Month: January 2025

Anticipatory DISobedience

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We’re hearing a lot about “anticipatory obedience.” Terrified of what President Trump might do, some media, universities, corporations, and even individuals are choosing to censure themselves. One of the earliest examples happened last fall, when the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times (both owned by billionaires) chose NOT to endorse a candidate for President.

Historian Timothy Snyder has been warning people and institutions against caving in to authoritarian power in advance. Snyder was quoted in The Guardian, saying, “the major lesson of the Nazi takeover, and what was supposed to be one of the major lessons of the twentieth century: don’t hand over the power you have before you have to. Don’t protect yourself too early.”
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Trump the Imperialist?

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Love him or hate him, most Americans probably agree that Donald Trump is an authoritarian. But is he “Hitler”? My guest today, Jeffrey Weiss, doesn’t think so.

On this week’s program, Jeffrey and I discuss Trump’s threats to buy (or forcibly take) Greenland, reclaim the Panama Canal, and somehow convince Canada to become ‘Merica’s 51st state. (Sorry Puerto Rico, get back in line.) That leads us to the “Hitler” question.

Before I share some of that discussion with you, I have to throw in a bit of humor. Yeah, there’s nothing funny about the risks of fascism, but for some of us, humor is a tool that helps manage life’s most disturbing challenges.

Humor in the face of tyranny was certainly on display on January 19, 1940. After Hitler laid claim to Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland, The Three Stooges produced a short parody, You Nazty Spy. Lead stooge, Moe Howard (in photo), made an impressive Hitler, even speaking Yiddish. Continue Reading →

How some animals are adapting to climate change

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With so many reasons to feel despondent about the state of the world, I was greatly encouraged last week by this article in The Guardian: Shrinking trees and tuskless elephants: the strange ways species are adapting to humans.

I had no idea that so many species are evolving — and evolving quickly! — in response to humanity’s massive footprint. Fox squirrels, for example, have done particularly well in our Des Moines neighborhood of Sherman Hill. On our block, they now own most of the houses, while the rich, loose soil of Birds & Bees Urban Farm is their preferred pantry for nut storage.

To be clear, we have to stop messing up the planet. Plants and animals evolving is not the long-term solution. The sixth major extinction continues, alas. But the adaptations presented in The Guardian story are intriguing, encouraging, and worth noting. Charles and I talk about some of them during the first segment of this week’s program, as a lead-in to our discussion about viruses and whether bird flu might jump to humans. Continue Reading →

What’s causing Iowa’s high cancer rates?

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State Rep. Austin Baeth (D-Des Moines) is an internal medicine physician. He’s helping lead the charge at the Statehouse to address Iowa’s disturbing cancer numbers. Across the state, Iowa continues to see an increase in cancer, especially breast cancer, even as other states are seeing declining rates.

Smoking is part of the problem, along with obesity, binge drinking, and radon. There’s also concern that modern agricultural practices, including the use of chemicals like atrazine and glyphosate, contribute to Iowa’s disturbing numbers.

One of the initiatives Baeth plans to push this year with like-minded Republican colleagues is a detailed study of what’s behind this increase. That in itself would be a significant accomplishment. But it’s just a start.

“We need folks from across Iowa, we need a grassroots movement to get legislation across the finish line. It’s still in its infancy, trying to get this grassroots network going,” said Baeth on my program. If you want to help build that network, contact Rep. Baeth at austin.baeth@legis.iowa.gov. Continue Reading →

A tied election where both candidates won

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Here’s a feel-good story from a mostly feel-bad election. In Galt, California, Matthew Pratton and Bonnie Rodriguez each got 3,882 votes for one seat on the city council. After jokesters (including Pratton) suggested the election be decided by a milking contest, a chicken chase, or wrestling in Jell-O, the parties settled on drawing straws.

Pratton won the draw. But here’s what I love, love, love about this story. Another member of the council, Rich Lozano, had to resign because he was elected to a different office. So Pratton and the other council members appointed Rodriguez to fill the vacant seat.

Aw. So much winning! For real. Continue Reading →