Centered From Reality

SCOTUS Begins Dismantling the Administrative State (+ Flying Raw: a Dumb TikTok Trend)

In this episode, Alex focuses on three recent Supreme Court decisions that will arguably give government agencies less decisionmaking powers. These decisions will also give power back to the courts and to powerful private entitites that know how to evade litigation. Alex argues that this was all part of a long term plan from groups like the Federalist Society that wanted to dismantle the administrative state. Alex links these decisions to the Chevron decision in 1984. Later, Alex talks about a new social media trend called “flying raw” or “rawdogging flights.” Basically, some young men have gone viral for taking long flights without any entertainment. They just watch the flight map.

Dishonest Donald v Comatose Joe (Debate Analysis + Honesty)

In this episode, Alex not only analyzes the Trump/Biden debate, but also provides serious commentary/concerns around whether President Biden can truly counter the web of lies that are spewed by someone like Trump. Alex is beyond worried. 

Pregaming Debate Night (+ Bowman Loses & Boebert Wins)

In this quick episode, Alex gets ready for his lunch run while catching everyone up on some of the week’s political events; he apologizes for being away the last week. Later, Alex makes some predictions ahead of the debate tonight between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. 

Trump’s Nefarious Plan for Bitcoin, Humiliation Rituals in DC & the Clean Hands Caucus

In this episode, Alex starts by talking about why he is angry — certain Republicans are willing to call Donald Trump an existential threat to democracy, but at the same time, some powerful Republicans compare Joe Biden to Trump. He argues that this will make it so that some anti-Trump voters may see no point in voting. He talks a lot about a Tom Nichols piece around this issue. Later, Alex laughs and cries about Donald Trump finally returning to the captiol for his birthday,  three years after January 6th. (Republican) Congress welcomed him with open arms, while wanting to rename certain national waters in his name, and took part in the humilation ritual that the current party needs to participate in. Alex laments the attendance of people like Mitch McConnell. Finally, a recent headline made it sound like Donald Trump joked about making Bitcoin made in America. Alex looks into the real story — Bitcoin mining executives met with Trump in Florida, behind closed doors, to push him to embrace mining in America. These entities see Trump as a vessell to push their policies while undermining regulations, environmentalism, and current federal stances on AI. These same entities are working to help Trump get reelected to further their views on crypto supremacy. 

Nationalism and Populism Surge in the European Elections

In this episode, Alex focuses on the good and bad results from the European Parliament (EP) elections that took place last week. The EP elections include 27 European countries and over 400 million people are eligible to vote making these elections the second biggest in the world after India. Alex notes that while the results varied country-to-country, a common trend was that the far-right did well, the left did okay, and incumbents and establishment parties lost seats. Alex focuses on France and Germany where the governing coalitions struggled and the far-right gained seats. With the US elections coming in several months, some wonder if these elections may foreshadow our own. 

Trump's Battery v. Shark Scenario, the Taco Bell 50k, Hunter Found Guilty & Garland Held in Contempt of Congress

In this episode, Alex starts by letting his listeners know that he has decided to take part in the Taco Bell 50k/Ultramarathon in Denver, Colorado in October. This event requires 10 stops at Taco Bell (to eat specific meal items) along the 31 mile course. Next, Alex responds to Hunter Biden being found guilty on all three felonies around lying on a firearm application. The Republican response has been lackluster and Alex worries that a common shared understanding of justice has eroded in the United States. Finally, Alex reacts to Trump’s rally in Las Vegas when he goes off the teleprompter to rant about electrocution, sharks, and batteries submerged in the sea. 

A Pivotal Election for Mexico & A Troubling Hostage Rescue in Gaza

In this episode, Alex starts by reacting to some clips from Colin Cowherd’s well articulated and funny criticism of Trump’s view of America. Next, Alex analyzes Mexico’s presidential election that happened last week. It was historic because Mexico elected its first woman president, Claudia Sheinbaum. She is the hand-picked successor of the outgoing president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and is part of his Morena Party. Many international democratic watchdogs worry that Sheinbaum will continue AMLO’s illiberal policies and erode democarcy at a time in which Mexico is highly polarized. Finally, Alex discusses a breaking story regarding the IDF rescuing 4 hostages in Gaza but killing close to 210 Palestinians. 

The Narva Scenario: NATO's Worst Nightmare (+ Praise for Colin Cowherd)

In this episode, Alex starts by congratulating Real Madrid on another Champion’s League Victory and then praises Colin Cowherd for providing sports listeners with a coherent criticism of Donald Trump following his guilty verdict. For the rest of the episode, Alex dives into the troubling situation in a little-known place, Narva, Estonia. It is mainly made up of ethnic Russians and is only a bridge away from the Russian border. Military experts and NATO officials worry that Putin may annex Narva to try to test the legitimacy of Article V of NATO’s Washington Treaty which guarantees a mutual military response when a NATO member is threatened. Estonia is a member of the organization and Alex worries this is a catch-22 and a worrying hypothetical, especially if Donald Trump is reelected — will NATO respond militarily to Russia over a small Estonian city with Russian ties, or will it kowtow to Russia and delegitimize the entire treaty in minutes? Alex argues that this all rests on the 2024 election and whether Donald Trump is reelected. In the United States, foreign policy is downstream from domestic politics… 

Justice: 34, Trump: 0 (But Will it Matter?)

In this quick episode, Alex reacts to the recent events that unfolded inside of the Manhattan court room where Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts. He was found guilty for falsifying business records, which is a class E felony and could lead to fines, probation, or up to four years in prison. Alex doesn’t think Trump will end up in prison but thinks only time will tell. He talks about how the voting base will react, whether this will hurt Trump, and how his election team is already in reaction mode. Justice won, but Alex argues the country will witness in real time whether Trump can become a convicted felon and still become president of the United States. 

Spain Recognizes Palestine, Extremism Infects the Ultra Running Community & Orange Juice Is on the Brink (of Extinction)

In this episode, Alex laments the fact that extremism and poltics have impacted the distance running community via gaslighting and posts. Then Alex dives into the tragedies and horrid situations unfolding in Rafah as Spain, Norway, and Ireland have recognized Palestine as a state in the international community. He argues that only the United States can help to convince Israel that Palestine must be a state and bolstered to rebuild while ridding it of Hamas. Finally, Alex is further worried about the state of orange juice. Climate change and rising costs are impacting orange exportation in Brazil and Florida to the point in which OJ may no longer exist and alternatives may be needed.