The Middle American

Robbie joins the pod to discuss his campaign for Congress as an independent candidate in New Hampshire District 2.  Robbie talks about what motivated him to run, and why he chose to do so as an independent.  From needing to secure 1,500 verified registered voter signatures to being precluded from the debate stage,  Robbie shares his efforts to overcome the partisan wall he has faced and why he has...

My book, Our Middle American Life: The Middle Class, Political Middle and Fight for the American Dream is finally here.  Ebooks and paperbacks are available on October 20th.  I discuss the book, what brought it about, and my vision for what I hope it accomplishes. The book diagnoses these two issues: (1) Why does the largest electoral group (independents) have basically no representation in govern...

Trump is the most resiliant politician in American history. He has survived scandals, two impeachments, criminal indictments, and an election loss.  This is different. The unraveling of his influence has begun. Democrats will take over the House in November - and possibly the Senate. Equally important, after Election Day he becomes a lame duck president.  Broken promises. Low approval ratings. Fam...

Shelly Headen is a Democrat running in a competitive State House district in North Carolina trying to unseat a long-serving Republican.  She is a vital component of the North Carolina Democratic Party's efforts to flip the state legislature for the first time in over a decade.  Over the weekend, the Party abandoned her.  Why?  A history of vile social media posts that are not only disqualifyi...

25 years ago we lost our innoncence.  A generation removed from that tragic day requires us to take a look back.  We have a duty to remember.  We also have a duty to teach and learn.   Like the show? Shoot me a text with your thoughts Support the show

Few people understand North Carolina politics better than Charlotte Observer columnist and Carolina Journal reporter Andrew Dunn.  His new book covers the career of former Charlotte Mayor and North Carolina Governor Pay McCrory that challenges the politician's public perception.  Andrew and I discuss: 1. How McCrory transformed Charlotte over 14 years in office as a Republican mayor. 2. What...

Nick moved to North Carolina and found himself immediately involved in a development dispute within his new neighborhood. His pragmatic approach to helping neighbors led them to encourage him to do more within the community.  With no prior political experience, he decided to run for the town's non-partisan Board of Commissioners.  He won.  After four years of service, he felt he had more to g...

Jacob, a fellow attorney and father of four, decided in the midst of COVID that he should do something more upon seeing his children struggle with remote learning.  He had been involved in state government, but not as an elected official.  He was practicing citizenship.  In 2021, he decided to run for WCPSS School Board.  He lost.  But rather than treat the loss as a verdict, he used it as a lesso...

Being comfortable with the uncomfortable.  Wesley Warshawer joins the podcast for a discussion of how he took a significant step in practicing citizenship by stepping outside of his Silicon Valley bubble and moving to Bismarck, North Dakota, to experience what he thought would be the opposite of his life experience.  He toured the country for 18 months, from Bismark to Biloxi and many stops in bet...

Steve Morris, mayor of Concord, North Carolina, joins me to discuss his experiences over the past two decades participating in local government.  We cover topics addressed in my upcoming book, Our Middle American Life, including: (1) Why he chose to take an initial step as a citizen practicing citizenship more than 20 years ago when he joined the Chamber of Commerce and became its chair. (2) How d...

I'm back.  I've been writing a book.  It's called Our Middle American Life.  In the process of writing it, the thesis of the book changed - as did my perspective on politicians, the parties and the political system.  We live in a society where the middle politically (independents) are the largest voting bloc in the country - throw in disenchanted moderates and the number is even lar...

The Los Angeles race for Mayor has garnered unprecedented national media coverage with a script worthy of its Hollywood background.  An incumbent mayor who has overseen a bungled response to a catastrophic natural disaster.  A reality TV star with viral AI-generated campaign videos.  Drugs, deception and manipulation.  But this is no script.  Instead, we have seen a third candidate swoop in after...

Rebekah and Ryan are in their 30s.  Two young kids.  Listen to a wide-ranging discussion of living within your means, trying to save to buy a home, the rising costs impacting thin margins of running a small business, and how one voice can lead to community activism in local politics.   Like the show? Shoot me a text with your thoughts Support the show

Property taxes are going up in Wake County.  This is on top of a 2024 tax valuation that saw increases in tax assessed values of over 50%.  Homeowners insurance is up 15% over the past two years.  Auto insurance up 5%.  Duke Energy is seeking an 18% increase after only recently getting a 20% increase.  Increasing rates are decreasing consumer spending power as wages have not followed suit.  Indivi...

Matt is a college grad in his mid-40s living in Michigan.  He discusses his employment journey from Michigan State to his current job working with Hillsdale College.  Matt is now trying to make a living with a girlfriend, two kids and a full-time job while feeling the same constraints many Americans are feeling in terms of making ends meet in today's economy.  Here's his story.   Like th...

The stock market is hitting all-time highs.  But while Wall Street is printing money, Main Street is pinching pennies.  90-day delinquencies on credit cards, student loans and auto loans are at all time highs.  Wages are being out-paced by housing/grocery/car costs.  The average American is feeling like they cannot afford things like they used to only a few years ago.  And they are not wrong.  Lik...

Yesterday, two attorneys were shot outside the Wake County Courthouse in Raleigh, NC, by a pro se Plaintiff.  The parties had just been in court on a civil case involving a local police department and production of body cam footage dating back to an incident in 2021.  Both attorneys seemingly will survive, but online supporters of the shooter are calling for her release, justifying the attorneys b...

Mike Duggan, the former Mayor of Detroit, has been running for Governor in Michigan as an independent candidate since December 2024.  In January 2026, he was polling within single digits of the lead.  Today, he announced his departure from the race.  How this race may impact other independents in terms of making a decision to run for office and why we need more people like Mike to not just run, bu...

The North Carolina Senate race is going to be the most funded and possibly most watched race in the 2026 election cycle.  Cooper is up big.  Whatley has no record or name recognition to run on.  So the GOP's main strategy is to attack Cooper's record, and the efforts have begun.  Cooper released 4,200+ criminals back into society as part of a COVID-related settlement agreement while gove...

You've probably seen them in your neighborhood or around town - a kid on what seems like a dirt bike driving recklessly in and out of traffic.  These are actually known as "e-motos" but marketed as "e-bikes" and legally defined as motorcycles.  Yet, parents are buying them at alarming rates for largely their middle school-aged boys to operate on city streets.  It's th...

A gunman breached Secret Service security over the weekend for the third time in less than two years, attempting to take out the President.  This time, the event unfolded at the annual White House Correspondent's Dinner.  Almost immediately conspiracy theories emerged as to what happened, including whether this was a false flag operation.  Lack of trust in Trump and in our governmental instit...

The war in Iran is now into its 7th week, extending beyond the original 4-6 week timeline forecasted by President Trump at the onset.  It remains unclear as to what the US is seeking to accomplish in Iran, largely predicated on mixed messaging from the White House.  Other messages, however, have been quite clear.  Trump on Truth Social has lambasted his GOP opponents, called out Pope Leo, and depi...

We lived through Fake News and Russiagate in 2016.  But what we are "seeing" today online pales in comparison.  A US warship being bombed.  Jim Carrey in Paris.  Netanyahu killed in an air strike.  Brad Pitt fighting Tom Cruise in an action movie.  All stories where many people could not decipher if what they were seeing was real or not.  The blurred reality both online and in real life...

Despite holding both the White House and Congress, the Republican Party is deeply divided heading into the 2026 midterms.  MAGA, RINOs and Never Trumpers are all jockeying for control of the party or simply to find a place within it.  Parties rely on their bases to get out the vote and carry a midterm election.  But a fractured base can result in a lost race.  The party has an undisputed leader, b...

Back in May 2026, I did an episode called House of Cards: The Looming Housing Crisis.  Well, we are in it now.  Congress and Trump are both trying to address it.  It's the number one issue of local municipalities across the country.  People simply cannot afford to buy a home.  And that's an issue.  A big one.   Like the show? Shoot me a text with your thoughts Support the show