The Bob Zadek Show

“Public sector unions gives workers no voice, and no choice." - Robert Alt

So far, the biggest silver lining on the Trump presidency has been a national shift in focus toward state-level policies. In his inauguration speech, President Trump promised to return “power to the people” – devolving responsibilities previously undertaken by Federal Government to the states, where citizens can more effectively voice their opinions, or vote with their feet if that fails. Even the San Francisco Chronicle has praised the “great American tradition” of Federalism since discovering that California could use the concept to resist Federal immigration directives. Robert Alt, President and CEO of the Buckeye Institute, used to work in Washington D.C., but took the helm of the Ohio-based free market think tank in 2012 after deciding that the real change is happening at the state level. Under his leadership, the Buckeye Institute has been winning public policy victories in tax policy, workers’ voting rights, and criminal justice reform. Recently, he has been fighting to grant public sector union workers the ability to vote for their union representation. He and Bob also discuss the Buckeye Institute’s important work in criminal justice, and the need for more ground-up reforms across the 50 states. What can California learn from Ohio, and how can every state engage in novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country?

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bobzadek.com/subscribe

Transparency is for government. Privacy is for its citizens. Hear Lawson

Bader defend DonorsTrust against accusations that it spreads "dark money"

in the political system, LIVE – Sunday, 8-9am PACIFIC.

The talk of artificial intelligence is everywhere, but the truth is, most of us don't really know what AI is. In his op-ed in Business Insider, Luis debunks 5 major AI myths that have been manufactured due to the dominant and often misleading dystopian narrative about AI in the future: 

Myth 1: AI is going to kill our jobs

Myth 2: Robots are AI

Myth 3: Big Data and Analytics are AI

Myth 4: Machine Learning and Deep Learning are AI

Myth 5: Search engines are AI

Bob and Luis focus on the first myth, which seems to arrive dressed in new garb every couple of decades. Historical figures ranging from Queen Elizabeth I (1589) to John Maynard Keynes (1930) have predicted that new inventions would give rise to mass unemployment, and the dire warnings keep coming. Today's predictions come with the added warning of impending doom. But is there anything to fear (other than fear itself)? Luis is a serial innovator, who currently directs the MIT Innovation Teams Program, MIT’s flagship hands-on innovation program jointly operated between the Schools of Engineering and Management. He joins the show to clarify the difference between automation, robotics, and true artificial intelligence. His new book Innovating: A Doer’s Manifesto for Starting from a Hunch, Prototyping Problems, Scaling Up, and Learning to Be Productively Wrong (MIT Press, 2017) also lays out a framework for thinking about innovation, which cannot be captured in any template or formula. Get ready to use your brain.

The talk of artificial intelligence is everywhere, but the truth is, most of us don't really know what AI is. In his op-ed in Business Insider, Luis debunks 5 major AI myths that have been manufactured due to the dominant and often misleading dystopian narrative about AI in the future:

Myth 1: AI is going to kill our jobs
Myth 2: Robots are AI
Myth 3: Big Data and Analytics are AI
Myth 4: Machine Learning and Deep Learning are AI
Myth 5: Search engines are AI

Bob and Luis focus on the first myth, which seems to arrive dressed in new garb every couple of decades. Historical figures ranging from Queen Elizabeth I (1589) to John Maynard Keynes (1930) have predicted that new inventions would give rise to mass unemployment, and the dire warnings keep coming. Today's predictions come with the added warning of impending doom. But is there anything to fear (other than fear itself)? Luis is a serial innovator, who currently directs the MIT Innovation Teams Program, MIT’s flagship hands-on innovation program jointly operated between the Schools of Engineering and Management. He joins the show to clarify the difference between automation, robotics, and true artificial intelligence. His new book Innovating: A Doer’s Manifesto for Starting from a Hunch, Prototyping Problems, Scaling Up, and Learning to Be Productively Wrong (MIT Press, 2017) also lays out a framework for thinking about innovation, which cannot be captured in any template or formula. Get ready to use your brain.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bobzadek.com/subscribe

Last time writer and filmmaker* Anthony L. Fisher joined the show, he exposed the mysterious death of a 20-year-old confidential informant. His Reason TV documentary and article were later picked up by 60 Minutes, and led many to rethink the role of confidential informants in the criminal justice system. Anthony also covered the Occupy Wall Street protests back in 2011, when it was unclear what the movement stood for or where it was heading. In a column for the Daily Beast, Anthony brings his characteristic clarity and nuance to bear on the anti-fascist protesters – aka "Antifa" – that have made recent headlines. Between Nazi white supremacists and anti-fascists (aka “Antifa”), Anthony is adamant that the former possess the more odious ideology, and are responsible for far more victims than the latter. However, this does not justify the acceptance of indiscriminate violence displayed by Antifa at recent protests and rallies. Anthony notes that violent, anarchic tactics have historically bolstered far-right elements. This suggests non-violent resistance is still the best option against a rising tide of xenophobia in the United States and elsewhere. This Sunday, Anthony will take your calls on the disturbing glorification of violence by some intellectuals, and the watering down of terms like “fascist” to include individuals who merely disagree with left-wing orthodoxy. When anyone to the right of Bernie Sanders is labelled a fascist, the result is a poisoned public discourse. Can we recover civil dialogue in the midst of such intellectual laziness? Bob and Anthony break down the differences between alt-right, neoreactionary, and outright fascist/white supremacist groups.

Last time writer and filmmaker* Anthony L. Fisher joined the show, he exposed the mysterious death of a 20-year-old confidential informant. His Reason TV documentary and article were later picked up by 60 Minutes, and led many to rethink the role of confidential informants in the criminal justice system. Anthony also covered the Occupy Wall Street protests back in 2011, when it was unclear what the movement stood for or where it was heading. In a column for the Daily Beast, Anthony brings his characteristic clarity and nuance to bear on the anti-fascist protesters – aka "Antifa" – that have made recent headlines. Between Nazi white supremacists and anti-fascists (aka “Antifa”), Anthony is adamant that the former possess the more odious ideology, and are responsible for far more victims than the latter. However, this does not justify the acceptance of indiscriminate violence displayed by Antifa at recent protests and rallies. Anthony notes that violent, anarchic tactics have historically bolstered far-right elements. This suggests non-violent resistance is still the best option against a rising tide of xenophobia in the United States and elsewhere. This Sunday, Anthony will take your calls on the disturbing glorification of violence by some intellectuals, and the watering down of terms like “fascist” to include individuals who merely disagree with left-wing orthodoxy. When anyone to the right of Bernie Sanders is labelled a fascist, the result is a poisoned public discourse. Can we recover civil dialogue in the midst of such intellectual laziness? Bob and Anthony also break down the differences between alt-right, neoreactionary, and outright fascist/white supremacist groups.

*See the trailer below for Anthony's debut feature film, *Sidewalk Traffic,* which he wrote and directed. The film is available for rent/purchase on iTunes, Amazon, and most VOD outlets.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bobzadek.com/subscribe

Why a forward-deployed military posture is unnecessary.

We’re living through the longest period of peace the modern world has ever known, so why all the hysteria of late? John Glaser, Director of Foreign Policy Studies at the Cato Institute, says it’s past time to start closing many of the 800 U.S. military bases around the world, and retool America’s strategy for deterring threats. He argues that the current saber rattling with Iran and North Korea represent the consequences of decades of overly-expansionist interventions. The idea of a “Pax Americana,” or the pacifying influence of American military dominance, has been around since the beginning of the Cold War. It has led us to make compromises with brutal dictators to maintain bases near perceived threats, and continues to cost us hundreds of billions of dollars a year. Worse, the alleged deterrent effect of a hegemonic military power may be an illusion. In a recent Cato policy paper*, Glaser persuasively argues that certain countries, which might otherwise feel neutrally towards the U.S., end up feeling threatened, and ramp up their military spending accordingly. Did Trump’s “get tough” rhetoric at the U.N. make us more or less safe?

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bobzadek.com/subscribe

Back in 2015, U.S. Representative Mark Meadows took a major political risk to stand on his North Carolina constituents’ principles. He filed a motion to vacate the speaker chair held by John Boehner. Members of the House Freedom Caucus like Meadows have routinely been accused of dividing the Republican Party by holding fast to radical ideas, like cutting the $20 trillion deficit. Austin Petersen – a 2018 U.S. Senate candidate in Missouri – looks to join the ranks of Meadows, et al. in returning the party to fiscal sanity and constitutional principles. A libertarian until recently, Petersen earned his reputation as a provocative media producer and commentator, who gave Gary Johnson a run for his money in seeking the 2016 Libertarian Presidential nomination. His plan for resolving the GOP’s identity crisis invokes federalism – the principle that states reserve powers not granted to the Federal Government – and a flat tax to spur growth and shrink government. For this, he will no doubt be vilified by moderate Republicans as much as by his actual opponent, Senator Claire McCaskill. Petersen joins Bob to discuss his stance on these issues, along with those where he disagrees with the Libertarian Party, such as the non-aggression principle. You can follow Austin on Twitter at @AP4Liberty, and hear him now on the show of ideas not attitude.