The Far Middle episode 111 begins with a dedication to the 2008 Wimbledon men’s final—a historic bout (far from just alright) between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The nearly five-hour match marked the third year in a row Federer and Nadal met in the final at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, while Federer won in 2006 and 2007, Nadal would came out on top in 2008.

Nick next transitions to present day, moving eastward from England to discuss Russia and Ukraine, exploring the asymmetrical nature of the war that differs from other historical conflicts. The Russia/Ukraine war leads to the question of whether America supports nations resisting our adversaries, or do we instead stay out of foreign entanglements and invest those resources domestically. Subsequently, Nick examines how the federal government budget is evolving quickly—and not in a good way.

“Nearly 60 % of the federal budget each year is now going to three things: Social Security, healthcare entitlements, and interest on the debt,” says Nick. “And all three are going up faster than tax receipts are going up, which is going to balloon the deficit. And without entitlement reform, the math can’t work. And without higher taxes or less tax credits and less subsidy, the math can’t work.”

Nick shifts from our federal debt troubles to California, where Governor Newsom wants to remove red tape for the development of favored energy projects—a situation where the Left is trying to save itself from itself.

Next up, Nick calls out many potential causes of action for today’s youth when it comes to having a bone to pick with government and its policies. But today kids aren’t suing governments in America for these wrongs, rather, they’re suing over climate change. “Juveniles are stressed about climate, and they want to sue the government,” says Nick. “Stay tuned on this one as time unfolds because we know for sure the Left will ratchet up the intensity and the plaintiffs bar will persistently run down any chance they see for value appropriation.”

While talking climate, Nick discusses a recent interview with former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, who has a new book out, The Yellow Pad. Nick says Rubin recently delivered a “climate change sermon from the altar of environmentalism.” On the topic of books, Nick notes that today’s episode release date, July 5^th, marks the anniversary of the publication of Isaac Newton’s Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica. “Principia might just be the most important work in the history of science,” says Nick. He adds that, “We could spend an entire episode or a month’s worth of episodes diving deeper on how the climate change racket of today violates Newton’s rules time and again.”

In closing, Nick celebrates the career of Elvis Presley, who recorded That’s All Right on July 5, 1954, making rock history. Listen as Nick lists his Mount Rushmore of Elvis songs from the late 60s and early 70s era.

As The Far Middle episode 110 takes the field on June 28th, Nick goes back to today in 1957 for this episode’s sports dedication. Nick recounts the giant steps the Cincinnati Reds’ fans took to secure eight players in the 1957 All-Star Game starting lineup, and Commissioner Ford Frick’s move to overrule the ballot process and insert Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Stan Musial into the National League’s starting nine.

Nick moves from the diamond to journalism bias as the “Fauci Focus” Far Middle segment emerges for an encore performance. Nick comments on emails from the editor-in-chief of the journal “Science” to Dr. Fauci. Nick says the editor’s awe of Dr. Fauci creates two problems no matter what your views are of Dr. Fauci.

“When science gets transformed into ‘The Science,’ it goes from a valuable source of sober analysis when setting policy, to a blatant cheerleader for uninformed policy and political leanings,” says Nick, stepping into the episode’s next connection: the EPA’s efforts to wreck the U.S. grid and economy.

Nick calls the EPA’s proposed power sector regulations “insanity from a technical and scientific and engineering suite of perspectives.” The EPA’s intention? Increase the cost of energy, reduce its availability, and force individual choice to go where government and the bureaucrat desire it to go. Nick continues to examine the power sector, highlighting the warnings from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) summer reliability report.

“With all this hyper focus on climate change, some tangible and real epidemics and crises, they continue unabated in America,” says Nick, leading into a discussion on America’s drug epidemic and China’s role. “China has gone about a methodical poisoning of our people.” This leads into a look at the foolishness of how America’s elite set policy, specifically seven giant steps of policy insanity.

Those steps include job loss in the domestic energy and manufacturing sectors, which connects to the U.S. Career Institute’s analysis of which industries will grow/decline the most over the next decade.

While episode 110’s topics vary, Nick explains, “they share a common trait, and that is the failure of the expert class and the exposure of the ineptitude of the elite class—their policies do more societal and economic damage than good.” Nick proceeds to make one more policy connection resulting from ex-Silicon Valley Bank Chief Executive Greg Becker’s testimony before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee. Nick suggests banks think for themselves when it comes to differentiating between what the Federal Reserve lectures and what the market might actually do.

In closing, Nick makes one final connection to June 28, going back to today in 1846 and a patent granted to Belgian inventor and musician Adolphe Sax.

The Far Middle episode 109 follows Father’s Day and arrives with the tip-off of summer. Nick dedicates this installment to “Pistol” Pete Maravich, who was born the day after episode 109’s release (back in 1947), and who also had a special relationship with his father and coach, Press Maravich. Nick calls Pistol Pete “one of the brightest of shining lights to ever dribble a basketball.”

After reflecting on Pistol Pete’s stellar collegiate career and Hall of Fame NBA career, Nick says you could apply the same nickname to the Chinese Communist Party and China itself as they, “have a geopolitical gun aimed at the heads of the US, the EU, and the G7, and we gave them the gun with climate change policies.” Nick proceeds to discuss China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which “significantly broadens China’s economic and political influence,” and now the G7 is waking up to a three-part nightmare.

“Climate change policies are killing us, along with their distractions,” continues Nick, highlighting the Fed’s new obsession with tackling climate change. However, Nick has some surprising news to report coming from Fed Governor Christopher Waller. While Governor Waller offers a rational and logical take on climate change, unfortunately, America has become a place where “free speech is no longer protected unless it fits with the ideology of the Left, and even left of center and liberal thought leaders are picking up on the obvious troubling trend.” Nick says writer Salman Rushdie knows how this works far too well.

What’s doubly troubling is that free speech isn’t the only vital foundation of our Western republican democracy that’s under attack by the Left. “Everything and anything that is vital to what is the essence of America is under continual assault. From the poorest to the most successful segments of society.” Nick connects that argument to what’s happening in America’s major cities—the area of America that’s been under the control of the Left for perhaps the longest and the deepest.

Nick takes the conversation to San Francisco, examining the murder of tech CEO Bob Lee, who is a potential microcosm and singular example of what’s going on across our culture today. “I sense the individual is bringing less self-discipline and personal accountability than what was expected or demanded a decade ago, and certainly a generation ago,” says Nick.

In closing, Nick notes episode 109’s release also coincides with the anniversary of Japan’s defeat at the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. Nick uses the Battle, and World War II in general, to reinforce the drive and courage of the Greatest Generation. “We know we have what it takes because we demonstrated we had what it took,” says Nick. “Let’s make sure we do all we can to protect the ‘it’ factor that makes America special and that we rebut the insidious elements that are out there working constantly, to erode the specialness that is the USA.”

The Far Middle episode 108’s release falls on Flag Day, a coincidence that won’t happen again until June 14, 2028—mark your calendars! Nick discusses the history of Flag Day, its unique Pennsylvania connection, and notes June 14^th also marks the birthday of the United States Army.

“Flag Day is as American as it gets, and so is baseball,” says Nick, proceeding to present this episode’s unique sports dedication, which goes to a constellation of six baseball perennial all stars for their historic June 14^th accomplishments; spanning Gehrig in 1933 to the “Wizard” in 1992.

Nick moves from great ball players to not-so-great transportation policy. He says traffic is increasingly being used as justification to tax the driver to the point of no longer driving—highlighting the Biden administration allowing New York City’s proposed congestion pricing plan to proceed. Nick discusses the irony of the plan as the politicians/environmentalists/bureaucrats who advocate the congestion pricing tax to reduce traffic congestion are the same people who created the congestion problems to begin with. He then offers three lessons to learn from the congestion pricing movement. And read more on the dumpster fire that is the New York public transportation system in Nick’s book Precipice.

Staying in the transportation lane, Nick examines recent news from Ford on its EV business losses. “Ford is losing more on each EV it sells than most people pay for a new gasoline, combustion engine vehicle,” says Nick as he delves into EV demand trends.

Congestion pricing and EV mandates are tactics within the larger portfolio of the Left, which leads into a look at what happens when the Left gains control of the political, bureaucratic, and regulatory process or processes in states. And what happens is people (typically higher-income residents) leave high-tax states for low-tax states like Florida and Texas.

Going from data on migration to survey data on renewable energy deployment, Nick highlights a March poll finding 79% of Americans say renewable energy should be rolled out slowly, rather than quickly, and that the conservation of land and wild animals should be prioritized above rapid greenhouse gas reductions. Nick predicts a growing and mounting resistance to wind and solar projects, and examples to that resistance are mounting.

“A great leading indicator where you can see how sentiment is catching up to reality, can be found with how shareholders are voting on anti-fossil-fuel proxy proposals at big Wall Street banks’ annual meetings,” says Nick. He calls out several climate-oriented proxy proposals failing to gain traction during recent shareholder votes.

While on fossil fuels and climate change, Nick looks back at a few doom-and-gloom climate predictions from the past that didn’t exactly pan out the way the experts predicted. And in closing, Nick moves from talking heads in the Church of Climate to an iconic talking head and one-of-a-kind voice who passed away this week back in 2014—Casey Kasem. Keep reaching for the stars!

The Far Middle episode 107 arrives two days following the birthday of the late NFL-great Art Donovan, this Far Middle’s featured dedication. Nick describes the Hall of Fame defensive lineman, aka “the Bulldog,” as an intimidator who played in an era when rough and tough was the official code of professional football. Donovan was part of the Baltimore Colts’ “Magnificent Seven,” who in addition to quarterback Johnny Unitas included Gino Marchetti—Far Middle episode 89’s sports dedication.

After reflecting on Donovan’s military service, football career, and larger-than-life personality, Nick offers yet another example of how climate change is no longer about science, and how it has morphed into a religion that is proffered to explain the unpredictable and the complex. The latest example comes from meteorologists suggesting climate change is increasing turbulence during air travel. 

Continuing to examine the Church of Climate’s playbook, Nick connects the dots from energy inflation stoking general inflation to what’s occurring in Europe where the “experts” and central banks blame business and capitalism for the continent’s inflation turbulence. Nick goes on to offer three economic truths “that have been around as long as there have been economies…and which have been buried and obfuscated by the Left.” 

Next, Nick addresses student proficiency in civics and history, specifically eighth grade test scores in U.S. history and civics, which fell to their lowest level on record in 2022. “Our society is devolving, from one where logic and rational thought and science and meritocracy prevailed to the benefit of all, into one where mysticism and control of the individual are the new orders of the day,” says Nick. He goes on to offer an example of that state control of the individual, this time from Switzerland where it’s now, “no beef for you!” 

Staying on global themes, Nick addresses the topic of fairness and equity—delving into the idea of the developing world being compensated by Western developed nations for their historic use of energy and associated emissions. Nick calls this a zero-sum game when it comes to value appropriation, even when done under the banner of fairness or equity. 

“Notions of fairness, climate changing over millions of years, the mysticism of the left, these issues all roll into something I’ve been mulling for quite some time,” says Nick as he proceeds to explore some “deep thoughts from a simple mind,” looking back on mankind’s 300,000-year history and a few things that haven’t changed. “Where we are today is insignificant in the big schemes of time and history and the human story. Our differences that we have with one another, they’re mostly superficial and largely insignificant. But you are unique and what you do will never be done again. So, make the most of it and take nothing for granted and leave nothing on the field.”

In closing, Nick pays tribute to the great Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot who passed away last month. Give a listen to hear Nick’s favorite Lightfoot songs, and check out the documentary, “If You Could Read My Mind.”