Shaping Opinion

Shaping Opinion

By Tim O'BrienNewsNews Commentary
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Shaping Opinion episodes

  • Encore Presentation: The Story Behind the Family Road Trip
    This Encore Presentation features advertising veteran and author Richard Ratay (from Episode 21). He joined us in 2018 to talk about how America’s new roadways brought the country and families closer together. The conversation ranges from homespun stories of family on the road, to how pop culture was influenced by America’s growing super highway infrastructure, as they talk about Rich’s book, “Don’t Make Me Pull Over: An informal history of the family road trip.” We release Encore Presentations to revisit special moments for listeners who may have limited access to our earlier episodes on their podcast channels.

    https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Encore_-_Rich_Ratay_Final.mp3





    This conversation takes a nostalgic look at the golden age of family road trips — part pop history, part humorous memoir not unlike National Lampoon’s Vacation movies.

    This episode focuses on how the birth of America’s interstate highways in the 1950s ushered in an era of unprecedented family travel. Over the next three decades, the number of vehicles on the road quintupled, national parks attendance grew to 165 million, and 2.2 million people visited Gettysburg each year — 13 times the number of soldiers who fought in the battle.

    Richard combines little-known historical stories and information, with amusing personal stories of family that takes us back to a time when the whole family piled into car for long hours of driving, car games, running on empty, and roadside attractions.

    Those relatively new roads we take for granted today changed the way America sees itself because it enabled millions to get out and see the country.
    Links

    * The Original Episode Page - Shaping Opinion
    * Don't Make Me Pull Over: Informal History of the Family Road Trip, by Rich Ratay (Amazon)

    About this Episode’s Guest Richard Ratay
    Richard Ratay was the last of four kids raised by two mostly attentive parents in Elm Grove, Wisconsin. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in journalism and has plied his talents as an award-winning advertising copywriter for twenty-five years. Ratay lives in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, with his wife, Terri, their two sons, and two very excitable rescue dogs.
    37 min
  • Ron Coleman: Free Speech on Trial
    Attorney Ron Coleman joins Tim to talk about his U.S. Supreme Court victory for an Asian-American rock band called The Slants over the issue of free speech. Ron details a case that is now a landmark Supreme Court victory for freedom of speech.

    https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Free_Speech_On_Trial_auphonic.mp3





    In June of 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court made a decision that marked the end to an eight-year legal battle that pitted the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office against a four-member rock band over their right to choose and trademark their name. The name? “The Slants.”

    Officially, the case is called “United States Patent and Trademark Office versus Tam.”

    The issue was the Trademark Office’s decision to prohibit the registration of a trademark “which may disparage…persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols or bring them into contempt, or disrepute.”

    We’re going to talk to our guest Ron Coleman today about precisely what that means in everyday language.

    But the key thing to remember here, as in so many cases where the Supreme Court has come down on matters of free speech – it has come down on the side of protecting freedom of expression even if that expression is offensive to some.

    Ron Coleman is careful to point out, that an idea cannot be prohibited just because that idea may be offensive to some.
    Please Thank Our Sponsors
    Please remember to thank our sponsors, without whom the Shaping Opinion podcast would not exist.  If you have the need, please support these organizations that have the same taste in podcasts that you do:

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    Links

    * Dhillon Law Group
    * First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
    * Inside Asian-American Band the Slants' SCOTUS Win, Rolling Stone

    About this Episode's Guest Ron Coleman
    Photo by Steve Hockstein/HarvardStudio.com

    Ron Coleman is a Partner at the Dhillon Law Group and resident in its New York office. Ron is a commercial litigator with extensive first-seat trial and appellate experience who focuses on torts of competition such as trademark infringement, unfair competition and consumer law.

    He is known for his First Amendment advocacy, regarding both religious and free speech rights, including his representation of Simon Tam and “The Slants” in the watershed free speech case, Matal v. Tam, in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the prohibition against registration of “disparaging” trademarks was unconstitutional.

    An alumnus of a number of major commercial firms in New York and New Jersey, the states in which he is admitted, Ron maintains a leading-edge media practice representing political and new media figures in defamation and intellectual property claims, challenges to social media “cancel culture” or “deplatforming” cases as well as traditional intellectual property litigation on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendan...
    45 min
  • Gimme a Break: A Jingle Story
    Music composer and arranger Michael A. Levine joins Tim to talk about one of his most famous works, one that you are no doubt familiar with, which came early in his career and has stood the test of time.  While Michael has won his share of awards for comprehensive and high-level works of music, the subject to this discussion is the story behind an iconic jingle he crated for a familiar candy bar brand: Kit Kat’s “Gimme a break” jingle and ad campaign.

    https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Kit_Kat_Jingle_auphonic.mp3





    So, let’s talk about some of Michael A. Levine’s accomplishments. He scored the hit series called Siren, writing the project’s memorable work, “Siren Song.” He recorded his song “Running” with legendary vocalist Roberta Flack for the feature film 3100.  He’s won awards for TV shows like “Cold Case” and “Close to Home.” He scored the Lego DC Supergirls film “Brain Drain,” and another yet to be released Star Wars parody that is produced by George Lucas. That film is called “Star Wars Detours.”

    He’s worked on such films as “Dunkirk,” “The Simpsons Movie,” “Batman: The Dark Night,” and numerous other projects.

    Yet it’s something he did early in his career that may have had the most lasting impression on the world. He composed the classic advertising jingle for the Kit Kat candy bar.
    Links

    * Kit Kat Bar
    * Michael A. Levine
    * Malcolm Gladwell

    About this Episode’s Guest Michael A. Levine
    Awarded eight ASCAP awards for his work on the Jerry Bruckheimer/CBS dramas Cold Case and Close to Home, Michael A. Levine also scored the Lego DC Supergirls film, Brain Drain, the George Lucas-produced Star Wars Detours animated Star Wars parody, and the award-winning documentary, Landfill Harmonic, for which he wrote its Oscarshortlisted song, Cateura - Vamos a Soñar. He composed the featured Siren Song and score for Freeform’s Siren and recorded his song Running with legendary vocalist Roberta Flack for the feature documentary 3100: Run and Become. His theme song (Go Tell Aunt Rhody/Everybody’s Dead) for Resident Evil VII Biohazard became a viral hit as was Lorde's version of Everybody Wants to Rule the World which he produced along with chart-topping records for Nat and Alex Wolff. Michael also composed the theme for Scrat, the sabertooth squirrel featured in the Ice Age shorts.

    Levine provided additional music and violin on a number of Hans Zimmer scores, including Dunkirk, The Simpsons Movie, Batman: The Dark Knight, Megamind, and Rango. Michael's choir arrangement of Spider Pig was conducted by Hans at the Hollywood Bowl in 2015. Levine’s concert music includes Anthem, performed by piano virtuoso Lang Lang in 2014 in Beijing and, Double Crossings, an album of duets with percussionist great Evelyn Glennie on mallets and Michael on electric violin.

    Michael began his career in advertising where he composed the classic Kit Kat candy bar “Gimme a Break” jingle.

    Levine is a former Governor of the Television Academy (Emmys) Music peer group.

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

     
    49 min
  • Emmet Cohen: Next Generation of Jazz
    Rising jazz phenom Emmet Cohen joins Tim to talk about a music, jazz and how he’s part of the larger continuum of the jazz lineage. He describes how the music is timeless and has appeal for generations to come.

    https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Emmet_Cohen_auphonic.mp3



    Photo Credit: Taili Song Roth

    When you listen to Emmet Cohen play jazz piano, he’ll take you back to another time.

    Never mind that that time was well before his own. Emmet is a millennial, a generation that has embraced a myriad of musical genres, but they aren’t known for their love of jazz.

    Emmet is not only an exception, but he just may be one of the reasons new generations will rediscover the beauty and artistry of jazz music in years to come.
    Gratitude and Credits

    * Our thanks to Emmet Cohen and Mack Avenue Records for providing Emmet's music tracks for this episode. All are from his album "Future Stride."
    * Credits to Taili Song Roth for all of the photography of Emmet Cohen used here.

    Links

    * Emmet Cohen (website)
    * Review: Ragtime and much more from jazz pianist Emmet Cohen, AP
    * Jazz Pianist's Emmet Cohen's Keys to Success, New Jersey Monthly

    About this Episode’s Guest Emmet Cohen
    Multifaceted American jazz pianist and composer Emmet Cohen is in the vanguard of his generation's advancement of music and the related arts. A recognized prodigy, Cohen began Suzuki method piano instruction at age three, and his playing quickly became a mature melding of musicality, technique, and concept. Downbeat observed that his "nimble touch, measured stride and warm harmonic vocabulary indicate he's above any convoluted technical showmanship." Cohen notes that performing jazz is "about communicating the deepest levels of humanity and individuality; it's essentially about connections," both among musicians and with audiences. He leads his namesake ensemble, the "Emmet Cohen Trio," is a vibrant solo performer, and is in constant demand as a sideman. Possessing a fluid technique, an innovative tonal palette, and an extensive repertoire, Cohen plays with the command and passion of an artist fully devoted to his medium.

    Emmet Cohen is committed to the intergenerational transfer of the knowledge, history, and traditions of jazz. His signature professional undertaking is the "Masters Legacy Series," a celebratory set of recordings and interviews honoring legendary jazz musicians. He serves as both producer and pianist for each album in the series. This landmark, ongoing project provides musicians of multiple generations the means to share the unwritten folklore that is America's unique artistic idiom. Cohen has observed that jazz "is enriched immeasurably by connecting and studying with jazz masters, forging backward to the very creation of the art form." Four volumes of the "Masters Legacy Series" have been released, spotlighting Cohen's collaborations with Jimmy Cobb, Ron Carter, Benny Golson, Tootie Heath, and George Coleman.

    Emmet Cohen is the winner of the 2019 American Pianists Awards and the Cole Porter Fellow of the American Pianists Association, and Artist-in-Residence at the University of Indianapolis. He placed first in both the 2014 American Jazz Pianists Competition and the 2011 Phillips Piano Competition at the University of West Florida and, as a finalist in the 2011 Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition, he was received in the Oval Office by President Obama. Cohen has appeared in varied international jazz events, including the Newport,
    41 min
  • Cordia Harrington: A Self-made Symbol of the American Dream
    One of the most successful self-made women in America (according to Forbes) Cordia Harrington joins Tim to talk about her journey and how it exemplifies the American Dream. Cordia is the founder of The Bakery Companies. It’s a Nashville-based group of companies that have made baked goods for restaurants and food companies like McDonald’s, Five Guys, and Pepperidge Farm. Last year, Forbes Magazine ranked Cordia among America’s top 100 Self-Made Women.

    https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Cordia_Harrington_American_Dream_auphonic.mp3





    If I were to ask you to define the term, the “American Dream,” your answer may be different than the next person, but there is something that both definitions will have in common. It’s the assumption that thanks to the freedoms we enjoy in the United States, thanks to the Constitution that protects our freedoms, we can achieve our dreams so long as we have the right ideas and are willing to do the work.

    Most people see the American Dream as a set of principles or aspirational ideals that give us the platform to achieve our own individual goals. Democracy, rights, liberty. Through the exercise of these rights, we have the chance to change our place in society and in life.

    We can be upwardly mobile. We can become more prosperous and successful. And with that, we can provide for our families, our communities and live the life we want.

    People who study the American Dream say its origins can be traced to the Declaration of Independence, where it says that “all men are created equal,” and that each of us has the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

    But to better understand the American Dream, it is sometimes good to hear the story of someone who has lived it in a way that few have done.

    Cordia Harrington is one of those people.
    Links

    * The Bakery Cos. (website)
    * McDonald's (website)
    * Young Presidents' Organization (YPO website)
    * Cordia Harrington: Forbes Self-made Woman Ranking, Forbes
    * Cordia Harrington: Tennessee Bun Company, Breakthrough Master
    * How She Became "The Bun Lady," CBS News

    About this Episode’s Guest Cordia Harrington
    Cordia Harrington is CEO and founder of The Bakery Cos., a highly-automated, high-speed baking company that bakes over 10 million baked goods daily and employs more than 800 people, serving elite customers in the United States, South America and the Caribbean. As CEO, Ms. Harrington guides the executive team to successful planning, business development, sales and marketing, and brand management.

    Ms. Harrington serves on the Ascent Global Logistics Board of Directors and the Belmont University Board of Trustees. She is President of the Chief Executives Organization Board of Directors and a member of the American Bakers Association Board of Directors (President-Elect). She serves as a judge for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year National Award judging panel.

    Under Ms. Harrington’s leadership, The Bakery Cos. have received many awards, including the 50 Fastest-Growing Women-Owned Businesses, Business with Purpose Award, and Nashville Business Journal’s Best in Business Award. They were recently awarded Conagra Brand’s Supplier of the Year award and O’Charley’s O’ver & Above Partner Award. Ms. Harrington was listed at #93 on Forbes magazine’s list of 100 wealthiest self-made women in 2020. She was named Nashville Post’s 2020 CEO of the Year an...
    43 min
  • Dr. Judy Ho: Social Media & Mental Health
    Dr. Judy Ho joins Tim to talk about something that could affect all of us: social media and mental health.  You may have seen her on the TV show called The Doctors, or on the CBS TV network’s Face the Truth. Or, you may have listened to her podcast called Supercharged Life. Judy is a licensed and triple-board certified Clinical and Forensic Neuropsychologist, she’s an author, and she’s a professor at Pepperdine University.

    https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Social_Media_and_Mental_Health_auphonic.mp3





    Did you ever notice when you’re on the Internet, your computer seems to know about what you’re looking for even before you type it into the search box? Or when you’re on social media, how some subjects or people you know tend to pop up in your feed more than others?

    The algorithms that are built into the online platforms you use are sophisticated, and that’s an understatement. The whole purpose of social media is to get you to log on and stay on for as long as possible. In the process, the platforms watch you. They collect your data and sell it. They use your patterns to help advertisers sell to you. Some critics say they even use your data to manipulate you.

    That’s why it costs you nothing to join most social media platforms. You aren’t the customer. You are the product.

    So, to keep you engaged on social media, and coming back for more, the platforms employ some complex psychological techniques to give social media a certain addictive quality. You find yourself checking in on your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram accounts anytime you have a spare moment. And sometimes, when you really should be paying attention to the people or things that are right around you.

    This leads to some questions. Is social media good for you? Is it helping or hurting? Are you better off with it, or would you be better off without it? Just how does social media affect your mental health?
    Links

    * Dr. Judy Ho (Website)
    * The Doctors, Syndicated TV Show
    * Supercharged Life Podcast, Apple Podcasts
    * The Pomodoro Technique Explained, Forbes
    * Here's How Social Media Affects Your Mental Health, McLean Hospital

    About this Episode’s Guest Dr. Judy Ho
    Judy Ho, Ph. D., ABPP, ABPdN, CFMHE is a licensed and triple board-certified Clinical and Forensic Neuropsychologist, a tenured Associate Professor at Pepperdine University, television and podcast host and published author.

    She conducts neuropsychological assessments and serves as an expert witness in her private practice, hosts an active research lab, provides expert commentary to media, and is a sought after public speaker.

    Judy is the author of Stop Self-Sabotage, published by HarperCollins; a book detailing a scientifically driven six-step program which has been translated into 7 additional languages around the world. She maintains a private practice in Manhattan Beach, CA where she specializes in comprehensive neuropsychological assessments and expert witness work.

    She is a co-host on the Emmy Award winning syndicated daytime television talk show The Doctors, and co-host of CBS’s Face the Truth. Her podcast,
    46 min
  • The Gig Economy: In the Balance
    Attorney Bob Eassa from the national law firm of Duane Morris joins Tim to talk about the gig economy and how a restrictive law in California has turned the notion of the gig economy on its head. In this episode, we talk about how the law impacts independent contractors and employers, what’s being done about it, and whether this sort of regulation could come your way.

    https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/AB5_auphonic.mp3





    You may have heard some about the “gig economy,” but what do we mean when we talk about it. What is the gig economy?

    The term, gig economy, is a reference to a free market system where a business hires an independent contractor, a freelancer or a short-term worker to perform specific jobs or duties.

    The origin of the term comes from the creative trades, like movie-making, musicians, comedians. Any time they work on a project or make an appearance, they get paid for that work, which they call a “gig.”

    The gig economy goes much broader than the performing arts. People who work in the gig economy can perform any number of tasks, from writing, art design or coding, to driving a ride share car, or delivering a package to your door.

    Businesses who hire gig workers like it because it gives them the flexibility to hire and allocate staff where and when they are needed, without having to maintain a more rigid and costly permanent work force. This actually reduces costs and helps those companies compete and deliver better results for their customers.

    Gig workers are attracted to these jobs because they often have more control over their scheduling. They have more flexibility in when they work, where they work and for whom they work. They can work a gig full-time, part-time or seasonally without having to feel that an employer owns their time.

    Before the pandemic, in 2018, about 57 million Americans – that’s about one in three American workers – were classified as full- or part-time gig workers.

    In the post-pandemic economy, it’s anticipated that more employers will seek to find new footing with a reliance on gig workers. In other words, the gig economy just might offer America the flexibility and the nimbleness it needs to turn business around.

    Bob Eassa works in the San Francisco office of the national law firm Duane Morris. Nearby Silicon Valley has been one of the drivers behind the early emergence of the gig economy.

    As an attorney, Bob has seen both the pros and the cons of the gig economy. 
    Links

    * Bob Eassa, Duane Morris website
    * Dynamex Operations West Case Applies Retroactively, Law.com
    * The Gig Economy, ThoughtCo.com
    * About AB5, Investopedia
    * Prop 22 Explained: How California Voters Could Upend the Gig Economy, The Guardian
    * When to Use the Borello Test, Southland Data Processing
    * DOL Finalizes Independent Contractor Rule, But More Change May be on the Way, HR Daily Advisor

    About this Episode’s Guest Bob Eassa
    Robert D. Eassa has more than 30 years of experience as a civil trial attorney, litigating labor and employment matters of all ty...
    44 min
  • Miguel Zenón: Life, Sax & Jazz
    One of music’s leading jazz saxophonists Miguel Zenón joins Tim talk about his journey in music and life. Miguel has been nominated multiple times for Grammy Awards and has carved a place for himself among the elite jazz saxophonists and composers of our time.

    https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Miguel_Zenon_II_auphonic.mp3





    Miguel was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In high school, he found himself listening to the sounds of John Coltrane, but at that point, it was just an interest, not yet a passion.

    He didn’t get serious about actually making a career in jazz until he went to college at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. That’s where he met drummer Bob Moses, who asked him to join him with the Either/Orchestra. This gave Miguel his first taste of professional experience as a saxophonist.

    He would later earn awards and grants that allowed Miguel to continue his education, earning a master’s degree in 2001 from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City.

    But it all goes back to when he first discovered John Coltrane and other jazz legends, and it captivated him.
    Links

    * Miguel Zenón (official website)
    * Miguel Zenón (New England Conservatory)

    Gratitude
    Our thanks to Miguel Zenón for sharing some tracks from his latest album for this episode. You find it here:


    About this Episode’s Guest Miguel Zenón
    Multiple Grammy Nominee and Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow Miguel Zenón represents a select group of musicians who have masterfully balanced and blended the often-contradictory poles of innovation and tradition. Widely considered as one of the most groundbreaking and influential saxophonists of his generation, he has also developed a unique voice as a composer and as a conceptualist, concentrating his efforts on perfecting a fine mix between Latin American Folkloric Music and Jazz.

    Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Zenón has built a distinguished career as a leader, releasing twelve albums under his own name. In addition, he has crafted his artistic identity by dividing his time equally between working with older jazz masters and the music’s younger innovators –irrespective of styles and genres. The list of musicians Zenón has toured and/or recorded with includes: The SFJAZZ Collective, Charlie Haden, Fred Hersch, Kenny Werner, David Sánchez, Danilo Pérez, The Village Vanguard Orchestra, Kurt Elling, Guillermo Klein & Los Guachos, The Jeff Ballard Trio, Antonio Sánchez, David Gilmore, Paoli Mejías, Brian Lynch, Jason Lindner, Dan Tepfer, Miles Okazaki, Dan Weiss, Ray Barreto, Andy Montañez, Jerry Gonzalez & The Fort Apache Band, The Mingus Big Band, Bobby Hutcherson and Steve Coleman.

    As a composer he has been commissioned by SFJAZZ, The New York State Council for the Arts, Chamber Music America, NYO JAZZ , The Logan Center for The Arts, The Hyde Park Jazz Festival, The John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, MIT, Jazz Reach, Peak Performances, PRISM Quartet and many of his peers.

    Zenón has been featured in articles on publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, Bloomberg Pursuits, Jazz Times, Jazziz, Boston Globe, Billboard, Jazz Inside, Newsday and Details. In addition he topped both the Jazz Artist of the Year and Alto Saxophonist of the Year categories on the 2014 Jazz Times Critics Poll and was selected as the Alto Saxophonist of the Year by the Jazz Journalist Association in 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020 (when he was also recognized as Arranger of The Year).

    His biography would not be complete without discussing his...
    43 min
  • The Business of Death
    Ed Michael Reggie joins Tim to talk about the business of death, or more to the point, how the funeral business makes its money and what you can do about it. Ed is the creator of a new website designed to take the mystery out of funeral planning and make the whole process less painful. The site is called Funeralocity.com.

    https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Business_of_Death_auphonic.mp3





    If you’ve ever had to plan a funeral, you already know it’s a perfect storm of emotion, confusion and pain. Most often, you have to make decisions involving thousands of dollars in a short period of time. The decisions you make are permanent. They don’t get any more permanent.

    And yet, you have no idea what you’re doing. You don’t know how the funeral home, or the cemetery make their money. You don’t know when they’re trying to upsell you to make more from you, or when they have your best interest at heart. You’re usually in pain and grieving. The last thing you want to do is negotiate price at a time when money seems so unimportant.

    So, you go along. You nod your head when the funeral director points to the designer casket, the deluxe flower arrangements, and all of those mementos he says you need in order to remember your loved one.

    This is the business of death. And it is a business. Funeral homes get few chances to get your business, and once they do, grow that profit margin.

    Ed Michael Reggie has become an expert on that business as he built a website designed to take the mystery out of the funeral business so that you can navigate the process with a little less pain and confusion.
    Links

    * Funeralocity.com
    * FutureFactory
    * National Funeral Directors Association
    * Funeralocity.com Allows Grieving Consumers to Look at Prices and Reviews, New York Post

    About this Episode’s Guest Ed Michael Reggie
    Ed Michael Reggie is the managing director of Future Factory. He oversees the strategic direction of the company and manages its portfolio of businesses. Ed Michael is the CEO of Future Factory’s latest venture — Funeralocity.com, the first comparison website of funeral homes and cremation providers. Previously, he served as chairman of the board of another Future Factory company, GuideStar Research.

    He was founder and chairman of American LIFECARE, a regional managed healthcare company. He served as chief executive officer of Regent Health Systems, appointed to administer the rural hospital chain’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy. He also led Healing Arts Network, a complementary and alternative medicine company. Earlier in his career, he was a commercial bank president.

    Ed Michael’s passion for business drives his community and charitable efforts where he focuses on encouraging innovation, business growth and financial inclusion. He serves on the board of trustees of Grameen Foundation, a nonprofit that brings innovative and sustainable self-help programs to the fight against chronic hunger and poverty. He was a guarantor and founding board member of MCE Social Capital. He has served on the board of directors of the 
    32 min
  • What They Won’t Tell You About Socialism
    Economist, professor and author Paul Rubin joins Tim to talk about the impact of socialism on the future, particularly among young people who tend to be the most supportive of it, but who stand to lose the most because of it. This is the focus of his new book called, “A Student’s Guide to Socialism: How it will trash your lives.”

    https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Socialism_Rubin_auphonic.mp3





    If you want to see where socialism has been tried and failed, you don’t have to look far. Venezuela is one current-day example. The country sits on one of the world’s largest deposits of oil, yet people in that country have to wait in long lines for gas, the prices for gas are high and the quality of life is among the lowest in the world.

    Or, you could look toward history, from the Soviet Union, to Cuba, to countries from Eastern Europe to South America and Africa. The examples of socialist failure are many.  But if you look for examples of where socialism has been successful, you can look, but you won’t find many if any.

    The effects of socialism aren’t just a poor standard of living, but massive human misery, that history has shown, has led to the establishment of dictators and small rich oligarchies who rule the masses under the thumb of socialism.

    At the same time, the concepts of socialism have long had a certain appeal to young people and oppressed peoples. Socialism has a certain seductive quality for some.

    Paul Rubin has spent decades teaching young generations about basic economic principles, and has spent no small amount of time educating young people on the risks of socialism.
    Links

    * A Student’s Guide to Socialism: How it will trash your lives, by Paul Rubin (Amazon)
    * Paul Rubin, The Independent Institute
    * How are socialism and communism different?, History.com
    * Capitalism v. Socialism, PragerU.com

    About this Episode’s Guest Paul Rubin
    Paul H. Rubin is the Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Economics Emeritus in the Economics Department of Emory University and a former Professor of Law and Economics at the School of Law. He served as editor-in-chief of Managerial and Decision Economics. In addition, he is associated with the Mont Peleron Society, the Independent Institute, and the American Enterprise Institute, and a Fellow of the Public Choice Society and former President of the Southern Economics Association. Professor Rubin was Senior Economist at the Council of Economic Advisers under President Reagan, Chief Economist at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Director of Advertising Economics at the Federal Trade Commission, and Vice-President of Glassman-Oliver Economic Consultants, Inc., a litigation consulting firm in Washington. He has taught economics at the University of Georgia, City University of New York, VPI, and law and economics at George Washington University Law School. Professor Rubin has written or edited several books, and has published over one hundred articles and chapters on economics, law, and regulation.

    Much of Professor Rubin's writing is in law and economics, with a focus on tort, crime and contract issues. His areas of research interest include law and economics, industrial organization, transaction cost economics, government and business, public choice, regulation and price theory,
    33 min

About Shaping Opinion

From the publisher's feed

The Shaping Opinion podcast helps you see through the spin. It reveals things you may not know, and it exposes other things some may want to keep hidden. Its focus is on how your thoughts and attitudes are influenced to create change in the culture, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse.