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Rules, Reality, and the Fed: Rethinking the Taylor Benchmark
Introduction This report asks whether current Federal Reserve policy matches what one would expect from a Taylor rule—and what “following the Taylor rule” now actually means. We begin by tracing how the rule’s core ingredients (inflation measure, output-gap weight, and r*) have been redefined, and how those recalibrations change the… Listen ⇢
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“My Own Morality”: Trump’s Ethics and the Boundaries of American Power
Introduction When a president claims that only his “own morality” can restrain his power to “strike, invade or coerce nations around the world,” the question is no longer abstract: What, in practice, does that morality permit? This report examines Donald Trump’s self‑described moral compass through his own words and record… Listen ⇢
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Iran’s 2025–26 Protests: Economic Collapse, Information Flows, and the Future of the Islamic Republic
Introduction Iran’s latest nationwide protests, ignited by a collapsing currency and spiraling prices, have rapidly evolved into one of the most serious challenges the Islamic Republic has faced since 1979. This report situates the 2025–26 unrest in three intersecting transformations: a structural economic crisis that narrows the regime’s room for… Listen ⇢
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From King Street to Karmel Mall: State Violence Then and Now
Introduction On a winter evening in 1770, musket fire on Boston’s King Street turned a simmering colonial dispute into “The Bloody Massacre.” On a winter afternoon in 2026, gunshots on a Minneapolis block near Karmel Mall turned an ICE raid into a national flashpoint. This report compares these two episodes… Listen ⇢
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Stoicism in an Age of Turbulence
Introduction Polarized politics, weaponized media, and digital overload make many people feel both responsible for—and powerless before—global chaos. This report argues that Stoicism, properly understood, offers more than private coping tricks: it supplies a disciplined way to think, act, and organize in a turbulent world. We first unpack the Stoic… Listen ⇢
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“Shield or Sword?” Rethinking the Monroe Doctrine and U.S. Imperial Ambition
Introduction This report reexamines the Monroe Doctrine as both an anticolonial shield and a potential imperial sword. It first situates Monroe’s 1823 message in its immediate context of European great‑power rivalry, Latin American independence, and John Quincy Adams’s effort to separate “Old” and “New” World spheres while preserving U.S. freedom… Listen ⇢
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Is Maduro of Venezuela a Drug Trafficker?
Introduction This report examines whether Nicolás Maduro can be credibly described as a drug trafficker, and what that label actually means in law and practice. It first unpacks the “Cartel de los Soles” as a criminalized ecosystem within Venezuela’s civil–military apparatus and explores how U.S. narco‑terrorism indictments recast the regime’s… Listen ⇢
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“Did Venezuela Steal U.S. Oil?”: Law, Nationalization, and the Politics of Ownership
Introduction This report examines whether Venezuela “stole” oil from the United States by nationalizing its petroleum sector. It first explains the principle of Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources, showing why international law and Venezuela’s constitution recognize Venezuelan ownership of subsoil hydrocarbons. It then traces the history of nationalization from the… Listen ⇢
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“Running the Country?”: U.S. Claims, Venezuelan Oil, and the Lawful Limits of Regime Change
Introduction The 2026 U.S. strike on Venezuela and capture of President Nicolás Maduro have transformed longstanding tensions over oil, sovereignty, and hemispheric hegemony into an acute crisis. This report asks whether the United States can plausibly claim any “right” to Venezuelan oil and, even if it could, whether such a… Listen ⇢
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