The MiddleGround Mic

Are we raising our children to succeed, or are we simply hoping they survive? In this episode of The MiddleGround Mic, host Joseph Steagall sits down with Dr. Robert "Bob" Saul, a pediatrician, author, and children's advocate with more than four decades of experience, for an important conversation about conscious parenting, raising responsible citizens, and rebuilding stronger communities. Drawing...

What happens when partisan politics become more important than your own family? Right now, parents and children are literally stopping speaking to one another over differences of opinion—but it doesn't have to be this way. Author Sidney Pines returns to The MiddleGround Mic to break down the intentional division of the American public, the shifting tides of social media, and how everyday Americans...

What actually happens behind the scenes of Michigan’s election system? Macomb County Clerk/Register of Deeds and Michigan Secretary of State candidate Anthony Forlini joins Joseph Steagall for a wide-ranging conversation about election administration, voter-roll maintenance, security procedures and public trust. Forlini explains why he has raised concerns about noncitizen registrations and what ch...

What do China, Greenland, Iran, artificial intelligence and the price of gasoline have to do with each other? Potentially quite a lot. Ron Bee returns to The MiddleGround Mic to connect several of the biggest geopolitical stories happening right now — and explain how international decisions can eventually reach American consumers and businesses. Joseph and Ron discuss: • The new U.S.-Denmark-Green...

Can an Independent candidate realistically win a seat in Congress? Former firefighter Mike Thurow joins host Joseph Steagall on The MiddleGround Mic to share why he bypassed party politics to run in Wisconsin's 6th District. Thurow breaks down the corrupting power of corporate money, the challenges of third-party ballot access, and how direct public service shapes his approach to representation. C...

Former high school principal, Apple alum, and White House Fellow Pia Dandiya is running to flip Florida’s 22nd Congressional District—a seat Donald Trump won by 10 points—on a central motto: "Make Common Sense Great Again." In this episode of The MiddleGround Mic, Pia breaks down why voters across party lines are hungry for outcome-based education, practical housing expansion, healthcare accountab...

What happens when you shift AI out of text chats and into physical machines operating on the battlefield? Ex-Head of AI at Amazon Germany Krishna Kumaar Sharma joins Joe Steagall to explain how his startup, Omokai, is engineering a speech-driven intelligence layer for autonomous drones and robotics. From sovereign AI development in Europe and the stark realities of AI-driven warfare between Russia...

Is America fundamentally broken, or are we being manipulated into division? Sidney Pines, author of Awakening and Golden Age Rising (A Patriot’s Diary series), joins Joe Steagall to discuss the personal toll of American political tribalism. From family estrangement to media distrust and healthcare investigations, Sidney shares the events that shifted her worldview and led her to document the curre...

We spend over $1.5 trillion every year fighting poverty in the United States, so why does taking a raise or getting a better job leave a struggling family worse off? In this episode of The MiddleGround Mic , host Joe sits down with Clarence H. Carter, author of Our Net Has Holes in It and a 35-year public service veteran who has served under two presidents, four governors, and a mayor. Clarence br...

Adam Swart runs Crowds on Demand, the largest protest-for-hire firm in America. He doesn't call himself an activist—he calls it what it actually is: paid public relations and political machinery. In this episode, Swart pulls back the curtain on how modern American political campaigns and grassroots movements are manufactured behind closed doors. Key Topics Covered: How political movements rely on...

Are we actually on the brink of a national collapse, or is mainstream media selling us a profitable lie? During the height of the pandemic, digital nomad Wesley Warshawer packed up his car, left his Silicon Valley bubble, and spent 18 months living in rural, conservative America. His mission: bypass the political noise and find out if everyday Americans are truly as divided as we are told. In this...

What happens when the balance of power in Washington comes down to a single independent vote? This week on The MiddleGround Mic, we sit down with Michael Bridgford, an Independent candidate running in one of the tightest congressional districts in the country. With the House of Representatives divided by the slimmest of margins, Bridgford outlines a bold strategy: using the crucial Speaker of the...

Is your corporate career actually risk-free, or are you sitting on an unseen risk transfer? In this episode of The MiddleGround Mic, host Joe sits down with organizational architect and author Danny Carpio to dissect the structural changes hitting the modern workforce. We break down the reality of "corporate labor arbitrage," how companies are actively training AI platforms on human labor to scale...

On August 1st, President Trump called off what was set to be one of the largest military strikes in the Middle East. Why did he call it off, and how close was Iran to actually deploying a nuclear weapon. Today, foreign policy expert Ron Bee joins Joseph on The MiddleGround Mic to pull back the curtain on the geopolitical chess match happening behind closed doors Key Topics Covered: • The Secret Pr...

In this investigative journalism episode of The MiddleGround Mic, 33-year senior CBS News and 60 Minutes Middle East producer Amjad Tadros pulls back the curtain to reveal the incredible stories viewers never saw on television.  Amjad spent four years hunting “Curveball,” the Iraqi defector whose fabricated WMD claims became a key part of the case for the 2003 Iraq War. He located Osama bin L...

Many men reach their forties and begin feeling tired, foggy, unmotivated, overweight, or simply unlike themselves. Because the change happens gradually, they often accept it as an unavoidable part of getting older. Kevin Dahlstrom, founder and CEO of Bolt Health, joins Joe to explain why these symptoms deserve a closer look. Kevin describes building a successful corporate career while feeling mise...

What happens when someone gets canceled — and there’s no way back? Tim Kelley — MIT alumnus, former Navy commanding officer, global leadership advisor, and founder of canceledleader.com — joins The MiddleGround Mic to make the case that cancel culture’s real crisis is not the cancellation itself. It is the complete absence of any defined path to re-entry. Tim and Joe cover why Kevin Spacey’s full...

Digital detox expert Colin Corby joins The MiddleGround Mic to talk about digital detox, AI dependency, smartphone habits, burnout, and how to get control back from technology without throwing your phone away. Learn more about Colin Corby and his digital detox resources at thedigitaldetoxcoach.com. Colin is the founder of Technology Wellbeing Limited and creator of The Digital Detox Coach. In this...

Wayne County voters will decide on the August 4 SMART bus millage, a public transportation proposal tied to SMART bus service, the Wayne County Transit Authority, and former opt-out communities. Matt Wilk and Patty Pozios from Not SMART Wayne join Joe Steagall to explain why their group opposes what they call a new $570 million SMART bus tax after House Bill 6088 changed the opt-out system in Wayn...

Are you constantly exhausted, stressed, and feeling like you're just going through the motions? The wellness industry will sell you a thousand ways to “manage your stress,” but my guest today argues they may be treating the wrong disease. Dr. Kyle Hulsebus joins The MiddleGround Mic to deliver a grounded, no-BS diagnosis for modern burnout: what if the problem is not just overwork, but a loss...

The evidence is undeniable. In 1964, 77% of Americans trusted their government. Today, that number has collapsed to a catastrophic 17%. This isn't a political problem; it's a systemic failure. Finally a Trimmer Without Broken Guard Clips 👉 https://www.brio4life.com?aff=296 Use code MIDDLEGROUND for 10% off In this urgent conversation, I sit down with author and civic leader Chip Webster...

It started with a simple question from a voter that proves our government is broken: "What is a senator?" In this in-depth conversation, I sit down with Marcie Grzywacz, an ICU nurse, mother, and candidate for Michigan State Senate (District 4). We discuss her fight for transparency on her local city council, the frustrating "blurred lines" that disconnect voters from their gov...

Michigan Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt sits down with Joseph Steagall for an unfiltered conversation about the policies quietly driving up the cost of every new home in Michigan — to the tune of $95,000 in government-mandated costs that most buyers never see on the invoice. Learn more about his campaign: https://nesbittforgovernor.com/ In this episode: • The housing mandate that added $95,...

The Intelligence Dossier The media is deliberately distracting you with uranium enrichment and missile strikes. They are hoping you never ask about the REAL threat. According to foreign policy analyst Ron Bee, the back door to a nuclear Iran has been wide open for years. The name on that door? Plutonium. This is the intelligence briefing the mainstream media refuses to air. In this episode, we exp...

Is the world sleepwalking into a larger war? Former Navy JAG officer, federal prosecutor, and former national security advisor Don Brown joins The MiddleGround Mic for one of the most intense conversations we’ve had yet — breaking down Iran, the Strait of Hormuz blockade, sleeper cell fears, Europe’s growing instability, and why global leaders may be closer to a breaking point than the public real...