Centered From Reality

Amnesty for Political Power in Spain: Violent Protests, a Radical Right, Separatists & Tucker Carlson

In this episode, Alex discusses a Tucker Carlson video and photo of him joining protesters in Madrid. Tucker claims that the left is trying a coup to seize power. Alex dives into what is ACTUALLY happening in Spain. In July, the right-wing parties won the most seats in a national election; however, they only won a plurality and not enough for a majority. Now the center-left is trying to form a majority government by making concessions to Catalan, separatist parties. Many in Spain are angry that the left is potentially granting amnesty to separatists in return for political power. Alex argues that both parties would do this and this is less of a coup and more of a partisan breakdown. Later, Alex reacts to a troubling Axios article that highlights how Trump allies are already conducting loyalty tests to find bureacrats that can be planted in the government to aid Trump if he wins in 2024. 

Trump’s Gaffes Aren’t the Problem, His Plans for Retribution Are (Viktor Orbán, Mass Deportations & Loyalty Tests)

In this episode, Alex goes into why he thinks that the media and politicians should focus less on Trump’s gaffes (i.e. Obama is president, Biden will start WW2, etc.) and more on the rhetoric that is being masked below the surface. Alex voices his concerns for a Trump 2.0 administration. Trump has called his political opponents vermin, says the true threat to the country comes from within, has voiced the idea of mass deportation campaigns, and wants “patriotic education” brought back to schools that are coupled with immigrants taking a loyalty test. 

A Looming Shutdown During a Perilous Time, Bill Maher vs. Ted Cruz, The Complexity of Calling Something a Genocide & Tim Scott Drops Out

In this episode, Alex breaks down the interview between Bill Maher and Ted Cruz, he finds Ted Cruz to be morally vague and politically confusing. Next, Alex talks about the chaos in the House of Representatives as Mike Johnson is attempting to pass an unorthodox CR to keep the government open. The policies will not give funding to Ukraine or Israel. Alex also talks about a Latinx bill in the house and why he thinks the house is not a serious body anymore. Later, Alex talks about the term genocide in the context of the war in Gaza. He argues that he term is fairly vague and complicated. While Alex does not think Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, he does think that there is still massive violence and potential war crimes. 

Rising Extremism in the UK: Protests, Counter-Protests & A Radical Home Secretary

In this Sunday episode, Alex starts by updating listeners about some events happening around the world that they may have missed. For the remainder of the episode, Alex talks about rising extremism in the United Kingdom. He also discusses how the Tory Government has a Home Secretary that is not condemning xenophobia and islamaphobia while also criticising any pro-Palestine protestors as hate groups. 

An Italian Guantánamo Bay in Albania, Troubling Reforms in Rome & Iran Meets With Saudi Arabia

In this episode, Alex starts by talking about his irritation with some people on the left and how they may sit out the 2024 election because they are angry with Joe Biden over his response to the terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7th. Alex argues that Trump 2.0 would be much worse than any Biden presidency and the cognitive dissonance is painful to experience. Next, Saudi Arabia and Iran have opened up conversations around the events in Gaza and Alex worries that this could have been avoided. For the rest of the episode, Alex focuses on Italy. He talks about the worries of an “Italian Guantánamo Bay” in Albania that the far-right Italian government could be used for political reasons  to expel migrants. He also looks into how the Meloni government wants to pass reforms that could change the Italian system in some good, but mainly bad ways. 

A Debate from the Kid’s Table, the Immovable Force of MAGA & A Gaza Update

In this episode, Alex starts by discussing some decent news — Israel has agreed to allow four hour humanitarian pauses inside of Northern Gaza. He also discusses why the Biden Administration can’t seem to do anything right during this war. Next, Alex goes into the third Republican Presidential Debate which was a disaster, lacking in substance, and seemingly pointless. Finally, Alex gives some highlights from Trump’s recent rally in Florida (that happened during the debate), and he talks about why it seems like Trump is becoming increasingly inevitable. 

An Overly Active Supervolcano in Italy, Josh Hawley Hits a New Low & Bad News for Biden

In this episode, Alex goes over a troubling interaction between Senator Josh Hawley and Alejandro Mayorkas that reflects the senator’s poor judgement and necessity to “own the libs.” Next, Alex talks about a supervolcano in Italy that is becoming more active and could threaten almost a million people if it erupts. Finally, Alex discusses a recent Quinnipiac poll that highlights the fact that younger Democrats do not support Israel’s response to Hamas’ attack, don’t support aid to Israel, and do not support Biden’s response. Alex worries this could be troubling news for Biden’s campaign and chances of reelection. 

Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent Again!

In this episode, Alex talks about why he thinks Daylight Savings Time should be permanent in the United States. He goes into the economic, health-related, and societal reasons as to why this would be beneficial. He also rants about the age old battle between Night Owls and Morning People. 

A Warning Out of Ukraine, Troubling Rise in Antisemitism & Why a Ceasefire Won’t Work

In this episode, Alex reacts to a Jared Kushner interview that makes him face palm. Then he Alex talks about a troubling rise in antisemtism around the world and fears of new forms of pogroms. Next, Alex discusses why he supports a humanitarian pause but also why a ceasfire would only allow Hamas to build back up and continue attacking. Finally, Alex goes over the interview between The Economist and Ukraine’s top general. He argues that the war has reached a stalemate without an technological breakthroughs. 

Yemen’s Houthis Enter the War, Horrifying Violence in Gaza & Thoughts on Mike Johnson

After being away on vacation, Alex returns for an episode reacting to some recent world events. He starts by sharing his thoughts on the new House Speaker, Mike Johnson. Alex argues that Johnson, an election denier and far-right congressmen, may be the worst option. Later, Alex talks about Yemen’s Houthi rebels entering the war (backed by Iran) to fire rockets at Israel. He also talks about why he doesn’t support a ceasefire but does support more pressure on the Israeli government and a halt in indiscriminate bombings that are killing thousands of civilians. There are also international alliances that could make the conflict even more dire to the globe.