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 One listener writes, Hey I wonder if you guys have heard of Gypsy-Rose Blanchard. She was recently released from prison for her role in the killing of her mother. Now she has over 7 million followers on Instagram and she is likely going to be a millionaire because of the fame she is getting from her story. What is the morally appropriate reaction someone should have to a person like Gypsy-Rose?

The Thought Provoker:

Sam is up first.  Disney world

Next up, Matt. There is a crisis at the southern border. The US Customs and Border Protection statistics show that since 2021 the number of people encountered at the border has risen from around 70,000 per month to over 200 thousand people each month. Texas has responded by implementing a crackdown of their own. This has led to US citizens being unlawfully detained by Texas police. When it comes to abortion, Shawn seems to favor federalism and state’s rights. But, isn’t it the job of the federal government to secure the border? Isn’t this an issue in which states need to stay out of enforcement?

 Finally Shawn. Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly launched a direct-to-consumer website yesterday, allowing its customers to receive third-party prescriptions for its drugs, including its newly approved weight loss injectable Zepbound (similar to Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic). Users can be connected to a telehealth service via the site to quickly receive prescriptions before placing an order. This direct to consumer approach eliminates the big 3 Pharmacy Benefit Managers (middleman) and allows Eli Lilly to reduce drug prices significantly. For example, Zepbound will be $1,000 from a Pharmacy but only $500 through Eli Lilly’s new website for non-insured and only a $25 copay for insured. Is this a game changer and a Capitalists dream? 

The Big Question: I've been pondering ways that we could improve civic awareness, better prepare young people for life, and reduce crime at the same time. Many countries around the world have some form of required military service for young people between the ages of 17 and 26. There's a wide variety in how countries implement these programs, but the big question is. Would it be good for the United States to implement some form of mandatory military service for young adults?

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2023 US politics. It may be hard to believe, but at this time in 2022, Donald Trump had not been indicted on a single criminal charge. As of today, Donald Trump has been indicted in four states on 91 different criminal charges. In addition, A jury found Donald Trump liable in May for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996, awarding her $5 million and he recently completed a civil fraud trial in New York that could result in the loss of his business license and require him to pay $250 million. Yet, he remains the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination. Has this been a good year or a bad year for Donald Trump?

2023 foreign politics. The year began with a hopeful Ukraine that they would be able to use foreign aid to push Russia from its borders. Things seemed especially hopeful after Wagner rebelled against Putin. Now, The EU and US seem reluctant to continue financial support of the war effort. China has faced internal political and economic challenges resulting in mass exodus from their country. Tens of thousands of millionaires are fleeing the country and more than 24,000 Chinese citizens have been apprehended crossing into the US from Mexico in 2023. They fly to Ecuador and pay smugglers to guide their travel through the dangerous jungle between Colombia and Panama en route to the United States. In addition to problems at the southern border, the United States is trying to negotiate peace in the Middle East between Israel and the Palestinians. It seems like a game of Risk is being set up and the US is about to face too many conflicts to handle with our existing might. Is the world in a better place today than it was a year ago?

 2023 US economy: Last year, economists were predicting that the US would be in a recession before the end of 2023. They expected unemployment to be somewhere close to 5% and that it would lose 2 million jobs. Instead, the unemployment rate, has come in below 4% for 22 straight months, the longest such streak since the 1960s, hiring has slowed but remains healthy, and inflation dropped from 9% in June to 3.1% in December. Economists now think that the US will avoid a recession altogether. What do you think about the performance of the US economy in 2023? Is it better, worse, or just about the same as you expected it to be? 

2023 LDS Church. There are so many things we could discuss. Lori Daybell conviction, Tim Ballard, 8 Passengers plea deal, The YSA conference in Utah, 38 new temples announced, 36 new missions created, President Ballard passing, Elder Kearon called, Elder Holland being on his deathbed, getting healed, and then called as President of the Quorum of the Twelve, Romney retiring, and the SEC fining the church for the way in which they hid money. What do you think is the most important church related story in 2023? 

Predictions: What do you think will happen in 2024?

1. In the LDS church/Mormondom?
2. In US politics?
3. In global politics?
4. In the US economy?

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Most people don’t know that Kyiv is the birthplace of Christianity in the Slavic world. Ukrainians are used to having foreigners try to control the way that they worship. Despite the hundreds of years of Mongol control in the 13th century and the decades of communist control in the 20th century, Ukrainians have always found a way to put Christ at the center of their Christmas festivities. We served in Ukraine at a time of a great economic depression, but Ukrainians continued to celebrate Christmas. Once again, Ukraine is facing a Christmas season during economic and political upheaval, but they are adapting and celebrating Christ’s birth. Some notable things Ukrainians are doing this year include:

1. For the first time since 1917, Ukraine is celebrating Christmas on 25 December.
2. Yet, Following the imposition of martial law, the Ukrainian parliament implemented changes to Ukraine’s labor legislation that canceled all public holidays, Thus, Dec. 25. will be a working day for employees who work on a five-day schedule.
3. Christmas Eve (Holy Eve) is marked by traditional family gatherings in the evening of December 24 – the so-called Sviata Vecheria (‘Holy Dinner’). The festivities start with the appearance of the first star, though all preparations traditionally start from the very dawn. The table should be served with 12 dishes, which symbolize the twelve apostles.
4. Adorning Christmas trees with spider webs and hiding a spider within the branches.
5. On Dec. 25, many Ukrainians go to church for Christmas prayers, then gather with family. There are no gifts from Santa Claus in Ukraine on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Gifts are traditionally given on Saint Nicholas Day on Dec. 6 (Dec. 19 last year on the Julian calendar).
6. Baptism of Jesus Day. The holiday season ends on January 6, when Jesus Christ was baptized. On that day, people throughout the country will go swimming or take baths. They use the ice holes in the rivers for water consecration. This extreme activity is, of course, accompanied by the frosty seasonal weather.

 There are a couple of things I want to discuss. 

1. What do you remember about how Ukrainians celebrated Christmas?
2. How did your experience in Ukraine at Christmas-time influence the way that you celebrate Christmas?
3. What can Americans learn about Christmas from the manner in which Ukrainians recognize the holiday during times of upheaval in society?

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The Thought Provoker

Matt is up first. Recently, Rudy Giuliani was ordered to pay over $148 million to two Georgia election workers for defamation. This all stems from lies he told about the 2020 election being stolen in Georgia. As a lifelong Republican, I see Rudy Giuliani as a metaphor for what has happened to the GOP. In 2001, Giuliani was America’s Mayor—beloved for his response to the 9/11 attacks in NYC and Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. In 2008, he was the frontrunner for the GOP nomination for President. He was seen as a moderate Republican who could woo independents and moderate Democrats. Now, he is a joke, a fraud, a liar, and has no respect. How did this happen to him? Does the GOP risk having the same thing happen to them?

Next up, Sam: A Texas woman's fetus was diagnosed with something called trisomy 18 and it causes abnormalities in the development of the brain, heart and other internal organs. And so here's the stats in almost all cases, at least 95%, the pregnancies and then miscarriage and stillbirth, birth, according to the Cleveland clinic. And then the Texas state Supreme court came back and said, you can't have it. And ultimately while they were going back and forth, she decides to leave the state and have the abortion out of state. So from a latter day lens standpoint, we members of the church of Jesus Christ, a latter day saints protect life. I mean, we value life. What is the latter day lens on this Texas case?
Should she have been allowed to pursue and have an abortion in the state of Texas or does that violate our beliefs?
FYI, abortions are up in the US after Roe vs Wade was overturned.

Finally, Shawn. The invisible hand is a metaphor for how, in a free market economy, self-interested individuals operate through a system of mutual interdependence. This interdependence incentivizes producers to make what is socially necessary and of most value to society, even though their primary concern may only be their own well-being. Seeking our self interest through free exchange with each other drives us to provide value for each other.  Is there a place in society for people who are in professions that don’t create value for trade? Or do you feel that capitalism requires that humans offer something of value to others or it won’t work and leaves people behind. What about those less able who would offer value but cannot? 

The Big Question: You guys like to talk about how academics live in a fantasy world. Well, billionaires seem to have even crazier ideas than what we come up with. New Zealand has become a home for billionaires who want to build prepper bunkers, Jeff Bezos wants to build colonies on the moon to mine resources for planet earth,  Elon Musk wants to build 100 starships per year for the next ten years to begin the colonization of Mars. Do you agree that the billionaires get the headlines, but the government bureaucrats who tell them “no” are

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The Thought Provoker

Sam. All right, so here's my question. So I have friends that listen to our show and friends that are in the Chicagoland and in the Michigan area, Detroit, and other areas in the upper Midwest, and we've often talked about crime rates in those areas and some of the challenges that face people politically, economically in those areas. And I was joking recently with someone about going out for a run super late at night in the Chicagoland and talking jokingly about hey, is it really safe to be out there? I mean, there's no cash bail. We've seen crime. And he actually came back and showed me stats that show crime in the Chicagoland versus Detroit, measuring it to other major metropolitan areas, trying to make it say that it's not as dangerous as what I try to make it out to be. So curious about that. I went and did a little research, right? And I stumbled into this topic. will sometimes create a perception of mental unsafety that ends up kind of feeding and self-fulfilling that narrative. And then maybe COVID and some of the other things that went on around that made it even worse. So my question for you is, do we live in a safe time or is the premise of this article not correct? And if we are in a safe time, why is there this perception that it's much less safe and why do we feed into that?

Next up, Matt. In testimony before Congress, FBI Director Wray stated that the United States right now is facing unprecedented threats to its safety. “What I would say that is unique about the environment that we're in right now in my career is that while there may have been times over the years where individual threats could have been higher here or there than where they may be right now, I've never seen a time where all the threats or so many of the threats are all elevated, all at exactly the same time.” He then detailed the specific threats currently posed by China, Iran, Russia, and International Terrorist Organizations. At the same time, many Americans are distrustful of the FBI and local police. Should Americans change their views about the police and FBI?

 Last up, Shawn. Presidents of Ivy League schools Harvard, penn and mit testified before congress about the rise of antisemitic activity at their schools. They faced massive criticism for evasive answers about whether calls for genocide violate school policies and so far one has lost her job.  Question: How is it that our most elite thinkers and intellectuals could be so wrong on such a simple and fundamental idea? Are they actually open to a genocide of Jews depending on the context?! Were they simply failed by their pr and legal teams? Or is Thomas Sowell correct when he says: “'experts' may be smarter and have more information accumulated, but they do not command even 1% of the consequential knowledge required to adequately meet our needs.”. 

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Discussion of the Devate

Thought Provoker:
Since 2008, there has been a remarkable evolution in Russia's approach to propaganda. Described in this article, they focus on high numbers of channels using rapid, continuous, and repetitive messages that lack commitment to consistency. Like using a rapid fire shotgun as opposed to a precise sniper rifle. It uses text, photo, video and audio on multi-channels and in high-volumes. They employ huge armies of internet trolls and hackers to execute their strategies. According to a former paid Russian Internet troll, the trolls are on duty 24 hours a day, in 12-hour shifts, and each has a daily quota of 135 posted comments of at least 200 characters. Has this strategy become a pervasive source of information in America? Is it possible to discern truth from lie in our day and age? How?

Mark Cuban recently announced that he is selling part of his ownership in the Dallas Mavericks to Miriam Adelson for $2 billion. What was not as widely reported is that this is part of a larger plan that Cuban announced last year to build a new arena in the middle of a Vegas-style hotel and casino resort complex in Dallas. But gambling is illegal in Texas. This is why Cuban is selling majority ownership to the president of Sands Casino. The Adelson family are big donors to the Texas governor and Lt. Governor and this infusion of cash will help pave the way for a campaign to legalize gambling in the state of Texas. If Cuban can get the law changed, he and Adelson will have played a large role in writing the laws that will regulate a new industry in Texas. Is this another example of how billionaires exploit the system to give them an unfair advantage in our capitalist system?

 Big Question: In October GC, Elder Pingree of the Seventy talked about the difference between truth, doctrine, and policy. He said when seeking truth, it helps to understand the difference between doctrine and policy. Doctrine refers to eternal truths, such as the nature of the Godhead, the plan of salvation, and Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice. Policy is the application of doctrine based on current circumstances. Policy helps us administer the church in an orderly way. He went on to say that doctrine never changes, but policy adjusts from time to time. He also said that there is danger in confusing policy and doctrine. We have talked before about activism towards the church. But if policy is simply the application of doctrine based on current circumstances, doesn't that suggest that it might be appropriate for members of the Church to engage in some lobbying or activism to change policies? When is such behavior appropriate?

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Mailbag: Your idea for a coffee substitute cafe in Provo has already been tried. Latter Day Cafe opened in Provo south of BYU in 2021 making drinks out of the Copomo seed, which they promoted as better than coffee. You could caffeinate your drink on a scale of 1 to 4. 1 was equivalent to Mountain Dew, 2 coffee cup, 3 five hour energy, and 4 Bang. 

 Thought Provoker:

In an interview this week, Mitt Romney talked about why he would not run for president on a third party label. Basically, he said that a third party candidate could never win because they wouldn’t be able to get to 270 electoral college votes. The constitution says that if no candidate gets 270 electoral college votes, the US House decides the winner. Since the House would never vote for a third party candidate, it is a waste of time to even think about running as a third party candidate. What should people who want someone other than Trump or Biden do in the upcoming election?

 Is cancel culture simply a new form of boycott, an effective tactic used to effect change, or is it a slippery slope and leads to intolerance and democratic societies as people systematically exclude anyone who disagrees with their views? Is it the free market at work, or is it democratized bullying and intolerance?

“More millennial Mormons are choosing a middle way – neither all-in nor all-out of the faith.”  How does the latter-day lens inform this approach?

https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2018/09/29/more-millennial-mormons/
https://religioninpublic.blog/2018/09/26/the-two-kinds-of-american-latter-day-saints-a-mormon-typology/ 

 The Big Question.

This is the last one from the Coppins interview. Coppins talks about how Mitt Romney loved to talk about shows he was regularly watching. He specifically mentions that Romney loved the shows “Better Call Saul”, “Ted Lasso”, and “Game of Thrones”. Each of those shows is rated TV-MA. I don’t want to make this about judging other people and their choices, but how should we decide what media to consume? Each of those programs crosses a line that some people have about their media. Is the proper approach to have a line that you will not cross, or is there some other way to decide?

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The Thought Provoker:

Sam is first. Quote from Quentin L Cook’s devotional last night:

“Youth and young adults are not less active or leaving the Church in higher numbers than in the past, as has been widely circulated.…The percentage of church participation for the rising generation shows a continuous upward trend.” - Quentin L. Cook

How has the Church reversed a declining trend among youth across all religions in the United States?

https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2018/06/13/young-adults-around-the-world-are-less-religious-by-several-measures/

https://twitter.com/ryanburge/status/1724076626634313750

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-surprising-surge-of-faith-among-young-people-424220bd  

Next up, Matt. Recent polls show that Americans strongly disapprove of How Biden is handling the conflict in Israel. 70% of young people are upset and this is hurting his overall approval rating. What should Biden be doing differently in Israel?

 Last up, Shawn. Nephi said, Feast upon the words of Christ, for they will tell you all things what you should do. If you cannot understand them, it will be because you ask not, neither do you knock. Receive the Holy Ghost, and it will show unto you all things what you should do. The words of Christ tell us, and show us all things what ye should do. Do you interpret this literally, applying to every aspect of life? Or does it only apply to spiritual things? Can scripture inform us on all things? Spiritual, physical, social, temporal, political, etc? Examples. One, Who to vote for? Two how to escape from a dangerous situation? Three, what career to go into? Four Should I drink Red Bull? Five. Should I leave an inheritance for my children?

 The Big Question:

Things Coppins reports about Mitt Romney in this interview. At the 36:00 mark he discusses the price Romney paid for voting to convict Trump in the first impeachment. That move basically ended his political career. But, Romney prayed about it and felt like it was the morally correct thing to do. It Is extraordinarily rare for a politician to put their own conviction about right and wrong first when dealing with political matters. It is much more common to do the thing that will give you more power and to justify it post-hoc in your own mind. How do we identify the kinds of people who will put their convictions first in politics?

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The Thought Provoker:

Matt is first this week: This week The US House voted to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib over her Israel-Hamas rhetoric in a stunning rebuke for using this phrase. A censure is the strongest action the House can take against one of its members other than removing them from office. In the 1860s members were censured for Making statements in support of the Confederate rebellion. In the 1980s members were censured for engaging in sexual conduct with pages. Rep. Tlaib is the only Palestinian-American in Congress. The censure was bi-partisan. Was this the right thing to do?

Next up Shawn: This week Joe Manchin announced he’s quitting politics. Mitt Romney is done.  Vivek Ramaswamy accused Nicky Haley of failing financially in her personal life then using her political influence to get on the boards of Boeing, etc to become a millionaire. Our government Institutions are platforms for notoriety. Does The incentive structure of notoriety and income outweigh the altruistic duty of service and loyalty to the values of the Us constitution? Are Politics now performative instead of substantive?

Finally, Sam: What are the moral implications of implanting neuralink with AI capabilities and allowing that to govern the human body and possibly, ultimately the human mind? Here is a video showing what the technology can do.

The Big Question:

McKay Coppins wrote a biography of Mitt Romney and had access to his journals and private correspondence. I want to do a series of big questions based on things Coppins reports about Mitt Romney in this interview. Here is the first Big Question: At the 29:00 mark, Coppins discusses a time in which President Ballard asked Romney to create an LDS version of the Anti-Defamation League to defend the church. Romney decided not to do it because he thinks that the biggest problem for the church is young people leaving the church, not attacks from the media. If a member of the Quorum of the Twelve asks you to do something, what is the appropriate response?

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Mailbag: “Sam, If adversity is so great for immigrants, why not save some for the rich people? Why rob wealthy people of the chance to work their way up from the bottom? 100% inheritance tax. Who’s with me?”

 The Thought Provoker:

Sam is first up this week, Are kids medically treated too quickly with medications for aniexty vs teaching them coping/problem solving skills earlier on in their life on what anxiety is, why we have it and how to cope with it? Are parents spending enough time or do parents have the tools now to teach their kids coping/problem solving skills? Are we teaching our kids problem solving skills and coping skills early enough?  How does this set up society for when these kids become part of the workforce?
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/show/shortage-of-mental-health-services-for-teens-forces-parents-to-take-desperate-measures 

  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-youth-mental-health-crisis-worsens-amid-a-shortage-of-professional-help-providers/

 Utah has the highest rate of mental health illness in the U.S. study shows (abc4.com)

 Next up, Shawn: Ana Kasparian, recently lamented that Gavin Newsom’s far left administration in California gave $18mm to non profits such as “being alive” to provide crack pipe kits to people in LA. Biden gave $30mm to provide "A safe smoking kit” that contains alcohol swabs, lip balm, other materials to homeless drug addicts.  Do these examples not make the case for a smaller, limited government and show that government is bad at spending other people’s money.  Do these examples prove Milton Friedman's teachings on “the 4 ways of spending money”?

Lastly, Matt. Nvidia co-founder and President, Jensen Huang was recently asked that if he were magically placed in the same situation he was in 30 years ago when he and his friends discussed starting his company, what company he would talk about starting. And he said that he wouldn’t do it because building Nvidia turned out to be a million times more difficult than he expected it to be. He says that every entrepreneur thinks it will be easier than it actually is to start a company. That if they really knew how hard it was going to be, nobody would start a business. First, is he right? Second, if he is right, does society have a moral obligation to make it easier to start a business? Does it really need to be so hard?

 Big Question:
Some LDS scholars argue that restoration scriptures teach that the best way to approach conflict is with peace. “the scriptures constantly seem to be pointing us to what Moroni calls a more excellent way and what Paul also refers to as a more excellent way, which is the way of love, the way of approaching violence and conflict with a kind of confrontational compassion or assertive love that will transform the conflict in ways that responding to violence with violence will not and that tend to just spiral the conflict instead.” They argue that peace can be confrontational, but never contentious. Right now, the world is ablaze in conflict. It Is true that the Anti-Nephi-Lehis died rather than take up arms, but Captain Moroni fought violently to defend his people. Is there a higher and holier way to engage in conflict? Is peace the higher way, or does it really just depend on th