America Doc Comm

In the US prices for everything form gas to lumber are going up, up, up! Doc and Harpo discuss. They also talk about a new addition to Doc's family and what the future looks like for him.

This week Harpo talks about meeting former Vice President Mike Pence in person. What was it like? How did it go? What gift did Harpo give to the Vice President? Listen and find out!

Following the disastrous Facebook outage on Monday, Doc and Harpo discuss the social media platform and its corrosive effects on people. Then they discuss whether or not Donald Trump will run again in 2024 (hint: he will).

Last week Doc and Harpo talked about Doc's current home state of California. This week they discuss Harpo's home Georgia. What makes it tick? They talk about why Georgia is going to be THE state to watch politically in 2022. They also make a bet on how much junk mail Harpo's going to get between now and next November.

California means a lot of things to a lot of people. Beautiful state/hard place to live. Land of opportunity/land of inequality. Progressive dynamo/liberal hellhole. Doc and Harpo cut through the chatter to break down some of the policies that are at the heart of the California dream.

America recently hit a major milestone - the twentieth anniversary of September 11th. Where were you on that day? Doc and Harpo discuss. They also talk a bit about the special California recall election.

At 3:29pm ET on Monday, August 30, the last US military plane flew out of Afghanistan and ended the war there. There were scenes of chaos around the airport in the final days of the evacuation, including the deaths of 13 US service members to an ISIS-K suicide bombers, and fear as the Taliban resumed control of the country. It is a sad day for America. Doc and Harpo discuss.

Since the fall of Afghanistan last week there has been a desperate effort on the part of Afghans to get out of the country and by American veterans to get them out. Local Afghans who worked with the US and coalition forces over the past twenty years have been targeted for retaliation by the Taliban. Bruce Batson is a Marine veteran from 2/7 who is working tirelessly to get some interpreters out. From his home in Texas he has led a grassroots effort that has had him in touch with Afghans and military alike. Doc and Harpo talk to him about what's been happening.

The past week has brought a terrible reckoning in Afghanistan. After a lightning fast advance, the Taliban took control of the provincial capitals across the country before taking Kabul itself. There has been a frantic evacuation effort by the US and its NATO partners to get personnel out. The Taliban are promising a peaceful transition but their history demonstrates nothing but brutality. Doc and Harpo invited Matthew Maxwell, a brother Marine from 2/7, onto the show to discuss. He explained in-depth some of the problems in Afghanistan, how we got here and what's next.

Everyone's social media feeds are different. Based on what we like, who we are connected with and what we say will feed algorithms that we can't control which then curate our feeds. That often means that people live in radically different information bubbles. Doc and Harpo talk about what's on theirs and ways to make social media better.