Retraction Podcast

The Retraction Podcast audience predicted many things that came true in 2023, so will their opinions regarding Donald Trump going to prison if found guilty be a foreshadow of things to come? Donald Trump on Classified Documents (01:35), Classified Documents in Mar-a-Lago Bathroom (02:30), Donald Trump Steals Classified Documents (06:15), Donald Trump is Indicted for Big Lie (09:32), Donald Trump Advocates for Police Brutality (09:59), Marjorie Taylor Greene Tries to Impeach Joe Biden (11:23), American Politics is Spiraling (15:04), Donald Trump is Ineligible for the Presidency (22:20), Prediction: Donald Trump Goes to Prison (40:00)

The history of Christmas paganism traces back to ancient winter solstice festivals like Saturnalia from the Roman Empire and have given us traditions like Christmas music, the 12 days of Christmas, and the Yule log. From Rome adopting Christianity to pagan Odin transforming into Santa Claus, or Church Christmas carols becoming Christmas songs, the history of Christmas is deeply rooted in the pagan religions that came before the Christian religion.

The best way to cut through politics is to know your history. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) might have been ahead of his time, but he pushed through significant social safety nets that we take for granted today – some of which are being rolled back. What would America be like without social security? What could America be like with universal basic income (UBI)? FDR, The American History Of Social Safety Nets (01:20), The Forward Party Breaks Ranks (08:09), Three Reasons why or why not UBI (15:57), UBI Reduces Poverty (16:24), UBI Entrenches Poverty (19:44), UBI Increases Job Growth, Lowers School Dropout Rates (23:19), UBI Is Too Expensive (36:13), UBI Guarantees Income For Traditionally Unpaid Work (40:11), UBI Removes The Incentive To Work (46:51)

Why is America so afraid of roundabouts? Across the US, towns and cities are covered with 4 way stops, signaled intersections, endless traffic, and tragic car accidents. There is a better way. Join us to discuss the truth about roundabouts. #roundabout #traffic #caraccidents #infrastructure Federal Highway says roundabouts are safe (02:40), Stats on left-turn traffic accidents (03:58), Why Does the US hate roundabouts? (06:53), Availability Heuristic (08:00), Findings from real world experience (09:00), Where do pedestrians fit in? (11:00), Awareness is the key to conversion (13:27), What’s the aversion to roundabouts? (18:00)

Many of us have heard the history of Thanksgiving in America in the classroom, but schools don’t teach the true history of Thanksgiving from the perspective of Native American tribes like the Wampanoags or the Narragansetts. Until the history of Indigenous people of America is taught in schools, Native Americans today will always be misrepresented and underserved by the government and society. It’s imperative that we academically recognize the historical relationships between colonists and Indigenous people and how that has shaped our modern society. Happy Thanksgiving and we also stand with our fellow Americans on this National Day of Mourning. #america #usa #indigenous #pilgrims The History of Thanksgiving (00:33), King Philip’s War (05:24), Mythical Thanksgiving Feast (18:12), The Thanksgiving Lie (24:37), Pilgrims as Nationalists (27:22), Origin of Thanksgiving in School (30:55), Teach Native American History (34:55), Raised By USA Propaganda (38:38)

Marjorie Taylor Green (MTG) is a far-right Christian nationalist from Georgia that has supported QAnon conspiracy theories ranging from KKK white supremacy drivel to harassing Parkland school shooting survivor, David Hogg. MTG has no place in the US House of Representatives and the House GOP and members of the Republican Party should work to expel the MAGA congresswoman from Congress. #gop #qanon #georgia #congress Who is Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG)? (00:51), MTG Profits Off Low Income Housing (08:05), Congressional Gun Control Hearings (15:34), MTG Attacks AOC (20:44), Congressional District 14, Georgia (22:41), KKK White Supremacy in Georgia (25:32), Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (34:44), MTG’s Congressional Voting Record (41:04), Any Upside to MTG? (47:14)

Maxine is back on the pod discussing running in the last person standing ultramarathon, Bubba’s Backyard Ultra! Many of us are familiar with track running and road running, but how many of us know the terms trail running or ultra running? Join us to hear Maxine’s experience in the White Mountains, New Hampshire for her first ultra running race. We’ll discuss her motivation, training, trail culture, gear, the ultramarathon, and so much more! #ultrarunning #trailrunning #newhampshire #backyardultra New Hampshire Leaf Peepers (00:14), White Mountains, New Hampshire (02:59), Last Man Standing Ultramarathon (11:49), Bubba’s Backyard Ultra Running (27:27), Trail Running Preparation and Recovery (41:26), Trail Running Culture (01:03:00), Define Rural America (01:17:00)

This is Halloween season and what better way to celebrate this scary, spooky holiday than to dig up the medieval origin stories behind ghosts, ravens, spiders, vampire bats, wicked witches, and black cats of Halloween. Join us and Happy Halloween! #halloween #ghosts #witch #vampire Jenna Ellis Pleads Guilty (00:05), Gym Jordan (07:33), Tom Emmer Lasted a Tenth of a Scaramucci (09:26), Elon Musk's New X Feature Debate (15:44), This Is Halloween (25:28), A Happy Halloween Theme (26:16), Wicked Witches (33:46), Scary Spiders (44:47), Spider Time (52:53), Making Mermaid Money (58:05)

Who is Jim Jordan? As the US House of Representatives remains leaderless, the House GOP debate whether to make Jim Jordan the next Speaker of the House. Republicans need to weigh their morality against opportunity in the next speaker vote. The rest of us need to understand the scandal Jim Jordan brings with him to government, and what type of congressman he’s been. Jim Jordan House Speaker Vote Fails (00:24), US Politics Are Tribal (02:53), Introducing Congressman Jim Jordan (05:12), Congressional Term Limits Might Prevent Another Jim Jordan (12:45), Jim Jordan, What Is He Good For? (16:10), What Is The 12th Amendment? (25:10), States Rights Subvert Democracy (34:05), Fantasy Government (42:44)

Extracting resources from planet Earth takes a toll on geodiversity, biodiversity, and Indigenous people, but lithium mining is also necessary for electrifying transportation (lithium battery) to cut carbon emissions and combat climate change. Is there a better way, or are we destined to stay a car nation and convert to personal electric vehicles (EVs)? Elon Musk Violates EU Digital Services Act (00:06), Mining Planet Earth Damages Geodiversity (07:53), Lithium Mining (15:36), Indigenous people (20:34), Be honest we are car obsessed (31:22), Now this, US is number one planet wrecker (43:55)

Climate change is a serious challenge that is impacting every living thing on planet Earth. That being said, we have carbon emission goals, and we are making progress towards them. But first, we dive into Kevin McCarthy and the House Republican speaker coup and a little socialism. Society's definition of value (00:04), Ratchet politics (01:24), On socialism (04:18), Socialism is baked into society (05:33), Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (10:44), Is America on the brink? (19:38), Run the military like we run the schools (29:00), Bluesky announcement and Germany retraction (31:41), Inflation Reduction Act and climate change (33:12), Suriname's UN carbon credits (38:24), Germany renewables (44:57), Hamburg the Vencie of the north (55:31), New animal habitats (59:32), Spotted lantern flies (01:04:54)

We’ve dug ourselves into a deep hole and we can't stop digging. Climate change is here, and humans are still burning fossil fuels and increasing carbon emissions year after year. Arizona’s power grid will fail. Maui will have more wildfires. Ocean pollution will render oceans lifeless. Students, teachers, and schools will underperform. Florida homeowners will lose everything. Emperor penguins will go extinct. This is our near future. The power grid (02:02), Renewables need support (05:41), School needs AC (08:20), Ocean pollution (11:08), Ocean polluting (13:22), Rising sea levels (17:01), Maui Wildfires Tap Water PSA (17:46), Corn of the future (21:15), is the corn sweet (24:24), Ron DeSantis Insurance (27:44), Goodbye, Emperor Penguins (31:36), Climate Change tasting (36:47)

Georgia might have provided a blueprint to cut carbon emissions and slow down climate change. You don't need to play golf or even have a golf course in your town to own a golf cart. In fact, redeveloping your town's infrastructure to cater to golf carts could not only improve local transportation and ease your finances, but it might just cut carbon emissions enough to impact climate change. Golf carts over golf courses (04:03), Peachtree, Georgia (09:25), Competing suburban planning (12:01), How far can golf carts take us? (13:45), Gave up on suburban walkability (15:26), Mapping city streets (17:43), Tyrone, Georgia (24:10), Rebuild the world for people not industry (28:40), Giving up on the public (30:55), The cost of infrastructure (32:42), CHIPS, but with golf carts (40:18), Agency for the children, think of the kids (42:53), Muscle car to golf cart (44:26)

Fossil Fuels have toxic impacts on our environment and health. Whether it's a normally operating fracking site poisoning surrounding communities, or a chemical fire at an oil refinery that poisons surrounding communities, people that live around fossil fuel sites are being exposed to carcinogens every single day. Not only are they paying the price, but their families will feel the impact for generations. Republican candidates like Vivek Ramaswamy push a climate hoax narrative, but there is no denying that climate change is real, climate change is here, and climate change is impacting the lives of billions every single day in a multitude of ways. Vivek Ramaswamy Pushes Climate Hoax (04:27), Economic Cost of Climate Change (11:36), Can The Wealthy Escape Climate Change? (21:54), To Quote Ripley From Aliens (27:03), Fossil Fuel Energy Is Up (33:40), Carbon Emissions Are Up (36:08), Relying On Corporations for Climate Solutions (41:12), Oil Refinery Fire (42:40), Health Impacts of Toxic Exposure (45:23), Fracking is Toxic (48:52), Ecuador Stops Oil Drilling (50:34), Fox News Blames Hawaii (51:40), Joe Biden Didn't Ban Fracking (55:48), Climate Change and the US Constitution (58:07), Squandering Climate Solutions (01:05:41)

Yes, climate change is partly to blame for the Lahaina fire that ravaged Maui, Hawaii. Drought conditions and intense hurricane winds created fire conditions. But there's another element that fueled this Hawaiian wildfire - colonialism. Colonial plantations introduced invasive species of grasses, and once the landowners abandoned their property, the invasive plants spread, and a natural disaster was waiting to happen. As Hawaii rebuilds and the Maui community heals, Lahaina will need to make a choice to favor locals and its rich culture or outside investors and tourism. Retraction: Texas Water Breaks (01:03), Corporate Extremism (07:16), Colonialism Spreads Invasive Species (09:22), Maui Cost of Living (13:45), Hawaiian Plantations (18:47), Pre-Climate Change Infrastructure (28:09), Proactive vs Reactive Climate Solutions (31:31), Political Parties Fail (34:08), X or Twitter (38:57), 3,000 Pets Missing (42:34), We Will See More Wildfires (46:09)

Climate change is no longer coming, it's here. Extreme weather events and natural disasters have only just begun to increase in intensity and frequency. Things are going to get a lot worse if we don't act now. This is just the beginning. Climate change is here (04:21), Heat deaths (12:14), Heatwave (15:35), Extreme weather like fire tornadoes (17:34), Concrete jungle (20:59), Flammable nights (22:55), Wine growing and climate change (25:43), Drought impacts food like corn (28:29), Climate change solutions (31:07), Harsh reality of climate change (36:46), Drastic cuts in carbon emissions (43:11), A glimmer of hope in climate change (45:00)

Planet Earth is losing biomes like the Amazon rainforest. The world ocean is losing its coral reef ecosystem. Biodiversity on the planet is at an all-time low. Humans are exploiting wildlife and each other. Greenland is disappearing. We might lose emperor penguins in our lifetime. Sea level rise could swallow up coastlines and islands. Global warming is real and climate change is here. We can stop this from getting worse if we demand government action now. UPS Goes On Strike (01:02), US Child Labor Abuse (06:29), Worker Protections During a Heatwave (09:03), Texas Sides With Industry Over Workers (13:53), National Beef Sizzles (15:33), McDonald’s Fails Workers During Heatwave (20:35), Climate Change Is Coming For You (25:57), Ocean’s Coral Reef Bleaching (30:58), Pollute the Ocean for Clean Air (33:45), Was the Amazon Rainforest Real? (40:54), Zombie Worms (44:37), Remember Emperor Penguins? (50:13), Climate Change Budget (52:29), Rewilding Takes Effort (54:27), Life Without Tomatoes (55:55)

Planet Earth has never had so little biodiversity. Human induced climate change and the mismanagement of every ecosystem on Earth has driven more plants and animals to extinction than any other series of events. From industrial farming to provide humans with a steady food supply to deforestation to fossil fuels, human activity on planet Earth has failed every other plant and animal we coexist with – but I guess that’s just human nature. We are polluting planet Earth (03:26), Captain Planet, he’s our hero (08:45), Water rights in Arizona (10:04), Our food supply is destroying biodiversity (15:04), Farmers Insurance (19:44), Climate change, farming, bad wine (21:34), Pollution impacts wine growing and food (24:48), Food supply solutions, biodiversity (27:31), Democrats and the FATCAT Act (29:22), Climate change activism (37:28), Democrats and climate change (40:38), Joe Biden bans incandescent light bulbs (43:57), Changing our food supply (45:43), Climate change and our food (47:52), Homeowner’s insurance (52:36), Support your local ecosystem (01:02:26)

As the world prepares for the new reality climate change is bringing, countries are reacting differently to the nuances of global warming. In the United States, Joe Biden has supported a supercomputer in Colorado that is modeling geoengineering and weather manipulation with a focus on solar engineering. Joe Biden has also met with King Charles in the UK to discuss green energy solutions. Denmark is taking on sustainable energy projects by creating energy islands that utilize offshore windfarms. And Oslo, Norway is focusing on clean energy technology and seeks to bring the city close to zero emission. Oh, and also in the US, Florida is gaming Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) by burning thousands of tons of trash and polluting neighborhoods and our planet, and exacerbating the climate crisis. Inhospitable to Humans (05:03), Mass Relocation (13:44), Joe Biden and King Charles (21:05), Geoengineering and Weather Manipulation (23:07), Florida’s Renewable Energy Certificates (28:01), The Problem with RECs (36:57), Florida Sabotages Itself (39:33), Denmark’s Sustainable Energy Projects (42:34), Norway’s Clean Energy Technology (50:58), A Future Ecological Paradise (55:56), Ecological Paradise Lost (01:06:21)

Data protections should include privacy and dignity. You're streaming music and movies, shopping on Google, posting on social media, dating on apps, driving your car, using smart devices, and entering medical, financial and tax information into websites. All that big data is aggregated, packaged, sold, and resold, used to train artificial intelligence, or is taken by hackers. Fortunes are being made, but are you getting a fair bargain? Do people even have a seat at the bargaining table? Do we have to wait for some future technology or concept to take that seat, or is data dignity and Web3 our answer to a passive income that gives everyone a safety net? Capitalism: Corporations vs Government (01:26), You shed data like pixie dust (09:39), Marketing tech scrapes PII (11:52), Hackers hacking data (21:28), Elon Musk’s xAI (28:10), Web3 and data dignity (29:46), Turn off your data dignity (34:16)