Call It Like I See It

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana consider why President Trump has seemingly met some resistance coming from the right, and even from former allies like Elon Musk, in getting his so called “Big Beautiful Bill” through the Republican controlled Congress, especially since the Republican party has for a long time displayed an almost complete fealty to the President.

What is the Big Beautiful Bill and why are Elon Musk and Donald Trump fighting over it? (ABC News Australia) 

Thune’s first big test as Senate leader has arrived with Trump’s tax bill (AP News)

The fine print: 5 things that even some Republicans didn't realize were buried in Trump's 'big, beautiful' budget bill (Yahoo! News)

Republicans Admit They Didn’t Even Read Their Big Beautiful Bill (Intelligencer)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana take a look at the how the “future” was envisioned in the Back to the Future” movie trilogy, specifically “Back to the Future 2,”and discuss how present times match up with what was imagined in the 1989.

Are we living in Back to the Future? Scientists reveal what the cult film got right… and wrong (Daily Mail)

One of the Most Iconic Sci-Fi Trilogies Began 40 Years Ago This Summer (MovieWeb)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana react to reports about the extent to which South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace and her staff have been using things like bot armies, burner accounts and other social media techniques to boost her public profile and perception (and not just while campaigning but also while she has been in office), and consider whether her alleged approach is business as usual, an outlier, or a natural progression as far as politician behavior.

Nancy Mace ran bot army, had staff run fake accounts to boost profile, report claims: ‘It’s what she does for fun’ (The Independent)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana react to the super realistic Veo 3 AI video generator that was recently released by Google, and consider whether it’s time to start worrying about the capabilities of AI - and about what it may do to us.  The guys also discuss whether the nature of our culture will compel us to continue down this path, even if we know it will lead to ruin.

Google's Veo 3 AI video generator is unlike anything you've ever seen. The world isn't ready. (Mashable)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana take a look at recent trends in how NBA basketball is being played and consider the concepts like “pace and space” are giving younger teams a leg up on older teams, particularly because the NBA has historically been dominated by veteran teams, not young ones.  The guys also consider whether the NBA’s television broadcasts do a good enough job explaining the new things that are going on on the court.

Step aside, millennial NBA stars: Gen Z is taking over — and winning a title could be a young man’s game now (Yahoo! Sports)

Warriors coach Steve Kerr thinks an 82-game NBA regular season is too much (The Athletic)

LeBron James Had Bummed Out Line About How Older Players Hurt the Game He Loves (Sports Illustrated)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana take a look at a recent analysis from ISeeCars that suggests Tesla’s are the deadliest cars on the road based on the fatalities per mile driven, particularly in light of Gilbert Arenas’s claim that it was a steering wheel malfunction led to his son Alijah’s accident that resulted in Alijah being in a coma for days.

Gilbert Arenas Blames Son’s Car Accident On Tesla Cybertruck Malfunction (Vibe)

The Deadliest Car Brand in America Is … (Motortrend)

Retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman joins James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana to discuss his new book, “The Folly of Realism: How the West Deceived Itself About Russia and Betrayed Ukraine” and how over the past few decades, a short term transactional approach to international relationships as opposed to a long term values based approach, has really sold American interests short.

Why It Matters (Alexander Vindman Substack)

The Folly of Realism (Hatchette Book Group)

Here, Right Matters (HarpersCollins)

VoteVets (votevets.org)

Here Right Matters Foundation (hererightmattersfoundation.org)

In this special crossover event with Call It Like I See It podcast and the Disruption Now podcast, Rob Richardson joins James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana to take a look at what’s going on with the manosphere and consider why there is so much focus on masculinity in our culture.

The ‘Manosphere’? It’s Planet Earth. (New York Times)

What is the Manosphere? A Parent’s Guide to Online Misogyny (Bright Canary)

The manosphere isn’t just about economic power – it’s about gender power (Monash Univeristy)

We Underestimate the Manosphere at Our Peril (New York Times)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana take a look at the “Die With Zero” rule from hedge fund manager and best-selling author Bill Perkins, which has picked up some steam recently in wealth management and retirement circles, and consider why its goal idea of maximizing experiences lived requires some to overcome not just psychological hurdles but also evolutionary hurdles.

The 'Die With Zero' Rule of Retirement (Kiplinger)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana consider whether American society needs GLP-1 drugs because of the way they work on people’s brains to help them eat less, particularly because the food industry in America apparently has gotten so good at formulating foods that work on people’s brains to make them eat more.  The guys also consider why so many people feel the need to hide their use of the drugs in light of how popular they are.

In a World of Addictive Foods, We Need GLP-1s (New York Times)

‘I lost so much weight, my husband thought I was terminally ill’: why do people lie about taking Ozempic? (The Guardian)