The American Modcast

In this episode we talk to Stephanie Sikorski, the CEO of TruAge which is a free, privacy-first digital age-verification tool that allows consumers to securely show proof of age when purchasing age-restricted products. With fake IDs from China easily attainable for minors, this encryption-based technology is welcome news both for parents and for retailers who find themselves on the front lines everyday when it comes to protecting minors.The American Modcast with Joe Kefauver is sponsored by Americans for a Modern Economy. We ensure policies reflect the 21st-century technologies reshaping our businesses and communities. Our episodes focus on the emerging issues of tomorrow rather than just today’s news.We explore the changing workforce, technological impacts, and evolving commerce trends. These shifts will inevitably alter both consumer behavior and voter attitudes. Expect meaty topics, expert guests, and a touch of cynical humor along the way.

In this episode we talk to Margaret Hardin Mannion, the Director of Government Relations for the National Association of Convenience Stores who is that industry’s expert on food policy, food traceability, and the topic we are going to talk about today - SNAP Benefits and the growing phenomenon of states asking for and receiving waivers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to go even further than the federal government and restrict additional foods from the program.The American Modcast with Joe Kefauver is sponsored by Americans for a Modern Economy. We ensure policies reflect the 21st-century technologies reshaping our businesses and communities. Our episodes focus on the emerging issues of tomorrow rather than just today’s news.We explore the changing workforce, technological impacts, and evolving commerce trends. These shifts will inevitably alter both consumer behavior and voter attitudes. Expect meaty topics, expert guests, and a touch of cynical humor along the way.

Dan Swanson is an attorney and consultant from Washington, DC who, as the former general counsel of the US Senate Judiciary Committee has played a major role in the raging debate between the retail community and the credit card industry over interchange fees, competition, transparency and overall debit and credit card reform. Last week in a crowded Chicago courtroom, a federal judge significantly altered the trajectory of this issue so Dan’s going to help us sort it out.The American Modcast with Joe Kefauver is sponsored by Americans for a Modern Economy. We ensure policies reflect the 21st-century technologies reshaping our businesses and communities. Our episodes focus on the emerging issues of tomorrow rather than just today’s news.We explore the changing workforce, technological impacts, and evolving commerce trends. These shifts will inevitably alter both consumer behavior and voter attitudes. Expect meaty topics, expert guests, and a touch of cynical humor along the way.

The Department of Agriculture released a new set of dietary guidelines championing protein and healthy fats while minimizing grains. The new recommendations essentially turn the old food pyramid upside down, encouraging Americans to eat whole foods like fruits and vegetables, to incorporate healthy fats, to prioritize protein-rich meals including red meat and to consume full-fat dairy and whole grains with no added sugars. So what does it mean? Will it affect consumer behavior at all? Will grocery stores or restaurants change their product offerings or formulations? Will state legislators jump into the fray and consider mandates on school lunches or kids meals or products in stores? I’m going to interview our resident expert on all things food, Maggie Gentile, a partner at Food Directions and a consultant to numerous companies and industries to help us sort out what all this means to the way we eat, where we eat or if it means anything at all. The American Modcast with Joe Kefauver is sponsored by Americans for a Modern Economy. We ensure policies reflect the 21st-century technologies reshaping our businesses and communities. Our episodes focus on the emerging issues of tomorrow rather than just today’s news.We explore the changing workforce, technological impacts, and evolving commerce trends. These shifts will inevitably alter both consumer behavior and voter attitudes. Expect meaty topics, expert guests, and a touch of cynical humor along the way.

This week's guest is Brennan Duckett, Director of Technology & Innovation Policy at National Restaurant Association. We looks at how we used to talk about data privacy - especially with regard to how merchants collect and handle consumer data, and how that conversation has very quickly morphed into online privacy, protecting kids from harmful elements of the internet, and the impact on how all of this is changing how consumer-facing brands now are able market and communicate to their customers

Joe Kefauver sits down with Dan Swanson—attorney, consultant, and former general counsel of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee—to unpack the complex world of credit card swipe fees and why they’ve become one of the biggest financial pressures facing Main Street businesses. Swanson explains how Visa and Mastercard’s market dominance, interchange structures, and recent court battles are shaping the national debate over competition, transparency, and consumer costs. Together, they explore what meaningful reform could look like at both the federal and state levels—and what it will mean for merchants, consumers, and policymakers in the years ahead. The American Modcast with Joe Kefauver is sponsored by Americans for a Modern Economy. We ensure policies reflect the 21st-century technologies reshaping our businesses and communities. Our episodes focus on the emerging issues of tomorrow rather than just today’s news.We explore the changing workforce, technological impacts, and evolving commerce trends. These shifts will inevitably alter both consumer behavior and voter attitudes. Expect meaty topics, expert guests, and a touch of cynical humor along the way.

Welcome everyone to the American Modcast brought to you by Americans for a Modern Economy, an organization committed to ensuring that local, state and federal policies reflect changing technologies that are reshaping the way consumers, businesses and communities operate in the 21st century economy.This is the podcast where we actually don’t discuss the issues of the day but try to focus on the emerging issues of tomorrow. Those issues around the changing nature of the workforce, the impact of technology on the economy, and trendlines in commerce that will not only force changes to consumer behavior but ultimately voter attitudes. It should be a fun ride with meaty topics, good guests, and maybe a sprinkling of cynical humor along the way.The American Modcast with Joe Kefauver is sponsored by Americans for a Modern Economy. We ensure policies reflect the 21st-century technologies reshaping our businesses and communities. Our episodes focus on the emerging issues of tomorrow rather than just today’s news.We explore the changing workforce, technological impacts, and evolving commerce trends. These shifts will inevitably alter both consumer behavior and voter attitudes. Expect meaty topics, expert guests, and a touch of cynical humor along the way.