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THE FALL OF FRANCE AND THE FLIGHT OF HESS Colleague Charles Spicer. As the German army overran France and the Low Countries in May 1940, Winston Churchill became Prime Minister and began utilizing the intelligence Christie had provided through Vansittart. The summer of 1940 also saw the publication of Guilty Men, a polemic that unfairly blamed appeasers for the war, simplifying a complex history and embedding a narrative of betrayal in the public consciousness. Across the Atlantic, Lord Lothian, having turned against Germany, successfully persuaded Roosevelt to support Britain, crucial for the war effort. The narrative touches on the bizarre flight of Rudolf Hess to Scotland, who sought the Duke of Hamilton—a figure connected to the Fellowship—in a deluded attempt to negotiate peace between the two nations. NUMBER 14 1946 HANGED WILHELM FRICK AT NUREMBERG
From whiskey in the American Revolution to Spam in WWII, food reveals a great deal about the society in which it exists. Selecting 15 foods that represent key moments in the history of the United States, this book takes readers from before European colonization to the present, narrating major turning points along the way, with food as a guide. US History in 15 Foods (Bloomsbury, 2023) takes everyday items like wheat bread, peanuts, and chicken nuggets, and shows the part they played in the making of America. What did the British colonists think about the corn they observed Indigenous people growing? How are oranges connected to Roosevelt's New Deal? And what can green bean casserole tell us about gender roles in the mid-20th century? Weaving food into colonialism, globalization, racism, economic depression, environmental change and more, Anna Zeide shows how America has evolved through the food it eats. Anna Zeide is Associate Professor of History and the founding director of the Food Studies Program in the College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences at Virginia Tech, USA. She has previously written Canned: The Rise and Fall of Consumer Confidence in the American Food Industry (2018), which won a 2019 James Beard Media Award, and co-edited Acquired Tastes: Stories about the Origins of Modern Food (2021). Twitter. Website. Brian Hamilton is chair of the Department of History and Social Science at Deerfield Academy. Twitter. Website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
What if I told you that President Roosevelt and his military leaders were fully aware of the pending attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese in 1941? What if I told you that these same bastards withheld intelligence from the commanders on the ground AND THEN, after the attack, relieved them of their commands, blamed them for failing to ward off the attack, charged them with "dereliction of duty" and "errors of judgment," and demoted them? That is a bit of a different perspective on the day that will live in infamy! Show Notes Twitter | Rumble | BitChute | Spotify | Apple -------------------------------- Lew Rockwell Stinnett - Archive What You Should Know About Pearl Harbor Why We Need to Understand What Happened at Pearl Harbor Truth Quest Podcast Episode #98 - The Truth About Abraham Lincoln - Part I Episode #99 - The Truth About Abraham Lincoln - Part II Episode #195 – The Truth About the Empire of Lies Episode #232 – The Truth About Political Conspiracy Theories -------------------------------- Support the podcast by shopping at the Truth Quest Shirt Factory.
From whiskey in the American Revolution to Spam in WWII, food reveals a great deal about the society in which it exists. Selecting 15 foods that represent key moments in the history of the United States, this book takes readers from before European colonization to the present, narrating major turning points along the way, with food as a guide. US History in 15 Foods (Bloomsbury, 2023) takes everyday items like wheat bread, peanuts, and chicken nuggets, and shows the part they played in the making of America. What did the British colonists think about the corn they observed Indigenous people growing? How are oranges connected to Roosevelt's New Deal? And what can green bean casserole tell us about gender roles in the mid-20th century? Weaving food into colonialism, globalization, racism, economic depression, environmental change and more, Anna Zeide shows how America has evolved through the food it eats. Anna Zeide is Associate Professor of History and the founding director of the Food Studies Program in the College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences at Virginia Tech, USA. She has previously written Canned: The Rise and Fall of Consumer Confidence in the American Food Industry (2018), which won a 2019 James Beard Media Award, and co-edited Acquired Tastes: Stories about the Origins of Modern Food (2021). Twitter. Website. Brian Hamilton is chair of the Department of History and Social Science at Deerfield Academy. Twitter. Website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/food
From whiskey in the American Revolution to Spam in WWII, food reveals a great deal about the society in which it exists. Selecting 15 foods that represent key moments in the history of the United States, this book takes readers from before European colonization to the present, narrating major turning points along the way, with food as a guide. US History in 15 Foods (Bloomsbury, 2023) takes everyday items like wheat bread, peanuts, and chicken nuggets, and shows the part they played in the making of America. What did the British colonists think about the corn they observed Indigenous people growing? How are oranges connected to Roosevelt's New Deal? And what can green bean casserole tell us about gender roles in the mid-20th century? Weaving food into colonialism, globalization, racism, economic depression, environmental change and more, Anna Zeide shows how America has evolved through the food it eats. Anna Zeide is Associate Professor of History and the founding director of the Food Studies Program in the College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences at Virginia Tech, USA. She has previously written Canned: The Rise and Fall of Consumer Confidence in the American Food Industry (2018), which won a 2019 James Beard Media Award, and co-edited Acquired Tastes: Stories about the Origins of Modern Food (2021). Twitter. Website. Brian Hamilton is chair of the Department of History and Social Science at Deerfield Academy. Twitter. Website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies
A knee shattered in World War I. The same knee hit again in World War II. Archibald Roosevelt's story isn't about chasing glory; it's about answering the call when every excuse would be understandable. We trace that rare resolve to a deeper root—faith, duty, and a willingness to serve when comfort urges retreat.We walk through the Roosevelt brothers' grit, then pivot to a different kind of strength found in scripture. Paul's teaching on marriage reframes love as mutual devotion, not contract math. Jesus' words in Matthew 6–7 tackle worry, judgment, and the daily practice of the Golden Rule: seek the kingdom first, trust God for needs, clear your own vision before you try to clear anyone else's. Paired with Psalm 8's awe and Proverbs 2's promise of wisdom and integrity, the path becomes clear even if it stays narrow.History widens the lens again with FDR's 1941 Day of Prayer—a national moment of confession, consecration, and courage in the face of war. We connect that call to today's cultural pressures and the ideologies that erode freedom by promising shortcuts. Along the way, we spotlight Corporal Samuel Bowden's Medal of Honor citation, a reminder that countless acts of bravery shaped the ground we stand on.If you're hungry for a conversation that blends hard history with lived faith and practical takeaways for marriage, worry, and daily character, you're in the right place. Listen, reflect, and join us in choosing service over ease and wisdom over noise. If this resonates, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review to help others find the show.Support the showThe American Soul Podcasthttps://www.buzzsprout.com/1791934/subscribe Countryside Book Series https://www.amazon.com/Countryside-Book-J-T-Cope-IV-ebook/dp/B00MPIXOB2
A scion of the Protestant elite, Theodore Roosevelt was an unlikely ally of the waves of impoverished Jewish newcomers who crowded the docks at Ellis Island. Yet from his earliest years he forged ties with Jews never before witnessed in a president. American Maccabee traces Roosevelt's deep connection with the Jewish people at every step of his dazzling ascent. But it also reveals a man of contradictions whose checkered approach to Jewish issues was no less conflicted than the nation he led.As a rising political figure in New York, Roosevelt barnstormed the Lower East Side, giving speeches to packed halls of Jewish immigrants. He rallied for reform of the sweatshops where Jewish laborers toiled for pitiful wages in perilous conditions. And Roosevelt repeatedly venerated the heroism of the Maccabee warriors, upholding those storied rebels as a model for the American Jewish community. Yet little could have prepared him for the blood-soaked persecution of Eastern European Jews that brought a deluge of refugees to American shores during his presidency. Andrew Porwancher uncovers the vexing challenges for Roosevelt as he confronted Jewish suffering abroad and antisemitic xenophobia at home.Drawing on new archival research to paint a richly nuanced portrait of an iconic figure, American Maccabee chronicles the complicated relationship between the leader of a youthful nation and the people of an ancient faith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history
HALSEY'S AGGRESSION AND STRATEGIC DEBATES Colleague Craig Symonds. Fearing the loss of Guadalcanal, Nimitz replaced the cautious Ghormley with Bill Halsey, whose aggressive "Kill Japs" attitude boosted morale. While Nimitz valued Halsey's pugnacity for "cavalry charges," he recognized the risks of his temperament. Halsey surprisingly bonded with General Douglas MacArthur, despite the rivalry between the Navy's Central Pacificstrategy and the Army's push to return to the Philippines. This strategic divide required a summit with President Roosevelt in Hawaii to resolve whether to island-hop toward Formosa or support MacArthur's pledge to liberate the Philippines. NUMBER 4 1945 1ST MARINES.OKINAWA
TAKING COMMAND OF A WRECKED FLEET Colleague Craig Symonds. Arriving at Pearl Harbor on Christmas 1941, Chester Nimitz faced the immediate task of bringing stability to a devastated command while the harbor was still burning. Selected by President Roosevelt, who knew him personally, Nimitz was chosen over the skepticism of Admiral Ernest King, who doubted Nimitz's toughness. While King viewed Nimitz as a "fixer" and manager rather than a warrior, Nimitz focused on rebuilding confidence. He privately expressed uncertainty to his wife but projected calm assurance to his subordinates, navigating early naval rivalries between aviators ("brown shoes") and ship drivers ("black shoes"). NUMBER 1 1945 OKINAWA
A scion of the Protestant elite, Theodore Roosevelt was an unlikely ally of the waves of impoverished Jewish newcomers who crowded the docks at Ellis Island. Yet from his earliest years he forged ties with Jews never before witnessed in a president. American Maccabee traces Roosevelt's deep connection with the Jewish people at every step of his dazzling ascent. But it also reveals a man of contradictions whose checkered approach to Jewish issues was no less conflicted than the nation he led.As a rising political figure in New York, Roosevelt barnstormed the Lower East Side, giving speeches to packed halls of Jewish immigrants. He rallied for reform of the sweatshops where Jewish laborers toiled for pitiful wages in perilous conditions. And Roosevelt repeatedly venerated the heroism of the Maccabee warriors, upholding those storied rebels as a model for the American Jewish community. Yet little could have prepared him for the blood-soaked persecution of Eastern European Jews that brought a deluge of refugees to American shores during his presidency. Andrew Porwancher uncovers the vexing challenges for Roosevelt as he confronted Jewish suffering abroad and antisemitic xenophobia at home.Drawing on new archival research to paint a richly nuanced portrait of an iconic figure, American Maccabee chronicles the complicated relationship between the leader of a youthful nation and the people of an ancient faith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
A scion of the Protestant elite, Theodore Roosevelt was an unlikely ally of the waves of impoverished Jewish newcomers who crowded the docks at Ellis Island. Yet from his earliest years he forged ties with Jews never before witnessed in a president. American Maccabee traces Roosevelt's deep connection with the Jewish people at every step of his dazzling ascent. But it also reveals a man of contradictions whose checkered approach to Jewish issues was no less conflicted than the nation he led.As a rising political figure in New York, Roosevelt barnstormed the Lower East Side, giving speeches to packed halls of Jewish immigrants. He rallied for reform of the sweatshops where Jewish laborers toiled for pitiful wages in perilous conditions. And Roosevelt repeatedly venerated the heroism of the Maccabee warriors, upholding those storied rebels as a model for the American Jewish community. Yet little could have prepared him for the blood-soaked persecution of Eastern European Jews that brought a deluge of refugees to American shores during his presidency. Andrew Porwancher uncovers the vexing challenges for Roosevelt as he confronted Jewish suffering abroad and antisemitic xenophobia at home.Drawing on new archival research to paint a richly nuanced portrait of an iconic figure, American Maccabee chronicles the complicated relationship between the leader of a youthful nation and the people of an ancient faith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies
A scion of the Protestant elite, Theodore Roosevelt was an unlikely ally of the waves of impoverished Jewish newcomers who crowded the docks at Ellis Island. Yet from his earliest years he forged ties with Jews never before witnessed in a president. American Maccabee traces Roosevelt's deep connection with the Jewish people at every step of his dazzling ascent. But it also reveals a man of contradictions whose checkered approach to Jewish issues was no less conflicted than the nation he led.As a rising political figure in New York, Roosevelt barnstormed the Lower East Side, giving speeches to packed halls of Jewish immigrants. He rallied for reform of the sweatshops where Jewish laborers toiled for pitiful wages in perilous conditions. And Roosevelt repeatedly venerated the heroism of the Maccabee warriors, upholding those storied rebels as a model for the American Jewish community. Yet little could have prepared him for the blood-soaked persecution of Eastern European Jews that brought a deluge of refugees to American shores during his presidency. Andrew Porwancher uncovers the vexing challenges for Roosevelt as he confronted Jewish suffering abroad and antisemitic xenophobia at home.Drawing on new archival research to paint a richly nuanced portrait of an iconic figure, American Maccabee chronicles the complicated relationship between the leader of a youthful nation and the people of an ancient faith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies
A scion of the Protestant elite, Theodore Roosevelt was an unlikely ally of the waves of impoverished Jewish newcomers who crowded the docks at Ellis Island. Yet from his earliest years he forged ties with Jews never before witnessed in a president. American Maccabee traces Roosevelt's deep connection with the Jewish people at every step of his dazzling ascent. But it also reveals a man of contradictions whose checkered approach to Jewish issues was no less conflicted than the nation he led.As a rising political figure in New York, Roosevelt barnstormed the Lower East Side, giving speeches to packed halls of Jewish immigrants. He rallied for reform of the sweatshops where Jewish laborers toiled for pitiful wages in perilous conditions. And Roosevelt repeatedly venerated the heroism of the Maccabee warriors, upholding those storied rebels as a model for the American Jewish community. Yet little could have prepared him for the blood-soaked persecution of Eastern European Jews that brought a deluge of refugees to American shores during his presidency. Andrew Porwancher uncovers the vexing challenges for Roosevelt as he confronted Jewish suffering abroad and antisemitic xenophobia at home.Drawing on new archival research to paint a richly nuanced portrait of an iconic figure, American Maccabee chronicles the complicated relationship between the leader of a youthful nation and the people of an ancient faith.
A scion of the Protestant elite, Theodore Roosevelt was an unlikely ally of the waves of impoverished Jewish newcomers who crowded the docks at Ellis Island. Yet from his earliest years he forged ties with Jews never before witnessed in a president. American Maccabee traces Roosevelt's deep connection with the Jewish people at every step of his dazzling ascent. But it also reveals a man of contradictions whose checkered approach to Jewish issues was no less conflicted than the nation he led.As a rising political figure in New York, Roosevelt barnstormed the Lower East Side, giving speeches to packed halls of Jewish immigrants. He rallied for reform of the sweatshops where Jewish laborers toiled for pitiful wages in perilous conditions. And Roosevelt repeatedly venerated the heroism of the Maccabee warriors, upholding those storied rebels as a model for the American Jewish community. Yet little could have prepared him for the blood-soaked persecution of Eastern European Jews that brought a deluge of refugees to American shores during his presidency. Andrew Porwancher uncovers the vexing challenges for Roosevelt as he confronted Jewish suffering abroad and antisemitic xenophobia at home.Drawing on new archival research to paint a richly nuanced portrait of an iconic figure, American Maccabee chronicles the complicated relationship between the leader of a youthful nation and the people of an ancient faith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode of The Winston Marshall Show, I sit down with historian and bestselling author Giles Milton for a deep historical conversation about the Second World War, the alliance with Stalin, and the decisions that shaped the post-war world.We explore how Winston Churchill came to ally with Joseph Stalin after Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union, despite viewing communism as a murderous and authoritarian system. Giles explains the extraordinary political reversal of 1941, the moral compromises involved, and why Churchill saw the alliance as a necessary pact with the devil.The discussion moves through the Nazi-Soviet Pact, Lend-Lease, the meetings at Tehran, Yalta, and Potsdam, and the immense role American industrial power played in defeating Hitler. We examine how Stalin manipulated his allies, outmanoeuvred Roosevelt, and secured control of Eastern Europe, laying the foundations for the Cold War.We also discuss the betrayal of Poland, the division of Germany, the origins of the Iron Curtain, and Churchill's secret plans to confront the Soviet Union after the war, revealing how fragile the wartime alliance truly was.A fascinating conversation about power, war, pragmatism, and how the alliance that defeated Nazism reshaped the world that followed.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------To see more exclusive content and interviews consider subscribing to my substack here: https://www.winstonmarshall.co.uk/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA:Substack: https://www.winstonmarshall.co.uk/X: https://twitter.com/mrwinmarshallInsta: https://www.instagram.com/winstonmarshallLinktree: https://linktr.ee/winstonmarshall----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Chapters00:00 Introduction of Giles Milton and The Stalin Affair04:50 Churchill's Anti-Communist Stance and Political U-Turn10:46 The Lend-Lease Program and American Aid22:28 Stalin's Tactics and the Winter Turning Point26:54 The Tehran Conference and Churchill's Meeting with Stalin33:34 The Yalta Conference and Post-War Planning53:43 The Potsdam Conference and the Cold War59:48 Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech and the End of the Alliance1:03:45 Operation Unthinkable and Churchill's Final Strategy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A 1964 speech by author John StormerA description of the book:None Dare Call It Treason is a careful compilation of facts from hundreds of Congressional investigations of communism and dozens of authoritative books on the communist-socialist conspiracy to enslave America. It dissects the failures of the Eisenhower Administration just as effectively as it details the blunders of Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy and Johnson. It documents the concurrent decay in America's schools, churches, and press which has conditioned the American people to accept 20 years of retreat in the face of the communist enemy. You won't finish None Dare Call It Treason without concluding that America is in serious trouble.Camp Constitution is a New Hampshire based charitable trust. We run a week-long family camp, man information tables at various venues, have a book publishing arm, and post videos from our camp and others that we think are of importance. Please visit our website www.campconstitution.net
After nearly four decades of negotiations, sanctions, summits, threats, and backdoor channels, the United States has failed to stop North Korea's nuclear program which now has the capability to strike American cities with weapons of mass destruction. In Fallout: The Inside Story of America's Failure to Disarm North Korea (Yale UP, 2025), Joel S. Wit explains why US efforts to contain North Korea have not worked and gives readers a front-row seat to the policy debates, diplomatic deals, and secret talks between Washington and Pyongyang. Wit, a former State Department official, takes readers to the front lines of nuclear negotiations and recounts how perilously close the United States and North Korea have come, on various occasions, to nuclear confrontation. Based on more than three hundred interviews with officials in Washington, Beijing, and Seoul, as well as with the author's contacts in Pyongyang, this book chronicles how six American presidents have approached the problem of North Korea.Wit points to Barack Obama and Donald Trump as the two presidents most responsible for the failure to halt North Korea's march to build a nuclear arsenal, since it was under their successive tenures that Pyongyang acquired the ability to threaten every city in North America. Wit also offers an unparalleled portrait of Kim Jong Un that refutes his caricature as impulsive and illogical. Like his father and his grandfather, Kim is a ruthless despot but also a canny and informed negotiator determined to secure his dictatorship's future by exploring diplomacy or, failing that, by building a nuclear arsenal. Dr. Andrew O. Pace is a historian of the US in the world who specializes in the moral fog of war. He is currently a DPAA Research Partner Fellow at the University of Southern Mississippi and a co-host of the Diplomatic History Channel on the New Books Network. He is also working on his first book which examines the high price that the Roosevelt and Truman administrations were willing to pay in order to achieve total victory in World War II. He can be reached at andrew.pace@usm.edu or via his website. Andrew is not an employee of DPAA, he supports DPAA through a partnership. The views presented are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of DPAA, DoD or its components. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
After nearly four decades of negotiations, sanctions, summits, threats, and backdoor channels, the United States has failed to stop North Korea's nuclear program which now has the capability to strike American cities with weapons of mass destruction. In Fallout: The Inside Story of America's Failure to Disarm North Korea (Yale UP, 2025), Joel S. Wit explains why US efforts to contain North Korea have not worked and gives readers a front-row seat to the policy debates, diplomatic deals, and secret talks between Washington and Pyongyang. Wit, a former State Department official, takes readers to the front lines of nuclear negotiations and recounts how perilously close the United States and North Korea have come, on various occasions, to nuclear confrontation. Based on more than three hundred interviews with officials in Washington, Beijing, and Seoul, as well as with the author's contacts in Pyongyang, this book chronicles how six American presidents have approached the problem of North Korea.Wit points to Barack Obama and Donald Trump as the two presidents most responsible for the failure to halt North Korea's march to build a nuclear arsenal, since it was under their successive tenures that Pyongyang acquired the ability to threaten every city in North America. Wit also offers an unparalleled portrait of Kim Jong Un that refutes his caricature as impulsive and illogical. Like his father and his grandfather, Kim is a ruthless despot but also a canny and informed negotiator determined to secure his dictatorship's future by exploring diplomacy or, failing that, by building a nuclear arsenal. Dr. Andrew O. Pace is a historian of the US in the world who specializes in the moral fog of war. He is currently a DPAA Research Partner Fellow at the University of Southern Mississippi and a co-host of the Diplomatic History Channel on the New Books Network. He is also working on his first book which examines the high price that the Roosevelt and Truman administrations were willing to pay in order to achieve total victory in World War II. He can be reached at andrew.pace@usm.edu or via his website. Andrew is not an employee of DPAA, he supports DPAA through a partnership. The views presented are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of DPAA, DoD or its components. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies
After nearly four decades of negotiations, sanctions, summits, threats, and backdoor channels, the United States has failed to stop North Korea's nuclear program which now has the capability to strike American cities with weapons of mass destruction. In Fallout: The Inside Story of America's Failure to Disarm North Korea (Yale UP, 2025), Joel S. Wit explains why US efforts to contain North Korea have not worked and gives readers a front-row seat to the policy debates, diplomatic deals, and secret talks between Washington and Pyongyang. Wit, a former State Department official, takes readers to the front lines of nuclear negotiations and recounts how perilously close the United States and North Korea have come, on various occasions, to nuclear confrontation. Based on more than three hundred interviews with officials in Washington, Beijing, and Seoul, as well as with the author's contacts in Pyongyang, this book chronicles how six American presidents have approached the problem of North Korea.Wit points to Barack Obama and Donald Trump as the two presidents most responsible for the failure to halt North Korea's march to build a nuclear arsenal, since it was under their successive tenures that Pyongyang acquired the ability to threaten every city in North America. Wit also offers an unparalleled portrait of Kim Jong Un that refutes his caricature as impulsive and illogical. Like his father and his grandfather, Kim is a ruthless despot but also a canny and informed negotiator determined to secure his dictatorship's future by exploring diplomacy or, failing that, by building a nuclear arsenal. Dr. Andrew O. Pace is a historian of the US in the world who specializes in the moral fog of war. He is currently a DPAA Research Partner Fellow at the University of Southern Mississippi and a co-host of the Diplomatic History Channel on the New Books Network. He is also working on his first book which examines the high price that the Roosevelt and Truman administrations were willing to pay in order to achieve total victory in World War II. He can be reached at andrew.pace@usm.edu or via his website. Andrew is not an employee of DPAA, he supports DPAA through a partnership. The views presented are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of DPAA, DoD or its components. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science
After nearly four decades of negotiations, sanctions, summits, threats, and backdoor channels, the United States has failed to stop North Korea's nuclear program which now has the capability to strike American cities with weapons of mass destruction. In Fallout: The Inside Story of America's Failure to Disarm North Korea (Yale UP, 2025), Joel S. Wit explains why US efforts to contain North Korea have not worked and gives readers a front-row seat to the policy debates, diplomatic deals, and secret talks between Washington and Pyongyang. Wit, a former State Department official, takes readers to the front lines of nuclear negotiations and recounts how perilously close the United States and North Korea have come, on various occasions, to nuclear confrontation. Based on more than three hundred interviews with officials in Washington, Beijing, and Seoul, as well as with the author's contacts in Pyongyang, this book chronicles how six American presidents have approached the problem of North Korea.Wit points to Barack Obama and Donald Trump as the two presidents most responsible for the failure to halt North Korea's march to build a nuclear arsenal, since it was under their successive tenures that Pyongyang acquired the ability to threaten every city in North America. Wit also offers an unparalleled portrait of Kim Jong Un that refutes his caricature as impulsive and illogical. Like his father and his grandfather, Kim is a ruthless despot but also a canny and informed negotiator determined to secure his dictatorship's future by exploring diplomacy or, failing that, by building a nuclear arsenal. Dr. Andrew O. Pace is a historian of the US in the world who specializes in the moral fog of war. He is currently a DPAA Research Partner Fellow at the University of Southern Mississippi and a co-host of the Diplomatic History Channel on the New Books Network. He is also working on his first book which examines the high price that the Roosevelt and Truman administrations were willing to pay in order to achieve total victory in World War II. He can be reached at andrew.pace@usm.edu or via his website. Andrew is not an employee of DPAA, he supports DPAA through a partnership. The views presented are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of DPAA, DoD or its components. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies
After nearly four decades of negotiations, sanctions, summits, threats, and backdoor channels, the United States has failed to stop North Korea's nuclear program which now has the capability to strike American cities with weapons of mass destruction. In Fallout: The Inside Story of America's Failure to Disarm North Korea (Yale UP, 2025), Joel S. Wit explains why US efforts to contain North Korea have not worked and gives readers a front-row seat to the policy debates, diplomatic deals, and secret talks between Washington and Pyongyang. Wit, a former State Department official, takes readers to the front lines of nuclear negotiations and recounts how perilously close the United States and North Korea have come, on various occasions, to nuclear confrontation. Based on more than three hundred interviews with officials in Washington, Beijing, and Seoul, as well as with the author's contacts in Pyongyang, this book chronicles how six American presidents have approached the problem of North Korea.Wit points to Barack Obama and Donald Trump as the two presidents most responsible for the failure to halt North Korea's march to build a nuclear arsenal, since it was under their successive tenures that Pyongyang acquired the ability to threaten every city in North America. Wit also offers an unparalleled portrait of Kim Jong Un that refutes his caricature as impulsive and illogical. Like his father and his grandfather, Kim is a ruthless despot but also a canny and informed negotiator determined to secure his dictatorship's future by exploring diplomacy or, failing that, by building a nuclear arsenal. Dr. Andrew O. Pace is a historian of the US in the world who specializes in the moral fog of war. He is currently a DPAA Research Partner Fellow at the University of Southern Mississippi and a co-host of the Diplomatic History Channel on the New Books Network. He is also working on his first book which examines the high price that the Roosevelt and Truman administrations were willing to pay in order to achieve total victory in World War II. He can be reached at andrew.pace@usm.edu or via his website. Andrew is not an employee of DPAA, he supports DPAA through a partnership. The views presented are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of DPAA, DoD or its components. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/korean-studies
After nearly four decades of negotiations, sanctions, summits, threats, and backdoor channels, the United States has failed to stop North Korea's nuclear program which now has the capability to strike American cities with weapons of mass destruction. In Fallout: The Inside Story of America's Failure to Disarm North Korea (Yale UP, 2025), Joel S. Wit explains why US efforts to contain North Korea have not worked and gives readers a front-row seat to the policy debates, diplomatic deals, and secret talks between Washington and Pyongyang. Wit, a former State Department official, takes readers to the front lines of nuclear negotiations and recounts how perilously close the United States and North Korea have come, on various occasions, to nuclear confrontation. Based on more than three hundred interviews with officials in Washington, Beijing, and Seoul, as well as with the author's contacts in Pyongyang, this book chronicles how six American presidents have approached the problem of North Korea.Wit points to Barack Obama and Donald Trump as the two presidents most responsible for the failure to halt North Korea's march to build a nuclear arsenal, since it was under their successive tenures that Pyongyang acquired the ability to threaten every city in North America. Wit also offers an unparalleled portrait of Kim Jong Un that refutes his caricature as impulsive and illogical. Like his father and his grandfather, Kim is a ruthless despot but also a canny and informed negotiator determined to secure his dictatorship's future by exploring diplomacy or, failing that, by building a nuclear arsenal. Dr. Andrew O. Pace is a historian of the US in the world who specializes in the moral fog of war. He is currently a DPAA Research Partner Fellow at the University of Southern Mississippi and a co-host of the Diplomatic History Channel on the New Books Network. He is also working on his first book which examines the high price that the Roosevelt and Truman administrations were willing to pay in order to achieve total victory in World War II. He can be reached at andrew.pace@usm.edu or via his website. Andrew is not an employee of DPAA, he supports DPAA through a partnership. The views presented are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of DPAA, DoD or its components. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
La Nochebuena une sentimientos de alegría y nostalgia. José Luis Ávalos, exministro socialista encarcelado, comparte en un tuit cómo la lectura de autores como Zweig o Frankel le proporciona "un viaje que no emprende", ofreciendo calma y reflexión. Solicita un jurado popular. El Partido Popular exhibe un mensaje navideño de humildad. En Extremadura, María Guardiola critica la inexperiencia de VOX, cuya estrategia se centra en la crítica y redes, a pesar de su necesidad para la investidura. Se exige a ambos negociar por el bien de la región. El PSOE silencia su derrota extremeña, con corrientes internas acusando al partido de "apodemización". La portavoz elogia a Sánchez comparándolo con Roosevelt. Salvador Illa del PSC elogia al presidente, pero distancia al PSC del PSOE, señalando a Ferraz como foco de problemas. El sanchismo prioriza Cataluña, debilitando al PSOE en el resto del país. Destaca la detención de okupas polacos multirreincidentes en Elche por doble homicidio, la demanda ...
Op 26 december 1991 schreef de toenmalige correspondent van de New York Times in Moskou, Serge Schmemann, een aangrijpend stuk over het einde van de Sovjetunie. Hij koos de vorm van een necrologie. Wat een vondst. ‘De Sovjet-staat’, zo luidde de eerste zin, ‘gedurende zijn korte maar tumultueuze geschiedenis gekenmerkt door grote verworvenheden en vreselijk lijden, is vandaag, na een lang en pijnlijk verval, gestorven. Hij was 74 jaar oud.’ Hopelijk is het allemaal minder dramatisch, maar in een groot deel van Europa heerst een vergelijkbaar sentiment over onze tijd: het einde van de schijnbaar in gietijzer gegoten alliantie met de Verenigde Staten. Al het gepraat over de dreiging van oorlog op het Europese continent, het aanleggen van noodpakketten, bezorgde ministers van Defensie en het groeiende besef dat de grote, strategische paraplu waaronder we sinds de Eerste Wereldoorlog konden schuilen wordt opgeklapt, markeert het afscheid van een tijdperk. Hoewel gemijmer zinloos is, moeten we ons wel afvragen of Amerika beseft wat het verliest, niet alleen historisch en cultureel, maar puur strategisch. Het land wilde niet meedoen aan de Eerste Wereldoorlog tot 1917, toen Duitse onderzeeërs het passagiersschip Lusitania tot zinken brachten. De Amerikanen dachten dat de Britten garant stonden voor de verdediging van de Atlantische Oceaan, maar toen de Lusitania zonk beseften ze dat de oorlog in Europa tot aan hun oostkust kon komen. In de Tweede Wereldoorlog deed zich iets vergelijkbaars voor. Onder druk van de isolationistische en pro-Duitse ‘America First’ beweging eind jaren ’30, kreeg president Roosevelt het Congres niet mee om te luisteren naar de smeekbedes van Winston Churchill om Groot-Brittannië te steunen. Tot 7 december 1941, toen Japan met de aanval op Pearl Harbor de VS de oorlog in sleurde. Ook de Pacific bood, net als de Atlantische Oceaan, geen garantie voor veiligheid. In de fragiele situatie in Oekraïne en de waarschuwingen over gevaar voor de rest van Europa zou Donald Trump de historische parallel moeten zien. Als Europa valt, is er alleen nog een oceaan, en die doorkruist Rusland permanent. De explosieve ontwikkeling van de Chinese krijgsmacht, met vliegdekschepen, jachtvliegtuigen en onderzeeërs, bedreigt de Amerikaanse westkust. Dat houden zelfs nieuwe Amerikaanse schepen van de Trump-klasse niet tegen. De uitdaging voor diplomaten zit ‘m niet in het bedelen of Trump alsjeblieft met ons mee blijft doen, en de beschermende paraplu niet helemaal opklapt, maar in het laten zien dat Europa – hoezeer Trump ook op ons neerkijkt – onmisbaar is voor de Amerikaanse veiligheid. De lessen van twee wereldoorlogen zijn overtuigend: Amerika heeft een primair belang: niet ons, of Oekraïne, maar zichzelf.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
“This year very few Hanukkah candles were lit.” / “This is a strange Christmas Eve.” This is the story of 1941's wartime holiday season. It's difficult to conjure up a more miserable picture than the Warsaw Ghetto, but Jewish residents are doing their best to stay close to their faith in spite of the dismal circumstances. In a sermon that draws parallels between this hungry, fearful group and the Maccabees of old, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira will bring a little light to these dark times. Meanwhile, Christmas in the U.S. comes just as the country is shifting into gear for war with Japan and Germany. President Roosevelt projects confidence and hope at the annual White House Christmas tree lighting, and he's even brought along a special guest… (a much better orator than Santa). Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and happy holidays to all. ____ Connect with us on HTDSpodcast.com and go deep into episode bibliographies and book recommendations join discussions in our Facebook community get news and discounts from The HTDS Gazette come see a live show get HTDS merch or become an HTDS premium member for bonus episodes and other perks. HTDS is part of Audacy media network.Interested in advertising on the History That Doesn't Suck? Contact Audacyinc.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Keith discusses the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) new regulations on rental pricing transparency, following a settlement with Greystar. Legendary author, Doug Casey, joins the conversation to argue that the Federal Reserve is waging a quiet war on the middle class. Casey explains that by creating trillions of new fiat dollars to push interest rates lower, the Fed fuels inflation, which erodes savings, distorts markets, and quietly reduces the average American's standard of living. He warns of an impending economic downturn due to inflation and government debt. Resources: Find the FTC article here. Visit internationalman.com to read Doug Casey's weekly articles and watch his "Doug Casey's Take" videos on YouTube. Episode Page: GetRichEducation.com/585 For access to properties or free help with a GRE Investment Coach, start here: GREmarketplace.com GRE Free Investment Coaching: GREinvestmentcoach.com Get mortgage loans for investment property: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Invest with Freedom Family Investments. For predictable 10-12% quarterly returns, visit FreedomFamilyInvestments.com/GRE or text 1-937-795-8989 to speak with a freedom coach Will you please leave a review for the show? I'd be grateful. Search "how to leave an Apple Podcasts review" For advertising inquiries, visit: GetRichEducation.com/ad Best Financial Education: GetRichEducation.com Get our wealth-building newsletter free— GREletter.com or text 'GRE' to 66866 Our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/GetRichEducation Follow us on Instagram: @getricheducation Complete episode transcript: Keith Weinhold 0:01 welcome to GRE. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, the Fed keeps escalating their quiet war against the middle class. I'm talking about it with one of the most influential financial figures of the past century. Today, also what the recent FTC decision on rents means to real estate on get rich education. Speaker 1 0:25 Since 2014 the powerful get rich education podcast has created more passive income for people than nearly any other show in the world. This show teaches you how to earn strong returns from passive real estate investing in the best markets without losing your time being a flipper or landlord. Show Host Keith Weinhold rights for both Forbes and Rich Dad advisors, and delivers a new show every week since 2014 there's been millions of listener downloads of 188 world nations. He has a list show guests include top selling personal finance author Robert Kiyosaki. Get rich education can be heard on every podcast platform, plus it has its own dedicated Apple and Android listener phone apps build wealth on the go with the get rich education podcast. Sign up now for the get rich education podcast, or visit get rich education.com Corey Coates 1:11 You're listening to the show that has created more financial freedom than nearly any show in the world. This is get rich education. Keith Weinhold 1:27 Welcome to GRE I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, let's get right into it, as there's a lot to cover here on our last big show before Christmas. Briefly before we get to the Fed's quiet war against the middle class the Federal Trade Commission just fired off a warning shot to landlords, and here's the translation about what this means to you, advertise your real all in rent amount with mandatory fees included in that amount or expect company and by company, the FTC means attorneys, paperwork and a long headache, and I'll tell you why I think this is a good thing. But really, first what this is all about is that it stems from the antecedent settlement with the massive global real estate company greystar, about transparent pricing. You might know that greystar is the massive global real estate company. They specialize in rental housing. In fact, greystar is the largest apartment operator in the entire US. They're in about 250 markets. The FTC cracked down on greystars add on fees, those fees added on to the rent amount that aren't clear and transparent right from the beginning. Now, in their case, it's things like Package Concierge charges, valet, trash service fees and some of these other line items that magically appear after a renter has already emotionally moved into a unit. Now for your rentals, they might be other things like Pest Control fees, gym fees, pet fees, utility add ons and notice that I use the word might, because clarification is still being sought here, but suffice to say, the least that you should know is really three things, advertise a rental price that excludes mandatory charges and that could be a violation of the law. So then state the total cost of renting the unit up front, no fine print gymnastics. Secondly, do a compliance check. You need to review your ads to confirm that they honestly convey your rental unit's price. That includes working with third party marketing vendors like Zillow or Facebook marketplace to see if they accurately state the all in price, because if they understate the price, it's still your problem. And thirdly, know that the FTC is reviewing harmful practices in the rental housing market. They'll take action against landlords that try to hide mandatory fees, so no hide and seek. And the FTC resource is in our show notes, and I sent it to you in last week's newsletter as well, if you want to read it, all my take here is that this type of transparency is a good thing. I mean, come on, we all know how annoying it is if, say, an airline states like, Hey, we've got prices to this destination. You can fly there for as low as $200 Yeah, but what if it's a 28 hour, four layover journey to fly 300 miles? Okay? What about buying an event ticket to go to a music concert and say you've already got 10 minutes wrapped up in this, but they don't show you the final price with all the fees until you've already invested that 10 minutes a. Then you learn about this in your shopping cart. So that type of thing is deceptive, all right. Well, what this FTC case does is it eliminates that effect in the rental housing market. So if you're a landlord, your competitors shouldn't be able to advertise base rents minus fees against your unit that appears higher priced than it's really not. And then for renters, I mean, the clarity helps expedite their search process. So this lets good assets compete on real value, and that is good business. Now, as far as the Fed controlling the economy, Jerome Powell announced interest rate cuts both last year and some more again this year, and though the effect isn't immediate, mortgage rates do come down with them. Mortgage rates have also fallen this year because the yield spread premium is lower. And you know what the prevailing sentiment is among a lot of armchair economists, it is squarely this, you ain't seen nothing for cuts yet. People say, Oh, watch, once Trump gets his guy in there in May, meaning that's when the newly appointed Fed chair is in power. Oh, you're really going to see some giant rate cuts then, yeah. I mean, a lot of people talk about this like it's certainly coming. They say then the Fed funds rate is going to go way down, meaning mortgage rates are then going to go way down, meaning that home prices are therefore going to soar next year. Well, all that could happen, but it is nowhere close to the certainty camp for everything to respond exactly that way. As you know, as a listener here, paradoxically, mortgage rates have little to do with home prices. Look at history over hunches. In fact, it might be more likely that those things don't happen and don't all break exactly that way, then the probability that they do, and that quickly gets into conjecture territory. As we know, lowering rates is bad too, because it signals that a weak economy needs the help. Typically. What could be different this next time. Well, whether we're in a good or a bad economy, Trump still wants lower rates, and he really imposes his will on the situation. Keith Weinhold 7:30 We're about to bring in the author of a new book called The preparation. It's about preparing for the economic future. A lot of the book is mostly for young men and their parents, but we'll speak to both females and males. Today is the middle class both worse off and in a way, better off today than they were a generation or two ago. Talk to your grandparents. They didn't pay for a college education. They didn't get one. They rarely ate out at restaurants. They didn't have a smartphone, which is now practically mandatory to even exist. Today, people are paying for all of that, so no wonder that prospective first time homebuyers almost seem to be going extinct. Let's meet this week's guest. Keith Weinhold 8:21 Are we going to get a painful financial reset in the form of runaway inflation, a market crash or something else? We'll answer that before we're done today, the Fed is engaged in a quiet war against the middle class. They are going to create trillions more Fiat dollars to lower interest rates further and create inflation that's according to today's guest. He is the International man himself, a legendary and generationally popular author, and he does a lot more than that. He's back with us for a sobering look at this today. Hey, welcome in. Doug Casey, Doug Casey 8:57 Thanks, Keith. It's nice to be here with you, although care for me is in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I spend a good part of the year. Keith Weinhold 9:05 Such a nice place, good year round weather. There. A piece you recently wrote is titled, The Fed's quiet war against the middle class. The Fed recently announced that they're stopping Qt, which basically means they're stopping the destruction of dollars and opening the floodgates to print dollars. You've been known to say that the level of interest rates is the most important single indicator of an economy, and the Fed has made several quarter point cuts over the last year plus, although the President is supposed to stay independent of Fed influence. Oh my gosh, he has been more vocal than any other president ever over how badly he wants low rates. What are your thoughts with regard to all this Doug? Doug Casey 9:53 Well, the Fed, which most people have been taught to believe, is part of the cosmic firmament. Right? It should be abolished. It serves no useful purpose. The Fed is an engine of inflation. It's what creates Federal Reserve notes. It's an engine of inflation and purely destructive, and it's used by the government to finance itself. So that's the first thing I've got to say. And they don't know what interest rates should be. Neither does Trump neither does anybody else. That's for the market to determine right and interest rates are set by the amount of savings that's done by the people and the amount of borrowing that's done by other people. The problem is with the Fed printing up lots and lots of money, which they are through the banking system, it makes it rather foolish to be a saver. In other words, if you produce more than you consume, which is something everybody should do, you want to save the difference. That's how you become wealthy. But if they destroy the currency with inflation, it's pointless to save, and if there's no savings, there's no capital to lend. This is why we're sliding off a slippery slope in the direction of a third world country where there's no savings, where the money's no good, it's a real problem. I think the average American, despite increases in technology that we've benefited from over many years, the average American has found his standard of living go down a lot, and it's basically because of the destruction of the currency that makes it impossible for him to save and get ahead of things, and results in wild and crazy moves in the stock markets and the real estate markets and the interest rate markets, where things become unpredictable. So everybody's being turned into a speculator, whether they like it or not, and frankly, we're headed towards a real reckoning in the US and in the world generally. So my approach at this point is to hold on to your hat, because we're in for rough running in the years Keith Weinhold 12:14 to come. To create low rates, the Fed basically needs to create trillions of new Fiat dollars. Tell us about how that works. Doug Casey 12:25 Well, it's a question of the supply and demand of money. You've got two things happening. Number one, when the Fed has quantitative easing, as they call it, which basically means inflating the dollar. Quantitative easing, or QE is just a nice word for inflating the dollar. They're increasing the supply of dollars out there. You increase the supply of dollars, the price of money goes down in the short run, but in the long run, the value of the dollar also goes down. And nobody's going to lend money if they can't get more in interest than it's being depreciated at. So you've got these two forces fighting against each other making for an unstable system. That's why I say that look before 1933 and when Roosevelt took gold out of the dollar, or in fact, before 1913 when the Federal Reserve was created, before that, there was no central bank. There was no Federal Reserve in the US. Money was just a medium of exchange and a store of value. It wasn't a political commodity, which it is now. Today, everybody is looking at the government to do something to make a decision to raise rates. Some people want them higher or lower them. Some people want them lower. But this is for the market to decide. It shouldn't be a political decision. Keith Weinhold 13:53 Low rates, which most think are coming, produce an inflationary environment, which then means that longer term, there need to be new higher rates in order to combat that. Doug Casey 14:05 Well, what we've got is a situation where conflicting advice and beliefs are causing rates, and indeed, most of the economy, to go up and down like an elevator with a lunatic at the controls. And actually, that's a very good analogy. Keith Weinhold 14:22 And low rates to your earlier point, Doug, they don't encourage anyone to save. And you know what? Government policy doesn't encourage anyone to save either in times of crisis, like, look what happened during covid. Oh my gosh, if these people can't go to work and generate an income, they don't have any savings, obviously. So then let's go ahead and intervene even more and send them stimulus checks, basically a bailout. So low rates discourage anyone from saving, but so does our policy, because every time there's a big catastrophe, oh, they just come in with a safety net anyway. That's Part. The reason why we have such a problem with capital formation of the average American today? Doug Casey 15:04 Well, it's actually worse than that, because over generations, a lot of debt has built up in the country. In other words, to maintain your standard of living, a lot of people have borrowed. They've done this either by taking the savings of past generations and borrowing it or mortgaging their personal futures. Either way, look, if you and I went out and borrowed a million dollars today, we could raise our standard of living artificially, sure, for the next year, but at the end of that year, we have to pay back the million dollars to lost interest, and that artificial rise in our standard of living will result in a very real decline in our standard of living. And a great deal of the borrowing that's been done to stimulate the economy through the banking system is for consumption, not for production. In other words, a lot of the borrowing is not to create new technologies and new infrastructure and new capital goods to create more wealth. A lot of it's just stuff that you wind up. People are borrowing things to fill their basements and their garages with more junk, consumer borrowing, borrowing for vacations, borrowing for to go to music, shows, all kinds of things. This has become a habit in the US, right? So let's look. It's going to end very badly. It's going to end and is ending as we speak, actually, in what I call the greater depression. It's going to be what we're looking at here, largely because of monetary manipulation, but also because taxes have gone up, up, up, up from zero level. Basically, in 1913 there were no income taxes in the US, the US government lived exclusively on minimal tariffs and excise duties. But today, there's right and they're very high, high levels of inflation, high levels of borrowing. So I think we're coming to the end of the road, as far as that's concerned. And it's bad news. Of course, most of the real wealth in the world, when you have a financial collapse, when you have a depression, most of the real wealth still exists. It just changes ownership, that's all so you want to position yourself so that you're not too adversely affected by what's coming Keith Weinhold 17:31 this inflation and more coming inflation pumping up the asset values of the asset owners and then ruining the lifestyles of those in the lower middle class and making them trend down lower since they spend a greater proportion of their income on everyday needs like clothing and food, which is a small proportion of people that are well off and the poor don't have the assets to benefit from that inflation. And you know, Doug, it wasn't until I read your recent article that I realized something that initially the fed only had one mandate, price stability, and then later they added that maximum employment was their second mandate. I didn't realize that. So really, it's been an expansion of what they're paying attention to, and a de facto expansion of their powers and influence and control. Doug Casey 18:23 Well, actually, they have a third mandate now, which is to control long term interest rates, to prop up the mortgage market, to prop up the real estate market. Because, as you know, the real estate market floats on a sea of debt, and if you can't get a mortgage, if you can't borrow, you can't buy real estate, or, for that matter, you can't sell it. So this makes it a very unstable situation, and most people are unaware of the fact that before the last depression, the longest mortgage you could get was five years, and that was with a 20% down payment. So things have changed a lot since then, and the more debt you use to finance anything, the more unstable things become. And the fact that things have become so unstable, and the average guy's standard of living has been sinking, and he has more credit card debt, more mortgage debt, more automobile debt. Used to be paid cash for a car, then was financed for two years and five and seven, and then it was leased where you never even owned it. I mean, this is, this is a trend that's coming to an end at this point, so it's going to be quite a comeuppance for people. Keith Weinhold 19:42 I think long term financing and the easing of getting financing makes the cost of anything higher. There's probably no greater example than that of what has happened with college tuition over the decades. But you know Doug, when we talk about this centrally planned economy. Rather than letting free market forces take over, I love it. I just absolutely love it when the answer to a problem is actually doing less than what you're currently doing, let go of the reins, rather than the Fed controlling interest rates. If there were a free market doing it, you would have bank loan rates that couldn't become too high, or else they wouldn't attract borrowers. So rates would naturally fall, and then you also couldn't have bank loan rates that are too low, because you've got to compensate the bank for bad borrower risk. So rates would come up, and they would find some natural level, kind of to the point that you made earlier. There would be a natural set point price discovery. That's how I think of a free market working for interest rates rather than announcements by a Fed chair. Doug Casey 20:51 Well, you're right. The problem is that the high government officials, the elite, if you would, think they know best and try to manipulate things, but they don't know best, quite frankly. And one other comment that you made, which I think is very appropriate, is college tuitions. For years, I've recommended that young people forget about college. It's a huge misallocation of your time and money, you wind up studying things well after you are through partying and drinking and chasing the opposite sex, and the things you learn about have no practical application in the world. And I'm not talking about learning history and the classics and mathematics and science, okay? Those are valuable things. Most of what people are taking in college today are hobby subjects, if you would, or things that are fun to learn in your spare time, but you shouldn't burden yourself with a lifetime of debt to do those things and get a worthless degree. Everybody has a degree and with grade inflation, they're a waste of time. That's listen. That's why I wrote this book with Matt Smith. Is my podcast. It's called the preparation. It's on Amazon, and it explains talking about your standard of living, which is what this is all about, really, why it's foolish to go to college today and exactly what especially a young man should do, instead of misallocating The four most valuable vibrant years of his life, sitting behind a desk listening to Marxist leaning professors corrupt you with all kinds of really bad ideas. So that's why we wrote the preparation. And it tells young men exactly what they should do, instead of burdening themselves under hundreds of 1000s of dollars of debt, which can't be discharged and serves no useful purpose, what they've learned in exchange for it. So, I mean, this is one of the one of the things that people should be doing, but not enough are. Keith Weinhold 23:07 AI changes things fast. I mean, for a four year college graduate today, what you learned as a freshman three or four years ago could quickly be outdated, and that effect just wasn't nearly as great as it was a few decades ago, but if you're listening in the audio only, Doug just held his book called The preparation, which he co authored with Matthew Smith. If this way of thinking resonates with you, here's some actionable things that you can actually do. You're listening to get rich education. Our guest is international man. Doug Casey, when we come back, I'm your host. Keith Weinhold Keith Weinhold 23:41 you know, most people think they're playing it safe with their liquid money, but they're actually losing savings accounts and bonds don't keep up when true inflation eats six or 7% of your wealth. Every single year, I invest my liquidity with FFI freedom family investments in their flagship program. Why fixed 10 to 12% returns have been predictable and paid quarterly. There's real world security backed by needs based real estate like affordable housing, Senior Living and health care. Ask about the freedom flagship program. When you speak to a freedom coach there, and that's just one part of their family of products, they've got workshops, webinars and seminars designed to educate you before you invest. Start with as little as 25k and finally, get your money working as hard as you do. Get started at Freedom family investments.com/gre, or send a text. Now it's one, 937, 795, 8989. Yep, text their freedom coach directly again. 1-937-795-8989 Keith Weinhold 24:52 the same place where I get my own mortgage loans is where you can get yours. Ridge lending group and MLS, 420, Five, six, they provided our listeners with more loans than anyone because they specialize in income properties. They help you build a long term plan for growing your real estate empire with leverage. Start your prequel and even chat with President Caeli Ridge personally, while it's on your mind, start at Ridge lending group.com that's Ridge lending group.com. Robert Helms 25:23 Hi everybody. t's Robert Allens of the real estate guys radio program. So glad you found Keith Weinhold and get rich education. Don't quit your Daydream. Keith Weinhold 25:34 Steve, welcome back to get rich Education. I'm your host, Keith Weinhold, we're talking with Doug Casey about how the Fed is quietly intervening and hollowing out the middle class when it comes to interest rates. Since you state about them being the most important indicator for an economy, I think a lot of people don't realize Doug, and maybe you run into this too, that interest rates are not high today. I mean, on the long run, the Fed funds rate averages 4.6% and today it's in the high threes. So they're not actually high today. But with all these crises where we had all this money printing in these low rates, they feel high, but they're not. Doug Casey 26:22 Well, you're quite correct. The question is, at what rate is the dollar losing value? The official US government figures say, Well, I don't know what they say. They vary, and the numbers are jumbled. And I think the general price level in the US, if we were realistic, is going up well over 5% probably closer to 10% you can make that case. Yeah, I think so, because I'm talking to you now from Argentina and for years, the figures were notoriously and outrageously concocted, made up to make people think things weren't as bad as they are. And here in Argentina, we've just had a revolution, actually a peaceful revolution, with replacing the Peronist government with a man named Javier Malay. It's probably the most unusual and most important election, believe it or not, in world history, because Malay was elected here in Argentina on the platform of basically getting rid of the government disbanding it. In other words, Elon Musk's Doge, but on steroids times 10, and things have gotten a lot better here because of that. And it's too bad that Doge has been eliminated in the US, because a lot of people don't understand that the government doesn't really produce anything at all. All it does is take taxes from you and pass that money around to other people with a lot skimmed off the top to do things that entrepreneurs would probably, or certainly, I'd say, do by themselves, and they make it worse by printing up money to give to people to do those things, and borrowing money, which acts as an albatross around everybody's neck. So I'd make the case that I'm not promoting either the Republicans or the Democrats, I'd kind of say a pox on both their houses. They're just two sides of the same coin. What I think we ought to have is a much smaller, much much smaller government. But are we going to get one? No, we're not getting it right now, because I think a lot of people aren't aware of the fact that the government is running 2 trillion, $3 trillion per year deficits, and those deficits are going up, not down. So where's that money coming from? Well, most of it's being created out of thin air. It's being inflated through the banking system. So the prognosis is not terribly good. Now, along the way, of course, people have hid in real estate, made a lot of money in real estate. Real estate prices have gone up faster than retail inflation has gone up. Yeah, but I'm asking myself whether it's not possible that the real estate market could come unglued at this point, because it floats on a sea of debt. What do you think, Keith, do you have any fears about that? Keith Weinhold 29:27 Homeowners are in great shape today. They have record equity positions. They're not going to walk away. Many of them are still locked into these really low mortgage rates, so they're in really good shape. This is something very different from the 2008 global financial crisis, when you had irresponsible borrowers that had negative equity positions and an oversupply of housing so they could move out and get something cheaper. Today, if you move out in the great situation that you're in with your low mortgage rate and a high equity position, you'd lose your high equity position and. Might have to go pay rent that's higher somewhere else, so I don't see a lot of real estate appreciation coming over the next year or two, but I don't see any impending crash, largely due to that condition, there's not distress in the market. Doug Casey 30:17 Are you worried about the fact that most local and state governments are on the ragged edge of insolvency and might be raising their real estate taxes and of course, insurance costs seem to be going up a lot faster than most other costs as well. Right now, utility costs are relatively low because oil and gas prices are low, but that could change too. I mean, is there anything that could take the real estate train off the rails? Keith Weinhold 30:47 Not that I see. In fact, real estate values have only fallen substantially one time since World War Two, and that was during the 2008 global financial crisis, when we had conditions that are largely the opposite today. That's back when we had an oversupply and an irresponsible borrower that had negative equity so they wanted to walk away, and that created the down drain. To your point, yes, I do see property taxes continuing to increase, but because values aren't increasing as much, they would have to increase the mill rate to get further increases, and then most of the big insurance increases, many feel they are done. They had to come up. Because with inflation, the replacement cost of a property, if you would have a loss, rose and increased that way. So because we're still supply challenge in a lot of places, I see prices holding up but not appreciating like 10% anytime soon, and that's due to an affordability constraint. I don't see how they could possibly do that. And when we talk about that average person Doug, that person trying to make their mortgage payments or their rent payments, I was talking on a recent episode about the K shaped economy, I think it's something that we often visualize in our mind. You see the upper branch of the K rising, the lower branch of the k falling, which is emblematic of this hollowing out of the middle class. But I recently saw it graphically represented, where you have the capital share of income going up for people over the decades. That used to be 5050, between capital share of income and labor share of income. Back 60 years ago, it was 5050, but now, with this K shaped divergence, one's capital share of income is about 57% today, and their labor share of income is only about 43% today. And it's kind of sad. I sort of hate to say it out loud, but it's like, hard work just does not pay off, like it used to. Much of this due to inflation pumping up asset values. Doug Casey 32:52 Well, I understand what you're saying, and I think you're correct, because there's an old saw. They say the rich get richer while the poor get poorer, and that's kind of what this K shaped economy is telling us. You've got the super rich in the top 1% or 1/10 of 1% that are becoming Ultra double wealthy, and the guy at the bottom, well, his social security taxes have risen from almost nothing to 15% of his wages, and it's a real problem. And it's said that the members of Gen Z can't afford to buy a house today as well. So what do you do about this? Well, my suggestion is, if possible, you don't want to get a job working for somebody else. If at all possible, you've got to work for yourself as an entrepreneur. That's the first thing. It's very hard to get wealthy working for somebody else. The best is to work for yourself, but in order to do that, you have to train yourself with lots of skills and lots of knowledge. And I'm not sure if people are doing that to the degree they ought to either. So I don't know how this is going to end. And of course, you mentioned earlier, artificial intelligence and robotics are tied up hand in glove with artificial intelligence. It's clear that within five years, we'll have robots that may not look entirely like people, but can do almost anything that a human being can do, and this is going to put a lot of pressure on people that don't have special skills, especially with artificial intelligence being programmed into these super competent robots. So the whole world is changing right before our very eyes. Right now, Keith Weinhold 34:39 when we talk about the middle class struggle. I probably follow the housing market more closely than you do. The NAR recently gave us the latest statistic. Two years ago, the average age of the first time homebuyer was aged 35 last year, it rose to 38 this year, it's now 40 just the average. Age of the first time homebuyer. So in high cost areas, that could very well be 45 I mean, people are getting gray hair before they make a down payment for this middle class that's trying to get into the ownership class. Doug Casey 35:13 And the further back you go, the younger the age right people were buying houses at So, I mean, it used to be people would try to buy a house right out of school. Frankly, that's out of the question today. Keith Weinhold 35:27 Yeah, I sure don't remember those days myself, but Yeah, it sure was substantially younger just a couple decades ago. Well, Doug, where are we going with all this? I mean, does a reset eventually happen with either runaway inflation? Do you think that happens first, or some sort of market crash, or is it something else? I mean, what cataclysmic act is likely to happen first? Doug Casey 35:52 Well, look, I hate to be too gloom and doomy, because everybody, first of all, generally speaking, trends in motion stay in motion, and everything has been maybe gradually descending standard of living wise, but the economy's held together, and we haven't had any catastrophic collapse. Well, almost in 2008 and a couple other times, but I think we're headed for one. So what should you do about it? I would say, consume less if you possibly can, and save what you can, if possible, take a second job while it's still possible, to go out and get a second job or found an entrepreneurial activity so that if you lose your job, you've got a backup system. But with the changes in technology and of course, what's happening in robotics and AI are just part of it. You're not going to be able to rely on what you relied on in the past, because the world is changing very, very radically as far as real estate is concerned. Look, I actually own a lot of real estate, but, you know, I've come to the conclusion that at this point I want to treat my house and other real estate, basically as a not so much as an investment to make money, but to store value. That's right, a store of value where I can put some capital aside. I don't want to keep a lot of money in dollars. That doesn't mean I want debt either. That's risky. For many, many years, I've advocated and bought gold and silver because they are money in its most basic form, and it's worked out really well. I started buying gold at about $40 it's at about 4000 today, and I've always treated it, almost always, as a savings vehicle, not as a speculative vehicle, although, if I want to speculate, I speculate in mining stocks, which are a leveraged way of playing gold and silver, the most volatile class of securities on the planet, actually, and I understand that a lot of people today have Robin Hood accounts and are speculating on the stock market, desperately trying to stay ahead of currency debasement and somehow build a nest egg for themselves by speculating in the market. Generally, that's not a good formula for success you're playing against, you know, extremely smart and well capitalized and knowledgeable big boys, and the fact that everybody's doing it is also, in itself, a tip off to the fact the stock market could be at the tippy top right now, I kind of think it is a bubble in the tech stocks. It's tough, Keith, there's not a lot of places to run and hide at this point. Keith Weinhold 38:39 Price to earnings ratios are really bloated in the s, p5, 100. I'd love to get your thought on this. Doug, if a person can get a 30 year mortgage rate for a rental property where the rent income meets or exceeds the expenses at a mortgage rate between six and 7% should they do that? Doug Casey 38:57 Look, if you can cover your mortgage a fixed interest rate mortgage 30 years. One thing that you can almost plan your life around is that dollar is going to lose value every year. So the actual value of your debt, your mortgage, is going to go down every year, right? And presumably the rent that you can charge on your house is going to go up every year. So yep, doing it the way I think you're doing it is an excellent plan for slow and steady long term success. Yeah, it makes sense. You're right. Keith Weinhold 39:30 We actually have some listener questions on the thing that you brought up, which I call inflation profiting when you borrow long term fixed interest rate debt and get to pay it back with more plentiful dollars down the road. Some people don't understand what you just explained. One way I brought it up with my listeners is we'll just look back 30 years ago, in 1995 the average home cost 130k an 80% loan would be 104k so here, 30 years later, that median home costs over 400 K, and you still just owe 104k on the loan. That's the benefit of what I call inflation, profiting on long term fixed interest rate debt. And of course, your tenant would have paid that down to zero as well. But that kind of makes the benefit be more apparent when we look back into the past 30 years. Well, Doug, as we're winding down here, you have any other thoughts about, just say, the average American out there, what they should do with the Fed behaving and controlling the economy like we do. We're talking about the average American, maybe someone with a mortgage, some rental properties, some savings, maybe a 401, K. How do these potential shifts in Fed policy translate into real life consequences and actions for them. Is there anything else? Doug Casey 40:44 Well, look, don't count on some outside force to kiss everything and make it better. You've got to look out for number one. And as I said before, the way you do that is you should cut back your expenditures every way you can at this point and when you cut back your expenditures, save that money. Now, what do you do with the money that you save? It's not as easy making that recommendation as it was a few years ago, when I was recommending gold, when it was much cheaper than it is. Now it's at $4,000 now look, save money, get an extra job, earn money, cut back your consumption, learn some new skills, because we don't know how things are going to reorient with the immense advances being made through AI and robotics. That's just generalized advice, but that's all you can do, is well and buy real assets. Nothing wrong with buying a house the way you're talking about if you can buy it and the mortgage is cracked with rent. Eventually, I think we're going to see interest rates go back up to the levels that they were in the early 1980s people don't remember this, but the US government was paying 1518, even 20% for its money, and mortgages were, well, 15, 16% it's going to happen again. So I think if you can lock in a mortgage anywhere in here, on a good piece of real estate that covers the mortgage, that's simple, it's doable. Everybody should try to do it. In addition to the other things I mentioned Keith Weinhold 42:20 in 1981 the 30 year fixed rate mortgage peaked at over 18% to our earlier point about the fact that mortgage rates are actually historically low now so are fed funds rates. Well, Doug, tell us one last time about your new book and then any other resources. If our audience wants to engage with you Doug Casey 42:40 I do a blog will know who he is. We've had him here on the show twice, yeah, well, he writes there for us every week, and we've got great articles. That's number one. Number two, I do a podcast with Matt Smith every week called Doug Casey's take on youtube.com third, I urge everybody to get this book, which talks about, if you have a grandchild, a son, it talks about why you should not go to college and what you should do exactly instead of going to college. So that's another thing to do. And we have a newsletter that also covers mining stocks, which is where I'm concentrated in at the moment. They're very cheap, very volatile, and one of the few places in the market, and I hate to say this, that offer the potential of 10 to one or more returns in the near future. So I guess those are the areas where you can find out more about me. Keith Weinhold 43:49 Again, the new book from Doug is called the preparation. It shows a compass on the cover, and then internationalmen.com. Is actually where Doug wrote a piece called The Fed's quiet war against the middle class, which spawned this very conversation right here. Doug, it's been valuable as always. Thanks so much for coming back onto the show. Doug Casey 44:08 My pleasure. Keith, thank you. Keith Weinhold 44:16 Yeah, real estate is positioned for price stability. I was actually investing directly in real estate through the 2008 global financial crisis, and I know what happened is that people walked away from properties when the economy got rough and they couldn't make their payments. It is almost impossible for that to happen today. Homeowners can make their payments. Look through Census Bureau data in realtor.com we know a couple things here. Four in 10 homeowners have no mortgage at all. They own the property free and clear. And then among that group with mortgages, 70% of those borrowers still have a mortgage rate locked in at. Under 5% yes, still today I'll amalgamate those for you. This means that 82% of borrowers either have no mortgage or they have a rate under 5% so that is really affordable payments, along with the protective equity and inflation can't touch that principal and interest amount in addition to real estate, Doug Casey is a longtime gold and silver guy. Of course, both of those have sort to fantastic new all time highs this year. Keith Weinhold 45:34 Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from me and everyone here at GRE. Next week is another big one. You'll get GRE home price appreciation forecast for next year to the exact percent. I'm Keith Weinhold. Don't quit you daydream. Speaker 3 45:53 Nothing on this show should be considered specific, personal or professional advice. Please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. The host is operating on behalf of get rich Education LLC, exclusively Keith Weinhold 46:21 The preceding program was brought to you by your home for wealth building, get richeducation.com
POPULIST THREATS FROM THE SOUTH: HUEY LONG AND THE TALMADGES Colleague David Pietrusza. Roosevelt faced significant challenges from Southern populists who threatened to split his support in the solid South. The most dangerous was Huey Long of Louisiana, whose left-wing "Share Our Wealth" program promised massive redistribution of assets. Long planned to siphon votes in 1936 to ensure a Republican victory, hoping to win the presidency himself in 1940, but his assassination in 1935 removed this threat. Meanwhile, Georgia's Eugene Talmadge, a conservative populist who engaged in race-baiting and opposed welfare, rallied radical elements and Confederatesympathizers against the New Deal, complicating Roosevelt's strategy. NUMBER 2
THE TOWNSEND PLAN, FATHER COUGHLIN, AND THE THIRD PARTY THREAT Colleague David Pietrusza. Dr. Francis Townsend's popular plan for old-age pensions pressured Roosevelt, who disliked "the dole," into creating Social Security. Concurrently, Father Charles Coughlin, the influential "Radio Priest," turned against Roosevelt after feeling used and ignored, specifically following a meeting at Hyde Park arranged by Joe Kennedy. Coughlin allied with Townsend and Huey Long's successor, Gerald L.K. Smith, to form a third party aimed at throwing the election to the House of Representatives. Despite their massive radio audiences, these political amateurs failed to get on the ballot in key states like New York and California. NUMBER 3
MANAGING THE LEFT: SOCIALISTS, COMMUNISTS, AND THE POPULAR FRONT Colleague David Pietrusza. Roosevelt contended with established leftist parties, including the Socialists led by Norman Thomas and the Communist Party USA under Earl Browder. While the Socialists appealed to urban intellectuals, the Communists, following Stalin's "popular front" strategy against Hitler, tacitly supported Roosevelt. Browder ran for president to avoid being a "kiss of death" endorsement for FDR, while focusing his party's attacks on the Republicans. This era also saw violent political instability in the upper Midwest, where radical agrarian figures like Minnesota Governor Floyd Olson maneuvered between supporting Roosevelt and harboring their own presidential ambitions. NUMBER 4
THE POWER AND DECLINE OF WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST Colleague David Pietrusza. Media magnate William Randolph Hearst, who controlled a vast empire of newspapers and radio stations, shifted from a Rooseveltsupporter in 1932 to a fierce critic by 1936. Hearst's reputation suffered after a controversial meeting with Adolf Hitler, which he attempted to downplay, but which accelerated his decline in popularity. Roosevelt, concerned about "crackpot ideas" and opposition from the wealthy, attempted to neutralize Hearst through intermediaries. However, the President's "soak the rich" tax policies deeply angered Hearst, leading the publisher to order his income reduced to avoid taxes and solidifying his break with FDR. NUMBER 5
THE REPUBLICAN FIELD AND THE SELECTION OF ALF LANDON Colleague David Pietrusza. The Republican Party sought a candidate to challenge Roosevelt, dismissing a return of Herbert Hoover and bypassing isolationist William Borah. They settled on Kansas Governor Alf Landon, known as the "Kansas Coolidge," a progressive Republican who had balanced his state's budget. Despite Landon being a lackluster speaker and a "dark horse," he secured the nomination because William Randolph Hearst threw his massive media support behind him. Hearst's papers published relentless positive coverage of Landon, making the nomination his to lose despite the candidate's lack of charisma and national profile. NUMBER 6
THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL: CLASS WARFARE AND THE BLACK VOTE Colleague David Pietrusza. Alf Landonproved a poor campaigner, taking long vacations and delivering ineffective radio speeches. Conversely, Eleanor Roosevelt became a powerful surrogate, campaigning for the black vote in the North, even as Franklin refused to support anti-lynching laws to appease Southern Democrats. The campaign climaxed with Roosevelt's Madison Square Garden speech, where he utilized "class warfare" rhetoric, welcoming the hatred of "economic royalists." Although polls suggested a tightening race and the administration worried about the ongoing Depression, Roosevelt's "naked demagoguery" and energetic campaigning energized his base against the wealthy interests opposing him. NUMBER 7
ELECTION NIGHT LANDSLIDE AND POLITICAL REALIGNMENT Colleague David Pietrusza. On election night, early returns from Connecticut signaled a massive victory for Roosevelt, contradicting the predictions of the Literary Digest straw poll. Roosevelt won a historic landslide, capturing 46 states and sweeping huge Democraticmajorities into Congress. This victory marked a permanent political realignment, as the children of immigrants in major cities overwhelmingly voted for Roosevelt. While Landon's campaign was decimated, the election solidified the Democratic Party's shift from a Southern-dominated organization to a national coalition powered by urban centers and the working class, cementing the triumph of the liberal ideal. NUMBER 8
Chris Whalen, chairman of Whalen Global Advisors and author of The Institutional Risk Analyst blog, joins The Julia La Roche Show for "The Wrap with Chris Whalen." In this episode, Chris Whalen breaks down why Kevin Hassett may have blown his chances for Fed Chair by walking back Trump's views, discusses Kevin Warsh as the emerging frontrunner, and explains his reform proposal to return to a decentralized Fed with 15 district banks focused solely on sound money. He reveals why Trump's rhetoric about interest rates is backfiring (pushing the 10-year UP instead of down), predicts a home price correction in 2027-28, and explains why 3% inflation is now the new target. Whalen also discusses why gold and silver are still in early innings, how commercial real estate pain is being quietly resolved in the background, why good bank numbers mask concerning private credit risks, and answers a viewer question about BOJ rate hikes potentially triggering a broader correction.Links: The Institutional Risk Analyst: https://www.theinstitutionalriskanalyst.com/ https://www.theinstitutionalriskanalyst.com/post/theira785Inflated book (2nd edition): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/inflated-r-christopher-whalen/1146303673Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/rcwhalen Website: https://www.rcwhalen.com/ https://international-economy.com/TIE_Su25_Whalen.pdfTimestamps:00:00 Welcome Chris Whalen01:10 Kevin Hassett: Did he blow his chances for Fed Chair?03:38 Reforming the Fed: Decentralized model vs FDR's changes04:11 How decentralization would change Fed policy06:08 Fed must be independent of President, not Congress07:44 Post-1935 power concentration with Fed Chair08:11 How centralization distorted monetary policy09:17 Has the Fed been acting like its own hedge fund?10:30 Home price correction coming in 2027-2811:14 Subscribe reminder11:52 Trump's rate talk pushing yields UP not down12:56 Advice to Trump: Talk about growth and jobs, not rates14:09 Kevin Warsh as emerging frontrunner for Fed Chair15:17 Scrap the dual mandate, focus on sound currency16:41 CPI print this week: 3% is the new target17:23 Raising conforming limits encourages more inflation18:42 Gold, sound money, and what Treasury should do20:14 Is sound money viable?21:33 Roosevelt's New Deal legacy and today's problems22:53 Silver all-time high, gold north of $4,300 - still early innings24:22 Commercial real estate pain and which banks are exposed27:10 Private credit, NDFIs and why good bank numbers are concerning29:37 Inflation driving everything in New York and beyond30:22 Viewer question: BOJ rate hikes and impact on risk assets31:44 Wrap up, year-end predictions preview and where to find Chris
//The Wire//2300Z December 17, 2025////ROUTINE////BLUF: GEOPOLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS CONTINUE IN CARIBBEAN. BROWN UNIVERSITY SHOOTING INVESTIGATION CASTS DOUBT ON THE PROCESS.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE----- -International Events-Caribbean: Diplomatic indicators continue to mount concerning the war with Venezuela entering into the final stages of preparation. The White House announced that a special address to the nation will take place at 9:00pm (local time), the contents of which have not yet been disclosed.Analyst Comment: So far it's mostly just rumor, however some historical context might help in understanding the larger strategic doctrine in play here. On this day exactly 118 years ago, the Great White Fleet departed port and officially began it's global journey around the world. The Great White Fleet was an initiative set in place by President Teddy Roosevelt which was intended to showcase America's military might on the high seas. This took the form of sending the US Navy's impressive fleet of battleships (which were painted all white, at the time) around the world as part of a very serious game of show and tell. This move, essentially a manifestation of the "big stick" part of Roosevelt's "walk softly" quote, eventually became known as a class of politics called Gunboat Diplomacy. Today, the US still abides by this doctrine (along with many other nations) to some degree, and in practice it usually works out to take the form of parking an aircraft carrier off a nation's coast to urge a people to strongly reconsider their actions. It's unknown as to if this date holds any significance to the White House, but since President Trump's style of command often takes cues from powerful people throughout history, it would make perfect sense for the White House to replicate this "big stick" effort. This has already come to pass and become routine by the striking of fastboats in the Caribbean, so while the world awaits what happens next, the larger strategic goals would be wise to consider. As a reminder, since the seizure of the M/T *SKIPPER* a few days ago, the United States has changed the official position on Venezuela to not just be about drug trafficking, but also oil as well. This might have been obvious from the very start, but it's still a fast pivot to make for any administration, so as events develop over the next few days we'll have to see how this shakes out.-HomeFront- Rhode Island: Images of a second person have been released during the Brown University shooting investigation. Providence Police have not provided the context for why this person is being sought, only that they would like to speak to whomever this individual is.Analyst Comment: The general theory is that this person is not the shooter, but rather an individual who may have walked past the shooter at some point. Authorities have not confirmed this or really made any comment on this at all, so this is just a best guess regarding this new person that is being sought.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: In Rhode Island, the development of events following the Brown University shooting has been nothing short of a PR disaster. Normally, it's completely out of the question for any sort of arm-chair quarterbacking to be helpful during a shooting like this. However, in this case, the chance of random anons on the internet finding the killer before the actual police...is higher than zero. As such, more time and resources can be allocated to examine this case, purely in the interest of finding the truth. And right now, it sure looks like a coverup is taking place.The press conferences in particular have been a source of concern as officials have not been able to answer even basic questions. Chief Perez has been corrected by journalists several times after he mis-stated basic details of the case; for example, yesterday he stated the the footage of the suspe
The Lumbee Tribe is celebrating the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act, which includes legislation to grant the tribe federal recognition. The U.S. Senate passed the defense bill Wednesday, as Lumbee citizens gathered in Pembroke, N.C. for a watch party. Lumbee Chairman John Lowery was in Washington D.C. for the vote, and shared a short video message saying he's the last chairman to go the nation’s capital to fight for full federal recognition. “Now our children and our grandchildren, our great grandchildren can come up here working and fighting and promoting other things for our people.” The tribe has sought federal status for more than a century. The Lumbee's effort has faced opposition, including by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina, while President Donald Trump promised the Lumbee Tribe federal recognition. President Franklin Deleanor Roosevelt in 1941 and President Donald Trump in 2025 invoking the Alien Enemies Act. This December marked the 84th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor bombing – a shocking attack that drew the U.S. into World War II and unleashed a wave of anti-Japanese hysteria. While the U.S. would join a global fight against fascism and Nazi concentration camps, it was erecting camps of its own at home, forcing tens of thousands of Japanese Americans into internment. Two of those camps were set up on tribal lands in Arizona. In the first of a 5-part series, KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio examines the law that has given presidents power to imprison perceived enemies. It all began December 7, 1941, a Sunday morning in Hawaii, with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. More than 2,400 souls were lost at the naval base on the island of Oʻahu. The U.S. was suddenly swept into the Pacific Theater. “And we're going to fight it with everything we've got.” During President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's “Day of Infamy” speech, he invoked the Alien Enemies Act. It's a 1798 wartime law authorizing the president to legally detain and deport anyone suspected of engaging in acts like espionage and sabotage. “Not only must the shame of Japanese treachery be wiped out, but the forces of international brutality wherever they exist, must be absolutely and finally broken.” Weeks later, President Roosevelt directed the Secretary of War to herd more than 120,000 people with Japanese ancestry into camps in Arizona, California, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, and as far east as Arkansas. Two-thirds of prisoners were American-born citizens. First lady Eleanor Roosevelt had empathized with them, even touring a camp south of Phoenix in 1943. Barbara Perry says Mrs. Roosevelt was simply ahead of her time. “And certainly on how she viewed Japanese Americans, but she couldn't convince her husband of that.” Perry is co-chair of the Presidential Oral History Program at the University of Virginia. She also points out precedent was set a century prior when President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act in 1830 – marching tribes west of the Mississippi River. “America was pretty discriminatory…” Despite not being at war, President Trump reinvoked the Alien Enemies Act on day one of his second term. “…to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks, bringing devastating crime to U.S. soil, including our cities and inner cities.” This proclamation wasn't surprising to John Woolley, co-director of the American Presidency Project at UC Santa Barbara. “This is a domestic political rallying point that is very powerful with Donald Trump's base.” Part two explores why a pair of Arizona reservations were picked to house the camps. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out the latest episode of Native America Calling Thursday, December 18, 2025 — Amid Greenland's independence push, Denmark accounts for colonial blunders
The life and legacy of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt with David BeitoIn this episode, the conversation cuts through the mythology surrounding FDR and examines the man, his ideas, and the political transformation he presided over. Rather than treating Roosevelt as a sacred figure of history, this discussion looks directly at the consequences of his policies, the expansion of executive power, and the long-term effects on American political culture.David Beito brings historical clarity and intellectual precision to a presidency often insulated from serious moral and political scrutiny. The result is a grounded, unsentimental examination of how power is justified, how narratives are constructed, and why understanding Roosevelt matters now more than ever.David T. Beito is a professor emeritus of history at the University of Alabama and a respected scholar of American political and economic history. He is the author of FDR: A New Political Life, a revisionist examination of Franklin Delano Roosevelt that challenges conventional portrayals and situates FDR within the broader context of power, crisis, and political change.Book link:https://a.co/d/36WHp1iAbout Michael Liebowitz – Host of The Rational EgoistMichael Liebowitz is the host of The Rational Egoist podcast, a philosopher, author, and political activist committed to the principles of reason, individualism, and rational self-interest. Deeply influenced by the philosophy of Ayn Rand, Michael uses his platform to challenge cultural dogma, expose moral contradictions, and defend the values that make human flourishing possible.His journey from a 25-year prison sentence to becoming a respected voice in the libertarian and Objectivist communities is a testament to the transformative power of philosophy. Today, Michael speaks, writes, and debates passionately in defence of individual rights and intellectual clarity.He is the co-author of two compelling books that examine the failures of the correctional system and the redemptive power of moral conviction:Down the Rabbit Hole: How the Culture of Corrections Encourages Crimehttps://www.amazon.com.au/Down-Rabbit-Hole-Corrections-Encourages/dp/197448064XView from a Cage: From Convict to Crusader for Libertyhttps://books2read.com/u/4jN6xjAbout Xenia Ioannou – Producer of The Rational EgoistXenia Ioannou is the producer of The Rational Egoist, responsible for overseeing the publishing, presentation, and promotion of each episode to ensure a consistent standard of clarity, professionalism, and intellectual rigour.She is the CEO of Alexa Real Estate, a property manager and entrepreneur, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Ayn Rand Centre Australia, where she contributes to the organisation's strategic direction and public engagement with ideas centred on reason, individual rights, and human freedom.Xenia also leads Capitalism and Coffee – An Objectivist Meetup in Adelaide, creating a forum for thoughtful discussion on Ayn Rand's philosophy and its application to everyday life, culture, and current issues.Join Capitalism and Coffee here:https://www.meetup.com/adelaide-ayn-rand-meetup/Follow Xenia's essays on reason, independence, and purposeful living at her Substack:https://substack.com/@xeniaioannou?utm_source=user-menuBecause freedom is worth thinking about — and talking about.#TheRationalEgoist #FranklinDelanoRoosevelt #FDR #AmericanHistory #PoliticalPower #IndividualRights #HistoricalRevisionism #ReasonOverMyth #LibertyAndHistory
Catherine Grace Katz: Gunner (equal parts ginger beer & ginger ale with fresh lime juice and dash bitters)Catherine describes how Stalin made an emergency dash to the bathroom during the 1945 Yalta conference which was briefly mistaken for an American kidnapping plot, the treasures she found in personal letters of the Churchill and Harriman archives, the friendships and rivalries and sexual affairs that took place in the insular wartime diplomatic community, the key piece of advice she followed throughout the writing process to make the book a success, and which of the Big 3 had the most significant impact on the 20th century. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
This Day in Legal History: West Coast HotelOn December 16, 1936, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish, a case that would become a cornerstone in constitutional law and mark a significant turning point in the Court's approach to economic regulation. At issue was the constitutionality of Washington State's minimum wage law for women, which had been challenged by the West Coast Hotel Company after Elsie Parrish, a maid, sued for back wages.The case arrived during a period when the Court had consistently struck down New Deal-era economic regulations, relying on a broad interpretation of “freedom of contract” under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Earlier cases like Lochner v. New York had enshrined a judicial skepticism toward government interference in labor and wage arrangements.However, in Parrish, the Court's posture shifted. The eventual decision, handed down in 1937, upheld the minimum wage law, effectively signaling the end of the so-called Lochner era. The majority reasoned that the state had a legitimate interest in protecting the health and well-being of workers, particularly vulnerable low-wage employees.Justice Owen Roberts, who had previously sided with the Court's conservative bloc, voted with the majority—his move later came to be known as “the switch in time that saved nine,” as it followed President Roosevelt's controversial proposal to expand the Court.The decision validated broader governmental authority to regulate the economy, and it cleared the path for many New Deal policies to take root. It also marked a recalibration in the balance between individual economic liberty and the public interest.West Coast Hotel remains a landmark case in US constitutional history, exemplifying how judicial interpretation can evolve in response to changing social and economic realities.The 2025 tax-and-spending law introduced an overtime tax deduction that was billed as relief for overworked, working-class Americans. But the reality shaping up for the 2026 filing season is far more complicated—and far less beneficial—than its political framing suggested. The deduction does not exempt overtime pay from taxation; instead, it offers a narrow, post-withholding deduction that workers must calculate themselves, often without support from their employers or sufficient guidance from the IRS.The structure of the deduction is flawed: it only applies to the “half” portion of time-and-a-half pay and is capped at $12,500. For lower-wage workers to take full advantage, they must clock extraordinary amounts of overtime—something not feasible for many. Meanwhile, employers are actively disincentivized from helping employees understand or claim the benefit. If they report eligibility and make an error, they could face legal penalties, while doing nothing carries no risk. The system thus favors inaction and leaves employees to fend for themselves.Without clear W-2 guidance or safe harbor rules, the deduction becomes accessible primarily to those with tax professionals or payroll tools—functioning as a quiet subsidy for the well-advised. For others, it's a bureaucratic maze with limited reward. To prevent administrative failure, the IRS should at least provide a legal safe harbor for employers and model W-2 language. A more ambitious fix would be a flat-rate standard deduction for eligible workers, reducing complexity. Until then, this “relief” policy punishes transparency, discourages compliance, and places the greatest burden on those with the fewest resources.Trump Overtime Tax Break More a Political Tagline Than Tax ReliefDonald Trump filed a lawsuit in federal court in Miami seeking up to $10 billion in damages from the BBC, alleging defamation and violation of Florida's unfair trade practices law. The suit stems from an edited segment in a BBC Panorama documentary that combined parts of Trump's January 6, 2021 speech—specifically his calls to “march on the Capitol” and to “fight like hell”—while omitting language where he encouraged peaceful protest. Trump claims the edit falsely portrayed him as inciting violence and caused substantial reputational and financial harm.The BBC had previously admitted to an error in editing, apologized publicly, and acknowledged the clip could give a misleading impression. However, the broadcaster argues that there is no legal basis for the lawsuit. UK officials have backed the BBC's position, saying it has taken appropriate steps. Despite this, Trump's legal team claims the broadcaster has shown no real remorse and continues to engage in what they describe as politically motivated misrepresentation.The documentary in question aired before the 2024 U.S. presidential election and triggered significant fallout for the BBC, including the resignations of its top two executives. While the program did not air in the U.S., it was available via BritBox—a BBC-controlled streaming service—and possibly distributed in North America through licensing deals with Canadian firm Blue Ant Media.Legal experts say Trump faces a high bar in U.S. courts under First Amendment standards. He must prove not only that the edited content was false and defamatory, but also that the BBC acted with actual malice or reckless disregard for the truth. The BBC may argue that the content was substantially accurate and did not materially harm Trump's reputation. Other networks, including CBS and ABC, previously settled defamation claims with Trump after his 2024 election victory.Trump seeks up to $10 billion in damages from BBC over editing of January 6 speech | ReutersU.S. law school enrollment surged 8% in 2025, reaching a 13-year high with 42,817 first-year students, according to new data from the American Bar Association. The increase follows an 18% rise in law school applicants and continues a multi-year upward trend, fueled by a mix of economic uncertainty, political intensity, and a growing interest in legal careers. The sluggish job market for college graduates, coupled with the centrality of legal issues during Donald Trump's second presidential term, has contributed to renewed interest in law degrees.A significant number of prospective students also cited personal and social motivations. A survey of 15,000 LSAT takers found rising interest in using law degrees to “help others” and “advocate for social justice,” with both reasons seeing double-digit percentage increases over last year. The pool of LSAT test-takers has grown as well, signaling likely continued enrollment growth in 2026.Some elite law schools, including Harvard, enrolled their largest first-year classes in over a decade. However, the long-term outlook remains uncertain. Legal employment has been strong in recent years, with the class of 2024 posting record job placement, but experts warn that advances in artificial intelligence could reduce demand for new associates—particularly at large firms offering high salaries. Smaller sectors like government and public interest law may struggle to absorb excess graduates if hiring slows.US job market, politics fuel 8% surge in law school enrollment | ReutersDonald Trump's controversial plan to build a $300 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom on the White House grounds is facing its first legal challenge in federal court. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has sued Trump and several federal agencies, alleging that the demolition of the East Wing to make way for the ballroom violated multiple preservation laws and bypassed required reviews. The group is seeking a temporary restraining order to halt ongoing construction, citing irreversible damage to the historic structure.Since returning to office in January, Trump has made high-profile aesthetic changes to the White House, including installing gold accents in the Oval Office and converting the Rose Garden lawn into a patio modeled after Mar-a-Lago. But the scale and visibility of the ballroom project has drawn particularly intense criticism, especially as heavy machinery was seen dismantling the 120-year-old East Wing.The lawsuit argues that no president, including Trump, has the unilateral authority to alter protected parts of the White House without following procedures involving public input and reviews by agencies like the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts.The administration defended the project as lawful, citing historical precedent and presidential authority to modify the executive residence. It emphasized that above-ground construction was not scheduled to begin until April, rendering emergency relief unnecessary. Still, the National Trust contends that public consultation and proper approvals are not optional and must be upheld regardless of the project's timeline or presidential status.Trump's $300 million White House ballroom makeover faces day in court | ReutersA federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) must extend the deadline for states to implement new immigration-related restrictions on food aid benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The decision, issued by U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai in Oregon, came in response to a lawsuit brought by 21 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia. The states argued they were not given adequate time or clarity to comply with the new rules, which were tied to President Donald Trump's domestic policy legislation passed in July.The USDA had initially set a November 1 deadline for states to comply with the restrictions, which limit SNAP benefits to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. However, the guidance issued on October 31 created confusion by implying that some lawful residents—such as those who entered the U.S. as asylees or refugees—were ineligible, contrary to what the law allowed. The USDA later revised the guidance, but still maintained the November 1 deadline.Judge Kasubhai extended the grace period for compliance until April 9, finding the original deadline arbitrary and harmful to state budgets. He noted that the USDA's sudden guidance rollout undermined states' ability to respond and eroded trust in federal-state cooperation. The ruling blocks the USDA from penalizing states that don't meet the earlier deadline while the lawsuit proceeds.USDA must give states more time to implement new food aid restrictions, judge rules | Reuters This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe
Despite its long-held place in history as the lynchpin of America's recovery from the Great Depression, what if the New Deal did more to hinder the country's recovery than help it? George Selgin is a professor emeritus of economics at the University of Georgia and former director of the Center on Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the Cato Institute. His books like, False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery and Floored!: How a Misguided Fed Experiment Deepened and Prolonged the Great Recession, examine macroeconomic theories through the lens of key moments in monetary history. In this conversation, Greg and George dive deep into the inner workings of The Great Depression, covering the biggest misconceptions surrounding the New Deal's role in ending the crisis, why many of President Roosevelt's policies were counterproductive, and how pre-existing, international factors impacted the U.S.'s recovery.*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*Episode Quotes:The myth of New Deal wisdom47:17: The thing that people have to remember when they are inclined to think, oh, you know, we need to look back at the New Deal and all the wonderful things they did to end the Depression. They knew so much, you know, they had all these experiments. No. We know a lot more about how to fight recessions and depressions than they did because we know that fiscal and monetary stimulus are our best hopes. And those were two things that the Roosevelt administration did not put much, if any, emphasis upon. And that, of course, just hearing that should give a lot of people second thoughts about how helpful the New Deal was. They did a lot of stuff, but they did not do the main thing we rely on now. The main things, they did not promote monetary stimulus, and they did not promote fiscal stimulus except somewhat, reluctantly.Keynes vs. the New Dealers59:39: I certainly believe that if Keynes's advice had been followed instead of what the New Dealers did, that the Depression would have ended much sooner than it did in the United States. The downside of "bold experimentation"35:56: Roosevelt made two statements that were probably the least, the two main unambiguous things he said, one of which turned out to be a very accurate description of what his administration would end up doing. And the other one of which would be a very inaccurate statement. This is all in the course of the campaign. The accurate statement was when he said that his administration planned to go about addressing the Depression through bold experimentation. And that is absolutely true. There was a lot of trial and error. And the problem is, as I say in my book, you know, the problem with bold experiments is they often fail.On war clouds and gold flows45:41: What keeps gold flowing in for the rest of the decade, and more and more of it as time goes on, is Hitler's rise to power and the, the gatherings war clouds that eventually have many, many Europeans thinking, I do not think this is place, this place is safe for our gold. And as long as they could, taking it and shipping it to the United States, where now after the suspension of the gold standard and the devaluation, the treasury alone is buying all the gold.Show Links:Recommended Resources:John Maynard KeynesFranklin D. RooseveltHerbert Hoover Henry Ford Alexander J. Field James Bradford DeLong Guest Profile:Faculty Profile at University of Georgia Professional Profile at the Cato InstituteProfessional Profile on LinkedInProfile on XGuest Work:False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery, 1933–1947 Floored!: How a Misguided Fed Experiment Deepened and Prolonged the Great RecessionMoney: Free and Unfree Less Than Zero: The Case for a Falling Price Level in a Growing EconomyThe Menace of Fiscal QE Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
One week after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the combined radio networks broadcast a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights on December 15, 1791. The all-star broadcast cast was impressive -- Edward Arnold, Lionel Barrymore, Bob Burns, Walter Brennan, Walter Huston, Marjorie Main, Edward G. Robinson, Jimmy Stewart, Rudy Vallee, and Orson Welles, and scripted by Norman Corwin. For a few hours, there was doubt the long planned program would not air because of Pearl Harbor. But a one sentence reply from President Roosevelt's office said it all -- "The President thinks it's more important now than ever to proceed with the program."Enjoy this celebration of America.
Ever wondered how one man could shape an entire nation's destiny? In this episode of Join Us in France, host Annie Sargent and guest Elyse Rivin of Toulouse Guided Walks dive into the extraordinary life of Charles de Gaulle—the towering general who refused to let France fall. From his early days in Lille to his fiery WWII radio broadcasts from London, de Gaulle was a man of unshakable will. He survived being a POW, clashed with Churchill and Roosevelt, and led the Free French Forces to victory. But his story doesn't end there. As France's president, he created the Fifth Republic, pulled France out of NATO's military command, and left a legacy that still defines the country today. Listen to this episode ad-free Annie and Elyse break down the myths and the man. Was he a hero? A stubborn idealist? A political genius? You'll hear about his Catholic upbringing, his love for his wife Yvonne, and the heartbreak of losing their daughter, Anne. You'll also learn why his famous line—"The end of hope is the beginning of death"—captures his relentless spirit. And if you've ever wondered what it was like for French families during WWII, Annie shares her own family's story as Pieds-Noirs in Algeria, where de Gaulle's decisions changed everything. Why listen? Because de Gaulle's story is France's story. It's about resilience, leadership, and the power of believing in something bigger than yourself. Whether you're a history buff, a Francophile, or just love a good underdog tale, this episode delivers. Ready to explore more? Subscribe to Join Us in France for weekly deep dives into French culture, history, and travel. From hidden villages to iconic landmarks, Annie and her guests bring France to life in a way no guidebook can. Hit subscribe on your favorite podcast app, and let's discover France—together. Table of Contents for this Episode [00:00:16] Introduction [00:00:31] Today on the podcast [00:01:04] Podcast supporters [00:01:39] Magazine segment [00:02:24] Charles de Gaulle with Elyse [00:03:03] Early Life and Family Background [00:05:05] Military Aspirations and World War I [00:11:28] Rise to Prominence and World War II [00:21:58] Divisions of Tanks [00:33:07] Post-War Leadership and Political Career [00:46:16] Legacy and Conclusion [00:53:47] Thank You Patrons [00:54:46] New Year's festivities in Paris [00:57:37] Next week on the podcast [00:58:00] Copyright More episodes about French history
We do have our favorite but surely wouldn't mind if Thomas Pynchon won the Nobel Prize too . . . and in Episode 32 we finish off 2025 by considering Shadow Ticket, the noir detective take on the 1930s by a writer who was surely a key influence on the early DeLillo (we read from an unpublished DeLillo letter summarizing that relationship) but who also seems to have been reading works like Running Dog over the years (or so we imagine in unpacking Shadow Ticket scenes invoking Chaplin and a “German Political Celebrity” named Hitler). We try to understand how Pynchon's latest examination of historical and potential fascism works in its 1932 setting, ranging from Milwaukee to Hungary, where reluctant protagonist and “sentimental ape” and “sap” Hicks McTaggart keeps adding on to his P.I. “tickets” in a strange search for a Wisconsin heiress and her Jewish musician lover but also what might ultimately be justice (a far from simple thing). Shadow Ticket is loads of serious fun, where Pynchon manages to examine the direst of turning points amidst scenes of bowling alley and motorcycle lore, dairy strikes, Prohibition's black markets, dance hall and speakeasy glamour, and something called “Radio-Cheez.” Bela Lugosi, vampires, a beautiful pig in a sidecar, and some of the most tasteless lamps in the world also play a role. The real content here for Hicks, though, is the prospect of spiritual and other forms of peace in a world where weapons from clubs to guns and submarines operate according to mysterious laws of “apport” and “asport,” occult material that interweaves with Hicks's strike-breaking past and raises connections to Gravity's Rainbow. Is Hicks's fellow orphan and young protégé Skeet Wheeler the father of Vineland's Zoyd, headed out to California as the novel ends? What's the meaning of Hicks failing to return to his home country, and what does cheese gangster Bruno Airmont's submarine fate have to do with Bleeding Edge? Are Hungary's shifting borders a new kind of “Zone”? What's going on in the novel's many Statue of Liberty references and its anachronistic allusions to a “Face Tube” for flirtation in bars? And how does this always funny writer, now in his late eighties, keep coming up with all these absurd songs (we sing some) and hilarious mock-movies like the one featuring “Squeezita Thickly” swimming in soup pots (Shirley Temple, is that you?)? Teasing out many connections to Gravity's Rainbow, Against the Day, and Vineland, this episode makes reference to just about all of Pynchon's other works, including even V. and his earliest short stories. At the same time, you need come to it with nothing but an interest in Pynchon's life and work. We doubt that we get every reference to history or previous Pynchon right or mount interpretations we won't later want to revise, but on this brand-new and captivating late work from a masterful author, we hope in nearly three hours of deep conversation and laughter that we've made a good start on the many critical readings to come. A partial list of references and quotations that we mention or paraphrase in this episode . . . On “prefascist twilight”: “And other grandfolks could be heard arguing the perennial question of whether the United States still lingered in a prefascist twilight, or whether that darkness had fallen long stupefied years ago, and the light they thought they saw was coming only from millions of Tubes all showing the same bright-colored shadows. One by one, as other voices joined in, the names began, some shouted, some accompanied by spit, the old reliable names good for hours of contention, stomach distress, and insomnia – Hitler, Roosevelt, Kennedy, Nixon, Hoover, Mafia, CIA, Reagan, Kissinger, that collection of names and their tragic interweaving that stood not constellated above in any nightwide remoteness of light, but below, diminished to the last unfaceable American secret, to be pressed, each time deeper, again and again beneath the meanest of random soles, one blackly fermenting leaf on the forest floor that nobody wanted to turn over, because of all that lived, virulent, waiting, just beneath.” (Pynchon, Vineland (1990)) On “second sheep”: “Our common nightmare The Bomb is in there too. It was bad enough in '59 and is much worse now, as the level of danger has continued to grow. There was never anything subliminal about it, then or now. Except for that succession of the criminally insane who have enjoyed power since 1945, including the power to do something about it, most of the rest of us poor sheep have always been stuck with simple, standard fear. I think we all have tried to deal with this slow escalation of our helplessness and terror in the few ways open to us, from not thinking about it to going crazy from it. Somewhere on this spectrum of impotence is writing fiction about it.” (Pynchon, “Introduction,” Slow Learner (1984)) The “Sloth essay paragraph” mentioned midway through: “In this century we have come to think of Sloth as primarily political, a failure of public will allowing the introduction of evil policies and the rise of evil regimes, the worldwide fascist ascendancy of the 1920's and 30's being perhaps Sloth's finest hour, though the Vietnam era and the Reagan-Bush years are not far behind. Fiction and nonfiction alike are full of characters who fail to do what they should because of the effort involved. How can we not recognize our world? Occasions for choosing good present themselves in public and private for us every day, and we pass them by. Acedia is the vernacular of everyday moral life.” (Pynchon, “Nearer, My Couch, To Thee” (1993)) Don DeLillo Papers, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas-Austin The Motherland Calls statue, Volgograd: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Motherland_Calls Pareidolia defined: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia
Part 2 of our Pearl Harbor series opens in the days after the attack, when a different kind of shockwave rolled across the American mainland—one made of fear, suspicion, and the haunting belief that the next strike might come from within. Japanese immigrants and Japanese American citizens, many of whom had lived in the U.S. for generations, suddenly became targets of rumor and paranoia. Newspapers printed tales of coded signals flashing from fishing boats, imagined spy rings in farming communities, and sabotage plots that never occurred. In this atmosphere, fear didn't just spread—it multiplied.That fear soon took legal shape. In February 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, forcing more than 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry—most of them American citizens—to leave their homes and report to inland camps surrounded by barbed wire. Families packed what they could carry and stepped into a world built on suspicion, not evidence.But the heart of this episode lies in the question that refuses to die: did the U.S. government know more about the coming attack than it ever admitted? We step into the murky realm of broken diplomatic codes, delayed warnings, and the infamous Henry Stimson diary entry about “maneuvering Japan into firing the first shot.” We examine the intelligence intercepts that suggested war was imminent, the last-minute messages that reached Hawaii too late, and the political and strategic pressures building inside Washington in 1941.Was it conspiracy? Was it incompetence? Or was it simply the fog and friction of a world sliding toward global war?www.patreon.com/theconspiracypodcast
RDOD — Cruise Gift Giving & How to Gift a Cruise as a Surprise Thinking about giving the ultimate gift this year? From unforgettable surprise reveals to stocking stuffers every cruiser will actually use, we're breaking down the best ways to gift a cruise—and the must-have items to wrap up (or secretly pack!) for the big reveal. Whether you're surprising a spouse, a kid, or an entire family, this episode will help you make the moment magical. Episode Summary This week on Rope Drop On Deck, Doug and Michelle dive into the art of cruise gift-giving! It's that time of year, and if you're dreaming of surprising someone with a sailing—whether for Christmas, a birthday, an anniversary, or "just because"—we've got your blueprint. We walk through the best ways to surprise someone with a cruise, how to plan around logistics, and the top stocking stuffers and under-the-tree gifts that every cruiser will appreciate. From passport holders to packing cubes to cruise-ready outfits, we're covering all the fun, practical, and unexpected items to elevate your next adventure at sea. Word of the day thanks to Back To The Mouse. - Cargo
Following the Supreme Court arguments in Slaughter v. United States, Sarah Isgur and David French join legal scholar Adam White to break down a session that became a referendum on whether Congress can insulate modern independent agencies from presidential control. SCOTUSblog's Amy Howe also joins from the steps of the Supreme Court to relay her observations from inside the courtroom.Watch the livestream here. Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch's offerings including access to all of our articles, members-only newsletters, and bonus podcast episodes click here. If you'd like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1940: The Fall of France and the Rise of Churchill: Colleague Charles Spicer recounts that as the British Expeditionary Force retreated from Dunkirk in May 1940, Winston Churchill became Prime Minister and actively utilized intelligence from Christie and Vansittart; critiquing the 1940 book Guilty Men as a simplistic polemic that established the popular narrative blaming appeasers for the war, the narrative highlights Lord Lothian's success in Washington persuading Roosevelt to support Britain, and connects Rudolf Hess's flight to Scotland to the Fellowship, explaining that Hess sought out the Duke of Hamilton in a delusional attempt to broker peace. 1938
2/8. The Populist Challenge: Huey Long's Legacy and Eugene Talmadge — David Pietrusza — Roosevelt faced formidable challenges from both the populist left and the conservative South. Although Huey Long (representing the radical Share Our Wealth program) was assassinated in 1935, his political strategy envisioned electing Republicans in 1936 to pave the path for his own presidential bid in 1940. FDR also contended with Eugene Talmadge, a Georgianconservative populist who employed race-baiting rhetoric and opposed New Deal welfare program funding, representing a distinct political threat. 1936 BERLIN
1/8. FDR's 1936 Campaign Begins Amid Loss and Opposition from the Right — David Pietrusza — Pietrusza'sbook Roosevelt Sweeps Nation details the opening phase of FDR's 1936 reelection campaign, commencing with the April death of Franklin D. Roosevelt's principal political advisor, Louis Howe, a devastating personal and strategic loss. Roosevelt immediately confronted sharp opposition from the political right, spearheaded by his former mentor Al Smith, who aligned with the wealthy American Liberty League. Roosevelt strategically leveraged Smith's challenge to wage an aggressive class warfare campaign emphasizing wealth redistribution and populist appeals. 1936
4/8. FDR Deals with the Socialist and Communist Parties — David Pietrusza — Roosevelt expressed concern that the Socialist Party (led by Norman Thomas) and the Communist Party (led by Earl Browder) would siphon votes from the Democratic ticket. Due to Stalin's strategic pivot toward the Popular Front strategy opposing Hitler, the CPUSA, directed by Browder, tacitly supported Roosevelt by concentrating opposition fire on the Republican nominee. The Communists aligned strategically with radical organizations including the Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota. 1936 BERLIN