterways.  And while global superpowers, like America, Russia and China, see great economic benefit in finding a northern route that can act as a new superhighway for goods to equal … Read More Read More

    EP 873 Police Reform Efforts Stymied by the Justice Department

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2025 36:42


     Congress authorized the Justice Department to conduct civil investigations into constitutional abuses by police, such as excessive force or racially motivated policing back in 1994 as a response to the beating of Rodney King, a Black man, by white Los Angeles police officers.  And in the wake of the George Floyd killing at the hands … Read More Read More

    EP 872 Military Marriages Present Unique Challenges

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2025 32:30


     Marriages are a 50/50 proposition in America as to whether they can survive all of the challenges couples go through.  For a Navy Seal, the divorce rate is closer to ninety percent.  Today, on the podcast, we talk to a remarkable SEAL couple, Jason and Erica Redman, who have written the book “Mission: Invincible Marriage: … Read More Read More

    EP 871 Love American Style is Changing

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2025 36:57


      While the need for strong, loving partnerships may be more necessary than ever in this complicated moment, the truth is fewer young people are even dating as other generations have done in the past, let alone marrying in their 20's or having families.  Our guest, Aleeza Ben Shalom, host of the series, “Jewish Matchmaking” … Read More Read More

    EP 870 Call Center Operators Face Growing Pressures

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2025 37:50


     Call centers are the hub of much activity these days as customers seek information or wish to buy things.  Their role has changed over the years and the sophistication of the technology they use, the demands on them to streamline and cost cut with AI, and the supervisor ‘surveillance' which measures their minute- by- minute … Read More Read More

    EP 869 Is Anyone in Charge and Accountable Anymore?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2025 37:19


     Isn't it great when you deal with a company where the principal is the owner who will take full responsibility for the actions of the company's employees?  How rare is that?  Well, according to our guest, it is getting rarer by the day as systems are built to insulate humans from ever having to claim … Read More Read More

    EP 868 Mark Twain Would Have a Lot to Say About This Moment in American History

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2025 36:15


    Mark Twain evolved over his adult life when it came to matters of race.  In perhaps the greatest American novel of all time, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, Twain demonstrates his keen sense that the Civil War did not end prejudice and bigotry in our society, though it did reshape its contours.  There is no … Read More Read More

    EP 867 Gold Prices are Soaring: What Does That Say About the Economy?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2025 38:43


    Should gold and silver be a part of your portfolio? And, if so, how and when?  With precious metals prices surging is it too late to invest in them or is it just the right moment?  There are so many factors at play here that most advisors will tell you it's all right to make … Read More Read More

    EP 866 How is Trump’s Border Policy Being Carried Out on the Ground?

    Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2025 39:21


      In 2024, Latinos, a diverse population in America, gave Donald Trump more support than Republicans generally receive for their presidential candidate.  He was speaking quite openly of his plans to shut down the border and pursue illegal immigrants, first those involved in gangs and illegal activity, and then others who crossed into the United … Read More Read More

    EP 865 DOGE Efforts May Not Survive Court Scrutiny

    Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2025 35:50


    Employment attorneys like to get together at conferences and routinely discuss ‘best practices' so that they can help employers comply with legal requirements, reduce the risk of lawsuits and promote positive work environments.  Well now, thanks to Donald Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE they have something new to discuss–‘worst practices.'  According to our guest, Attorney … Read More Read More

    EP 864 Global Refugee Crisis Has Particular Impact in Europe

    Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2025 39:36


     As a window into the refugee crisis which has landed with particular impact on the European shores, journalist and author Jeanne Carstensen focuses her new book on a tragedy dating back to October 28, 2015.  At the height of the biggest refugee crisis since WWII, a dangerously overloaded old wooden boat set sail from Turkey.  … Read More Read More

    EP 863 Are Trump’s Deportation Policies What He Told Us During the Campaign?

    Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2025 47:21


    While many of us do not believe Donald Trump when he says the quiet part out loud, on the matter of deporting people (mostly undocumented, but not all) out of the United States during his second term, he was serious. However, his zeal to do it has ensnared more than folks who came here without … Read More Read More

    EP 862 DOGE May Be Giving Necessary Reform a Bad Name

    Play Episode Listen Later May 14, 2025 37:23


     DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency in the Trump Administration, is getting a lot of headlines, but the news coming from it may not benefit long-term reforms that virtually all Americans agree are necessary in order to expedite more effective governing.  That will require streamlining and enhancing individual responsibility and accountability by civil servants, instead … Read More Read More

    EP 861 The U.S. Wants to Triple Nuclear Power by 2050: Is This a Good Idea?

    Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2025 39:26


     Nuclear power was once thought to provide unlimited energy at no cost.  Then the costs became apparent–building and maintaining costly facilities, environmental degradation, abundant use of water resources, storage of radioactive waste and overall security and safety.  After the Three Mile Island accident, it was thought that nuclear energy's promise had come and gone.  But, … Read More Read More

    EP 860 America’s COVID Response Deserves Examination

    Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2025 35:50


     Even though America and the first Trump Administration rushed into production the most effective vaccine to fight the COVID pandemic as part of Project Warp Speed, our life saving efforts failed to deliver the desired results. There is no way to look at America's response to the COVID pandemic without wondering what went wrong. America … Read More Read More

    EP 859 The Federal Reserve and Its Impact on Today’s American Economy

    Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2025 41:17


     Uncertainty is the watchword when it comes to the American economy as the Trump Administration looks to shake up the political economy around the globe with allies and competitors alike.  He's also been weighing in on the actions of the Federal Reserve, who's chair, Jerome Powell is asserting his independence in terms of determining the … Read More Read More

    EP 858 A Former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican on the Upcoming Conclave to Replace Pope Francis

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 30, 2025 39:10


       When we see the white smoke billowing from the Sistine Chapel, will it signify the more open and humanistic Papacy established by Pope Francis, the first South American Pope, or will it be a return to the more doctrinaire church led by his predecessor, Benedict XVI.  Time will tell.  To share his insights about … Read More Read More

    EP 857 What Does the World’s Most Famous Bird Tell Us About the Environmental Crises We Face?

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2025 34:41


    Perhaps you were following the social media phenomenon in 2023 of Flaco, dubbed ‘the world's most famous bird' from the night when vandals at the Central Park Zoo cut a hole in his cage until his death a year later in a courtyard on the Upper West Side. The year-long odyssey captured the imagination of … Read More Read More

    EP 856 Is Private Equity Killing Hospitals–And Other Businesses?

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2025 39:40


     As a society we must ask ourselves what is the bottom- line consideration when it comes to health care?  Is it the numbers on a spreadsheet, the self-aggrandizement of the institution's owners or the well- being of the patient?  The response should be obvious.  Yet, the insidious model of private equity, now the owner of … Read More Read More

    EP 855 Lighthouse Parenting Shows Us the Way to Maintain Lifelong Connection with Our Children

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2025 42:53


     The metaphor of a lighthouse–steady, reliable and guiding without being overbearing– is the framework to provide a balanced alternative to extreme parenting trends.  If applied consistently it equips families to raise emotionally healthy children who thrive academically, build resilience and maintain lifelong connections with their parents. A leading proponent of this approach, Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg … Read More Read More

    EP 854 Nation’s Report Card Shows America is Failing Its Next Generation

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2025 40:07


     If you read the latest edition of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as “The Nation's Report Card”, things are not going well in our nation's public schools.  Clearly, the long tail effects of the COVID pandemic are at play here. One respected educational researcher, Dan Goldhaber, did not want to sugarcoat the … Read More Read More

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