Michael Scott - Thinking Out Loud (Podcast)

I’m an orthodox, Jewish, Israel-American who does not believe that Zohran Mamdani is an antisemite, unlike many in my demographic. I reject the idea that people who have issues with Zionism are automatically labeled as antisemites. I do have some constructive criticism for Mamdani where I try to convey how the term “globalize the Intifada” sounds and feels to many, especially in NYC. Get full access to Michael Scott - Thinking Out Loud at mslipkin.substack.com/subscribe

Fundamentally, wokeness is a good thing. However, like all good things you can have too much. Excesses can create a new set of problems. It seems, unfortunately, that cruelty has become the overwhelming response to the excesses of wokeness. I discuss what wokeness is, how it became excessive and give examples of how anti-wokeness has become cruel. I draw on an episode of the original Star Trek series to explore a path forward. Article - Massachusetts teen arrested by ICEhttps://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/massachusetts-student-arrested-by-ice-on-his-way-to-volleyball-practice-has-been-released Article - USNS Harvey Milk renaminghttps://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/massachusetts-student-arrested-by-ice-on-his-way-to-volleyball-practice-has-been-releasedArticle - Trans athletes in NCAAhttps://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/education-ncaa-transgender-athletes-records-reversal-rcna191742Article - Nichelle Nichols and MLK Jr.https://www.startrek.com/en-un/news/nichelle-nichols-remembers-dr-kingArticle - Star Trek “The Enemy Within”https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/The_Enemy_Within_(episode)Video - “The Enemy Within” trailerhttps://youtu.be/_AYsdW1RbWw?si=56EzCFxVvPfbrNDyVideo - California’s Governor Newsome speaks in response to Trump takeoverhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXQQNUeb4SwVideo - Leonard Nimoy tells the story of the Vulcan salute that goes with the phrase “live long and prosper”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyiWkWcR86I Get full access to Michael Scott - Thinking Out Loud at mslipkin.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode I discuss my thoughts about how the U.S. is currently dealing with immigration and immigrants. As an immigrant to Israel I lean on my experience to compare Israel to the U.S. I also reserve some particularly sharp critique for Trump’s current Deputy Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller. Emma Lazarus’s sonnet “The New Colossus” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46550/the-new-colossusDenver Mayor Mike Johnston on his city’s handling of immigrantswww.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz6U5vwCcak&t=299sRonald Reagan’s farewell addresshttps://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/farewell-address-nationStephen Miller’s early lifehttps://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/09/us/politics/stephen-miller-trump-white-house.htmlOp-ed by David Glosser, Miller’s unclehttps://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/08/13/stephen-miller-is-an-immigration-hypocrite-i-know-because-im-his-uncle-219351/Kristi Noem’s photo ophttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKYW5gKeOWcArticle on immigrants and crimehttps://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/debunking_the_myth_of_immigrants_and_crime.pdfArticle - “The Afrikaner Exception” by Meir Brookshttps://meirbrooks.wordpress.com/2025/05/18/racism-of-the-unadulterated-kind Get full access to Michael Scott - Thinking Out Loud at mslipkin.substack.com/subscribe

I was an early adopter of social media, especially Facebook. It was a natural progression for me from writing letters to the editor, calling talk radio, and creating my own family website. I discuss some virtues and vices of social media and then how it might be skewing my perception of the behavior of the current US administration as it regards entry of citizens to the US in a very fraught environment where basic rights have been called into question. The Lipkin Family websitehttps://www.lipkinfamily.com/Ezra Klein explains the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia in this videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN1oBfg0fwIArticle about US Citizens stopped on entryhttps://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2025/03/26/american-travelers-us-borders/82641005007/Article about Tufts Student sent to detention center for writing an op-edhttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/17/trump-rumeysa-ozturk-tufts-detentionArticle about Trump’s statement regarding deportation of US citizenshttps://www.reuters.com/world/americas/trump-wants-deport-some-us-citizens-el-salvador-2025-04-14/ Get full access to Michael Scott - Thinking Out Loud at mslipkin.substack.com/subscribe

I have a 17 year old son with Down syndrome whom I adore. I discuss his birth, development, education and more. I then get into some philosophical issues regarding the growing trend to abort fetuses when Down syndrome is detected and a discussion of a hypothetical future where it would be possible to “cure” Down syndrome.My blog post about Yisrael’s birthhttps://www.lipkinfamily.com/blog/adventure.htmYisrael’s Bar Mitzvah highlight videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnzK5WLUUIMWorld Down Syndrome Day videohttps://youtube.com/watch?v=Biex1XR_mpoMy Substack article “When Nurturing Goes Haywire - Raising A Child With Special Needs”https://mslipkin.substack.com/p/when-nurturing-goes-haywire-raisingInstagram video by a woman with Down syndrome discussing some of these issueshttps://www.instagram.com/reel/DEuxWlgRjZo/?igsh=OXM3aTRpd3ZlcTFx Get full access to Michael Scott - Thinking Out Loud at mslipkin.substack.com/subscribe

As a teenager I learned the important role free speech plays in maintaining a free, democratic society. If anything, my sense of its importance has only grown, especially given the threats posed in our current society.Coddling of the American Mind Essayhttps://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/the-coddling-of-the-american-mind/399356/Balanced discussion of the Mahmoud Khalil issuehttps://www.readtangle.com/trump-cuts-columbia-funding-arrests-protestor-khalil/Sarah McBride Issuehttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/11/us/politics/sarah-mcbride-keith-self-transgender.htmlFIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression)https://www.thefire.org/I didn’t mention FIRE in the podcast. It was started by Greg Lukianoff, one of the author’s of Coddling and plays an important role in protecting free speech Get full access to Michael Scott - Thinking Out Loud at mslipkin.substack.com/subscribe

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, commonly known as DEI, is being blamed by Trump and many in the MAGA world for causing many of the ills they perceive to be affecting the United States. Is DEI really that evil? Elon Musk: A Clear And Present Danger? (My Substack article)https://mslipkin.substack.com/p/elon-musk-a-clear-and-present-dangerTrump’s address and press conference after the crashhttps://apnews.com/article/plane-crash-washington-dc-trump-dei-claims-3ac5486ec594d81e919e8ebbd9733869Ronald Reagan’s address to the nation after the Challenger disasterhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa7icmqgsow&t=1sWhat is DEI?https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/22/us/dei-diversity-equity-inclusion-explained/index.htmlAnalysis of DC crash in Tangle (Isaac Saul)https://www.readtangle.com/making-sense-of-the-washington-dc-plane-crash/Hidden camera interview of Russell Voughthttps://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/15/politics/russ-vought-project-2025-trump-secret-recording-invs/index.htmlWhat is Project 2025? Project 2025 Explainedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYXZ6iJJSgM&t=81sExcellent article on systemic racismhttps://medium.com/arc-digital/systemic-racism-is-real-we-need-to-fight-it-not-deny-it-81b951c166ed Get full access to Michael Scott - Thinking Out Loud at mslipkin.substack.com/subscribe

Elon Musk spoke at one of the events on the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20th 2025. During his speech he invoked a gesture that looked like the salute Nazis used to make and that Neo-Nazis use today. As is often the case in today’s divided world, people lined up on opposing sides; either defending Musk or excoriating him. I try to take a balanced look at the issue and a broader look at Musk.Video of Musk’s gesturehttps://youtu.be/-VfYjPzj1Xw?si=wi9LRh2yeBUUrPUXMusk’s follow up joke Tweethttps://x.com/elonmusk/status/1882406209187409976Musk’s Tweet in support of AfDhttps://x.com/elonmusk/status/1869986946031988780Article about ADL responseshttps://www.axios.com/2025/01/23/elon-musk-nazi-joke-adlMusk interview with Ben Shapirohttps://youtu.be/JGdbFGANapk?si=b1SwXIGwvFAH2sESStatement of woman who toured Auschwitz with Muskhttps://www.facebook.com/share/p/1B6VDrrayB/Musk speaking at AfD rallyhttps://youtu.be/-Gogvdy1frw?si=KD4fJQ_8r5a63RFGArticle about simulation theoryhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-we-live-in-a-simulation-chances-are-about-50-50/“Hogan’s Heroes” cliphttps://youtu.be/8jeLtnRjQPw?si=AnkYUPuNseOfjWLy Get full access to Michael Scott - Thinking Out Loud at mslipkin.substack.com/subscribe

I recorded this on January 20, 2025. It’s a day after the first 3 hostages were released from Gaza as part of the recently brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. It’s also the inauguration of America’s 47th president Donald J. Trump. Between the emotional high of the return of 3 young women from captivity in Gaza, concerns about freed terrorists, the future in Gaza and trepidation about a second Trump presidency it’s a real emotional roller coaster.My Article - “Innocents in Gaza”https://mslipkin.substack.com/p/innocents-in-gazaAhmed Fouad Alkhatib on Twitter and Facebookhttps://x.com/afalkhatibhttps://www.facebook.com/afalkhatibIsaac Saul’s Newsletter - “Tracking Trump’s Promises and Key Metrics for America”https://www.readtangle.com/tracking-trump-promises-state-of-america-2025/TDS 2.0 (The Maslow article) https://substack.com/home/post/p-155183824Doctor’s comment on last episodehttps://mslipkin.substack.com/p/health-insurance-vs-healthcare Get full access to Michael Scott - Thinking Out Loud at mslipkin.substack.com/subscribe

Having lived in the US for many years and now another 20 years in Israel I have a perspective on the differences in how healthcare is viewed in both countries. I now believe that it’s important to view healthcare as a service that the government should provide or pay for rather than as insurance one needs to purchase in case something goes wrong.Some links:US Health Care System Ranks Last Overall Among Other High-Income Countries$2 million device to replace MRI scanner broken by negligent cleanerOverview of Israeli Healthcare System Get full access to Michael Scott - Thinking Out Loud at mslipkin.substack.com/subscribe

After all that talk in the first episode about buying and then procrastinating setting up the microphone, I dumped the whole setup this week and just talked into my phone. Find out why. I also talked about the advantages of having conversations via voice messages on WhatsApp. Sometimes it’s better and more effective to be able to process what the other person is saying before responding. After I did the podcast I found a couple of articles on the subject. Apparently voice notes are quite the rage. WhatsApp handled about 7 billion a day as of 2022!See below:Why I hate texting, and why I love voice memoshttps://dailyfreepress.com/2022/12/06/why-i-hate-texting-and-why-i-love-voice-memos/To my horror, gen X is turning to voice notes – I don’t want to hear your mini-podcasthttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/29/gen-x-voice-notes-podcast-phone-message Get full access to Michael Scott - Thinking Out Loud at mslipkin.substack.com/subscribe

I was deeply troubled by the invective and discrimination that the Trump campaign hurled at transgender people leading up the election. I understand that treatment, especially with regard to adolescents, is controversial even among medical professionals, but people’s mental health and welfare should not be the stuff of political point-scoring fodder. Here, I try to imagine a future world where things could be different. I may be totally off-base and would appreciate feedback as to why. Please know that my intent is not to hurt anyone.An example of an anti-transgender Trump campaign ad.https://youtube.com/shorts/VVU7pYq3WHw?si=-KpUTrfjWsgZXemnA New York Times article that takes a deep dive into the issue.https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/health/puberty-blockers-transgender.html Get full access to Michael Scott - Thinking Out Loud at mslipkin.substack.com/subscribe

In a couple of previous episodes I referred to myself as both a “white man” and a “Jewish American”. In some corners both of those descriptions can be seen as controversial. I discuss why I see myself in those terms and more broadly how I believe we form our identities. Get full access to Michael Scott - Thinking Out Loud at mslipkin.substack.com/subscribe

I start off the episode discussing some good feedback I received on last week’s episode. I then go on to talk about the holiday of Thanksgiving, what it means to me and how I celebrate now that I no longer live in the U.S.Movies of my family Thanksgivings from 1956 - 1961Video of a Thanksgiving Day football game with friends - 1983My “fall” tree - Chinese tallow (Safyon Hashaava in Hebrew) Get full access to Michael Scott - Thinking Out Loud at mslipkin.substack.com/subscribe

The recent U.S. election really brought out the worst in a lot of us. Understandably, people feel there’s a lot at stake. All too often we either ascribe nefarious intent or lack of intelligence to those who didn’t vote like us. I delve into these issues with a few real world examples. Some links refenced in the podcast:TED Talk by Jonathan HaidtSubstack article I wrote after the electionMy op-ed published in the Jerusalem PostTime of Israel article about orthodox Jews voting for TrumpSubscribe to my Substack You can email me at: [email protected] Get full access to Michael Scott - Thinking Out Loud at mslipkin.substack.com/subscribe

It took me two and half years from the time I bought a Yeti Blue microphone until the day I opened the box and started talking into it. What's that all about?  Get full access to Michael Scott - Thinking Out Loud at mslipkin.substack.com/subscribe