Centered From Reality

Americana: the Odd, Strange & Creepy (with Cole Costello)

In this episode, Alex starts by talking about Liz Cheney endorsing Kamala Harris. Then he shares the final part of his interview with Cole Costello. They talk about the darker and more nefarious side of Americana — the domestic and historic shared culture of the United States. America’s early history is littered with strange mysticism, nationalism, and individualism. Aside from its own legends and myths, it also has involved different groups of people doing their own thing and wanted to be isolated in the process. Regional and ideological isolationism can lead to an early America that has one not knowing what kind of people are in the town over from them. Cole talks about the second wave of this phenomenon and they relate this concept to modern politics, division, and more. Cole argues that some of the nostalgia that Americans feel today can stem from this hard to define yet easy to understand concept of Americana culture. 

The Mythos of Unions: Irish Nationalism & Butte, Montana (with Cole Costello)

For the first part of this episode, Alex gives some updates on events happening in the world. He talks about Trump on Lex Fridman and the Hawk Tuah girl starting a podcast called “Talk Tuah.” Then Alex provides some updates and analysis regarding the War in Ukraine and how Russia is responding to the recent incursion. Then, for the majority of the episode, the second part of Alex’s conversation with Cole Costello is played. Cole enligthens Alex on what his PhD candidacy is on and they talk about Irish labor movements in Butte, Montana. Then they debate unions in the current era, capitalism, and more. 

The Bear-Based Brainworm, the NFL Gets Expansionist & Pearl Jam is Bruce Springsteen for Gen X (with Cole Costello)

In this episode, Alex releases part one of his interview with Cole Costello, a PhD candidate at the University of Montana. In this first part, the two talk about why Cole thinks Pearl Jam is the Bruce Springsteen for Gen X in the west coast. He also helps Alex understand grunge music. The two also talk about how the NFL is getting greedy and lazy at the same time, they base this conversation on the NFL putting games in Brazil and other foreign countries. Alex then educates Cole on the RFK Jr. controversies and the weird behavior that led up to his endorsement of Trump. 

BRAT Summer's Over: CNN’s C+ Interview, the Morning Joe Effect & An NFL Rant (+ A 49ers Player Shot in SF)

In this episode, Alex starts with some NFL/cultural commentary. First, he is confused about why Green Bay and Philadelphia are playing their first game in Brazil, in a stadium that doesn’t allow green, in a country that loves other sports. Next, the San Francisco 49ers have a rookie wide receiver that was shot and seriously injured in SF on Saturday. Alex relates this issue to gun violence and crime in cities like SF. Later, Alex reacts to the Kamala Harris interview on CNN. He thinks she did the bare minimum and didn’t make any mistakes; however, he is also not impressed with CNN or the interview questions. Finally, Alex argues that Trump Derangement Syndrome is real and is one of the things that has helped keep Trump in the public eye and has bolstered his political situation. 

Altercations in Arlington & Temporary vs Permanent Ceasefires in Gaza (+ the Kash Patel Problem)

In this episode, Alex starts with an NPR report from the Arlington National Cemetery. Apparently, Trump campaign officials tried to film in parts of the cemetery that were off limits and it led to an altercation between campaign staff and cemetery staff members. Alex thinks this is a political move to film the graves of certain soldiers that died during the fall of Kabul three years earlier. Next, Alex analyzes a new piece in the Atlantic that goes into how Kash Patel, a former Trump official, could play a dangerous and crucial role in a Trump 2.0 administration. Finally, Alex looks into how a recent Israeli operation in the West Bank, that is occupied by Israel, shows that the conflict is increasingly out of control. He also talks about why one side may prefer a temporary ceasefire while the other wants a permanent one. 

Pavel Durov: Free Speech Champion or Complicit Criminal? (+ RFK Jr.’s Moby Dick)

In this episode, Alex starts by talking about how the RFK Jr. saga continues. Just as he endorsed Donald Trump and Tulsi Gabbard followed (Alex rants about that too), an old article has resurfaced that described RFK Jr. using a chainsaw to cut off the head of a beached whale before transporting it back to his house after a family vacation in Massachusetts. For the rest of the episode, Alex breaks down the recent arrest in Paris of Pavel Durov. He is the founder and CEO of Telegram. It is one of the most decentralized and unmoderated messaging platforms on the internet. Many countries have said Telegram violated their laws over reporting misconduct and illicit activity (including drug trafficking and the usage of illegal child images). Alex tries to wade through the chaos of this story and understand why some are angry about the arrest of Durov and why others think it was necessary. 

Mike Pillow in Disguise at the DNC, RFK Jr Endorses Trump & Kamala Accepts the Nomination!

In this episode, Alex starts out light by laughing about Mike Lindell (or Mike Pillow) going in a disguise to the DNC and arguing with 12 year olds. For most of the episode, Alex does a reaction and analysis to the DNC in Chicago. Alex thinks the energy was genuine and also talks about the Republicans that spoke at the event, why he is disappointed that a Palestinian didn’t speak, and what is next. Finally, RFK Jr has endorsed Donald Trump and dropped out of the race. Alex reacts. 

The Summer Doldrums: It’s the Vibes, Stupid (+ Biden Speaks at the DNC)

In this episode, Alex laments the end of summer. The olympics are over, preseason football is the best show in town, and it is getting dark before 8pm. After pouring out a shot for the summer, Alex gives a brief recap of day one of the DNC in Chicago. He talks about Biden’s speech, protests outside the event, and what he expects to happen in the days to come. Next, Alex talks about how he thinks the right is misunderstanding why Democrats are so excited that Kamala Harris is the nominee. Finally, Alex looks at Kamala Harris’ economic platform that involves price caps on grocceries, a 25,000 dollar down payment for first time home-buyers, no taxes on tips, and price caps on prescription drug costs. Alex doesn’t agree with the economics of some of these ideas, but he argues that the platform is more about guiding the candidate’s policies. 

Iran Sends Mixed Signals & Walz Combats MAGA's Faux Populism

In this episode, Alex starts by arguing that the Republican attacks on Tim Walz for being a socialist are missing the point. Walz could actually have national appeal because he is a progressive, labor and economic populist from the midwest. He can potentially appeal to families and blue collar Americans that vote based on wages and the economy and don’t care for the culture war. Walz could be the vaccine for Trump’s faux populism. Later, Alex talks about how Iran is sending mixed signals on how it will respond to Israel’s assassination of a Hamas official deep in Tehran. With more ceasefire talks happening in Doha, it seems like Iran is either waiting for an outcome or showing the world that it is weaker than expected. 

The Late, Great Hannibal Lecter: Trump Keeps Scoring Own Goals (+ Dissecting the GOP Platform)

In soccer you can score an “own goal”, this means you can score on yourself. In politics, you can also score on yourself and it seems like the Trump campaign is struggling to stay afloat since Kamala Harris became the presumptive nominee. In this episode, Alex talks about Trump pissing off labor unions, his new racist conspiracies, his obsession with Hannibal Lecter (the late, great), his delusions about crowds, and more. Later, Alex dissects the GOP’s 2024 platform. It provides 20 promises and Alex analyzes each one and reacts to whether they are promises or pure lies.