Best Foundingprinciples Podcasts (2025)

1
Preparing for a Post-Trump World 11:07

3d ago11:07

11:07

You may think it is premature to start thinking about what we need to do after Donald Trump leaves the White House. But it is not! In 2028, it is likely that the MAGA Republicans will nominate a Donald Trump clone and the progressive Democrats will nominate someone even further left than Kamala Harris recreating the divisive 2024 election all over …

1
Just Another Powerful Country 11:47

10d ago11:47

11:47

President Trump’s tariff policies are roiling markets worldwide. But there is one Trump advisor who writings provide insight into the president’s thinking. Dr. Stephen Miran is the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors in the new Trump Administration and he explains why there must be changes in the global trading system. But in this commenta…

1
You Have Reason to be Yippy 4:54

22d ago4:54

4:54

President Trump claimed that he paused the implementation of his tariff program because of yippy investors. But when market fundamentals have become meaningless and trade relations developed over many decades, are thrown out the window, the movements of markets boils down to one thing, whatever President Trump last said. And even worse, no one has …

1
Another Reason 25:33

27d ago25:33

25:33

Today we are going to continue to talk about the impact of Donald Trump’s new tariff regime on the US and world economy. Or in this case, the lack of impact. Because there is a reason that President Trump’s tariff policies will not recreate the blue-collar manufacturing paradise that existed in the 1950s.And included in this commentary is a chapter…

1
Unintended (but not Unexpected) Consequences 8:02

1M ago8:02

8:02

Commentators are pointing out all the obvious unintended consequences of President Trump’s tariff plan which he plans to announce on April 2nd, Liberation Day. But there may be other consequences in places you haven’t looked. In this commentary we look at the political consequences of a protectionist import substitution regime.…

1
The Presumptuousness of Academia 4:50

1M ago4:50

4:50

Academics in the ivory tower have an affinity for socialism because they presume, based on their academic qualifications, that they will be at the pinnacle of power in such a society. They are wrong! In this commentary we will look at where the real power lies.By Victor C. Bolles

1
Fentanomics 7:25

2M ago7:25

7:25

Do punitive tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China have any chance of slowing the flow of fentanyl and other drugs into the US? Nothing else has worked. But President Trump’s plan ignores one major factor. The insatiable desire of Americans for drugs, even at the risk of their own lives. In this commentary we look at the likely outcomes of this strate…

1
Antifragile Man 7:19

2M ago7:19

7:19

Antifragile is a concept created by Nasim Taleb, author of the Black Swan, to describe the ability to gain and prosper amid confusion and disorder. Certain people thrive in this environment and President Trump is a prime example of this ability. In this commentary we discuss how antifragility is this secret sauce that contributes to America’s great…

1
Why??? 5:52

2M ago5:52

5:52

Why in the world would two world leaders invite reporters into a meeting to negotiate a vital agreement to end the war on Ukraine. President Zelensky was about as eager to sign that agreement as a tienda owner on the lower east side agreeing to pay some thug for protection against gangs (of which the thug was a member).In this commentary we look at…

1
The New Epithet 8:06

2M ago8:06

8:06

After Hoover Institute fellow Niall Ferguson criticized the Trump administration’s tactics in negotiating a peace agreement for the war in Ukraine, Vice President JD Vance called Ferguson’s critique moralistic garbage and accused Mr. Ferguson of being a globalist, apparently the lowest of the low in the MAGA world. In this commentary we try to unde…

1
And So It Begins 7:58

2M ago7:58

7:58

Today we are going to take a look at how economies function when domestic companies are protected by high tariffs and how this system called import substitution ripples through the lives of people on Main Street and well as Wall Street. When it comes to import substitution I speak from experience.By Victor C. Bolles

1
Who Is Ripping Off Whom? 7:41

3M ago7:41

7:41

President Trump is constantly threatening to impose tariffs on countries that export more goods and services to the United States than they buy from us creating a trade deficit. He believes that a trade deficit is losing big time. But Mr. Trump’s economic thinking is old fashioned and wrong-headed, like thinking that foreign countries pay for tarif…

1
The World Is Unfair - Part 2 8:52

3M ago8:52

8:52

Following up on my previous commentary about how President Trump views fairness and how he thinks America has been treated unfairly, we investigate the implications of what he intends to do and include an update on his recent actions of tariffs.By Victor C. Bolles

1
The Wortld Is Unfair 7:40

3M ago7:40

7:40

President Trump complained at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the United States is treated very unfairly by the rest of the world. Everyone wants to be treated fairly but not everyone agrees as to what is fair. But the real problem of fairness is that while it does not make good government policy it makes great politics. In this commentary t…

1
Differentiation of Oligarchs 6:32

3M ago6:32

6:32

Referring to the infamous Nicaraguan dictator Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously said, "Somoza may be a son of a bitch, but he's our son of a bitch." It appears that lame duck President Biden applies the same type of differentiation to oligarchs circling around the presidency. In this last commentary about the Biden Administration we show how the d…

1
Reboot America 7:34

4M ago7:34

7:34

When one of our myriad electronic devices isn’t functioning the way we think it should, we often shut it down and then restart the device to reboot the system. More often than not that solves our problem. I think that the 62% of Americans that believe the US is on the wrong path (according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls) would agree th…

1
Urgent Priorities 2025 20:13

4M ago20:13

20:13

Once again, I am publishing my list of the urgent priorities confronting our nation, most of which have been unmet and consistently ignored by both Democratic and Republican politicians. But in 2025 we will have a new Trump administration that is vowing to change how things are done in Washington. One can only hope.…

1
You Are the Collateral Damage 7:03

5M ago7:03

7:03

Government budgets are the inflection point between governance and politics. And bad budgeting is bad governance. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles looks at some of the consequences of bad budgeting and how that is going to impact American citizens.By Victor C. Bolles

1
A Caution on Efficiency 5:26

5M ago5:26

5:26

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) headed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy intends to save taxpayers trillions of dollars by making the government more efficient. But efficient systems are not robust, they are fragile and can breakdown. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, looks at how the Founders’ efforts to prese…

1
I'm Beginning to Get It 10:23

5M ago10:23

10:23

It is difficult to understand why President-elect Trump wants to make recess appointments to his cabinet when Republicans control the Senate 53 to 47. But then we saw some of his picks. But he also selected Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to improved government efficiency. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, looks at some of the…

1
The Consequence of Ideological Purity 7:41

6M ago7:41

7:41

Kamala Harris and the Democrats took a beating in the 2024 elections, losing the White House and both houses of Congress. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, looks at not only why the Democrats lost so badly but also why Donald Trump and the Republicans may be making the same mistakes as the Democrats.…

1
MAGAnanimous 5:08

6M ago5:08

5:08

Donald Trump scored a great victory in the 2024 elections and he has plans to make many changes in how America operates. But many of the changes he made in his first term as president were undone when Democrat Joe Biden replaced him. If Mr. Trump wants to make his changes permanent he needs to do things differently. In this podcast the Edifice of T…

1
The Persistence of Elites 7:21

6M ago7:21

7:21

The Founding Fathers were part of an elite group that got a classical education at America’s early universities like Harvard and Princeton and they applied that knowledge into creating the United States but they also used their knowledge to try and protect the fragile new republic from the tragic fates that befell other republics throughout history…

1
Who Should Run Our Economy? 12:04

6M ago12:04

12:04

Everybody has ideas on how to run the American economy but nobody seems to be very happy about the results. The Economist magazine across the Atlantic doesn’t think our economy is so bad. In fact, they think it is the envy of the world. Is our economy the envy of the world because our political leadership? In this the Edifice of Trust host, Victor …

1
The Inevitable Progression of Inequality 6:58

7M ago6:58

6:58

Income inequality seems to be getting worse every day in America, but whose fault is it? Greedy capitalists? Someone or something else? Or maybe inequality is inevitable? If we can’t identify the causes of inequality there is little we can do to prevent it. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, looks at some steps that we could …

1
What Would Really Make America Great Again? 14:36

7M ago14:36

14:36

Have you ever thought about what would really make America great again? While there are people that believe that America was never great in the first place, most of us patriotically think America was pretty great. But most Americans don’t really know what would make America great again, primarily because they don’t know what made America great in t…

1
The New Luddites 6:02

7M ago6:02

6:02

Note: After this podcast was scheduled for publication the longshoremen’s union (after meeting with members of the Biden administration) agreed to postpone their strike until after the election (surprise!). The also agreed to a 61.5% salary increase over six year. The primary sticking point is the automation of the port facilities. But my podcast m…

1
Inflation is Not Done with Us 12:00

7M ago12:00

12:00

We may think that the worst of inflation is over, but a changing world order means that inflation will be sticking with us. Globalization of international trade since the collapse of the Soviet Union has kept prices low for decades, but at a cost. But now that globalization is receding Americans must be ready to pay more. In this podcast the Edific…

1
The Democracy Diet 11:18

8M ago11:18

11:18

The Framers of the US Constitution conceived of a government that prevented the development of excessive power in any one individual or group. They created three branches of government with separate powers that acted as a check against the development of excessive power in any one branch. These checks and balances have frustrated the progressive le…

1
My Take of the So-called Debate 4:16

8M ago4:16

4:16

This so-called presidential debate was not as consequential as Mr. Trump’s previous confrontation with Mr. Biden but there was still consequences. Here’s my take on the so-called debate.By Victor C. Bolles

1
The So-called Presidential Debate 3:49

8M ago3:49

3:49

These confrontations between presidential candidates aren’t really debates. But they are informative and can be consequential. Here’s what to look for.By Victor C. Bolles

1
Taxes Taxes and More Taxes 12:30

8M ago12:30

12:30

Today we are going to discuss taxes. I could go on and on about taxes but today we will just investigate some broad concepts and not the specific proposals of the presidential candidates. That comes later.By Victor C. Bolles

1
Strategic Voting 8:00

8M ago8:00

8:00

Replacing Joe Biden with Kamala Harris has not really improved the options we voters have in the 2024 presidential elections. The campaign promises of Trump and Harris run the gamut from dopey to scary. Most Americans do not support their radical agendas. Come this November we must vote wisely to protect America. In this podcast the Edifice of Trus…

1
The Solution to Price Gouging 8:11

8M ago8:11

8:11

In her economic policy speech, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris blamed inflation on price gouging by greedy corporations. But Nobel prize winner Milton Friedman is famous for saying, “Inflation is made by Government and no one else.” Why does Ms. Harris and other progressives doubt that inflation is caused by government? In this podc…

1
Fool Me Thrice 7:15

9M ago7:15

7:15

Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me. We were fooled by Barack Obama. We were told that Joe Biden was the centrist alternative. Now we are being told that Kamala Harris has changed her mind on her progressive policies such as banning fracking and Medicare for all. Amid all the excitement about her candidacy are we going to be played…

1
What the Heck is National Conservatism? 14:46

9M ago14:46

14:46

The little-known movement of National Conservatism rose to prominence after its recent conference featured many speakers from Donald Trump’s Republican Party including J. D. Vance who was named Trump’s vice-presidential running mate only days after his speech at the NatCon Conference. But what is national conservatism and what does it stand for? In…

1
What is Trumpism without Trump? 9:01

9M ago9:01

9:01

To better understand Trumpism we need to look at the policies he is proposing and how they will impact us after he is gone. In his rallies he proclaims a great new movement that will transform America and he has anointed a new acolyte to carry on this new movement after he is gone. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, will loo…

1
Why Does Trump Lie? 8:48

9M ago8:48

8:48

So why does he lie? I don’t know. We can only speculate. We have gone from George Washington saying, “I cannot tell a lie” (which is probably a lie because there is no proof he ever said it) to “I cannot tell the truth because I don’t know what is the truth.” Lying is so pervasive now that has been renamed “gaslighting.” In this podcast the Edifice…

1
A Speech of Consequence 4:50

10M ago4:50

4:50

Americans reacted with shock at the assassination attempt on former President Trump. It was as if they had no idea that all the apocalyptic diatribes from the presidential candidates, all the belligerent rhetoric of other candidates and all the hateful social media posts would ever be translated into action.…

1
Means and Ends 8:05

10M ago8:05

8:05

The Democrats howl because the Supreme Court does not bow down to the popular will not realizing that the entire purpose of the Court is to frustrate the fickle and often irrational urges of the popular will. Constitutional change requires broad and sustained consensus not a slim majority that could change at a moment’s notice. In this podcast, the…

1
Who Else Is There? 10:05

10M ago10:05

10:05

The fallout from Mr. Biden’s performance at last week’s presidential debate has resulted in many calls for him to withdraw from the race. But who else is there that can replace him? In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, discusses some of the complexities in changing candidates at this late stage of the presidential campaign.…

1
Grate Debate Update 2:58

10M ago2:58

2:58

The results are in from last night’s debate and it doesn’t look good for Joe Biden. Here are the headlines.By Victor Bolles

1
The Grate Debate 5:10

11M ago5:10

5:10

Today we are going to talk about the upcoming presidential debates and what you should expect to see and what you shouldn’t.By Victor C. Bolles

1
A Fox in the Henhouse 16:15

11M ago16:15

16:15

After the Second World War the victorious allies created a series of international organizations designed to reduce conflict and promote peace between the countries of the world. These organizations worked pretty well for a while but now seem ineffectual and counterproductive. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, looks at why t…

1
He Must be Guilty of Something 8:37

11M ago8:37

8:37

The most recent of the many trials of former President Donald Trump by George Soros backed prosecutors will be going to the jury soon. But politically motivated show trials are usually associated with autocratic regimes, not with Western democracies. And if Democrats think that these trials have dampened the popularity of the former president, they…

1
I Applaud Civil Disobedience - As Long as it is Civil 12:11

12M ago12:11

12:11

Civil disobedience is an activity unique to modern Western Civilization. But disobedience of the law has consequences and many people protesting unjust laws or unwise policies have had to make sacrifices. The anti-Israel protesters are not only defying the tradition of non-violent civil disobedience, they are trying to avoid the consequences of the…

1
Israel is not the Target 11:41

12M ago11:41

11:41

City University of New York law professor Jeffrey Lax said it clearly in an interview with Stuart Varney on Fox Business news. He stated, referring to the anti-Israel protests, “This is not antisemitic, this is anti-American, this is anti-western culture, the jews are the low hanging fruit. Next is America, next is western culture.” In this podcast…

1
The Specter of Nationalism 15:47

1y ago15:47

15:47

Nationalism is on the rise across the globe – and Yoram Hazony thinks that’s a good thing. Mr. Hazony, Chairman of the Edmund Burke Foundation is a promoter of national conservatism and rejects the universal values such as the unalienable rights described in the Declaration of Independence. In this podcast, the edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles,…

1
Woke Pathology 12:16

1y ago12:16

12:16

American youth are in a mental health crisis. Rates of anxiety, depression and suicide are soaring ever since the introduction of the smart phone as documented by Jonathan Haidt in his new book, The Anxious Generation. Even worse, the pathologies of smart phone addiction mirror the pathologies of a woke ideology that has tightened its grip on Ameri…

1
Why Slavery? 12:17

1y ago12:17

12:17

Slavery has existed throughout human history and prehistory. But why? It all comes down to energy. Ancient humans only had the energy of their own body. The energy of slaves gave the slaveholder more power to do things for the benefit of him and his family. But slavery in America was different. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Boll…

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