The Middle American

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

Zohran Mamdani seemingly came out of nowhere in 2025 to become Mayor of New York City.  He's a self-described democratic socialist and his platform illustrates those views.  Critics have labeled him a communist or a socialist and warned that NYC is going to become the next Cuba or Venezuela.  But what, exactly, is democratic socialism, where has it worked, and why is it appealing?  I'll...

The second episode in the series focuses on the race for Thom Tillis's open Senate seat in North Carolina.  The race features a popular former Democrat governor versus a likely relative unknown, at least amongst most voters.  I am interested as it will likely be the most-funded Senate race and is a microcosm of where the parties stand nationally.   Like the show? Shoot me a text with your tho...

The first in a series of topics I am most interested in heading into 2026.  Immigration helped bring Trump back to the White House.  But ICE and Border Patrol tactics have eroded that support and trust, with the most recent killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti fueling the downward trend.  An issue that Republicans relied upon to win in 2024 may become an albatross in 2026.   Like the show? Shoot...

ICE and Border Patrol came to Charlotte, Durham and Raleigh this week in a widespread raid as part of an ongoing nationwide effort to roundup, detain and deport illegal immigrants.  We were told that the "Hannibal Lectors" of the world were coming across our border and these raids were going to get them off of our streets.  While most of us envisioned Buffalo Bill being captured and sent...

The Democrats won.  Bigly.  It wasn't just that they won big races in blue states/cities like New Jersey, Virginia, California and NYC.  It's by how much.  But more telling is what happened in local races - both here in North Carolina and across the country.  Republicans had a bit of a wake up call that redistricting may not fix.  Will they listen in time for 2026?   Help nominate this p...

Politics and Faith - two topics families tend to avoid discussing around the holiday dinner table.  So let's delve into them here.  Election season is here in the midst of an ever-growing political divide.  Both parties claiming to be on the side of What Would Jesus Do?  Both sides claiming you can't be a Christian if you support the other.  Churches being attacked with political violenc...

The North Carolina state legislature joins a handful of other states in the unprecedented mid-decade redistricting campaign to ensure Republicans maintain control of the US House of Representatives for the second half of the Trump Administration's second term.  The cost?  Making not a single vote count in North Carolina when it comes to voting for a US House Rep.  Not one.  14 wholly uncompet...

Mike joins the pod to discuss his campaign for Mayor of Holly Springs.  14 years ago, he lost a state rep race in Virginia by 50 votes.  He's thrown his hat back into the political ring with lessons learned from his prior campaign.  Mike shares his vision on development, traffic, citizen engagement, and other issues facing the town.  Learn more about his campaign here:  https://www.mikeforhs....

Annie is the second Council member running for re-election this cycle.  She joins the podcast to discuss lessons learned from her first campaign and her two-year stint in office, why she chose to run again, and what she hopes to accomplish in a second term.  You can learn more about her campaign here: https://www.anniedrees4hollysprings.com/ Like the show? Shoot me a text with your thoughts Suppor...

Tim is one of two current Council members who are running for re-election.  He joins the podcast to discuss his experience on the Council, why he chose to run again, and what he is hoping to accomplish with a second term.  Learn more about Tim's campaign here:  https://timforrest4hs.com/  Like the show? Shoot me a text with your thoughts Support the show

Sarah Larson joins the podcast to discuss her campaign for Holly Springs Town Council.  People, policy and progress are the pillars of her candidacy.  She is already involved in a variety of aspects within the town, and is hoping to translate those experiences into being a Council member.  Learn more about her campaign here:  https://larsonforgovernment.com/ Like the show? Shoot me a text with you...