The Far Middle turns three with episode 156; representing three years and hundreds of unique “connections,” thought-provoking and surprising insights not found anywhere else.

Following the recent 150^th milestone episode that explored core themes of the podcast’s journey, from limited government to individual liberty, Nick opts for a fun approach this special episode, navigating a web of cultural icons and their connections within connections.

Continuing to carry on the tradition of Dr. James Burke’s BBC “Connections” series, Nick begins the discussion on the heels of Mother’s Day.

Nick highlights the role Ted Williams’ mom played in his ultimate signing with the Boston Red Sox. A difference of $500 separated Williams and Joe DiMaggio from being pinstripe teammates. For more on “Teddy Ballgame,” revisit Nick’s dedication to Williams in episode 130.

The three-year episode’s release date, May 15, serendipitously also falls on the anniversary of the start of Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak back in 1941. Revisit that streak in Nick’s closing segment from episode 56.

Taking a break from the well-known Far Middle analyses on public policy and cultural trends to business and finance and more, Nick features an all-star, award-winning lineup of connections spanning screen and stage.

Nick notes Joe DiMaggio was not only a great baseball player, but a hopeless romantic, “and the object of his affection was none other than the legend Marilyn Monroe.” From there the connections turn to Ernest Hemingway, playwright Arthur Miller, actor and acting teacher Lee Strasberg, actors John Malkovich, Dustin Hoffman, Anthony Hopkins, Liam Neeson, Daniel Day-Lewis, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, alongside a few other greats.

A truly entertaining episode, Nick celebrates the series’ run by highlighting a range of accomplished figures, connected linear and fascinatingly intertwined—a great transition as year four gets underway in episode 157.

Boxing fans: the third anniversary episode’s release date of March 15 also marks Rocky Marciano’s first world heavyweight title defense. In 1953, Marciano knocked out former champion Jersey Joe Walcott in the first round at Chicago Stadium. Head back to Far Middle’s 100^th episode for Nick’s dedication to “The Brockton Bomber.” And if you have four minutes, watch that May 15, 1953, fight.

Nick begins episode 155 by paying respect to Holocaust Remembrance Day, sadly observing, “The ability and degree of humans to harm other humans, it’s one of those attributes that make us unique in the animal kingdom, badly unique.”

Nick then shifts the episode’s focus to California, revisiting a state often in the Far Middle spotlight (see Nick’s commentary, “Ode to Los Angeles From a Wary Admirer,” and Far Middle episode 113 for some of Nick’s prior observations).

Beginning just south of San Francisco, the installment’s sports dedication is a Far Middle first as the honor goes to a high school, Junípero Serra High School, and its legendary lineup of alumni athletes. That roster spans football coach John Robinson and quarterback Tom Brady to baseball player/manager Jim Fregosi and MLB home run king Barry Bonds, and many others.

From athletes launching their epic careers at Serra High School, Nick pivots to the downward spiral of the Golden State, in particular declining quality of life in the Bay Area, thanks to continued Leftist governance and policies.

Nick questions a study ranking San Francisco as the healthiest city in America as the reality on the ground (crime, homelessness, substance abuse) doesn’t reflect this assessment. “Living and functioning in San Francisco these days can be quite the threat and danger to one’s health, both physical and mental,” says Nick.

Meanwhile, in Oakland, restaurants are closing due to crime and public safety concerns. “Crime has been a major issue in Oakland,” says Nick. “Robberies grew 38% last year, according to police data. Burglaries are up 23%, and motor vehicle theft jumped 44%. That’s unbelievable. Roughly one of every 30 Oakland residents had a car stolen last year.”

While crime soars, Oakland’s leadership is more focused on threatening a 102-year-old man with fines for graffiti on his property. Nick also examines the state of education in the Bay Area.

“The potential of California, it’s always been to serve as the ideal for the rest of us, it used to epitomize so much of the positive of the American dream,” says Nick. “But today the reality of California is the truth of what happens when the Left runs things and what it will bring to all of us eventually.”

In closing, Nick reflects on a few California cultural icons (including John Steinbeck, Joan Didion, The Mamas & the Papas, the Beach Boys, and others), and how their depictions of California unfortunately differ from life in California today.

In Far Middle episode 154, Nick examines a string of connections demonstrating how a lack of consistency is becoming the norm in society—raising questions about fairness, integrity, and the rule of law.

In the lead-off spot and serving as the episode’s sports dedication, Nick discusses Major League Baseball’s inconsistent handling of the Shohei Ohtani and Pete Rose gambling scandals. In addition to contrasting MLB’s Ohtani and Rose investigations, Nick also note’s MLB’s inconsistent stance on gambling. While the League says gambling is evil, and will result in severe punishment, at the same time the League enjoys profitable deals with gambling platforms.

“The nice thing about baseball is that even though the handling of gambling sagas may lack consistency, the scoring and player statistics, they require consistency,” says Nick, connecting to inconsistencies in standardized test scoring for college admissions and explaining how wealthy students are manipulating the system to gain extra time on exams through dubious means.

Nick then asks whether the law is consistently applied these days, or rather, is it subjectively applied depending on the person and the circumstances. That troublesome question leads to analyzing the judgement against former President Trump for the alleged fraud in New York regarding his real estate valuations.

“The $454 million bond to appeal the ruling marks the highest bond ever recorded in United States history against a single individual,” says Nick. “For doing what, some people’s experience has shown, all kinds of firms and banks engage in every day, which is negotiating and debating the value of assets to set loan levels and covenants.”

Nick underscores that it’s not about liking or disliking Donald Trump, but rather, “it’s about whether the law applies to everyone consistently or whether the law gets selectively applied to those we don’t care for.”

Nick follows by addressing comedian Jon Stewart’s comments on the Trump judgement by scrutinizing Stewart’s own lack of consistency regarding his personal real estate actions. “Using Stewart’s anti-Trump logic, paying less in property taxes due to an artificially low assessed value, that would deny government of needed tax revenue,” says Nick. “Is that tax evasion or fraud? Of course it is not—we’d all be potentially liable for such.”

Walking toward the end of episode 154’s line, Nick closes by reflecting on two giants in the history of music, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan. Both individuals’ careers were marked by inconsistency, “so a lack of consistency isn’t always a bad thing,” concludes Nick.

Episode 153 of The Far Middle delves into “Big Truths,” a contrasting theme to the prior episode’s focus on “Little Lies.”

Leading off, Nick presents a few hard truths on the economics of professional sports for the installment’s sports dedication. Those truths include the challenge of becoming a professional athlete, and for the elite few that make it to the highest level of their respective sport, it’s a sad truth that many face financial struggles post-retirement.

Shifting from sports, the next big truth centers on how different asset classes perform over time versus the inflation benchmark. “That’s a crucial question because the objective of investing is to achieve a rate of return that exceeds inflation over your investment horizon,” says Nick. “If your return exceeds inflation, you’ve enjoyed a real rate of return, and your portfolio grew in value.”

What’s been the best major investment class outperforming inflation over a 20-year investment horizon the past nearly hundred years? The answer may surprise you.

From investment trends, Nick examines recent data and projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) regarding the depressing financial health of our federal government. “By the early 2030s, the CBO is estimating that all, as in 100 percent, of federal government revenues are going to be consumed by two things, entitlements and interest on the federal debt,” explains Nick. Presuming the CBO is correct, Nick discusses the country’s options to avoid the big financial truth that spells trouble ahead.

Nick continues the theme of big truths as he draws a connection to President Biden’s low approval ratings juxtaposed to his job creation performance since taking office. “When it comes to payroll growth since inauguration, and after those 1,000 days plus in office, Biden is tracking quite well versus his post-World War II predecessors,” says Nick. “In fact, only two presidents saw a bigger percent increase in payroll growth than Biden.”

But despite the payroll growth, Nick suggests it’s simply been the economy rebounding to pre-pandemic numbers. “Maybe the American public realizes that big truth more than we give it credit for, which would explain President Biden’s abysmal approval ratings,” says Nick.

In closing, Nick highlights big songs about truth from two awesome groups, The Police and Depeche Mode. Take a break from enjoying the silence, and enjoy episode 153!

Following a recent coincidental listen of Fleetwood Mac’s “Little Lies,” Nick examines a series of connections all based on little lies that have major consequences, particularly little fibs steering energy policy today.

Marking episode 152’s sports dedication, Nick runs through a historic trifecta of sports related lies; including, George O’Leary’s false resume claims, George Steinbrenner’s comments he planned to be an absentee owner, and Wilt Chamberlain’s exaggerated sexual exploits. Nick notes there are many famous fibs from the annals of sports, such as the denials of fixing the 1919 World Series discussed in episode 149, as well as other moments that will likely be featured in future Far Middle sports dedications.

Transitioning to energy policy, Nick argues those claiming wind and solar are zero-carbon energy sources are propagating a harmful misconception as their production carries significant carbon footprints.

“Let’s dispense with all those convenient little lies out there that underlie a flawed set of climate policies and energy transition efforts,” says Nick. “Until we do that, we’re only going to be building our economy and society on a foundation of sand.”

Nick then challenges the notion of U.S. energy independence, highlighting the country’s increasing reliance on imported wind, solar, and EV components from China. And while America’s energy security erodes to reliance on China, Nick calls out another little lie that China is a growth market for renewable energy like wind and solar. Nick juxtaposes America’s removal of 95 gigawatts of coal-fired electric generation from its grid since 2015 to China adding 223 gigawatts of coal plant capacity to its grid.

“What’s all the coal-fired electricity and energy being used for in China?” Nick asks rhetorically. “It’s often used to mine, process, and manufacture all the components and feedstocks needed to make more and more wind, solar, and EV products, which are then exported and shipped to places like the United States, where our energy policies mandate their use because we pretend they’re zero-carbon forms of energy. It’s nuts.”

The discussion then shifts to the administrative state and bureaucratic behavior during the Trump administration, with examples of resistance from elite academia and entrenched government employees. Nick warns of potential future conflicts depending on the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.

“If Trump wins the 2024 election, and I know that’s a big if and I’m not saying he should, but if he wins the election, bar the door, because we’re about to see one of the greatest freakouts in the history of government,” says Nick. “It could make 2016 and those prior Trump-term years look mild by comparison.

“They say ‘rust never sleeps,’ neither does the need to make informed decisions regarding the maintenance of our energy ecosystem. There comes a time when scientific reality must check the environmental ideology,” continues Nick.

Nick then connects those references to “rust never sleeps” and “comes a time” to the likewise-named Neil Young albums. And concludes with a reflection on Neil Young’s boycott of Spotify over COVID-related content on Joe Rogan’s podcast, touching on the irony and controversy surrounding the decision. Nick’s favorite Neil Young album? Give a listen!