Centered From Reality

Trouble at the Gaetz (+ La Represión in Venezuela Gets Dark & Alex Finally Rants About Macaroni Grill!)

In this episode, Alex starts by finally delivering his Macaroni Grill rant, after he couldn’t watch the game there last Sunday, he figured it was time to speak out. Next, he talks about the troubling Wall Street Journal piece that helps illustrate the so-called “cover-up” of President Biden’s mental capacities. In reality, it is bad, and Alex thinks that Biden did a disservice to the country and his legacy has been tarnished. He finds the report troubling and thinks that many in Biden’s inner circle have a lot to answer for. Finally, Alex provides an update on Venezuela. Since Venezuela’s president (albiet dictator), Nicolás Maduro, clearly lost the recent presidential election in July of 2025, he has decided to enact revenge on the population. There was always an authoritarian deal in Venezuela, “you don’t speak up and you won’t be bothered.” However, since Maduro has been challenged internally, he is now imposing uncertainty on his population and has directly forced political opponents to get walled up in Argentina’s closed embassy. Alex argues that this uncertainty of fear is the next stage of Maduro’s oppressive revenge on his own people. The ramifications will hault any chance of oppostion for the near future. 

The Gaslight is ON! (feat. Martin Benes)

In the first part of their conversation, Alex speaks to his former coach and good friend, Martin Benes. Martin is not only a renowed global coach but is also a student of history and is fascinated/shocked by global affairs. The two spend this episode breaking down the failures of the Kamala Harris campaign, how the left can rebuild, why the Democrats are in the wilderness, and why it sometimes feels like gaslighting is a new hobby for many on the right. 

Young Thug, YSL & the Longest Trial in Georgia’s History (+ Ukraine Assassinates a General in Russia)

In this episode, Alex talks about how Fanny Willis, Fulton County’s District Attorney, should have focused on cases involving defendants without resources, instead of botching both the prosecution of Donald Trump and Young Thug. Alex breaks down the details of how Young Thug and his co-defendants mainly were found not guilty and why it seems like ambition clouded Willis’s judgement. Alex also talks about how the Ukrainian military killed a Russian General Igor Kirillov in Moscow on Tuesday. Kirillov was associated with using illegal chemical weapons and was found guilty of war crimes by a Ukrainian court just a day earlier. Alex talks abouw how this event could remind Russian citizens that the war is not as far away as some may hope. He also talks about how involved on Russian soil the Ukrainian intelligence community is. 

ABC Bends the Knee to Trump (+ Good News out of Spain)

In this episode, Alex starts by talking about how he is disillusioned with organizations that are fundraising to help Mangione after he murdered Thompson last week. Then Alex talks about Spain for a bit and how it is a growing and successful example of economic rebirth in Europe. Finally, Alex talks about ABC kowtowing to Donald Trump and why it is associated with the idea of anticipatory obedience. ABC is the most recent organization that has apologized to Trump for defamation claims and seems to be getting close to the president-elect before he gets back into office. 

Should Romania Have Cancelled its Presidential Election?

In this episode, Alex takes a break from Sunday football and talks about a fairly controversial election in Romania. In the first round of Romania’s presidential election, a fairly unknown, right-wing politician, named Calin Georgescu went from 5% to 23% in a small amount of time. He came out of the first round looking like he could beat the center-right candidate in the second round to become Romania’s next president. However, it looks like Russian-backed troll accounts helped Calin Georgescu gain support on social media, it looks like Russia may have interfered. Romanian election authorities annulled the election. Alex debates with himself whether this is good or bad for democracy. 

Jersey Shore Season 7: Iranian Motherships & Mysterious Drones

In this episode, Alex talks about mysterious drones over all of New Jersey and why both the federal government and local authorities are confused. The drones are larger and lower to the ground than most recreational drones. Some actors have started to blame Iran, aliens, and Russia. Alex also laments what Christopher Wray’s resignation from the FBI will do to our norms. Then he talks about the revealing mirror that Luigi Mangione holds up to our country after the UHC killing and why our country wants to paint a narrative about the motive without understanding the moment.  

A Toxic Cocktail is Brewing in Syria

In this episode, Alex starts with a brief overview of what is going on in the United States involving Trump’s picks for different cabinet positions, then he moves on to the Middle East. He talks about how Syria has been a proxy chessboard for many world powers for quite some time and he worries that the worst could be yet to come. Alex breaks down the different opposition groups that allied to oust Assad, he talks about why the Kurdish people are at the forefront of the conflict, and why Israel is on the offensive in the Golan Heights and other parts of Syria. 

The French Government Collapses, the Hawk Tua Memecoin & Worries of Rising Political Violence

In this episode, Alex starts by giving his thoughts on the murder of UnitedHeathCare’s CEO in NYC last week. Alex is concerned by some people in academia and the media because they have expressed support towards the murder due to the corruption of the health insurance industry. Rising extremist violence is only a race to the bottom, especially with Donald Trump returning to the presidency. Next, Alex lightens the mood for a moment and talks about how Hailey Welch (the Hawk Tua girl) has “Hawk Tua’d” all over her repuation after a memecoin controversy. Finally, the weak French government collapsed after a no confidence vote last week. The government was only in place for 90 days. Alex talks about how horseshoe politics came for the weak, centrist government. Both the far-left and the far-right helped topple the government. With inflation still high, pension costs rising, poverty rising, and foreign conflicts at Europe’s door, France is in a very bad situation. But hey, at least the Notre Dame has been rebuilt and is opening again! 

Epic & Ikon: Price Discrimination in the Ski Industry & the US Economy (+ Bird Flu Booms!)

In this episode, Alex starts by giving an update on the Bird Flu (H5N1) outbreak. The USDA is now calling for all dairy to be tested. Alex discusses what is going on and wonders how close we are to a pandemic. For the rest of the episode, Alex re-airs a popular episode he did on skiing and price discrimination in the industry. The episode remains evergreen and relevant. After boom or bust seasons based on snowpack, large corporations like Vail Resorts ended up learning that they could charge different prices to different customers and make record profits. This led to overselling the Epic Pass (at a decent price), while also rising the average cost of day tickets. In a good season, this can lead to chaos and overcrowding (but profits), and in bad seasons, the passholders still feel obligated to ski. Basically, the ski industry has been able to increase output and demand (which is difficult in economics). Alex argues that this is why skiing feels less accessible than ever before but also more accessible at the same time. At the same time, price discrimination seems to be a new trend in the US economy and shows how the ski industry, the airline industry, and restaurants can make profits. 

Anticipatory Compliance: Kash Patel’s “Deep State Hit List” & Spreading Fear to Silence Courage

In this episode, Alex focuses on the intimidation and fear that is alreading infecting many in the media, corporate America, and the federal agencies. He talks about how anticipatory compliance can be the precursor to authoritarianism as people with something to lose decide to be compliant over standing up and being courageous. Alex mentions Kash Patel’s “deep state enemies list”, Morning Joe apologizing to Trump, and much more.