Call It Like I See It

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana take a look at Albert Einstein’s 1946 essay “The Negro Question” and discuss how Einstein saw race affecting American society as well as Einstein’s perspective on an issue like that.  The guys then react to a piece from the Christian Century magazine about both longstanding and recent connections between Africa and Judaism which refute many people’s modern conceptions of the Jewish religion and people.

Einstein's Civil Rights Activism (PBS)

The Negro Question, by Albert Einstein (Sigma Xi)

Judaism’s deep roots and new offshoots in Africa (The Christian Century)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss the shocking statistics on how little spending power Gen Z has compared to what baby boomers had in their twenties, the reason American society was set up for baby boomers to succeed, and the way it has been reconfigured since the baby boomers in ways that made it harder for subsequent generations to get ahead.

Gen Z has 86% less purchasing power than baby boomers did in their 20s (Fast Company)

Baby boomers have now ‘gobbled up’ nearly one-third of America’s wealth share, and they’re leaving Gen Z and millennials behind (Fortune)

Why College Graduates Feel Betrayed (NY Times)

James Keys and Rob Richardson take a look at a recent claim from Goldman Sachs that the ongoing AI boom we are living through, with the hundreds of billions of dollars of investment and endless hype from media and corporate interests, did not actually produce GDP growth in the US in 2025.  The guys also consider whether there is any truth to the narrative that AU development is being held back by too much regulation in the US.

You’ll Snort-Laugh When You Learn How Much AI Actually Added to the US Economy Last Year (Futurism)

Goldman finds ‘no meaningful relationship between AI and productivity at the economy-wide level,’ but a 30% boost for 2 specific use cases (Fortune)

Is AI already driving U.S. growth? (JP Morgan Asset Management)

‘Things are going to get much, much worse’: Andrew Yang says AI could eliminate millions of jobs and split the US economy — how to stay ahead (Moneywise)

Uber CEO says other execs are lying about AI: 'They say it'll be fine' publicly but privately admit millions of jobs are gone (Moneywise)

Why the Trump Administration’s Latest Approach to AI Deregulation is Dangerous (NYU Stern Center for Business & Human Rights)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss willpower and its limitations, and consider whether the common effort by parents to help kids strengthen their willpower in order to prepare their kids to make good choices in life may be misguided or if it actually is just setting one up for failure.  The guys then discuss  the continuing importance of strength training as one ages and take a look at how strength training must evolve to as the body changes.

Kids' willpower is no match for fast food and screens. Try this instead (NPR)

How to Take On Your Workouts After 40 to Keep Building Muscle and Strength (Men's Health)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana react to the ongoing efforts in the US government to allow for more toxic chemicals including glyphosate, the ingredient in herbicides like Roundup, and forever chemical based pesticides, to be introduced into people’s food and water and consider whether all the talk about making America healthy was just a scam.

Trump angering MAHA with glyphosate order gives Democrats an opening (CNBC)

Trump officials set to approve ‘forever chemical’ as pesticide ingredient (The Guardian)

Trump EPA Approves Its First ‘Forever Chemical’ Pesticide (Center for Biological Diversity)

Republican House bill guts laws protecting US consumers from toxic chemicals (The Guardian)

Former Staff Show How Trump Acted to Upend EPA’s Mission and “Make America Sicker” (Mother Jones)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss Kyle Chayka’s “Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture,” the 2024 book that looks at where the recommendation algorithms that control what we consume on services like Instagram, TikTok, Netflx and Spotify came from, how they work to change us and the trajectory of our culture, what we may be losing from a personal and cultural standpoint as we continue to hand over so much of our decision making on what we see to them.

Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture (Penguin Random House)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana react to a surprising study from the Cato Institute, the well-known libertarian think tank, which demonstrates that over the last 30 years, immigrants (counting both legal and illegal) have contributed trillions more in taxes to federal, state, and local governments than they received back in benefits.  The guys also discuss how immigrants have been and remain an effective way to continually infuse youth into a society grow economic output and avoid economic contraction due to population aging.

Cato Study: Immigrants Reduced Deficits by $14.5 Trillion Since 1994 (Cato Institute)

Europe’s population crisis could shave 4% off its GDP by 2040, Morgan Stanley warns, and the options to solve it aren’t good (Fortune)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana continue their Streaming Between the Lines series and discuss “Paul Robeson: Here I Stand,” the 1999 documentary that was directed by St. Clair Bourne for the PBS series American Masters and is currently streaming on many platforms. The guys marvel at Robeson’s ability to rise to the top in so many distinct fields, including sports, law, concert artist, Broadway performer, movie star, and activist, consider how his life shaped, and was shaped by, some of the most significant events and circumstances in the 20th century, and reflect on how Robeson could be one of the most famous men in the world in the first half of the 20th century and also be largely unknown now.

Paul Robeson: Here I Stand Documentary (YouTube)

'The most famous black person in America': How the 1950s 'Red Scare' erased a US icon (BBC)

‘The most dangerous man in America’: how Paul Robeson went from Hollywood to blacklist (The Guardian)

Paul Robeson: Here I Stand Interviews (PBS)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana react to a piece from Emma Frederickson at Popular Mechanics that asserts that humans are naturally telepathic based on the observation of how some people’s brainwaves may synchronize during communication or collaboration.  The guys then discuss an article by Andrew Paul in Popular Science that takes a look at recent research into the role size may play in a man’s appeal to women and makes a surprising contention that the size of a man’s “manhood,” so to speak, is typically something that men pay more attention to than women do.

Your BraiPenis size may matter more to men than women (Popular Science)n Is Naturally Telepathic, Research Suggests—Meaning Our Minds Are All Connected (Popular Mechanics)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss the new era that has emerged in college sports with players getting paid, particularly in sports like men’s basketball where marginal professionals are already now flooding in seeking to reestablish eligibility.  The guys also consider what brought about the fall of amateurism and the old order in the revenue sports like football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball, and how this change affects the nature of the competition in college sports and participants on a personal level.

What to know about Charles Bediako, more men's college basketball eligibility cases (ESPN)

Some Pro Basketball Players Get a “Do-Over” in College (Yahoo! Sports)

The NCAA and the Myth of Amateurism (NY Times)

Amari Bailey, with 10 games in NBA, seeks college eligibility (ESPN)

Miami linebacker Mohamed Toure plans to return for his eighth year in college football (Pro Football Talk)