Greg, Jeff, and Jim discuss the conviction of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, Jr.  

The R D P crew looks at yet another police shooting of a black man, which happened just 3 days ago in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota (a suburb of Minneapolis).  How does this shooting affect the ongoing trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd?  Does it make sense for a trained police officer to mistake her gun for a Taser, and “accidentally” shoot a suspect?  Have we just become numb to these events?  Also, a brief update on the Chauvin trial itself; an update on the reinstatement of the officer who shot Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last summer; and finally some ominous warning clouds coming out of eastern Ukraine, reflecting the build up of Russian troops. 

The RDP panel of Greg, Jim, and Jeff (no Jerad tonight) take a casual look at some of the events in the news, such as the progress of the Derrick Chavez trial, new Senate rules, and the Georgia voting laws.

Greg, Jeff, Jim, and Jerad discuss the news of the week and give their predictions for the near-future of US governance. 

Space and Cryptocurrency are the hot technological frontier; R D P talks about the landing of the Mars rover Perseverance, and the latest developments in cryptocurrency.  Greg observes that exploring the wonders of the universe is happening while poverty and cruelty happen at home; Jeff observes the dark underbelly of cryptocurrency; and Jerad and Jim keep the conversation in bounds. 

First, the R D P crew looks at the causes and results of the Texas weather crisis, why the electrical grid collapsed in freezing weather, and what it means for energy policy as a whole.  Then we look at what has been described as Facebook’s attack on Australia, as our friends down under consider a law requiring Facebook and Google to pay some compensation to local news sources for information which Facebook shares on its network. 

With an estimated 450,000 dead Americans, R D P returns to the Covid-19 pandemic, with returning guest Dr. Chris Colby.  Will vaccination occur fast enough to outpace infections by new variants of Covid-19?  The panelists take stock of recent developments and discuss what victory against Covid-19 might look like. 

The R D P crew debates the aftermath of the January 6th attack on the US Capitol; whether conspiracy charges might apply, and who might be involved; and the impact of the second impeachment of Donald Trump adopted by the House of Representatives.

The R D P panel reacts to the storming of the Capitol by rioters and armed protestors, trying to stop the certification of the Electoral College votes in the presidential election.  Greg, Jerad, and Jeff are appalled at the threat to democracy.  Jim condemns the violence, but claims that the BLM protests last summer were worse. 

The R D P crew looks at the sudden year-end debate over an additional $2,000 stimulus check, which popped up when Donald Trump undercut his own Treasury Secretary in a deal for a smaller stimulus with Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi.  Is this just political chaos, or is Trump playing 11th dimensional chess? We also talk about the Christmas Day bombing in Nashville, Tennessee.  No one is saying so, but is it domestic terrorism?  Can it be described at least as a suicide bombing?