Centered From Reality

In this episode, Alex goes over the growing worries coming from inside the Democratic Party over Biden’s age and how it could impact his chances of reelection. Due to the topic, Alex provides his top ten Democratic politicians that he thinks would be great presidential candidates going into 2028 and beyond!

In this episode, Alex is all over the place. He starts by laughing at Lauren Boebert who was kicked out of a Beetlejuice play in Denver for causing a scene. He also laughs at Kevin McCarthy for having a horrible week as speaker of the house. Alex then gets into foreign policy events. He starts by talking about the devastating events in Libya and then goes over his worries about the recent meeting between Russia and North Korea. This event could be bad for Ukraine and horrific for nuclear stability in Asia. Finally, Alex talks about how Russian spies that have no connection to Russia, known as illegals, have been showing up in Europe and are now flourishing in Latin America.

In this episode, Alex laments the fact that one of Utah’s Senators, Mitt Romney, will not be seeking re-election. Alex takes his listeners through Romney’s fall from the Republican standard bearer to an anti-Trump pariah and why values over survival are important. It seems like Senator Romney actually valued his role as a United States Senator but was disillusioned with the moral failings of many of his colleagues. Alex argues that there should be more Romneys in a healthy Senate and his actions were morally, and politically, necessary.

In this episode, Alex starts by discussing the tragic devastation following a magnitude 6.8 earthquake that rocked the Atlas Mountains near Marrakech, Morocco, on Friday night. At the time of the recording, over 2000 people have died, historic parts of Marrakech have been destroyed, and it will be difficult to get aid to some of the rural mountain villages that were heavily impacted. Next, Alex talks about how X and Elon Musk are in more trouble. Musk has rallied behind a movement on X that blames the Anti-Defamation League for X struggles. The movement was mainly started by white nationalists and Alex argues that it explains why many critics think that X has become a cesspool of disinformation and hate. Later, Alex argues that Article 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, which says an elected official is disqualified from office is they violated their oath to the Constitution, is a false hope for preventing Donald Trump from being re-elected. Finally, Alex discusses how climate activists need to find a new approach.

In this episode, Alex starts by expressing his worries around an increasingly strong alliance between Russia, North Korea, and Russia. He worries that as the United States and Russia have pulled out of nuclear accountability treaties like New Start, Russia and China may attempt to strengthen their arsenals. North Korea could be a perfect playground for these nations. For the rest of the episode, Alex discusses how Enrique Tarrio, the former chairman of the Proud Boys, has been sentenced to 22 years in prison after his seditious actions leading up to January 6th. Alex breaks down why seditious-conspiracy charges can be easier to prosecute than treason charges. He also talks about why this form of accountability is crucial.

In the second part of Alex’s conversation with María Tribe, the two focus on the corruption, racism, and sexism that is prevalent in Soccer’s insitutions such as FIFA, the Spanish Federation, and other countries. María also reflects on her time playing semi-professional soccer in Spain and discusses there being a lack of strong influences for women and also she talks about the ignorance she experienced from others. In the end, the two talk about pop culture, Barbie, American Politics, and how there must be centrism and discourse in politics.

In the first part of this two hour conversation with María Tribe, Alex’s close friend from Spain that has played semi-professional soccer, the two cover a wide range of topics. They discuss the Barbie movie and its relationship with masculinity, equality versus equity versus negative equity and how it impacts feminism. The two also talk about how traditional values, right-wing monarchism, and the ghosts from the Spanish Civil War have haunted sports such as soccer in Spain. Alex and María also talk about how Spain’s oppressive reaction to Catolonian independence movements divided society and pushed groups deeper into their political corners. The two think that society is getting to a point where conversation is getting more and more difficult.

Beach rock legend and Margaritaville Tycoon, Jimmy Buffett, died on Friday night at the age of 76. Alex puts out his thoughts on how Buffett impacted his life and millions of others. Alex reflects on his night at a small bar where everyone came together around his death. He also argues that Buffett basically helped the average American feel content with checking out from their lives for a bit and acting like a true “beach bum.” Buffett made the Average Joe feel like everything was alright. For the rest of the episode, Alex talks about how intense rainfall on Friday night caused mud-like pools at the Burning Man Festival in Nevada. This weather event has stranded thousands at the event and many of its festivities have been postponed or cancelled.

In this episode, Alex starts by discussing how an emerging variant of COVID-19 is leading to a new panic (and conspiracies) about lockdowns, election interference,and government control. Next, Alex goes into the new frontlines of the culture war - the Biden Administration may start recommending people only drink two beers per week. Much like gas stoves, pizza ovens, and water pressure, this topic has fueled an insane reaction from the American Right. Alex plays a video of Ted Cruz acting brave, drinking a beer, telling Biden to “kiss my ass”, and telling people to keep drinking beer. It seems like the right has run out of governing ideas and now is focused on absurd culture war issues. For the rest of the episode, Alex looks into the inevitable impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden. Will it hurt Republicans? Is it merely political? All signs point to it backfiring.

After a recent shooting in Jacksonville, DeSantis was booed at a press conference, some blamed his rhetoric, others have cited Senator Rick Scott’s divisive video from a few months ago. Alex talks about whether political rhetoric can fuel the flames, whether gun violence is the deeper threat, and how some solely blame the rhetoric because the elephant in the room is that we have too many guns in society. In the end, it feels like politics are blinding the population to the reality that the gun issue is imbedded in US culture.