Centered From Reality

In this episode, Alex rushes to get his thoughts out before making some shrimp tacos. He starts by sharing his thoughts on the alleged “online” affair between the New York Magazine journalist Olivia Nuzzi and RFK Jr. Alex thinks that the coverage has been too focused on her and not enough on RFK Jr., who has a record of unethical behavior. Next, Alex focuses on Hurricane Helene and how this summer has been unprecedented regarding hurricanes and damage. With more establishments being impacted by hurricane damage, the public policy world is going to need to evolve. Finally, Alex talks about Trump releasing a series of limited watches that range from $100k to $500. Alex talks about the attention economy, why Trump is doing this, and why he is shocked that Trump’s grift continues to work. 

In this episode, Alex starts with a rant on Katy Perry. Then he gives a brief update on the federal charges launched at Mayor Eric Adams. For the rest of the episode, Alex talks about Vladamir Putin threatening the use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine if the west supplies it with long range missiles. He also talks about the tragic and likely unjust execution of Marcellus Williams by the justice system in Missouri. 

In this episode, Alex starts by talking about the horrific candidate in North Carolina’s gubernatorial race, Mark Robinson. Next, Alex reacts to a recent interview with Donald Trump. In the interview, Trump said that he would not run in 2028 if he loses in 2024. Finally, Alex breaks down the recent back and fourth attacks in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah following the pager attacks last week. Israel’s attacks in Lebanon have been the worst since the 2006 war. 

In this episode, Alex looks out into the rain and reflects on the news of the day. First, the rapper Sean Combs (Diddy, Puff Daddy, etc) was indicted by the Southern District of New York. US Attorney in the district, Damien Williams, outlined the charges, they include racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and interstate transportation for prostitution. Next, Alex laments Scientific American endorsing Kamala Harris because he doesn’t like the precedent it sets. Then Alex talks about Trump’s war with Taylor Swift, JD Vance’s crusade to look like an a**hole, and how Kamala Harris is now leading in some swing states. Finally, Alex breaks down the pager bomb attacks that rocked Lebanon yesterday. He worries that this is relude to a larger Israeli operation in Lebanon. For months Israel has been growing increasingly frustrated at Hezbollah over rocket attacks in the northern Israel. Now it looks like diplomacy has failed. 

In this episode, Alex starts by lamenting his career choices while TikTok influencers are doing better than ever. Next, Alex gets to the serious news talking about the second assassination attempt on Donald Trump within two months. Alex breaks down the logistics, politics, and outcry around this event. He doesn’t think it is good that Trump is blaming the rhetoric of Democrats for the attempt while he is also getting more radicalized. Finally, Alex takes a deep dive into Laura Loomer. She is a white nationalist and conspiracy theorist who’s proximity to Donald Trump is worrying some campaign staffers and Republican lawmakers. Alex wonders if the end is coming for the movement as Trump seems to be increasingly unhinged and close to extremists. 

In this episode, Alex starts by ranting about how the kids aren’t alright these days. Then he gets into the post-debate news cycle, polling shows that a lot of voters think Harris won the debate but Alex encourages people to be cautious and not celebrate yet. The race is still close and there is a lot of time. Later, Alex talks about whether Trump will do a second debate, why he claims to have won the debate, and whether the moderators did a fair job. Alex also talks about Elon Musk and Megyn Kelly attacking Taylor Swift for endorsing Harris. He thinks they just look small and petty. Finally, Alex finally reacts to the interview between Tucker Carlson and Darryl Cooper. Cooper is a pseudo historian with no background that Tucker claims is the greatest in the world. Cooper claims that Winston Churchill was the real villain of World War 2 and that the Nazis killed a lot of people due to logistical issues and a lack of supplies to give to POWs. Alex argues that Tucker is trying to create an alternative narrative for right-wing isolationism. He also talks about how podcast historians can be dangerous. 

In this episode, Alex does a full recep of the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. He argues that Harris did not win the debate, but she did perform better than Trump who lied non-stop but seemed calm and collected. Alex wonders if this debate changed any minds. It seems like her positive message may have appealed to moderates, but with a close election, most people have already made up their minds. 

In this episode, Alex starts by talking about Liz Cheney endorsing Kamala Harris. Then he shares the final part of his interview with Cole Costello. They talk about the darker and more nefarious side of Americana — the domestic and historic shared culture of the United States. America’s early history is littered with strange mysticism, nationalism, and individualism. Aside from its own legends and myths, it also has involved different groups of people doing their own thing and wanted to be isolated in the process. Regional and ideological isolationism can lead to an early America that has one not knowing what kind of people are in the town over from them. Cole talks about the second wave of this phenomenon and they relate this concept to modern politics, division, and more. Cole argues that some of the nostalgia that Americans feel today can stem from this hard to define yet easy to understand concept of Americana culture. 

For the first part of this episode, Alex gives some updates on events happening in the world. He talks about Trump on Lex Fridman and the Hawk Tuah girl starting a podcast called “Talk Tuah.” Then Alex provides some updates and analysis regarding the War in Ukraine and how Russia is responding to the recent incursion. Then, for the majority of the episode, the second part of Alex’s conversation with Cole Costello is played. Cole enligthens Alex on what his PhD candidacy is on and they talk about Irish labor movements in Butte, Montana. Then they debate unions in the current era, capitalism, and more. 

In this episode, Alex releases part one of his interview with Cole Costello, a PhD candidate at the University of Montana. In this first part, the two talk about why Cole thinks Pearl Jam is the Bruce Springsteen for Gen X in the west coast. He also helps Alex understand grunge music. The two also talk about how the NFL is getting greedy and lazy at the same time, they base this conversation on the NFL putting games in Brazil and other foreign countries. Alex then educates Cole on the RFK Jr. controversies and the weird behavior that led up to his endorsement of Trump.