El Podcast

Tax policy expert Scott Hodge joins to discuss how America’s complex tax code impacts your daily life, punishes success, and what real reform could look like.

Guest bio: Scott Hodge is President Emeritus and Senior Policy Advisor at the Tax Foundation, where he served as president from 2000 to 2022. A leading voice on tax reform, he played a key role in shaping the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and is the author of Taxocracy: What You Don’t Know About Taxes and How They Rule Your Daily Life.

Topics discussed:

• Why the U.S. tax code grew from 27 pages to over 7,000
• The hidden layers of taxation on income, savings, and estates
• How tax exemptions fuel lobbying, inequality, and corruption
• Problems with tax credits for EVs, education, and housing
• The IRS as a welfare agency and the rise of improper payments
• How nonprofits, universities, and credit unions game the system
• The sustainability of Social Security and U.S. national debt
• Lessons from Estonia’s 88-page flat tax system
• The myth of “tax the rich” and the real income tax burden
• Why U.S. tax policy often punishes success and risk-taking

Top quote:
"The tax code has become a tool for punishing success—success taxes are the new sin taxes."

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/
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Timothy Carney joins the podcast to discuss his new book Family Unfriendly, exploring how cultural norms, workism, and modern safetyism have made raising kids in America harder than it needs to be.

Guest bio:
Timothy P. Carney is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a columnist at the Washington Examiner. He is the author of several books, including Alienated America and the newly released Family Unfriendly: How Our Culture Made Raising Kids Much Harder Than It Needs to Be.

Topics discussed:

• Fertility decline and demographic trends in the U.S. and abroad
• Cultural barriers to parenthood, including workism and safetyism
• The limits of pro-natalist government policies
• Role of religion and subcultures in sustaining birth rates
• Helicopter parenting, loss of community, and childhood independence
• Housing, education, and economic myths around family affordability
• How cultural expectations delay family formation
• Policy ideas for building a more family-friendly society

Top quote:

“Pregnancy is contagious... It’s not primarily through sermons or rational discourse that people decide to have kids—it’s through culture, community, and what they see around them.”

🎙 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.

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Real estate reporter Brooklee Han explains how the recent NAR settlement and commission lawsuits will reshape home buying, especially for first-time buyers, veterans, and the future of buyer’s agents.

Guest Bio:
Brooklee Han is a real estate reporter at HousingWire who covers residential real estate, mortgage trends, title insurance, and proptech. A former Olympic-level figure skater, she brings the same discipline and insight to her journalism.

Topics Discussed:

• Origins and outcomes of the NAR commission lawsuits
• Impacts of the Sitzer-Burnett jury verdict and settlements by major brokerages
• Upcoming rule changes taking effect August 2025
• The potential consequences for buyers, sellers, veterans, and low-income homebuyers
• The future of buyer representation agreements
• Industry shakeout and rise in professionalism among agents
• Brooklee’s transition from Olympic-level figure skating to real estate journalism

Top Quote:
“Veterans are a major loser in this as it currently stands… they either have to go into the transaction unrepresented or they cannot use their VA loan benefit.”

🎙 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.
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Retired cosmetic dentist Jodie Filogomo shares how she found community, style, and a renewed sense of purpose in Sun City, Arizona—America's original active retirement community.

Guest info:
Jodie Filogomo is a retired cosmetic dentist and founder of the fashion and lifestyle blog Jodie’s Touch of Style. She moved from Denver to Sun City, Arizona in 2019, where she now explores aging with vibrance, creativity, and community.

Topics discussed:

• Why she and her husband chose Sun City for retirement
• Differences between Sun City and other retirement communities
• Year-round living in Arizona’s desert climate
• Cost of living, healthcare access, and community amenities
• Social life, clubs, and activities for retirees
• Blogging, fashion, and finding purpose after retirement
• Misconceptions about aging and retirement communities
• Local travel and favorite Arizona day trips

Top quotes:

• "If you're bored here, it's your own fault."
• "Retirement isn’t about sitting around—it’s about finding new purpose." 

🎙 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.

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Filmmaker and author Stuart Connelly joins for a moving Mother’s Day conversation about his memoir Offered in Secret, chronicling his 1,800-mile journey to understand and honor his late mother.

Guest Bio:
Stuart Connelly is a director, screenwriter, journalist, and author. His latest book, Offered in Secret, blends memoir and investigative narrative as he retraces his relationship with his late mother through a cross-country pilgrimage to choose her final resting place. He has written and directed feature films and is known for deeply personal storytelling.

Topics Discussed:

• Connelly’s 1,800-mile road trip to bury his mother’s ashes
• Grieving a complicated parent
• Intergenerational trauma and Depression-era parenting
• Family dynamics, estrangement, and reconciliation
• The emotional contrast between practicality and tradition
• How children come to understand their parents as flawed humans
• Reflections on fatherhood and changing parenting norms
• The role of creativity, memory, and physical places in grief
• Syracuse, NY as a character in the story
• Why contemplation may be a better tribute than ceremony

Top Quotes

“I got to know my mother better after she died than when she was alive.”

🎙 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!

Former NFL lineman Mike Wahle joins the podcast to break down the realities of life in the league—from contracts and coaching to culture, taxes, and life after football.

Guest Bio:
Mike Wahle is a former All-Pro offensive lineman who played 11 seasons in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers, and Seattle Seahawks. He is the founder of Process to Perform, a platform dedicated to helping athletes become elite performers through mindset, technique, and preparation.

Topics Discussed:

• How the NFL draft process works from an insider’s perspective
• Agent selection, contract structure, and "guaranteed money" myths
• Taxes, signing bonuses, and living costs as a pro athlete
• The economics of player development vs. branding in today’s NFL
• Franchise culture: differences between Packers, Seahawks, and Panthers
• Decline in coaching quality and the rise of "scheme over skill"
• Endorsements, lifestyle pitfalls, and personal finance
• Life after football: identity, injury recovery, and career transitions
• Athletic freaks: Larry Allen, Trent Williams, and the genetic lottery

Top Quotes:

• “Your only real value to a team is your ability to win your 1v1 matchup.”
• “If you’re a top-level player, you want a new contract every three years to ride the salary cap wave.”
• “You don’t need a great agent to be a star. You need the right system, the right coaching, and a little bit of ‘crazy’ to survive.”

🎙 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!

A 67-year-old American expat shares thier journey from retiring in Nicaragua to settling in Costa Rica, revealing the realities of expat life, cost of living, and the importance of flexibility abroad.

Aly is a retired Californian who relocated to Nicaragua in 2016 before moving to Costa Rica in 2021 due to political unrest. A seasoned traveler with roots in Europe and Central America, Ally now lives in the mountains near San José, embracing a slower pace of life and community-driven living.

• Cost of living in Costa Rica vs. Nicaragua
• Expat community dynamics
• Health care access and medical emergencies abroad
• U.S. Social Security and Medicare considerations for expats
• Property ownership risks in Central America
• Cultural adaptation, language learning, and safety
• Pros and cons of long-term retirement outside the U.S.

• "If I wanted to be stressed, I would've stayed in the States."
• "You can live on $1,200 a month—but you might not want to."
• "You have to be flexible. It's not the United States. And that's kind of the point."

🎙 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 journalist Jeff Ostrowski breaks down the real estate commission lawsuit, what changes starting July 2025, and what it all means for homebuyers, agents, and the future of U.S. housing.

Jeff Ostrowski is a senior journalist at Bankrate with over 20 years of experience covering real estate, business, and the economy. He serves on the board of the National Association of Real Estate Editors and is widely recognized for his clear-eyed reporting on housing trends, policy, and industry dynamics.

• Overview of the real estate commission lawsuit and settlement
• Key changes to buyer agent commissions starting July 2025
• Impact on home prices, buyer behavior, and agent income
• Potential winners and losers: consumers, agents, brokerages, attorneys
• Industry overreaction, media narratives, and long-term uncertainty
• The value (and decline) of buyer agents in the Zillow era
• VA loan challenges, possible financing of commissions
• Institutional buyers and the myth of "cheaper home prices"
• Whether real estate needs structural reform
• The role of hobbyist agents and the real barriers to entry

• “If you start going to an attorney to save money, that tells you just how strange this system is.”
• “I don’t think anyone really knows how this will play out—dramatic predictions are probably the most likely to be wrong.”
• “This 100-year-old commission structure wasn’t designed for the digital world—it’s been patched, not rebuilt.”
   

🎙 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!

Terry and Clyde share how they reinvented their lives—losing half their body weight, retiring early to Panama, house-sitting across the globe, and ultimately settling in Portugal—on a modest budget and a spirit of saying “yes.”

Terry and Clyde are a retired American couple who transformed their lives through dramatic weight loss, early retirement, and international house-sitting. Terry is the author of Rescued and Transformed, a memoir about leaving behind a conventional American life to embrace global travel and minimalist living. Together, they’ve lived in Panama, house-sat across Asia, Africa, and Europe, and now reside in Portugal.

• How they left unhappy marriages and started over in their 50s
• Dramatic weight loss journeys and Terry’s gastric bypass
• Living in Panama on $2,000/month and discovering international house-sitting
• Navigating foreign healthcare, language, and residency systems
• Comparing Portugal vs. Panama for expats
• Lessons from 35+ house sits around the world (Kenya, Egypt, Paris, Vienna)
• The psychological shift of downsizing and debt-free living
• Expat taxes, healthcare, and social integration
• Why retiring abroad isn’t just for the rich
• Their philosophy of “say yes” and building a new life at any age

• “You don’t have to be rich to travel—you just have to be brave enough to say yes.”
• “We saved each other by walking away from everything and starting over with nothing but love and curiosity.”

🎙 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. William Blau, emeritus professor and author of Our Genetic Future, explores how modern medicine and environmental changes may be weakening natural selection, with profound consequences for human genetics and future health.

Guest Bio:
Dr. William Blau is an emeritus professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. With a background in evolutionary biology and a medical career focused on pain management, Dr. Blau now researches the intersection of genetics, evolution, and public health. He is the author of Our Genetic Future: The Unintended Consequences of Overcoming Natural Selection.

Topics Discussed:

• How modern medicine and technology interrupt natural selection
• Genetic accumulation of harmful mutations in the human population
• Rising rates of disorders like autism, obesity, chronic pain, and declining fertility
• The concept of fitness vs. health in evolutionary biology
• Dysgenic trends and declining intelligence
• Ethical dilemmas around genetic screening and reproductive technologies
• Risks of societal overdependence on medical and technological systems
• Advice for healthy aging and the importance of purpose in later life

Top 3 Quotes:

• “What is good for a single individual’s health may not necessarily be good for society or humankind in the long term.”
• “We have become so out of touch with our own nature as human beings because we currently live in environments so dramatically different than those in which we evolved.”
• “The only real way to correct the situation is to allow natural selection to come back—and no one is seriously suggesting that, for obvious ethical reasons.”

🎙 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!