The Far Middle episode 171 begins with a sports dedication curveball. Nick leads off by noting the episode was recorded the day before Major League Baseball pitcher Blake Snell threw not only his first complete game but also a no-hitter. Acknowledging the timing, Nick humorously asks for Snell’s forgiveness before diving into this episode’s sports dedication.

The dedication (and Snell’s serendipitous complete game timing) definitely “makes you go, hmmm,” which is a recurring theme in episode 171.

Nick draws an intriguing comparison between Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan and Blake Snell. Despite Ryan’s legendary career—featuring seven no-hitters, 222 complete games, and over 5,700 strikeouts—he never won a Cy Young Award. In contrast, Snell has won two Cy Young Awards without having pitched a complete game (until the day after this podcast was recorded). The comparison highlights how baseball has evolved, with fewer complete games being pitched in the modern era.

Nick then shifts focus to New Jersey’s public transportation issues, specifically the financial mismanagement of New Jersey Transit. He questions the state’s decision to divert funds from capital projects to cover operating costs, which has led to a financial crisis exacerbated by declining ridership and increased operating costs. The state’s solution includes a surtax on corporate income, which will ultimately burden New Jersey residents.

The conversation then turns to New York City’s congestion pricing plan, which has been suspended due to concerns about its impact on the cost of living and commercial occupancy rates. Nick once again dismantles the argument behind congestion pricing, a scheme that overlooks the root causes of traffic congestion, which are the constraints that have been intentionally imposed upon the city’s roads and infrastructure.

Finally, the episode explores the concept of “ghost posting” in the job market, where companies advertise job openings without the intention to hire. This practice creates a misleading picture of job demand and is used for various reasons, such as portraying growth or maintaining a candidate pool.

And for fans of 1990s pop culture, Nick, as always, has an entertaining close that’s not to be missed.

For more reflection on Nolan Ryan and the 90s (specifically 1991) check out Far Middle episode 91, Greatness, and Nick’s dedication to Nolan Ryan, alongside Mario Lemieux and Michael Jordan, for their special 1991 sports achievements. Also head back to episode 48, The Strikeout, for a look at the risk and reward of Ryan’s 5,714 career strikeouts.

In Far Middle episode 170, Nick offers a different take on this installment’s sports dedication. It’s a dedication that comes “with very mixed emotions because it ties to my alma mater, Penn State, and its beloved football program, which I’m a lifelong fan of,” says Nick. “But those core Far Middle beliefs and policy foundations, they can’t be superseded by simple emotion or personal preference.”

Nick then comments on the state of college athletics, focusing on Penn State’s decision to approve a $700 million renovation of its football stadium. Given the uncertain future of college sports and the university’s existing budget constraints, Nick questions the decision and the financial assumptions that are justifying the project.

He compares the move to a similar $440 million stadium renovation at Cal Berkeley, which resulted in financial strain for the university. Ultimately Nick presents episode 170’s sports dedication to the two Penn State trustees who had the courage to act rationally and with fiscal restraint by voting against the renovation plan.

From higher education in 2024, Nick shifts back a century offering a must-listen examination of President Calvin Coolidge’s “Education: The Cornerstone of Self-Government” speech delivered on July 4, 1924. Nick calls Coolidge one of America’s most underrated presidents and highlights many insights from his 1924 speech.

Connecting from Coolidge’s argument that an educated and knowledgeable citizenry is fundamental to ensuring sound policy from government, Nick then discusses the history of America’s withholding tax on employee wages.

Enacted in 1943, the withholding tax is readily accepted by workers today. Nick tells the story of Vivien Kellems, a businesswoman who opposed the withholding tax system, arguing it misled taxpayers about their tax burden. Kellem’s unique activism illustrates the broader theme of citizens being unaware of government policies due to inadequate public education.

“As Calvin Coolidge pointed out, if the public education system isn’t teaching and instructing the citizen how to be aware and awake, then all is for not,” says Nick. “Expect the citizens to accept whatever the government ends up handing them from a policy perspective, along with the bogus justifications.”

In closing, Nick references Ms. Kellems’ campaign for the U.S. Senate in 1956, and that year Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Don’t Be Cruel” would top Billboard’s singles chart. “Put on some Elvis, pay your taxes, and stay connected to that Far Middle,” concludes Nick.

For more Far Middle, the year 1956 would also see Rocky Marciano retire from the ring and Frank Robinson hit his first of 586 home runs. Listen to Nick’s respective dedications to Marciano and Robinson in episodes “Knockin’ Out 100” and “The Fastest Power Wins.”

While the 2024 Paris Olympic Summer Games have concluded, Nick keeps the Olympic spirit alive in Far Middle episode 169. Nick pays tribute to the first modern Olympic Games held in Athens in 1896 to mark the installment’s sports dedication, noting the 1896 Summer Games were actually held in the spring, and it would be more than a century before the IOC would bring the Olympics back to Greece for the 2004 Summer Games.

In true Far Middle connection fashion, Greece then serves as the focus of the episode as Nick presents a unique perspective on Alexander the Great’s life beyond the well-known military achievements.

Expanding upon his recent essay, “Making Alexander Great: Five Secret Ingredients,” Nick delves into Alexander’s upbringing, highlighting his education under Aristotle, and the complex family dynamics that shaped his character.

Nick emphasizes Alexander’s exceptional leadership, strategic thinking, and oratory skills, which were instrumental in his conquests and maintaining the loyalty of his troops. Nick also examines lesser-known aspects of Alexander’s life, such as his ability to dissent from his advisors’ opinions and make bold, independent decisions. These underappreciated traits, combined with Alexander’s charismatic leadership, were the “secret ingredients” contributing to Alexander’s enduring legacy.

In concluding this “great” edition of The Far Middle, Nick makes one final connection to an iconic English heavy metal band, and a long-time favorite of Nick’s, Iron Maiden. Nick calls out the band’s sixth studio album Somewhere in Time, which of course closed with, “Alexander the Great.”

For more Far Middle discussions examining both leadership and history, check out episode 126, “The Battle of Hurtgen Forest,” as well as episode 123, “Effective Leadership.”

Far Middle episode 168, released on August 7, 2024, falls on the 70^th anniversary of the historic one-mile race in Vancouver, B.C., between England’s Sir Roger Bannister and Australia’s John Landy.

Known as, “The Mile of the Century,” Nick looks back on the race and how Bannister and Landy challenged consensus and broke the 4-minute mile mark, thereby sparking higher levels of performance by athletes in the years following. It’s a lesson that applies beyond competitive sport, explains Nick.

Contrasting the levels of performance by Bannister and Landy, Nick returns to present day to discuss the less-than-high levels of performance across America’s federal government workforce. Now four-and-a-half years since the start of the COVID pandemic, and despite calls from the president and his chief of staff for federal employees to return to their offices, remote work “has become an ingrained culture within the federal government workforce.”

Nick comments on not only the cost to taxpayers of paying for and maintaining unoccupied office space, but also the broader economic implications on Washington, D.C., and other government-heavy cities when only 6 percent of federal workers are working full-time in their offices.

And wherever the administrative state is working these days, their quest for “regulation by strangulation” hasn’t taken any breaks. Nick discusses a recent summation by author and energy journalist Robert Bryce of “four recent climate-related rules issued by the administrative state.”

These climate rules, issued between March and May this year, total 1.3 million words. When you add these voluminous and complex rules on top of other rules and regulations being issued, Nick questions how a business, individual, or entity can comply with or even know what these laws say. “We’ve moved beyond absurd, but this is the environment the real economy must operate in, and I don’t think that’s going to bode well for America,” says Nick.

In closing, Nick highlights Bob Dylan’s song, “If Not for You,” from Dylan’s October 1970 album New Morning. In less than a year, subsequent recordings of “If Not for You” came from Dylan alongside George Harrison, as well as Olivia Newton-John. The song is another example — like Bannister and Landy running a sub-four-minute mile — of “greats pushing greats to the next level.”

Episode 167 of the Far Middle continues the series’ recent focus on California, beginning with a nod to National Avocado Day and California’s state fruit. Nick’s sports dedication then proceeds to celebrate California basketball royalty: Cheryl and Reggie Miller.

Reflecting on Cheryl and Reggie’s achievements, Nick notes how wildly similar their careers are: both played college basketball in Los Angeles, both wore number 31, and each has those jersey numbers retired (at USC for Cheryl and the Pacers for Reggie), both won Olympic gold, both pursued careers in broadcasting, and now both are in halls of fame.

Nick pivots from the Miller siblings to a broader conversation on the evolution of professional sports, discussing changes in hockey, football, baseball, and basketball, and the differing priorities between the game, athletes, and leagues.

Nick critiques the current state of professional sports leagues, highlighting their hypocrisy and inconsistency in their values.

“Leagues today they virtue signal every chance they get,” says Nick. “Yet when you see how each league ignores its supposed values to pursue financial interests in the mighty dollar it creates a cred problem; each league quickly forgets and jettisons its teachings and preachings to the fan base and that comes across as incredibly hypocritical and inconsistent.”

From sports, Nick shifts gears to a McKinsey study that finds 57% of American Millennial electric vehicle (EV) owners are likely to switch back to gasoline-powered cars. Nick examines the hidden costs and challenges that are likely driving those attitudes towards EVs.

Next, in response to listener inquiries, Nick analyzes the New York court case against former President Trump, critiquing the prosecution and judicial process as politically motivated. He compares the case to Hillary Clinton’s campaign finance violations, suggesting a double standard in legal accountability.

In closing, Nick discusses the current stock market and investing environment, expressing concern over high valuations, low volatility, government debt, and geopolitical risks. And while talking dollars and cents, Nick makes one final connection to today’s episode release date by noting the historical significance of July 31st, 1792, when the cornerstone for the first U.S. Mint building was laid in Philadelphia.