El Podcast

In this episode, researcher Mads Larsen warns that modern societies may be on a path to self-eradication unless we find a way to reconcile female freedom with reproduction.

Guest Info: Mads Larsen, researcher at the University of Oslo and author of Stories of Love: From Vikings to Tinder (open access)

Topics Covered:

• Global population collapse and generational shrinkage
• Why South Korea’s fertility rate (.7) spells demographic disaster
• How female mate choice and Tinder skew the dating market
• Historical shifts from arranged marriage to individual choice
• Norway’s generous welfare state—and why it hasn’t stopped fertility decline
• The illusion of immigration as a solution
• The psychological and economic impacts of declining reproduction
• Polygamy, incels, and mating inequality
• The promise (and risk) of AI and automation for humanity’s future

📺Watch the full episode on YouTube➡️https://youtu.be/LEUX89IARV0

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/
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Professor Martin Grace explains how natural disasters, inflation, bad policy, and population shifts are breaking the U.S. homeowners insurance market — and what that means for your future coverage.

👤 Guest Bio: Dr. Martin F. Grace is a professor of risk management and insurance at the Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa. A nationally recognized expert on insurance regulation and catastrophe risk, he has published extensively on property insurance, tort reform, and disaster economics. Prior to joining Iowa, he taught at Temple University and Georgia State University.

📚 Topics Covered:

• Why homeowners insurance is getting more expensive and harder to obtain
• The effects of hurricanes, wildfires, and convective storms on insurers
• How COVID-19 disrupted housing markets, labor, and supply chains
• The failures of public insurance programs in Florida and California
• The hidden risks of flood zones and outdated FEMA maps
• The role of reinsurance and why global markets matter
• Why many condo HOAs are underinsured and at risk
• The need for bundled flood and homeowners coverage
• Policy fixes that could stabilize the system over the next two decades

📺Watch the full episode on YouTube➡️https://youtu.be/ZGMqJhmue6M

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/
📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us.

Thanks for listening!

Tax reform architect Scott Hodge breaks down the bold plan to cut trillions in federal spending, streamline bureaucracy, and tackle America’s unsustainable budget—one obsolete agency at a time.

👤 Guest Bio: Scott Hodge is President Emeritus and Senior Policy Advisor at the Tax Foundation, where he served as president for over 20 years. A national expert on tax policy, budget reform, and government inefficiency, Hodge helped design the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and has testified before Congress over 30 times. He has spent decades studying how to make government leaner, more accountable, and less expensive.

📚 Topics Covered:

• What the proposed “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) would actually do
• Whether it's realistic to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget
• Why it's so hard to shrink government despite obvious waste
• Examples of outdated agencies and programs that should be eliminated
• The influence of entrenched nonprofits and the “NGO-industrial complex”
• Why Social Security and Medicare are growing faster than the economy
• How student loans fuel the college affordability crisis
• The hidden size of government—federal contractors, state agencies, and off-the-books spending
• Why optics, messaging, and marketing matter when reforming government
• The risks of “bulldozer” reform versus strategic dismantling
• Lessons from past efforts (Reagan, Clinton, Nixon) to downsize government
• Why true reform needs to start with taxpayers understanding the cost of government

📺Watch the full episode on YouTube:📺➡️https://youtu.be/3mHo5-eL4iU

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/
📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us.

Thanks for listening!

Bankrate senior writer Jeff Ostrowski returns to discuss the evolving real estate commission rules, post-disaster housing markets, Airbnb regulations, mortgage rates, commercial real estate shifts, and the long-term impact of U.S. demographic aging on housing.

Guest Info: Jeff Ostrowski – Senior Writer at Bankrate, award-winning journalist with over 20 years covering real estate; board member of the National Association of Real Estate Editors since 2019.

Topics Covered:

• Real estate commission lawsuit and rule changes
• Post-hurricane housing dynamics in Asheville and Florida
• FEMA floodplain regulations and rebuild requirements
• Airbnb and short-term rental restrictions
• Mortgage rate trends and Fed policy
• Commercial real estate and the future of office space
• Population aging, Baby Boomer housing decisions, and long-term U.S. housing supply outlook

📺Watch the full episode on YouTube➡️https://youtu.be/SraqX4tbqtE

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/
📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us.

Thanks for listening!

Veteran financial journalist and bestselling author Diana B. Henriques joins to discuss the historical parallels between the unregulated crypto markets of today and the chaotic Wall Street of the 1920s, drawing from her latest book Taming the Street, which chronicles FDR’s creation of the SEC, the FDIC, and other transformative reforms that reshaped American capitalism.

Guest Info: Diana B. Henriques – Award-winning investigative journalist, former New York Times financial reporter, and bestselling author of The Wizard of Lies (on Bernie Madoff) and Taming the Street (2023), which explores how FDR’s New Deal brought accountability to U.S. financial markets.

Topics Covered:

• Parallels between crypto and pre-SEC Wall Street
• The 1920s income inequality and consumer debt buildup
• FDR’s creation of the SEC, FDIC, Glass-Steagall, and Public Utility Holding Company Act
• Joseph P. Kennedy as the first SEC chair
• Dangers of deregulation and recent Supreme Court decisions
• Role of misinformation in modern elections
• Bernie Madoff’s fraud compared to crypto platforms
• Centralization of finance and decline of local journalism
• AI, autocracy, and the future of democratic governance

📺Watch the full episode on YouTube:➡️https://youtu.be/FEba679WyDc

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/
📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us.

Thanks for listening!

Law professor Ken Klein explains why so many Americans are unprotected against natural disasters—and what happens when your home is gone and insurance falls short.

Guest Bio: Ken Klein is a law professor at California Western School of Law specializing in disaster recovery, insurance law, and housing policy.

Topics Covered:

• What standard homeowners insurance covers (and doesn’t)
• Flood vs. wind damage and the legal gray zones
• Why most people are underinsured and how to fix it
• The role of mortgage lenders and force-placed insurance
• Recovery timelines and psychological toll of losing a home
• Market speculation after disasters (e.g. Lahaina, Asheville)
• Government programs, last-resort insurance, and FEMA’s role
• Equity concerns for low-income and generational homeowners
• Policy reform challenges and why there's no quick fix
• Practical tips for homeowners to get better coverage

Watch the full episode on YouTube➡️https://youtu.be/W2vwJ2dpHIU

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/
📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us.

Thanks for listening!

Four acclaimed authors join us to share the books that shaped their lives—and the stories they believe everyone should read.

📚 Guest Bios:

• Diana Henriques – Award-winning journalist and author of The Wizard of Lies and Taming the Street, expert on financial fraud and Wall Street history.
• Robert Lipsyte – Legendary sportswriter, author of The Contender, and former New York Times columnist known for his coverage of Muhammad Ali.
• Brody Mullins – Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative reporter, formerly of The Wall Street Journal, author of The Wolves of K Street, uncovering lobbying and political influence.
• Dr. Catherine Pakaluk – Economist and social philosopher at The Catholic University of America, author of Hannah’s Children, exploring family, fertility, and social change.

📖 Topics Covered:

• The books that changed their lives—and why they matter.
• Forgotten classics, formative childhood reads, and literary role models.
• Writing craft and storytelling insights from journalism and academia.
• The evolving power of billionaires and corporations in U.S. politics.
• The crisis of attention and the role of books in the age of screens.
• Encouragement for young readers and the enduring value of fiction.

📺Watch the full episode on YouTube📺➡️https://youtu.be/VmnQJpb2YS8

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/
📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us.

Thanks for listening!

Dr. Catherine Pakaluk, economist and author of Hannah’s Children, discusses why some American women still choose large families, what it means for the future of society, and the deeper meaning of parenthood in an age of demographic decline.

Guest Bio: Dr. Catherine Pakaluk is an economist and associate professor at The Catholic University of America with a PhD from Harvard, known for her work on family, faith, and fertility.

Topics Covered: 

• The motivation behind Hannah’s Children and the “5% Club” of high-fertility women
• What these women believe about children, purpose, and blessings
• Why pro-natal policies (like cash incentives) largely fail
• Economic consequences of a shrinking population and workforce
• How children build resilience, empathy, and social skills through siblings
• The problem of overparenting and emotional fragility in small families
• Religious communities as key to sustaining fertility
• Personal reflections on parenting, sacrifice, and long-term meaning
• The U.S. fiscal future: Social Security, taxes, and investor outlook
• Upcoming project: interviews with high-fertility fathers

📺Watch the full episode on YouTube➡️https://youtu.be/kVCWvNbLDAw

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/
📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us.

Thanks for listening!

Investigative journalist Geoff White explains how modern technology—from crypto to the dark web—has revolutionized money laundering for the world’s most dangerous criminals.

Guest bio: Geoff White is an investigative journalist, author, and podcast creator with over 20 years of experience reporting on cybercrime, global fraud, and financial corruption.

Covered topics:

• The three stages of money laundering: placement, layering, and integration
• Pablo Escobar and the evolution of laundering from cash to crypto
• North Korea’s $2B cybercrime spree and the Axie Infinity hack
• The rise of mixers like Tornado Cash and debates over financial privacy
• Origins of the dark web (Tor) and Bitcoin’s cryptographic roots
• Tax havens, shell companies, and the offshore economy
• The global scale of illicit finance and why money laundering enables everyday crime

📺Watch the full episode on YouTube➡️ https://youtu.be/j9jmkSlRRPM

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/
📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us.

Thanks for listening!

Historian and journalist Jacob Mikanowski explores the legacy of communism, post-Soviet transitions, surveillance states, and the uncertain future of Europe.

Guest Bio: Jacob Mikanowski is a historian, cultural critic, and journalist. He is the author of Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land, which traces the complex past and present of the region through personal stories, political history, and cultural memory.

Topics Covered:

• Communist nostalgia and post-1989 transitions
• Economic shocks, privatization, and hyperinflation in Eastern Europe
• Surveillance tactics in Cold War-era regimes vs. modern digital surveillance
• Decline of legacy media and rise of decentralized information
• Fertility decline, rural depopulation, and mass emigration
• EU integration, expansion fatigue, and national resistance
• Regional identity: Western vs. Eastern vs. Central Europe
• Travel and expat life in underrated Eastern European countries like Albania and Romania
• Cultural memory, censorship, and historical erasure (e.g. Tiananmen Square)
• Living standards and quality of life comparisons between the U.S. and Europe

📺Watch the full episode on YouTube:➡️ https://youtu.be/vqcK8hsvCzI

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/
📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us.

Thanks for listening!