Dear listeners,
We’re back from Thanksgiving with another episode of Central Air.
On this week’s show:
We discuss the viral-yet-preposterous piece saying that $140,000 a year should be considered the new poverty line, and the takedowns thereof. We also try to assess whether there was any “larger truth” underlying the piece, and decry the political distortions that come from a closely associated idea that periodically pops up in the press: that $400,000 is a moderate income. And we look at some signs that middle-income Americans have grown more financially pressed in recent months, including a softening in the market for cars.
We revisit the “you must refuse illegal orders” video in light of news reports about an awfully illegal-sounding “double tap” strike on a suspected drug boat off Venezuela, and we discuss the Trump administration’s crackdown on Afghan migrants — a group to whom we owe a national debt that requires looking beyond the narrow national interest.
We talk about a plan to permit three new casinos in New York City, which Megan favors but I oppose, and we discuss two environments that bring Americans together in our increasingly atomized society — the craps table, and the Benihana table.
And we look at who I made mad on the Internet when I said you shouldn’t go by “doctor” unless you’re a medical doctor.
Do you have any bones to pick with us? Let us know in the comments below.
We hope you enjoy the episode,
Josh
