Centered From Reality

‘Amazon Prime But With Humans’ — Privatizing Deportations (+ the Retribution Era is Beginning)

In this episode, Alex focuses on the Trump Administration needing to convince the public that its mass deportation campaign is happening. Though it has deported high profile individuals, deportations are down from 2024. Congress is likely to pass a bill that would nearly double ICE’s budget over the next decade and it looks like the entity wants to deport way more people. The acting ICE director has said that they want to privatize some aspects of deportations and compared the reforms to Amazon Prime but “with people.” 

A Kafkaesque Crisis: Trump Sides with El Salvador, Ignores the Courts & Threatens to Send US Citizens to CECOT

In this episode, Alex talks about Katy Perry (and others) going into “space” for about ten minutes. Then he talks about the prices, heat, traffic, and payment plans that plagued this year's Coachella events. For the rest of the episode, Alex talks about why the Trump Administration is on a collision course with the Supreme Court. A district court ordered the administration to return Abrego Garcia, the man wrongfully deported to CECOT in El Salvador. But after Trump met with President Bukele in the Oval Office, the administration has decided to side with Bukele and is not pursuing his release and return. Alex worries that Trump is defying the courts and is setting a dangerous precedent. 

A White Genocide in South Africa That Doesn't Exist (+ Why Trump is Obsessed With it)

In this “car podcast”, Alex sits in his car after a run and talks about Trump’s weird obsession over white genocide in South Africa. Trump cut off aid to South Africa but granted special refugee status to white, Afrikaner, South Africans. The problem with all of this is that the South African government is not taking land from Afrikaners and is not killing them. Alex talks about how this is a false theory that has empowered white nationalists in South Africa and around the world. It seems like Trump likes the concept because it appeals to his grievance-based politics. 

The Lack of Plan is the Plan: QAnon, Tariffs, Trade Wars & Making a Pencil Takes a Village!

Alex thinks that the lack of a clear plan involving Trump’s tariffs is part of the plan. He also talks about how there are parallels between the QAnon movement and Trump’s base denying the flaws of his chaotic tariff regime. Both seem to trust the man over logic and whatever shared reality is left. Alex brings up these topics because on the day his “Liberation Day” tariffs were set to go into effect, he paused a majority of tariffs for 90 days (though he has kept the 125% tariffs on China and the base 10% tariff on everyone else). Alex speculates as to why this is happening and whether Trump has a plan or is just trusting his instinct. Unfortunately, Trumpism leaves enough holes and there are propagandists that can help fill the gaps. 

The Sunday Scaries: Tourism to the US Plummets, Soft Power Implodes & Tariffs on Penguins and Ukraine (but not Russia)

Neo-Nazi Movements Reemerge as the FBI Looks Away (+ Zelensky Eyes Elections)

In this episode, Alex is worried about the FBI. Groups like the Base are growing and mobilizing as Kash Patel is no longer focused on them. The Base has gone global and is calling for the creation of an ethno-state in Ukraine and is hoping they can de-stabilize peace talks. Putin is now backing them and hoping they can help to cause chaos. The Neo-Nazi movement called The Base has called on people from around the world to attack Ukrainian sites of interest, this movement is from the US and the current FBI is no longer prosecuting these people. Alex only worries.  He also gives some updates out of Ukraine. 

An Own Goal: Are We Making China Great Again?

In this episode, Alex focuses on how Trump’s trade war could help China course correct after its COVID-19 failures and internally focus on decoupling from the West. He also talks about how Trump is already botching his tariff message because he can’t commit to durable investment in US firms since he is focusing on short term negotiations with some of the trading partners. For the tariffs to “work” Trump must commit to a durable strategy and not just threaten countries to renegotiate while tanking the US economy. 

Laura Loomer Returns to the Oval Office & France's Marine Le Pen Dilemma

In this episode, Alex talks about the stock market taking a dive over Trump’s tariffs (the worst since March 2020) as anxiety deepens and China retaliates. He also talks about why the radical conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer is returning to the Oval Office to convince Trump to fire National Security Council officials that she has deemed “disloyal.” Finally, France is set to have a democratic dilemma as Marine Le Pen, the far-right politician and front-runner for the 2027 election, has been barred from running for five years over fraud and misusing EU funds. Alex ponders if it is healthy for the courts to bar someone from running for office in a democratic system. 

Silly President, Tariffs Are for the 1800s!

In this episode, Alex has a little hope as Susan Crawford beat Brad Schimel in the Wisconsin judiciary race. He thinks this was a referendum on Elon Musk, but he isn’t sure if this is a sign that Republicans will face a tough battle in the midterms. Alex also talks about the “administrative error” that led to the Trump Administration deporting a man under protected status in the United States. For the rest of the episode, Alex talks about how Liberation Day has finally arrived and Trump has help up his promise to do universal tariffs for most countries and higher tariffs for certain offenders. Alex wonders if Trump’s economic stupidities could help mobilize voters against him, he asks the simple question — could an economic disaster actually save our republic? 

Votes for Sale(?) in Wisconsin: A Referendum on Elon’s Approach

In this episode, Alex, a Packers fan and avid Cheesehead, is mad that Elon Musk is highly involved in the Wisconsin Supreme Court Election between a Trump-endorsed candidate, and an Obama-endorsed candidate. This will be the most expensive state judge race of all time. Alex talks about how it seems apparent that you can go to jail for giving someone water in a voting line in Georgia, but Musk can do a $1 million sweepstakes to get people to vote in Wisconisn.