All Episodes

Back to School: Football! School Snacks! What Should Principals Be Thinking More About? Is Football the Last Hope for Boys? Do We Need to Bring Back Food Trading & Birthday Treats?

Is Youth Travel Soccer the Reason America Can't Win the World Cup? Does Norway Have the Right Model? Would Americans Accept No Score, Volunteer Coaches, Few Games If It Meant Winning Internationally?

Is the College Bubble Bursting? Evidence: Syracuse Drops 84 Majors! Small Colleges Raiding Endowments for General Funds! Is the College Financial Bubble Finally Coming True? Is this Sad?

What's More Impressive? Humanoid Robots Or Teens Breaking World Track Records? Will We See An Increase in Double-threshhold & Bicarb Training Among Teens? Don's Son Collin McLaughlin Joins!

Why Are K-12 Education & Schools So Hard To "Solve"? Shouldn't $125 Million Be Enough? Should Silicon Tech Entrepreneurs Have the Answers? What Ideas Still Need to Be Tried? Maybe There's No Problem?

Should We Think of Europe as a Theme Park-Like Disneyland? Where Are the Real Europeans? OK to Pretend They're There? Or Should We Continue to See Europe As a Museum with Big History & Monuments??

Should We Lose Sleep Over: Chinese EVs in USA? Autocrats as Peacemakers? Pet Divorce Rights? Refinancing Auto Loans? Jet Ski Drones? Isolation Studies Results? Franklin Advocated for the Bow?

World Cup Tourists love America! Buc-ees, Waffle House, Walmart, Endless Chips & Salsa, Big Trucks, Cowboy Hats, Friendliness! Is this New American Soft Power? How Prideful Should America Feel?

Ranch! Why Only Popular in North America? Can Ranchbassador Convince Europe to Try? Does Ranch With Paella or Snails work? Could Ranch Ever Meet Ketchup's Continental Sales Diversity? Is Ranch Good?

Wealth Redistribution! Is Norway Too Rich While China Not Generous Enough? Should Norway Worry About Ambition? Should China Care More for Those Who Built it? Is America's System the Happy Middle?

Space X! Great Investment? Is It a Rocket or AI Company? Or Is Elon Musk the All that Matters? Should People Buy for Orbital Data Centers or Starlink? Any Concern Over 1 Million People on Mars?

Maybe Humans Can Have Jobs & Exist with A.I.? Will We Just Perform Services for the Rich? Or Will Increased Productivity = More Work to Do? What if AI + Human Work Quality Is Bad?

3 Education Ideas: Only Fans Professors Who Teach At the Edge of Knowledge? Bored Students Without Phones & Screens? Declining School Enrollment Nationwide? Which Idea Should Be Further Considered?

Worry Meter: Iran Divides Into 30,000 Units? USA Travel Deficit? Paying to Avoid Russia's Frontline? Decline Gulf Remittances? Reducing Buffett Waste? Ukraine = Drone Experts? More Nuclear States?

Driving Across America! Which Route? Windows up or down? Zeppelin or Guthrie? Good Salads in Midwest? Paper Maps or GPS? Is Two Passengers the Best Number? We Debate Tyler Cowen's Ideas!

Why Are Americans Rich & Still Miserable? The Economic Theory that Explains Why People Go to Disney, Play Youth Sports, Book Travel and are still unhappy! Can One Be Mad At A Million Tiny Decisions?

New American Trend! Make Children Repeat 8th Grade for NIL & Scholarships. What if We Held Back Kindergarteners Instead? Does It Matter if Research Says Only 10% of Children Become Elite Adults?

Nuclear Prediction Markets Canceled! Work Harder Now? Is Bitcoin Uncool? Education Tech Failure? US Gov. Unconcerned of TikTok! Single Earning Homes in Decline! Is Russian Economy in the Death Zone?

Do We Need New Cities? Would Building on Open Land Escape Current City Problems? Or Will People Being People Ruin New Cities? Do Irvine, CA & Walt Disney Have the Solution to the Housing Shortage?

Are Schools the Problem? Are Phone Unfairly Blamed When It Comes to Student Stress & Anxiety? Should the Correlation of NCLB/Common Core & Increases in Student Anxiety Be Considered? Dave Mckay Joins!

What's the Urgency Thinking Level: Robots taking Amazon Jobs? The Southern Cone Thesis? More Aircraft Carriers for China? Greenland's Subsidized Population? The Dollar's Declining Value?

The Most Interesting Things Kent Hendricks Learned in 2025: Hot Dogs In W. Virginia, Decline in Male Hand Strength, Mexican School Hours & Divorce Rates, Billion Dollar Birders, Adult Diapers & More!

Football! Why So Popular When So Few Play & Actually Understand It? The Perfect TV Product or A Distraction from Real Issues? Is Jim Thorpe Greatest Ever with No Video Evidence? Is it Applied Track?

Young Adults Have Given Up On Home Buying! Does this Trend Lead to Less Effort at Work & More Sushi & Crypto Consumption? New Trend? Or Delayed Behavior that Will Fall In Line with Historical Norms?

Should Parents Tell Children How Much Money they Make? What Are the Benefits? Any Drawbacks? Is this the Ultimate Personal Finance Lesson? Or Should No Swipe November Become A Trend for Everyone?

China's Large Power Line Projects, Growing Renewable Energy Projects, Intense Domestic Electric Car Industry, & 200 Million Gig Workers! How Does It Compare to America's Abundance Movement?

Do We Live In A "Limitless" Society? Has Our Modern World Become a Machine for Destroying Limits? Is this Good or Bad? Have Humans Always Been Expanding Upon Limits? Is there Anyway to Stop the Trend?

Stadiums! Why Are the World's Largest Devoted Semi Professional Football (College) in Fairly Small Cities? Will Anyone Try to Overtake Michigan Stadium's Size? Is It Still Fun to Attend Live Sports?

Is $140,000 the New Poverty Line? Why Does the Number Trigger Debate? Are You A Complainer If You Agree? Are you Cold Hearted If Disagree? Will this Number Become A New Political Issue? Who Takes It?

The Enhanced Games! Allowing Athletes to Take Performance Enhancing Drugs! Transparency or Cheating? Should the Records Count? Is A Nation of Gym Cycles & Ozempic Ready to Accept this in Sports?

Orcas! Are the Yacht Attacking, Shark Torturing, Halibut Stealing from A Fisherman's Line Animal Winning the Most News Headlines in the 2020's? How Intelligent Are They? Are their Actions on Purpose?

The Elite College Myth! In the Long Run Does Harvard & Peers Provide Better Opportunities than Other Schools? Should Seniors Applying for College & Parents Think Infinite Instead of Finite?

Two Parenting Trends: All Meat Baby Diets & Out Feral their Feral! Do Babies Need Whipped Bone Marrow & Parent Prechewed Meat? Or Should Kids Be Bitten Back & Thrown Into Ponds? Which Trend Will Last?

Shameless Self Promotion! Crypto School 2 the Book Is Out! Don & Zac Discuss the Sequel: Do Schools Understand A.I., Character Education, & Unanswered Questions? Principals, Parent Meetings, & More!

3 Trends: 6-7 Classroom Excitement, Run Ultra Marathons While Eating Taco Bell, Consuming MRE Rations from Old Wars. Which Trend Lasts Into 2026? Brain Rot, Bro, & Skibidi Toilet Also Discussed!

The Scarlet Plague! What Did Jack London Writing in 1912 Get Right About 2012? How Fragile Is Civilization? How difficult Is It To Rebuild? How Thin is the Line Between Nature Winning & Losing?

Is Your Identity Based Upon Your Grocery Store? Why Do Brands & Stores Make Us Feel Specific Ways? Which Grocery Stores = Biggest Satisfaction Rates? Is Trader Joes Special? Can Only 85% Be Fans?

Is AI an Investment Bubble? Can the $45 Billion Industry Earn the $2 Trillion It Needs to Justify Investment? 95% of Companies See No Return on AI Investments? Lots of Debt & Chips ONLY Last 3-5 Years

Is Mexico's Molar City the Answer to America's Dental Problems/Costs? Why the Focus On Non Medically Necessary Procedures? 75% of Kids Now Get Braces! Why Do People Despise Dental Visits?

Sports Gambling! Problem for Young Men? Ok If the Gambling Companies Only Allow Losers to Play? Should Schools Be Required to Teach About Sports Betting? How Did Betting Become Legal?

Private Equity's Youth Sports Investment! How Did America End Up Spending $40 Billion to Watch Kids Play? What About those Who Can't Afford? Why Sports & Not Other Kid Activities? Is This A Bubble?

Fantasy Food Brand Draft!!! Pepsi, Hershey, Campbells, General Mills, Nestle, & More! Which Companies Can Turn their Stock Price Around? New Products or Spin Offs? Zac & Don Discuss their Picks!

Superintendent Heidi Mercer Joins to Discuss The Anxious Generation, Smartphones in School, Free Play, Her District's New Cell Phone Policy, & What Her Stakeholders Are Saying. About It All

A Potential AI Scenario: 20-30% GDP Growth! Mass Unemployment! Higher Wages for Trades & Service Workers! 30% Mortgage Rates! Capital/Land Owners Win! 0% Saving Rate! Could this AGI Future Come True?

More Lonesome Dove! Does the Book Get Too "Hollywood" In Action & Natural Disasters? Why Don't We Get the Native American Perspective? Why Is this Book So Captivating & Hard to Stop Reading? Spoilers

Not Everyone Wants A Buc-ee's In their Community??? Who's Right In this Colorado Gas Station Fight? A Billionaire's Involved! Is this an Abundance or NIMBY or Western Land Issue? Who Will Win?

We're Reading Lonesome Dove! How Can A Book Be this Good While Little Seems to Be Happening? How Accurate Are Character Behaviors & Thoughts? Zac & Don Break Down Part I. Plot Spoilers Discussed.

Elon Musk's New Political Party! Is America Ready to Support A 3rd Party? What's the Best Strategy? Is Musk the Right Leader With Right Focus? Mark Cuban? Are there Better Ways to Impact Politics?

Are America's Kids the "Sickest Generation in History"? Will Eliminating Food Chemicals Save them? Does Exercise Need Promotion? What's Better: Kids Eating Unhealthy School Lunch or Not Eating At All?

What's a Genius? Specialist or Well Rounded Skills? Can Athletes, Ballerinas, and Toilet Scrubbers Be Geniuses? Should We Excuse Geniuses for Being Jerks & Aloof? Were Jobs, Darwin, Leonardo Geniuses?

Is It Possible To ONLY buy Made in America Products? Should You Buy If USA Products Are More Expensive But Last Longer? Should We Be Satisfied if the Product is only Designed in America?

Chickens, Horses, & Wiener Dogs! Fried Chicken Sandwiches > Burgers? A Jockey Can Hit Kentucky Derby Winning Horse 6 But Not 8 Times? People Are Surprised A Wiener Dog Survived Australia Alone?

The Sport of Track is Boring to Watch! Could Dual Meets Make the Sport More Interesting? Does the Scoring System Need to Be Simplified? Could NCAA Scholarship Changes & TV Demands Reformat the Sport?

Does Trying Still Matter When A.I. Can Already Do It? Do Humans Still Need to Work Through the Process of Learning Feedback Loops? Can There Ever Be Too Much A.I. Use? What Should 3rd Graders Do?

Which Societal Change is the Bigger Deal? No One Has A Nickname Anymore? Kosher Salt Became the Default Salt? Paper Straws Are Out & We Return to Plastic? Zac & Don Debate.

ABUNDANCE! We Read the Book. Why Doesn't America Build Anymore? Failed Housing & Infrastructure Policies? Afraid of Science & Health Risk? Regulations! Will Anyone Turn Abundance Into A Movement?

Completing Daily Tasks Yourself! Is There Personal Value In It? Is It Better to Cook Your Own Food? Do Your Own Home Repairs? Rake Your Own Lawn? How Much Value Is Personal Pride from Projects Worth?

The Skills & Activities Young People are Better than Ever At! Sports? Math? Rubik Cube? Skateboarding? STEM? &More! Why are the BEST Young People Accelerating While the Averages Struggle Academically?

College Sports Recruitment! How Do High School Athletes Get Noticed? John Blackstock Explains Why You Need To Be An Active Participant With: Highlight Videos, Social Media, Being Realistic, & More!

Picking March Madness By Mascot! 2nd Annual Tradition! Kevin Kopec Joins & Gives REAL Analysis. Who are the Mascots of: Lipscomb? Bryant? Norfolk St? Omaha? Robert Morris? McNeese? High Point? & More!

Eliminating the Penny! Good Idea? Why Did the Decision Take So Long? Should We Eliminate the Nickel Too? Should We Worry About Increasing Electronic Payment Fees? What Other Ideas Need Adoption Now?

No One's Dating or Getting Married! Is this A Troubling Trend? How Does It Connect with America's Loneliness Epidemic & Rise in Smartphone Use? Any Policy Solutions? Is This Just An American Problem?

Our Favorite things that Kent Hendricks Learned in 2024: Halloween & ADHD Diagnosis? SUV Purchases & Threatened Masculinity? Increases in American Walking Speed? Ordering Hamburgers on Screens? &More!

Buc-ee's! Why Are People Excited to Visit A Gas Station? Do they Deserve Local Tax Breaks? What Other Economic Sectors Could Become the Next Buc-ee's? Kevin Kopec Shares His Expertise!

Falling in Love with AI? Will It Be Normal To Form Personal & Love Relationships with AI? Is AI Companionship Better than Nothing? Could A Person Have Both A Human Spouse & An AI Spouse?

Human Traits Part 2! Will these Humans Traits Increase in Future Value: Funny & Trustworthy? Having An Audience? Real Life Experiences? Crafting Skills? Being A Specialist? Having Good Taste? & More!

Will these Human Traits Lose Value in the Future: Skinny? High IQ? Dexterity? Memorization? The Generalist? College Degree? 2nd Language Skills? Knowing how to Drive? & More!

Top Five Things! Nvidia's Secret Sauce? Zac & Don Share What They're Noticing, Thinking About, and Working On. Could T5T Work in Schools? Please Share Your Top Five Things With Us!

Should America Buy Greenland? Is there Value: Economically? Militarily? Politically? What Do Greenlanders Think? Does A Focus on Greenland Signal An American Shift towards the Western Hemisphere?

How Do We Spend Our Time Today & in the 1930's? Working? Sleeping? Eating? Chores? How much Free Time Do we Have? Should We Be Concerned that We Spend so Little Time Trying to "Better" Ourselves?

Life Coach Kearsten Manoulian! What's It Like to Leave Education & Become a Life Coach? Was It A Hard Decision? How Do Life Coaches Serve their Clients? What Are People Asking for Help With?

Big Food! Poor Diet! Bad Health! Do We Want the Government to Better Regulate Our Food? How Could It Work? What If We Just Want to Keep Eating Tombstone Pizza, Fruit Loops & Never Learn to Cook?

DOGE! Can Government Be Efficient & Cost Less? Do Congress, Interest Groups, & Trump Actually Want This? Can this Debate Stay on Point? National Debt? No Curb on Entitlements & Military?

What's the Biggest Revelation: Chat GPT Crushes Chegg Stock 99%? Teachers Cheating on Certification Test in Texas? Learning the Reason Why No One Smiles in Old Photographs?

All the Stuff We'll Never Do In Our Lives! Time to Write Off Lakehouse Ownership? Reading Complete Shakespeare? Learning to Sculpt Marble? Owning Nice Cars? Hiking Appalachian Trail? Any Goals Left?

Cheerleading!!! Monopoly Business? Increasing Popularity? High Injury Rates? Is It A Sport? Private Equity? Olympics? Rival of Dance & Gymnastics? WWE Comparison? Laurie Hogan Joins to Discuss!

Is It Ok to Give Up? Why Is Being A Quitter A Bad Thing? Do Words Like GRIT Promote Tragic Hero Choice Making? Should We Focus on Life Tasks Instead? Are We Driving the Yacht or Riding in a Kayak?

The Great Stuff Transfer!!! What If the Kids Don't Want the Vase or Grandma's Xmas Tree Stand? Are Boomers & Their Children Talking Enough About All the Stuff That's Been Acquired Over Decades?

A Woman Had 50 Random People Give Her 25 Million Euro Fortune Away? Should We Look to Citizen Councils to Make Decisions for Society? Is there a "Best" Way for Deciding On How to Help Others?

Teens Can't Type & Don't Want A Drivers License! What's the Bigger Concern? Are Either of These Issues Actual Problems? Are the Trends Just Milestones Showing Historic Inflection Points for Humans?

Surgeon General Warning!!! Modern Parenting Is Too Hard & Stressful? Should We Take the Warning Seriously? Is Parenting Too Time Intensive? Or Are We Just Over Thinking It & Making Things Harder?

Do Schools Give Out Too Many A's? Is The Letter Grade Too Easy To Earn? Should Schools Use Ironic Grades? Go To A Pass/Fail System? Is This Just a College Problem?

Is the NFL A Good Model For Thinking About Income Inequality? Does Stock Market Cap Justify the New Starbucks CEO Pay Package? Or Are Compensation Numbers for Football Players & CEO's Just Too High?

Why Do We Believe Everything's Bad When It's Not? Despite Most People Saying They & Others Do Nice Things, Why Do We Believe We're Living in an Age of Moral Decline? Can Warren Buffet Teach Anything?

Pirates! Why Are We So Interested? Were they Originators of Democracy or the Last Holdouts of A Modernizing World? Does It Matter If the Facts Are Different From Reality? What About Modern Pirates?

What the World Needs Now: Axl Rose? Salad Bars? 3 Sport Athletes? Guitar Solos? Glass Bottles? Jumping Jacks? DVD Extras? No Travel Sports? Like A Rock TV Commercials? Less Distracted Drivers?

Don Went to the Olympics! What's It Like to Be in the Stadium Watching Track & Field? What Was Paris Like During the Major International Event? Will Los Angeles Be A Good Olympic Host?

2 Summer Trends: Lifeguard Shortages & Males Doing Nothing On Planes. Why Isn't Lifeguarding A Glamorous Job Anymore? No Baywatch on TV? Why Reject Entertainment On Long flights? Online Brag Rights?

Presidential Election Update! Who's Winning After Biden Steps Aside, Republicans Are Unified, Harris Enters, The Assassination Attempt, Why Did Dems Let Biden Debate? What Else? Kevin Kopec Joins!

The Unwritten Rules of Pickup Basketball! Why Do Most People Follow Them? Can Basketball Bring A Group of Strangers to Transcendence? What about the Guy Who Shoots Bad 3s & Calls Too Many Fouls?

America's Hot New Sport: Slap Fighting? Made for Streaming & Safer than Boxing, MMA? Joey Chestnut's NOT Competing on July 4th? Is It Easier to Match Chestnut's or an Olympian's Best Performance?

Steroids! PEDS! Get on the "Gear"? Everyone's On A "Cycle"? Has It Become Socially Acceptable to Use These Drugs? Any Ramifications? Do We Need Solutions? Or Just Keeping Working Out Until You Can't?

200th Episode! What Has America Built During the Last 4 Years? Will America Dominate the Globe for the Next Century? Why the Pessimism With So Many Positive Data Points & Billionaires?

ACT Scores Are Down!!! But GPA Is Up? Why Are Students Getting "Smarter" Yet Unable to Demonstrate their Knowledge? Is Standards Based Grading to Blame? Increased Cheating? Phones in Schools?

Is "Follow Your Dreams" Terrible Job Advice? Do New Workers Have Unrealistic Job Expectations? Is Society to Blame After Years of Delaying Bad News to Young People? Follow Opportunities Instead?

Disney Adults! Is Disney A Religion? Is Disney the Last Piece of Cultural Glue that Binds Our Society? Or Has Disney Indirectly Shaped Our Imaginations Towards Consumption & Individualism?

Once Normal in School: 5th Grade Crossing Guards? Smoking Lounges? Wandering Washington DC Alone? Running Your Teacher's Errands? & More! In Thirty Years Will We See Allowing Cell Phones As Crazy?

Posture! Does It Matter? How Did America Cope with Poor Posture in 1914? Should We Worry About the "Marginal Decade" of Our Lives? Can We Do Anything Today to Improve the Last Ten Years of Life?

Weiner Dogs! Table Saws! Python Meat! Time for Gov Regulations? Are Dachshunds Suffering? Should we Only Allow Table Saws with Finger Detection Technology? Are Pythons the Solution to Food Insecurity?

Drive-throughs! Are they Actually Efficient? Do they Promote Placelessness & Loneliness? Are they Bad for Cities & Public Safety? Don Explains Why One Should Never Order Fries from Drive-through!