The Point of It All

I often find myself wondering how America came to the decision to elect Donald Trump not once, but twice over the last decade. I kept coming back to the piece by Lerone Bennett Jr., "The Road Not Taken." In it, he examines the critical decisions made by our early leaders and how they shaped modern America.

In this episode, I read the first few paragraphs, but I strongly encourage you to read the full piece. It is a powerful, heavy read, and you may feel the full weight of these historical choices. I hope it sparks deeper reflection for all of us.

Here's a link to the full piece by Lerone Bennett Jr.: https://msuweb.montclair.edu/~furrg/essays/bennettroad.html

May was Mental Health Awareness Month, and as we bring it to a close, I wanted to release part two of our men's mental health awareness series. In the first episode, I spoke with John Cuturillo, an LPC out of Australia. In this final installment, we're bringing it back stateside to speak with another LPC, Matthew Thompson out of St. Louis, Missouri.

The first thing you'll pick up on is how both of these counselors share a similar, grounding demeanor—you can tell immediately that they chose the right field. I hope you guys enjoy this episode. And remember, if you know anyone struggling with their mental health, whether they're male or female, please urge them to seek professional help.

Mental health is one of those topics that no one wants to talk about, but it's also something that we all deal with on a day-to-day basis. It's hard to believe that in the year 2026, one's mental health still carries a stigma, like an illness no one wants to admit is there, leaving many people to suffer in silence.

In this episode, I speak with John Cuturilo, a licensed professional counsellor out of Australia. We talk about mental health as it relates to men, why they're reluctant to seek help, and some signs to look out for if you believe someone is suffering but may be afraid to ask for help.

John has his own website and podcast, which you can find here: www.yourlistener.com. While laws prohibit John from providing his services overseas, you should check out his website as it provides helpful articles regarding mental health, as well as links to his podcast. I wish John much success in his practice!

The US and Iran have seemingly been in conflict for as long as I've been alive.  I've been taught to hate Iran because they're a terrorist state, and is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American's.  However, I've always been somewhat of a contrarian, so my need to know "why" the animosity between these two nations exists, and will there ever be a change.

As I began researching I was surprised to learn that we weren't always at war with Iran, cold or otherwise. In this podcast I wanted to dig into the history between this relationship, and just how it went sour. Who was at fault? Is this a case of "both sides bad" or is there clearly a bad actor that's responsible for this unrest?  

I'm not a foreign policy expert, but I was lucky enough to find one for this episode.  Morgan Huston is a college professor who works in the national security sector.  As an Airforce veteran he has experience in the Middle East, and is very aware of how we got to where we are today.  Morgan has his own podcast on YouTube that you can find here https://www.youtube.com/@WhiskeyMO. He also has a substack where he publishes articles, and you can find that here https://substack.com/@whiskeymo. Finally, here's a link to all of his social media feeds https://linktr.ee/morganhuston

It hasn't been great watching once storied news organizations fall victim to this current authoritarian swoon the country finds itself under. When shows like venerable 60 Minutes become compromised it should serve as a five alarm fire warning, but many of us are left sleep walking from home to work, then back home again just trying to get  by.  We still need informative, truthful news, but how do we get it with in this legacy media malaise? Enter independent media.  It turns out that many of the personalities you've watched over the years are now doing they're own thing, most of them forming their own companies to bring you the truth without the propaganda.  

In this episode I list my top 3 independent news sources. I provide a quick bio of each person, then I give you my reasons for why they made my top three. I hope you enjoy it! Be safe until next time!

Jamie

I hope this finds you all in good health and spirit.  As each day passes following the death of Charlie Kirk, it seems that the process of taking over the media has been put on an accelerated time table.  Media companies are getting snatched up by Trump friendly billionaires with each passing day, and soon there will be no dissenters remaining to speak truth to power.  Our freedom of speech will be severely threatened, and while the internet has become the home of free thinkers, even that won't be entirely safe much longer if this trend continues.  

Imagine your social media feed getting moderated for content? Imagine your podcast, or blog being shut down because of your anti government speech.  I never thought any of this would touch our shores, but more and more I'm realizing this could actually happen here.  

I'll continue to publish this podcast for as long as I can, and I will never bow to a dictator or authoritarian.  

Peace and love,

Jamie H. 

Unless you find yourself flush with cash, credit is something you're going to need at some point in your life.  You want to buy that house for $146,000? Well, unless you have that kind of cash lying around you're going to need to apply for a home loan, which is credit.  In the market for a new car? You're probably going to need credit to buy it, and the list goes on and on.  For something that's as important as credit, I'm shocked that so little time is spent educating ourselves on what it is, and how best to manage it. 

This episode of The Point of It All focuses on consumer credit, what goes into calculating your credit score, why your credit score is important, and some does an don'ts as you attempt to manage it. 

Dan Rodgers of Escape The Clock is based in Seattle, Washington where he runs a non-profit that educates folks just like you and I on how to manage debt in hopes of retiring early.  Dan also wrote a book of the same name Escape The Clock, and he offers free consumer counseling via Zoom for anyone with questions regarding they're financial health.  You can find all of the links below! 

I hope you enjoy  this episode, and I'd like to than Dan for coming on the show!

www.escapetheclock.com

Escape The Clock Book

Schedule An Appointment with Dan

We're at a crossroads in our country where political speech is either tolerated, or extinguished with violence.  While I'd love to tell you there are brighter days ahead, the death of Charlie Kirk yesterday feels different.  There's almost certainly going to be a retaliation of some type, even as we learn the identity and motives of the assailant may have been steeped in Alt-Right culture and memes.    

In this episode I talk with my nephew Patrick "PJ" Hunter about the death of Kirk and the direction of our country. I hope you enjoy it, and please hug your loved ones close!   Peace and love!

Long after I'm gone from this Earth the fate of this country will rest in the hands of people like my nephew, PJ Hunter.  He's in his early 30's, doing his best to live his version of the American dream, and he has concerns about the direction of our country.  We get into current events, the direction of the nation, and where we believe it will go from here.  I wouldn't be surprised if PJ had his own podcast at some point, as he has a great deal of knowledge on national and world events. 

I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did recording it! Peace!

I've often wondered what made the conditions in our politics such fertile ground for someone like Donald Trump to rise to power. In this episode of the podcast I attempt to answer that question with the help of Perry Constantine. Perry was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois but now lives in Japan, and works as a teacher. 

Perry's insights into American politics proved he was the perfect person to have this discussion with, as he effortlessly goes through our history of some of our Presidents from Nixon to Biden, and how they all played a part in our finally landing on Donald Trump. 

Perry has his on podcast, and is also a writer. If you're interested in checking out his work you can find the links below on his Link Tree page. 

https://linktr.ee/percivalconstantine?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=256148e6-7733-4fe5-a759-ff53a43ccb0b

Until the next episode, be well!