Michael Scott - Thinking Out Loud (Podcast)

Trump hosted a tone deaf "Great Gatsby" themed Halloween party. Par for the course.

Ironically, Fitzgerald wrote:

"They were careless people... they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”

Dealing with the dissonance of the Trump who's wrecking American democracy and the one who might bring peace to the Middle East.

Trump seems to think he's now king of Israel!

I’m an orthodox, Jewish, Israel-American who does not believe that Zohran Mamdani is an antisemite, unlike many in my demographic. I reject the idea that people who have issues with Zionism are automatically labeled as antisemites. I do have some constructive criticism for Mamdani where I try to convey how the term “globalize the Intifada” sounds and feels to many, especially in NYC.

Fundamentally, wokeness is a good thing. However, like all good things you can have too much. Excesses can create a new set of problems. It seems, unfortunately, that cruelty has become the overwhelming response to the excesses of wokeness.

I discuss what wokeness is, how it became excessive and give examples of how anti-wokeness has become cruel. I draw on an episode of the original Star Trek series to explore a path forward.

Article - Massachusetts teen arrested by ICE

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/massachusetts-student-arrested-by-ice-on-his-way-to-volleyball-practice-has-been-released

Article - USNS Harvey Milk renaming

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/massachusetts-student-arrested-by-ice-on-his-way-to-volleyball-practice-has-been-released

Article - Trans athletes in NCAA

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/education-ncaa-transgender-athletes-records-reversal-rcna191742

Article - Nichelle Nichols and MLK Jr.

https://www.startrek.com/en-un/news/nichelle-nichols-remembers-dr-king

Article - Star Trek “The Enemy Within”

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/The_Enemy_Within_(episode)

Video - “The Enemy Within” trailer

https://youtu.be/_AYsdW1RbWw?si=56EzCFxVvPfbrNDy

Video - California’s Governor Newsome speaks in response to Trump takeover

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXQQNUeb4Sw

Video - Leonard Nimoy tells the story of the Vulcan salute that goes with the phrase “live long and prosper”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyiWkWcR86I

In this episode I discuss my thoughts about how the U.S. is currently dealing with immigration and immigrants. As an immigrant to Israel I lean on my experience to compare Israel to the U.S. I also reserve some particularly sharp critique for Trump’s current Deputy Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller.

Emma Lazarus’s sonnet “The New Colossus”

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46550/the-new-colossus

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston on his city’s handling of immigrants

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz6U5vwCcak&t=299s

Ronald Reagan’s farewell address

https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/farewell-address-nation

Stephen Miller’s early life

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/09/us/politics/stephen-miller-trump-white-house.html

Op-ed by David Glosser, Miller’s uncle

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/08/13/stephen-miller-is-an-immigration-hypocrite-i-know-because-im-his-uncle-219351/

Kristi Noem’s photo ophttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKYW5gKeOWc

Article on immigrants and crime

https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/debunking_the_myth_of_immigrants_and_crime.pdf

Article - “The Afrikaner Exception” by Meir Brooks

https://meirbrooks.wordpress.com/2025/05/18/racism-of-the-unadulterated-kind

I was an early adopter of social media, especially Facebook. It was a natural progression for me from writing letters to the editor, calling talk radio, and creating my own family website. I discuss some virtues and vices of social media and then how it might be skewing my perception of the behavior of the current US administration as it regards entry of citizens to the US in a very fraught environment where basic rights have been called into question.

The Lipkin Family website

https://www.lipkinfamily.com/

Ezra Klein explains the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia in this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN1oBfg0fwI

Article about US Citizens stopped on entry

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2025/03/26/american-travelers-us-borders/82641005007/

Article about Tufts Student sent to detention center for writing an op-ed

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/17/trump-rumeysa-ozturk-tufts-detention

Article about Trump’s statement regarding deportation of US citizens

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/trump-wants-deport-some-us-citizens-el-salvador-2025-04-14/

I have a 17 year old son with Down syndrome whom I adore. I discuss his birth, development, education and more. I then get into some philosophical issues regarding the growing trend to abort fetuses when Down syndrome is detected and a discussion of a hypothetical future where it would be possible to “cure” Down syndrome.

My blog post about Yisrael’s birth

https://www.lipkinfamily.com/blog/adventure.htm

Yisrael’s Bar Mitzvah highlight video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnzK5WLUUIM

World Down Syndrome Day video

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Biex1XR_mpo

My Substack article “When Nurturing Goes Haywire - Raising A Child With Special Needs”

https://mslipkin.substack.com/p/when-nurturing-goes-haywire-raising

Instagram video by a woman with Down syndrome discussing some of these issues

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEuxWlgRjZo/?igsh=OXM3aTRpd3ZlcTFx

As a teenager I learned the important role free speech plays in maintaining a free, democratic society. If anything, my sense of its importance has only grown, especially given the threats posed in our current society.

Coddling of the American Mind Essay

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/the-coddling-of-the-american-mind/399356/

Balanced discussion of the Mahmoud Khalil issue

https://www.readtangle.com/trump-cuts-columbia-funding-arrests-protestor-khalil/

Sarah McBride Issue

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/11/us/politics/sarah-mcbride-keith-self-transgender.html

FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression)

https://www.thefire.org/

I didn’t mention FIRE in the podcast. It was started by Greg Lukianoff, one of the author’s of Coddling and plays an important role in protecting free speech

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, commonly known as DEI, is being blamed by Trump and many in the MAGA world for causing many of the ills they perceive to be affecting the United States. Is DEI really that evil?

Elon Musk: A Clear And Present Danger? (My Substack article)

https://mslipkin.substack.com/p/elon-musk-a-clear-and-present-danger

Trump’s address and press conference after the crash

https://apnews.com/article/plane-crash-washington-dc-trump-dei-claims-3ac5486ec594d81e919e8ebbd9733869

Ronald Reagan’s address to the nation after the Challenger disaster

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa7icmqgsow&t=1s

What is DEI?

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/22/us/dei-diversity-equity-inclusion-explained/index.html

Analysis of DC crash in Tangle (Isaac Saul)

https://www.readtangle.com/making-sense-of-the-washington-dc-plane-crash/

Hidden camera interview of Russell Vought

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/15/politics/russ-vought-project-2025-trump-secret-recording-invs/index.html

What is Project 2025? Project 2025 Explained

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYXZ6iJJSgM&t=81s

Excellent article on systemic racism

https://medium.com/arc-digital/systemic-racism-is-real-we-need-to-fight-it-not-deny-it-81b951c166ed