Mark Riley: The Intersection of Politics Culture

NEW PODCAST EPISODE: 'Booster' is the new December buzz word, but are the new global mandates falling on deaf ears for hardcore antivaxxers? It comes down to health vs personal freedom, but the lesser privileged around the world don't have the luxury of that choice. They simply don't have access to vaccines.

Have you heard? The Social Media imps are circulating a new conspiracy of their own to prove a point. 'Birds Aren't Real' pokes fun at misinformation, but for many of us the daily battle against COVID falsehoods is not funny, and Generations from 'Z' to the Elderly are finding great chunks of their life experiences have simply gone missing.

Why is President Biden's approval rating more slippery than the skating rink at Rockefeller Plaza? His poll numbers remain low, and there seems to be a disconnect between his optimistic leadership and how Americans actually feel.

New Podcast Episode: Should a protest song of 1964 still be relevant today? The answer is, no, it shouldn't…yet Nina Simone's "Mississippi Goddamn" still screams to that state's position on anti-choice laws just as it shone a spotlight on their barbaric views on America's rights to slavery.

Equally as rancid is Gun Violence and the school shooting in Oxford, MI. Were there no lessons learned from the bloodbath at my Alma Mater, Sandy Hook Elementary School (Newtown, CT) in 2012?

And as we approach 2022, will we run out of Greek alphabet letters to label the new COVID strains or will we – so-called supernations –raise a white flag and concede to provide vaccines to those without access… the ONLY solution to conquering the enemy borderless virus.

New Podcast episode: Snails pace. That's the speed justice was traveling in the case of Ahmaud Arbery's barbarous murder with 74 days passing before they even arrested anyone. But prosecutor Linda Dunikowski was able to extract a guilty verdict in just two days of deliberation, from a jury of 11 whites (and one black) in a jurisdiction where 25% of the population is black. Things that make me say Hmmm…?

We're ducking and diving again around Omicron, the new politically-charged COVID variant that spreads like wildfire especially in global air travel. How quick does it spread? The viral incubation period is zero to 3 HOURS…and yet the antivaxxers are still booking Holiday travel.

Are migrants the new stock commodity? Power nations Canada, UAE and Germany are going as far as to set recruitment targets for migrant workers.

New Podcast episode: Deep dive into the Kyle Rittenhouse trial verdict -- the US teenager who says he acted in self defense and has been cleared of all charges in relation to the two men he shot and killed during unrest in Wisconsin. My guest to discuss this outcome and other US racial tensions is John Nichols, National Affairs correspondent for The Nation and associate editor of The Capital Times.

NEW PODCAST EPISODE: Wait, what? There are still Climate Change deniers around? COP26 has finally come to an end, but it's just the beginning for the Under-30s as they watch the Over 70s sheepishly return home on…ahem…jet planes. Jobs are also getting an eye roll from American workers - a recent study shows a record-high number of workplace resignations from employees who are fed up with low pay and poor life/work balance. The trial of 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse looks to be sliding towards yet another all-time low in US justice; his legal team is stacking up excuses as to how it's 'OK' for a Mom to drive the kid across state borders armed with an AR-15.

New Podcast Episode: It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To… The Democratic Party is in a shambles. Candidate wars have lost the plot while Critical Race Theory and cancel culture are in the rear-view mirror. But above all they seem to have no clear message; Accountability for the killer drone in Afghanistan has also drifted into the subconscious realm with history being repainted with wide strokes of US propaganda…we had to do it to save lives??? And to take from another mid-Century pop hit, "Where have all the Flowers Gone"…COP26 features the back-patting old guard drowned out by the chants of activists and the people of tomorrow. Will we listen?

NEW PODCAST EPISODE: Republicans – the ultimate mixologists - have put together yet another deadly cocktail using a combination of court decisions and legislative chicanery to put the right to vote for millions of Americans at great risk. Garnish with a toxic filibuster and the world of Democracy is heading for a screeching halt… What do the departments of Homeland Security and Defense, the National Security Council and director of National Intelligence have in common? Usually not much, but they've banded together in the issue of climate change – Joe Biden, are you listening?

I love a good oxymoron – will you be joining "Truth Social?" That's Trump's new platform to showcase his long list of failures and band of Merry Men. If you decide to 'follow,' don't forget to check the T&Cs…

New Podcast Episode: I'm a lifer when it comes to my support of the Oakland Raiders, and I feel personally betrayed to learn that [now ex-] coach Jon Gruden's emails reveal racism, misogyny and homophobia that includes likening the lips of NFL Union head to a Michelin car tire! New COVID vaccine stats show that Black America has turned a corner and getting jabbed…despite the 40-year wounds and Government distrust left over from the Tuskegee Experiment, the piston has released a little to give way to practical sense and the laws of survival. African Americans are simply tired of watching loved ones die while Anti-Vaxxers continue to spout off Sci-Fi theories. And…what do Queen Elizabeth II and Greta Thunberg have in common? You'd be amazed at how saving the planet can bring two opposites together, and they both have zero-tolerance when it comes the garrulous…all talk and no action!…

New Podcast Episode: Money makes the world go 'round…the Pandora Papers reveal some 330 politicians from 90 countries and their involvement in money laundering…er…I mean, Offshore Accounts. Meanwhile, unemployment benefits face grinding to a screeching, Conservative-backed halt, but hey…it's a fair and balanced world that we live in. Meanwhile, the Facebook exposé shows they COULD do something about hate speech…they just don't want to. Abortion in Texas takes another cartwheel, this time in favor of Women's Rights thanks to Judge Robert Pitman's decision… but how long until there's an Appeal to overturn

NEW PODCAST EPISODE: A whistle-blower says Facebook monetizes hate, and the newly released Pandora Papers call out how politicians and other big ballers shelter their mega bucks…Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who got his 15 minutes of fame denouncing the Sandy Hook massacre as a hoax, is now leading the cat and mouse chase to avoid the multiple lawsuits demanding reparations for his callous lies. Life without the Dollar Stores…can we survive, as they sink into negative cash flow? Where else can we fill a shopping basket with 10 items for 50¢ and not even care if the goods work…click for the full episode…