Centered From Reality

War in Sudan, Increasing and Persistent Global Conflicts, Fox News Settles & TruthGPT

In this episode, Alex starts by going through Tucker Carlson’s new interview with Elon Musk. He focuses on the parts about artificial intelligence and how Elon Musk has plans to create a more open and uncensored AI Chatbot. Next, Alex is somewhat disappointed to learn that Fox News has settled its defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems. Fox News has already lost credibility and its reputation is in shambles; however, Alex wishes that people like Tucker Carlson had to testify under oath. Finally, Alex dives into the recent violence and devastation in Sudan as two militarized factions are fighting over power. 

Florida Passes an Insidious Anti-Immigration Bill as Tim Scott’s Tries Out to be VP & Nikki Haley Outperforms Expectations

In this episode, Alex focuses on three of the different people (likely) running against Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. He looks at how Tim Scott has announced his exploration campaign to consider running for president. Alex thinks that Scott could never win and is merely trying out to be Trump’s VP. He then looks at how Nikki Haley is killing it at fundraising so far and is effectively appealing to women; Haley also is chipping away at DeSantis support and is starting to attack Trump. Alex also looks at how Ron DeSantis has been influential in passing another controversial bill, this time it is a radical anti-immigration bill that will send shockwaves of fear through the migrant community. The bill is similar to the abortion ban and the “Don’t Say Gay” bill as it limits freedoms and targets citizens in the process. Alex wonders why DeSantis is trying to pass these messaging bills. 

Clarence Thomas (Bohemian Grove, $500,000 Trips to Indonesia & Fishing Fun), Trump on Tucker & Legal Mudslinging (feat. Trump, Cohen, Bragg & Jordan)

In this episode, Alex starts with breaking news regarding the arrest of an individual associated with the leak of classified Pentagon documents. Next, Alex goes through some highlights from a recent Tucker Carlson interview with Donald Trump. Unsurprisingly, Trump is more deranged than ever and Tucker just sits back and shows that he is back in Trump’s good graces. Later in the episode, Alex goes into the ProPublica report that exposed problematic gifts, trips, and adventures between Clarence Thomas and Harlan Crow. Alex goes into who Crow is, why Thomas, a Supreme Court Justice, should not take these gifts, and why judges need more ethics oversight. Finally, Alex looks a chaotic string of lawsuits in New York City. Trump has sued Michael Cohen, Alvin Bragg has sued Jim Jordan, and everything is just entertaining to watch. 

A Looming Federal Fight Over Water Usage on the Colorado River, Abortion Bans Backfire & A Tale of Two Judges

In this episode, Alex starts by ranting about airline etiquette and why he is done giving up a seat for someone. For the next segment, Alex goes into a tale of two decisions involving an abortion pill called Mifepristone; it is responsible for almost half of abortions in the United States. One judge, the conservative one from Texas, has denied the FDA and has said the drug should be banned. The other judge, a liberal in Washington, has said the federal government should maintain support for the drug. Alex discusses the contradictions of a conservative judge challenging the FDA for approving something and why this precedent is bad for other ideologically charged drugs. Later, Alex looks into the Florida bill that has passed that Florida Senate and would ban most forms of abortion at only six weeks. It seems like DeSantis has gone too far and most Floridians support access to abortion, even most Republicans. Finally, Alex goes into a new story about how the US Interior Department’s Bureau of Reclamation has released a plan that looks at two different scenarios for how to cut water usage if the levels in Lakes Mead and Powell continue to drop. Basically, the federal government is looking to cut water usage in the West because states have been slow to do so. Cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Phoenix, will all be impacted. Alex believes this will begin a new legal battle between states and the federal government.

A Bad Breach for Ukraine, Fox News Hosts Melt Down Over Guns, 146 Mass Shootings in 2023 & Another America Detained in Russia

In this episode, Alex starts by going through a Fox News video where Martha MacCallum clashes with Brian Kilmeade over guns and some of her arguments actually make a lot of sense. Next, Alex gets into the recent shooting in Kentucky and why he is getting more and more irritated with lawmakers that constantly say nothing can be done. For the rest of the episode, Alex goes into the recent intelligence leaks that have the United States and its allies scrambling for answers. The leaks are not only bad for the United States and its national security, they are also detrimental to Ukraine and could give Russia information on how to change its strategies. Alex also worries that the data leak could harm our intelligence gathering practices and help Russia go around them. Finally, another American journalist has been detained by Russia.  In this case, it is a Wall Street Journal reporter named Evan Gershkovich. Alex discusses how the United States has designated him as wrongfully detained and this will allow the government to get more funding and it will get more attention to this situation. 

The (Un)Constitutional Sheriff Movement, Looming Sectarian Violence & Tennessee Madness

In this episode, Alex starts by discussing why Tennessee has recently been in the spotlight for political chaos. This week, there was an explusion of two Democrats from the state’s House of Representatives for breaking the rules and speaking out against policies related to the recent school shooting near Nashville. While three Democrats came together in solidarity, the two black members were part of the expulsion and the white member survived the vote. Alex gives some takeaways on why this whole thing is a mess. For the rest of the episode, he looks into why he is concerned about decentralized violence, sectarian chaos, and looming threats of institutional breakdowns that could lead to minority oppression, coups, and voter intimidation.  Alex notes that the Constitutional Sheriff Movement is a far-right movement that argues that sheriffs have power over state and federal government policies and can use their own interpretation of the constitution. This movement’s founder was a board member of the Oath Keepers and there are growing worries that this movement is illiberal, nativist, and extreme.

Chicago, a Deeply Divided City, Elects a Progressive as Mayor

In this episode, Alex talks about the recent Mayoral election in Chicago where the progressive candidate, Brandon Johnson, defeated the centrist Paul Vallas. Johnson had 51.42% of the vote to 48.58% for Vallas. Alex discusses how the city is deeply divided and it will be interesting to see how Johnson handles crime, as well as other issues in the windy city. 

Failures of the Green Revolution, A Global Rice Crisis & Underwhelming Protests in NYC

In this episode, Alex starts by looking at how pro-Trump protests in New York City have been called “underwhelming.” Following his arraignment, Trump is now heading to Florida for an evening “event.” For the rest of the episode, Alex looks into a growing global rice crisis. He looks into the Green Revolution of the 20th century which emphasized efficiency, higher crop yields, global trade, and mass production. While the Green Revolution helped reduce famines in places like China and India, the usage of pesticides and fertilizers, as well as deforestation and methan production, led to other issues. Alex discusses how the mass production of rice is now backfiring as demand is increasing while yields are decreasing. Also, rice is proving to be a resource demanding crop that could intensify climate change concerns. Alex argues that governments must incentivize growing local grains that are better suited for various environments. 

Russian Blogger Gets Bust Bombed, NYC Prepares for Trump Arrest & DeSantis Appears Cowardly as Hutchinson Announces

In this episode, Alex starts by reacting to a cringy 60 Minutes interview that features Marjorie Taylor Greene was feature on. Next, he looks into the 2024 Republican Primary contenders. The Former Governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, has announced his candidacy; however, Alex does not think that there is any chance that Hutchinson, a critical anti-Trumper, could win. Alex also looks into why Ron DeSantis looks weak and problematic. He recently said he would oppose extraditing Trump to New York. While he must appease the Trump base, Alex thinks this makes him look weak and like someone that is threatening the fundamentals of the American federal system. Also, DeSantis is not polling well and the indictment only seems to be helping Trump. As Trump has arrived in New York City for the indictment events, Alex wonders if chaos will follow. Finally, Alex looks into the strange death of a far-right Russian blogger who went by the name of Vladlen Tatarsky. He supported the war in Ukraine but was critical of the Putin Government’s lack of aggression. Reuters reports that “Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in a bomb attack in a St Petersburg cafe on Sunday in which some 30 other people were wounded.” Alex discusses whether the attack was by internal factions, the Kremlin, or by pro-Ukrainian groups either inside or outside of Russia. 

Trump INDICTED, Gwneyth Paltrow VINDICATED & Could DeSantis Wait Until 2028?

In this episode, Alex is fired up and talks about the two biggest news events of our time — Donald Trump and Gwyneth Paltrow. Trump was indicted by the Manhattan grand jury and made history as the first sitting or former president to be indicted. Alex is conflicted on this case and gives examples as to why. Also, Gwyneth Paltrow was found to be innocent in the fascinating and absurd Utah Ski Accident Case of 2016. Finally, Alex discusses why it would be smart for Ron DeSantis to wait until 2028 to run.