What if the numbers that dominate headlines tell you less about the economy than the price of your groceries, your rent, and your ability to start a family? We sit with writer and analyst Amanda Claypool to unpack Main Street economics, A.I.’s shock to white-collar work, and why trust in legacy media has frayed. Amanda’s path—from near-CIA ambitions and defense contracting in DC, to cross-country pandemic travels, to building “Tomorrow Today” on Substack—offers a rare, ground-level view of how policy choices ripple through real lives.

We get candid about the post-2008 era, cheap money’s illusions, and the gap between Beltway incentives and the daily reality in deindustrialized towns. Amanda explains why she sees generative A.I. as a Gutenberg-level inflection point: it can upend tasks, compress status ladders, and force a deeper question about what remains uniquely human. That’s where judgment, relationships, and ownership of outcomes come in—and why careers built on brittle prestige need a rethink. We also explore culture and gender debates, how career-first narratives can overshoot, and what resilience looks like when jobs evolve faster than institutions.

Throughout, you’ll hear practical advice for navigating uncertainty: learn the language of economics and accounting, treat A.I. as leverage rather than a threat, and stop hunting only for “a job.” Instead, find work—concrete problems you can solve and get paid for—while investing in community, family, and skills that compound over time. If you’re looking for a grounded, nonpartisan take on media, money, technology, and meaning, this conversation cuts through the noise and gets to what actually matters.

You can further engage with Amanda:

Tomorrow Today on Substack: https://tomorrowtodaynow.substack.com/ 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@amanda_claypool 

My book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FZ52SVL3/ref=sr_1_2 

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If you’ve ever wondered why your deductible feels like a brick wall while insurers tout “savings,” this conversation goes straight to the source. Nathan Kaufman sits down with Mark Cuban to pull apart how PBMs and insurers shape drug prices, hide rebates, and use denials as financial float—while patients and providers pay the price. It’s a rare, unfiltered tour through the pharmacy supply chain, medical loss ratio math, and the perverse incentives that keep care costly and complicated.

We dig into the real-world fallout for physicians and hospitals: Medicare’s stagnant updates, shadow-priced commercial contracts, and the administrative churn that drives independent practices into the arms of health systems or private equity. Mark challenges the industry to think like a startup—publish prices, strip out unnecessary vendors, and pay clinicians more with transparent, fixed margins. He shares why GPOs often inflate costs, how a virtual wholesaler model can save millions on injectables and specialty meds, and what happens when leadership manages silos instead of the whole enterprise.

Then we get tactical. Imagine a standardized claim process across payers and a new financing model that replaces premium fights with unlimited HSAs plus government-backed medical loans pegged to Medicare rates. Pair that with direct contracts that pay providers quickly, no prior auth, no denials, and zero out-of-pocket for employees using posted agreements. Add agentic AI to audit thousands of contracts, verify invoices, and stop leakage dimes at a time—and a clearer path emerges: fewer middlemen, faster pay, better outcomes. Along the way, we confront uncomfortable truths about facility fees, subprime patient financing, and why breaking up insurance conglomerates or forcing divestiture of non-insurance assets could restore real competition.

If you care about practical reform—transparent pricing, direct contracting, real outcomes data, and technology that kills waste—this is your playbook. Listen, share with a colleague who manages benefits or a hospital P&L, and tell us: where should transparency and direct contracts start in your market? Subscribe for more unscripted conversations that push healthcare toward simpler, fairer, and smarter.

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What if the cure for our political fatigue is as simple as slowing down and looking at the evidence? We kick off a new series spotlighting Substack writers with journalist and historian Chris Bray, whose work strips away spin by linking directly to source documents, video and on-the-ground reporting. Together we map the contours of an epistemic crisis: the way one angle of footage becomes the entire narrative and how that snap judgment fuels outrage, policy mistakes, and deeper division.

From there we follow the money. California and Minnesota have seen explosive growth in public spending, but residents struggle to point to matching improvements. Bray walks through allegations of social services fraud in Minnesota and the telltale response from officials: attack the messenger rather than open the books. We lay out a simple test any listener can run—pull the budget, tour your streets, and compare the line items to what you can see and touch. If the numbers swell while services stall, demand receipts, logs and outcomes.

We dig into the loss of recipe knowledge inside institutions—grand goals with no workable steps. Homelessness plans multiply while encampments grow. The California high-speed rail, sold as an LA–SF link, stands today as scattered concrete in the Central Valley. Ignore the talking points and walk the site; steel either connects or it doesn’t. Yet there are bright spots: when mission and method align, defense operations and shipbuilding show what competent execution looks like. That is the path back to stewardship—leaders who measure progress, adjust, and deliver.

If you’re ready to trade hot takes for primary sources and performance politics for real results, this conversation is your starting point. Listen, share with a friend who cares about evidence, and leave a review to help more people find the show. Then tell us: what should we verify next?

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Power grabbed headlines, but the real story is law, limits, and what comes next. We sit down with Professor Anthony Colangelo of SMU to unpack the U.S. operation that seized Venezuela’s leader and to separate a clean legal argument from messy policy ambitions. From irregular rendition to universal jurisdiction, we trace why courts can claim authority even after a cross‑border capture and how treaty obligations make narcoterrorism a shared international concern.

We dive into the hard edge of immunity doctrine. Status‑based immunity protects a sitting head of state; conduct‑based immunity can persist after office, but not for acts condemned by international law. That distinction matters when a leader’s actions create direct effects across borders. We also probe the collective self‑defense rationale under the UN Charter and why strict proportionality can fail as a deterrent against rational, high‑risk actors. The takeaway: legality can be clear while prudence is not.

Then we confront the policy frontier: talk of running a country, steering succession, or taking oil turns a lawful seizure into a broader question of occupation and constitutional checks at home. What obligations follow a regime change? How do we minimize civilian harm, stabilize services, and hand control back quickly? Could trials in absentia provide accountability without escalating conflict? Throughout, we push past media echo chambers to focus on facts, precedent, and measurable limits on executive power.

If you’re tired of spin and looking for a rigorous, good‑faith analysis that respects both international law and constitutional guardrails, this one’s for you. Listen, share with a curious friend, and tell us: legal win, policy risk, or both? If our work adds clarity, subscribe and leave a review to help others find the show.

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The status quo is expensive, exhausting, and unsustainable—so we set out a practical playbook to do better in 2026. Nathan Kaufman shares ten no‑nonsense resolutions for health system leaders who want measurable outcomes, stronger teams, and smarter payer strategies without falling for vendor hype or wishful thinking.

We get specific about capital discipline and why “mission” can’t justify chronic losses that drain resources from services that actually improve patient care. We talk through what it takes to win the talent war by treating physicians as true partners, then dive into dyad leadership that cuts across supply chain, HR, and IT to remove friction and accelerate results. Culture becomes operational with real-time metrics, fast feedback loops, and leaders spending more time in the field and less time in meetings that signal low trust and unclear decisions.

Payment strategy is front and center. We explain how to use 340B responsibly to close funding gaps, why some value-based schemes are a race to the bottom, and how to negotiate Medicare Advantage so contracts yield at least 100% of Medicare after accounting for administrative burden. Affordability demands that we take significant cost out by removing layers, standardizing clinical pathways, and focusing on core services rather than chasing panaceas like provider-owned health plans or sponsored “research” that flatters a product.

If you’re ready to lead with data, align teams, and make tough calls that protect patient access and quality, this conversation is your roadmap. Subscribe, share with a colleague who needs a dose of operational courage, and leave a review telling us which resolution you’ll tackle first.

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The real fight in U.S. healthcare isn’t between doctors and patients—it’s against a financing maze that raises premiums, hides quality, and rewards middlemen. We pull back the curtain on why ACA plans look the same yet cost more, how public underpayment pushes employer premiums up, and why political fixes often fail when crafted far from the bedside. With Nate Kaufman joining from the Healthcare Bridge, we tackle the hard trade‑offs behind subsidies, health savings accounts, site‑neutral payments, and the myth that consumers can “shop” their way through complex, high‑risk care.

We share a clear framework: protect access now, then rebuild incentives. That means a short‑term patch to avoid coverage gaps, targeted funding for primary and urgent needs, and raising Medicare and Medicaid rates toward actual costs to reduce hidden cost shifting. We also explain where HSAs can help—simple, predictable care—and where they break down—leukemia, cardiac surgery, and other cases where data is scarce and choices are high‑stakes. Along the way, we confront the Fortune‑50 scale intermediaries extracting value and explore how transparency and outcome‑based accountability can shift dollars back to care.

Looking forward, we outline a path to a simpler, fairer system: consolidate taxpayer‑funded coverage into a universal base, open drug benefits broadly with smart negotiation, and end tax preferences that prop up inefficient private plans. Most importantly, bring insiders—clinicians, operators, and contract negotiators—into the room with lawmakers so policy matches reality. If you’re ready to move past soundbites and into practical steps that protect patients today while building a stronger system tomorrow, this conversation is your roadmap.

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend who battles premiums and deductibles, and leave a quick review to help others find it. Your feedback steers future episodes.

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Season Seven of The Common Bridge features host Richard Helppie in an episode that concludes with foaming mayonnaise dispensers in this lighter, story-driven talk with Tony Award–winning actor Gregory Jbara and longtime friend, designer-turned-humorist Terence Duncan, celebrating Duncan’s new book, Unfiltered Consciousness. This special episode leans heavily into Greg and Terry’s reminisces about coming-of-age in blue collar Southeast Michigan. Rich attempts to guide a conversation but mostly promotes the notion that people everywhere should purchase this book. Hear this duo talk school plays, football mishaps, Great Lakes roadtrips and shared crushes. Duncan describes his book as a collection of brief, satirical “musings” on everyday absurdities—relationships, divorce, coffee habits, T‑shirts, car ads, and aging—each rooted in truth then exaggerated for comic effect. Jbara praises the honesty, humanity, and universal relatability of the pieces, noting how Duncan turns personal pain into cathartic comedy. Helppie underscores that this is a laugh-out-loud, highly giftable read for anyone wanting a break from divisive politics. Terence and Gregory will also appear at Silvio’s Trattoria, 225 S. Canton Center, Canton, Michigan, on December 8th from 6:30–8:00 p.m for a book signing event!  Great Christmas gift!

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Healthcare can feel stuck, but the ground is moving under our feet in the best possible way. We sit down with Hartford Healthcare’s CEO, Jeff Flaks, to unpack how a statewide system is using scale with purpose: pushing care into more convenient, lower-cost settings, investing in equity, and building digital experiences that actually save time for patients and clinicians. If you’re skeptical that big systems can deliver value, this conversation offers specifics instead of spin.

We start with the leadership behaviors that matter now: staying close to operations, listening to front-line teams, and measuring success by outcomes. From there we tackle the big critiques—costs, complexity, sponsorship optics—and dig into what it takes to move beyond the status quo. Jeff shares why headwinds like payer friction, tariff-driven supply chain costs, and Medicaid shifts are serious, yet not destiny. The difference comes from disciplined redesign: routing patients to the right site of care, building 24/7 primary care access, and wiring urgent care so radiology, histories, meds, and images are available in real time.

The most exciting thread is how AI and machine learning are finally making work easier instead of heavier. Think faster reads, smarter triage, and less administrative drag, all pointed at better quality and safety. We explore the compounding effect of improvement—how each layer of coordination accelerates the next—and why the pace of change in the next three to five years could outstrip the last decade. For patients, we offer practical advice on navigating benefits, choosing the right setting, and using digital tools to cut costs and waits.

If you care about access, affordability, and results, this episode gives you a clear view of what’s working and what’s next. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review with one change you want your health system to make next.

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What happens when a powerhouse research enterprise, a statewide health system, and a relentless push for access all meet at the same table? Our conversation with Dr. David Miller, CEO of Michigan Medicine, opens the door to a candid look at how precision care, digital tools, and financial reality collide—and how smart leadership turns that collision into progress.

We dig into the new map of Michigan Medicine: the academic medical center in Ann Arbor, integrated hospitals in Lansing and West Michigan, and partnerships that extend specialty expertise across the state. Then we follow the research-to-care pipeline, from NIH-backed labs to clinical trials to real-world therapies. You’ll hear how next-generation sequencing is making targeted cancer treatments more accessible, and why histotripsy—a noninvasive, ultrasound-based approach to treating liver tumors—is a model for bringing breakthroughs from engineering benches to exam rooms.

Technology is more than a buzzword here. Dr. Miller explains how generative AI is cutting documentation time with ambient notes, speeding routine approvals, and supporting clinical decisions, all while keeping a human in the loop. We talk training the next wave of physicians to be technology fluent, and how virtual visits and remote monitoring expand access without trading away empathy. On payment and policy, we confront the hard parts: Medicaid churn, prior authorization friction, and the need for value-based insurance design that lowers barriers to high-value care. The throughline is simple and urgent—make it easier for patients to get the right care at the right time, and align incentives so innovation actually reaches people.

If you care about healthcare that is precise, humane, and actually reachable, this conversation will give you a practical, hopeful blueprint. Subscribe, share with a friend who’s navigating care, and leave a review to help more listeners find the show. Your feedback keeps this community sharp—and pushes the system toward what works.

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What if blockbuster weight-loss drugs and a broken food system are two sides of the same story? We sit down with Dr. David Harlan—physician, researcher, and former NIH diabetes branch chief—to trace the unlikely path from the “incretin effect” to GLP-1 therapies that are transforming care for type 2 diabetes and obesity. Along the way, we ask harder questions about incentives, access, and why lifestyle still matters even when the medicine is powerful.

Dr. Harlan breaks down how GLP-1 receptor agonists amplify insulin release, quiet cravings, and drive meaningful weight loss—often alongside better blood pressure, improved A1C, and fewer heart events. He explains the Gila monster connection, why weekly injections replaced multiple daily shots, and what the latest safety data actually shows. We get candid about what happens when people stop these drugs, why genetics complicate the “just try harder” narrative, and how brain chemistry shapes appetite, compulsion, and energy.

Then we zoom out to the policy level: the rise of food deserts, cheap ultra-processed calories, and the paradox of publicly funding both the problem and the fix. We explore practical steps that work in the real world—SKU-controlled health savings accounts, everyday movement campaigns, healthier default options in public spaces, and community gardens and sidewalks that make active living normal again. The throughline is simple and human: use the science to help people now, and rebuild the environment so fewer need the medicine later.

If you care about diabetes, obesity, prevention, or the economics shaping our plates and prescriptions, this conversation offers clarity and a path forward. Support the show by subscribing, sharing with a friend, and leaving a review with the one insight you’ll apply this week.

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