Centered From Reality

In this episode, Alex starts by talking about the chaos in Paris and other French cities that has occurred over the last few days after Paris Saint-Germain won its first UCL. Alex talks about the phenomenon that occurs when a fanbase's team wins a championship. Later, Alex talks about the rise of antisemitism in the United States, the horrific attack last Sunday in Boulder, and why globalizing the intifada is dangerous.

In this episode of the Sunday Scaries, Alex embraces the heat and rants about PSG beating Inter Milan in the Champion's League Final. Then Alex talks about Ukraine's historic strike inside of Siberia that happened today. He wonders if this strike will force Russia to negotiate or call for a brutal response. Finally, Alex talks about TACO, “Trump Always Chickens Out.” It seems like Wall Street has finally realized that Trump always backs out of tariffs. Now financiers are buying the dip and making profits off of the inevitable rally. Alex talks about why it is dangerous to have a situation in which the elites profit off of the president's predictable instability.

Ukraine and Russia have exchanged prisoners after the meeting in Istanbul, but there are horrific reports of torture, brainwashing, and of Ukrainian soldiers forgetting about their lives in Ukraine. At the same time, Trump is in a (social media) war of words with Putin and Russia is now producing hundreds of drones a day. Alex talks about his worries.

In this episode, Alex talks about the Trump Administration's war on Harvard University. The administration has removed its tax-exempt status, is looking to vet the social media of international students, and has cut billions in grants and funding. Alex argues that this is shameful because part of America's success has been attracting the best and brightest from around the world.

In this episode, Alex starts by talking about why he thinks we are doomed. Tucker Carlson and others are giving weight to a new conspiracy about the “geophysical event” that combines climate denialism, anti-elitism, government skepticism, QAnon, and more. The event sounds like it is out of a Hollywood, apocalypse movie. Next, Trump is mad at Bruce Springsteen after comments he made at a concert in England and he is threatening to investigate the Boss. Alex talks about Trump's intimidation that is chilling for free speech. Finally, Alex talks about the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” that the House passed in the early morning. Many don't know what is in the bill, but it is clear that it will cut taxes for the wealthy, cut benefits for those in need, and spike deficits even more.

In this episode, Alex first reacts to the news that Joe Biden has an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Then he talks about the hearings the Supreme Court held on Thursday around Trump's executive order to overturn birthright citizenship. It seems like the justices don't find the administration's argument valid, but there is a debate over whether national injunctions should be used in matters like this. Alex dives into injunctions and why they are controversial and also important to prevent harm.

In this episode, Alex takes a deep dive into why Trump has recently threatened 100% tariffs on movies that are not filmed in the United States. He thinks this entire fiasco is a perfect metaphor surrounding why Trump thinks reviving dying industries and areas is important. Alex also talks about Moody's downgrading the U.S. credit rating.

In this episode, Alex talks about why Trump's trip to the Gulf States to meet with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Syria, shows that his foreign policy goals will be transactional and immoral. Next, Grok, the AI chatbot produced by Elon Musk's xAI, seems to be obsessed with South Africa and conspiracies about “white genocide.” Many are wondering if this is intentional. Finally, Stephen Miller thinks that the “emergency” at the Southern Border is enough for the administration to suspend Habeas Corpus. Alex argues that only Congress can suspend this action and also worries that people like Miller see this as a window of opportunity to suspend government overreach. 

In this episode, Alex talks about how he is always disillusioned when he's heard people on the right say that Trump is shielded from being a corrupt president because of his net worth. These people say that Trump isn't worried about money and will fight for the American people. Alex argues that this is all BS and he has the proof — a $400 million plane (gift) from Qatar, a crypto scheme, hotel deals, and more show that Trump is openly corrupt and doesn't care. 

In this Mother's Day episode of the Sunday Scaries, Alex starts by talking about Casey Means, Trump's pick to be the U.S. Surgeon General. Means is part of the MAHA movement, is a friend of RFK Jr., expresses vaccine skepticism, has no experience running a public health organization, and didn't even finish her residency to practice medicine. For the rest of the episode, Alex talks about the Narva Scenario (out of Estonia) which would be a nightmare for NATO. He then poses the question — is Putin preparing to strike a NATO country?

In this episode, Alex talks about why Trump has appointed the Fox News host and former lawyer, Jeanine Pirro, to the the attorney for Washington D.C. Many think she is unqualified but Alex thinks she is technically qualified but also radical and dangerous. Later, Alex talks about Robert Prevost becoming the first Pope to be from the United States. Pope Leo XIV has triggered MAGA and some think the picking of an American Pope signals that most of the world sees that America is in decline.

In this episode, Alex focuses on Israel's new troubling plan for Gaza, but he also zooms out and talks about why there is a Trumpian shadow looming over this. We are finding out that Trumpian diplomacy involves big promises, failing to deliver on those promises, losing interest, and emboldening the bad guy. We have seen that in Israel and Ukraine so far.

In this episode, Alex talks about how Darren Beattie, a senior official at the Department of State has used government data to create a list of people in the agency that have been in contact with public figures critical of Trump/MAGA. Alex talks about how Beattie's actions mirror those of Elon Musk when he green lit the “Twitter Files.” 

Mike Waltz has been demoted from National Security Advisor to the Ambassador to the United Nations. Alex gets over his Schadenfreude to talk about why Waltz was probably the most reasonable person we will get and why this demotion is a perfect metaphor for why the Trump Administration is engulfed in chaos.

Some are applauding Trump's recent mineral deal with Ukraine but Alex argues that it is not only exploitative of Ukrainian resources during a tough time, but it also will limit the country from embracing green technology. Alex then talks about the economy, stagnation, contractions, and why Trump will always blame Biden.

In this episode, Alex reminds listeners that Project 2025 exists alongside the chaos of DOGE. As Elon Musk is distancing himself from Trump, it is time for Project 2025 to make things worse. He talks about Schedule F ruining the civil service, AmeriCorps cuts that may rock civil society, worrying cuts to climate research, and more.

In this episode, Alex goes over a myriad series of events happening around that world that trouble him, especially as the State Department is making cuts and Pete Hegseth is drunk texting war plans.

In this episode, Alex watches the sunset and talks about the sun setting on stability and norms as the Pentagon is in dysfunction. 

In this episode, Alex sits in his car (again) with a beautiful and positive view while he talks about some dark events going on around the world. First, it looks like Donald Trump and Marco Rubio want to force Ukraine to make a peace deal with Russia ASAP or they will clean their hands of all parts of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Later, Alex talks about why countries like Costa Rica and Nicaragua are about to see an immigration/humanitarian crisis. This is because migrants seeking asylum in the US are being deterred by the deportations and hostility to foreigners and are heading south. 

In this episode, Alex focuses on the Trump Administration needing to convince the public that its mass deportation campaign is happening. Though it has deported high profile individuals, deportations are down from 2024. Congress is likely to pass a bill that would nearly double ICE's budget over the next decade and it looks like the entity wants to deport way more people. The acting ICE director has said that they want to privatize some aspects of deportations and compared the reforms to Amazon Prime but “with people.” 

In this episode, Alex talks about Katy Perry (and others) going into “space” for about ten minutes. Then he talks about the prices, heat, traffic, and payment plans that plagued this year's Coachella events. For the rest of the episode, Alex talks about why the Trump Administration is on a collision course with the Supreme Court. A district court ordered the administration to return Abrego Garcia, the man wrongfully deported to CECOT in El Salvador. But after Trump met with President Bukele in the Oval Office, the administration has decided to side with Bukele and is not pursuing his release and return. Alex worries that Trump is defying the courts and is setting a dangerous precedent. 

In this “car podcast”, Alex sits in his car after a run and talks about Trump's weird obsession over white genocide in South Africa. Trump cut off aid to South Africa but granted special refugee status to white, Afrikaner, South Africans. The problem with all of this is that the South African government is not taking land from Afrikaners and is not killing them. Alex talks about how this is a false theory that has empowered white nationalists in South Africa and around the world. It seems like Trump likes the concept because it appeals to his grievance-based politics. 

Alex thinks that the lack of a clear plan involving Trump's tariffs is part of the plan. He also talks about how there are parallels between the QAnon movement and Trump's base denying the flaws of his chaotic tariff regime. Both seem to trust the man over logic and whatever shared reality is left. Alex brings up these topics because on the day his “Liberation Day” tariffs were set to go into effect, he paused a majority of tariffs for 90 days (though he has kept the 125% tariffs on China and the base 10% tariff on everyone else). Alex speculates as to why this is happening and whether Trump has a plan or is just trusting his instinct. Unfortunately, Trumpism leaves enough holes and there are propagandists that can help fill the gaps. 

In this episode, Alex is worried about the FBI. Groups like the Base are growing and mobilizing as Kash Patel is no longer focused on them. The Base has gone global and is calling for the creation of an ethno-state in Ukraine and is hoping they can de-stabilize peace talks. Putin is now backing them and hoping they can help to cause chaos. The Neo-Nazi movement called The Base has called on people from around the world to attack Ukrainian sites of interest, this movement is from the US and the current FBI is no longer prosecuting these people. Alex only worries.  He also gives some updates out of Ukraine. 

In this episode, Alex focuses on how Trump's trade war could help China course correct after its COVID-19 failures and internally focus on decoupling from the West. He also talks about how Trump is already botching his tariff message because he can't commit to durable investment in US firms since he is focusing on short term negotiations with some of the trading partners. For the tariffs to “work” Trump must commit to a durable strategy and not just threaten countries to renegotiate while tanking the US economy. 

In this episode, Alex talks about the stock market taking a dive over Trump's tariffs (the worst since March 2020) as anxiety deepens and China retaliates. He also talks about why the radical conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer is returning to the Oval Office to convince Trump to fire National Security Council officials that she has deemed “disloyal.” Finally, France is set to have a democratic dilemma as Marine Le Pen, the far-right politician and front-runner for the 2027 election, has been barred from running for five years over fraud and misusing EU funds. Alex ponders if it is healthy for the courts to bar someone from running for office in a democratic system. 

In this episode, Alex has a little hope as Susan Crawford beat Brad Schimel in the Wisconsin judiciary race. He thinks this was a referendum on Elon Musk, but he isn't sure if this is a sign that Republicans will face a tough battle in the midterms. Alex also talks about the “administrative error” that led to the Trump Administration deporting a man under protected status in the United States. For the rest of the episode, Alex talks about how Liberation Day has finally arrived and Trump has help up his promise to do universal tariffs for most countries and higher tariffs for certain offenders. Alex wonders if Trump's economic stupidities could help mobilize voters against him, he asks the simple question — could an economic disaster actually save our republic? 

In this episode, Alex, a Packers fan and avid Cheesehead, is mad that Elon Musk is highly involved in the Wisconsin Supreme Court Election between a Trump-endorsed candidate, and an Obama-endorsed candidate. This will be the most expensive state judge race of all time. Alex talks about how it seems apparent that you can go to jail for giving someone water in a voting line in Georgia, but Musk can do a $1 million sweepstakes to get people to vote in Wisconisn. 

In this episode, Alex is suffering from the Sunday Scaries so he decides to a service for his listeners and make that issue worse. He talks about Trump saying he is serious about running for a third term (though the logistics are complex and nearly impossible), he also talks about how Liberation Day (the day Trump has promised to fully enact all of the tariffs) is coming on April 2nd, and why the situation in Myanmar is worsening. As Myanmar's authoritarian, military junta has called for aid after the earthquake, it has already started bombing areas that were heavily hit. Alex talks about how Myanmar now faces an earthquake on top of a violent civil war. 

After mainly going after unsympathetic characters in Turkey, President Erdoğan has crossed the rubicon and jailed his main political opponent ahead of the 2028 presidential election. Alex talks about why this is troubling, why Turkish Democracy is crumbing, and how MAGA is using this same playbook.

In this episode, Alex rants about a myriad of topics related to the economy, Klarna teaming up with Door Dash to finance food delivery, JD visiting Greenland, why the process is the threat, and why Kristi Noem sucks. 

In this episode, Alex talks about why he is starting to take Trump's rhetoric involving Greenland more seriously. As JD and Usha Vance are set to visit Greenland, Alex worries that Greenland is Trump's Crimea. He worries that Trump will use international security, minority opinion, and strategic necessity as pretexts to try and take the Danish territory. 

In this episode, Alex worries about the concept of a dual state in an ossified or illiberal democratic system that is trying to still sell the guise of normalcy. Then he talks about the Signal group chat scandal that has unfolded over the last 24 hours. It seems likely that top cabinet officials in the Trump Administration accidentally added a journalist to their group chat. This wasn't any group chat, they talked about classified information and leaked military operational information to someone that was not permitted to see it. 

In this episode, Alex starts by mentioning that at the time of the recording, Trump had a (not-so-perfect) phone call with Putin. Putin rejected the ceasefire but said he was willing to put a hold on the destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure. There are a lot of caveats to this and Alex does not think it sounds like Putin wants peace. For the rest of the episode, Alex talks about why the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has ended, why it was destined to fail, and what is next for this region as civilians have started to die again. Alex also talks about the US escalating attacks on the Houthi Rebels in Yemen. 

In this episode, Alex starts by ranting about airports, travel, and his need to get back to Europe soon. Then he reacts to a well-written article by Elliot Cohen in the Atlantic that talks about why invading Canada is a bad idea and has failed in the past. For the rest of the episode, Alex talks about how Spain's economy has been the envy of Europe but that may change as it is being pressured to bolster its military spending towards NATO security. Spain has put the lowest percentage of GDP towards NATO defense spending and there may be growing pains if it plans to bolster its spending. 

In this episode, Alex talks about how some Senate Democrats voted with Republicans to avoid a government shutdown. Alex is furious at Democrats like Chuck Schumer and spends the episode talking about how the Democrats are not equipped to handle this moment. He also argues that Democrats should start taking pages from the “Never-Trump” playbook and actually challenge Republicans before all of the damage is done. Sometimes, if you are in the wilderness for too long, you get very lost… 

In this episode, Alex starts by reflecting on the COVID-19 Pandemic, five years after the first lockdowns. He reflects on his contradictory thoughts on what policymakers did right and wrong, and his time in Spain seeing a different policy perspective. For the rest of the episode, Alex talks about Trump's reciprocal trade war with the European Union. It started with tariffs on European steel and aluminum, then tariffs on American whiskey, which led to Trump threatening tariffs on European alcohol. Trade wars can spiral out of control and this seems to be the case, as now France is threatening retaliation. Alex talks about how the worst part is that tariffs on American whiskey and almonds may damage these industries and hurt the economies of states like Tennessee and California. 

In this episode, Alex is getting over his head cold but has a lot to say about current events. He celebrates Real Madrid's victory against Atletico Madrid, lambasts Gavin Newsom for having a podcast that is trying to be “the left wing Joe Rogan”, and reacts to a clip of the White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, gaslighting the public about why tariffs are good for the consumer. For the rest of the episode, Alex dives into the specifics of the negotiations between the U.S. and Ukraine over a ceasefire deal. He is pessimistic that this will work, thinks Russia could exploit its vagueness, and it could lead to a frozen conflict that will benefit Russia. 

In this episode, Alex starts by talking about how a potential ceasefire deal has been reached between Ukraine and the United States. Now the pressure is on Russia to agree to the 30-day ceasefire. Next, Alex mentions that the House will be voting today to prevent a government shutdown. Speaker Johnson still faces some internal opposition ahead of the vote. For the rest of the episode, Alex talks about how the Trump Administration is going after left-wing antisemitism because it is left-wing rhetoric and not because the administration actually wants to combat hateful rhetoric. Alex uses examples such as MAGA defending and protecting people that have used racist/antisemitic rhetoric on their side, but now threatening to deport activists that are being label terrorists. Alex talks about the troubling situation with Mahmoud Khalil's detention. He also talks about the administration defending Colombia University. He thinks MAGA is using antisemitism as a pretext to limit the free speech of its opponents. 

In this episode, Alex talks about three days of sectarian violence in Syria that have led to over 1,300 people being killed. Many of these tragedies seem to be related to revenge killings of the Alawite population that was supporting Assad. Alex then talks about fears of a recession as the stock market had another bad day. He wonders why Trump seems to have accepted that an economic crisis is coming. Alex later talks about DOGE embracing an AI model to do the work of the federal employees that have been fired. He worries that this could be a bad idea since the Trump Administration has deregulated AI. 

In this episode, Alex starts by wondering if the end of DOGE is near. After a heated cabinet meeting, Trump has said that government cuts should be done with a scalpel and not a hatchet. Only time will tell if that is true because the Department of Defense has removed over 20,000 archival photos and data that mention historical black figures, woman of color, and gay veterans. Ironically, the DoD accidentally removed photos of the Enola Gay (the plane that bombed Hiroshima). While this is satirical, Alex thinks there is something dark about the government erasing some parts of the historical record. For the rest of the episode, Alex talks about Russia attacking infrastructure and towns with ballistic missiles and drones. Since the United States paused aid and intelligence sharing, it appears that Russia is upping the attacks and taking advantage of the situation.