Somewhere in the Middle

The end of the year is a time for reflection. A look back at what's come before as we embrace each other (and ourselves) for the year ahead. And looking back at 2018, things weren't all that bad - as long as you don't look too close at the American Healthcare System. But rest assured, Seth Denson is back and ready to talk about it. And today, on the final 2018 episode of Somewhere in the Middle, we'll be looking back at what happened in the year, looking forward at what's next, and most importantly, talking about how we can fix the healthcare system.

Keen listeners of the show will know that Somewhere In The Middle is normally a program that broadcasts on Mondays. However, last night was the national midterm election and doing a show the day before the big day just didn't seem right. So this week, Episode 18 of Somewhere In The Middle picks up on the day after the midterm election, following the Republican's party's retention of the Senate and the Democratic's Party's victory in the House. Folks on the left may say their side was victorious, whereas folks on the right might say their side won too. Despite our differences, following an election like this one will surely lead to calmer minds and cooler heads... right?

This week on Somewhere In The Middle, Seth returns from hiatus to talk about recent happenings in political news, update on the midterm elections, and share a few words on the tragedies of this past Saturday.

This week, the state of New York passed a law electing for parents of newborns to choose their babies gender as a Male, Female, or an "X." The idea is for the newborn to grow up, and decide for themselves how they believe they should be categorized by gender. Safe to say folks are a little divided on the whole thing. And when folks are divided, there's no better time to find a place for conversation somewhere in the middle.

Two weeks ago, Kanye West encouraged audiences at NBC's Saturday Night Live to pursue conservative ideologies. Last week, Taylor Swift broke her political silence and encouraged her fans to vote for democrats. And at the top of it all, in 2016, we elected a television host to be our President. It's safe to say America's got a problem with celebrities. But who should we be listening to? Should we be listening to anybody at all? Is there an answer somewhere in the middle?

This week on Somewhere In The Middle, there's been a lot of news that's been swept under the rug due to the overxposure of public limelight on the Brett Kavanaugh hearings. Texas Senate democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke holds a 55,000 person rally in Texas, Elon Musk is removed from his ivory tower as chairman of Tesla, and the White House orders an FBI investigation into the allegations against Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh. What does all of this say about America in 2018? The answer might surprise you.

In the age of Facebook, Twitter, and snap judgements, public opinion seems to shift about as fast as the internet moves. And when you're electing somebody to the highest court in the land, fact is, you've gotta get things right, regardless of what the peanut gallery might think. Today on the show, Seth invites Scott Snellings back onto the program along with Andrew and Zach to talk about Brett Kavanaugh's process of nomination to the Supreme Court, and how the allegations (and public opinion around it) have shaped the process - for better or worse.

This week on Somewhere In The Middle, we're talking about an issue that seems to be coming up more and more each election season- medical (and recreational) marijuana. Why is it legal in some places, but not others? Is the federal government turning a blind eye to the whole thing, or is something being done? And most importantly, what's the big deal anyway?

In the wake of a certain shoe company's promotion of a certain athlete, Seth tackles a controversial topic that's been making waves since it's debut on the national gridiron in 2017 - kneeling during the national anthem. Is taking a knee a desecration of our patriotism? Is it an exercise of our very first amendment right? Or is there an answer somewhere in the middle?

Today on Somewhere In the Middle, we take a (fairly short) step away from politics to talk about something a few keen-eared listeners from last week's show may remember - Agape International Missions. Believe it or not, Floyd Stanley happened to be in town to send his daughter off to college and we managed to get him in studio to talk to us about his transition from living a comfortable life in the states to giving a comfortable life in Uganda and Cambodia. Rest assured, we get to politics towards the end, but Floyd's is a story worth hearing. You won't want to miss it. If you'd like to get involved or learn more about Agape International Missions, check out their website at agapewebsite.org.

America is a democracy; a country founded on a system of government meant to be ruled by the governed. It's an ideal. And over the course of our 241 years, we've been able to keep things pretty civil in our elections of officials meant to represent the will of a larger people. Fact is, voting is important. So whenever we start to see news chyrons talking about Voter ID laws and Election Meddling, what are we supposed to make of it? Tune in to find out.

The American Healthcare system is one of the most innovative in the world, but it's increasing prices and premiums have put our country in a bit of a strange place. Are rising healthcare costs a partisan issue? Can we do anything to stop them? And can the answer to the problem be found somewhere in the middle?

Is the Democratic Party too big? It's a challenging question, and both sides seem to have more than a few things to say about it. Democrats in 2018 may be finding themselves serving one too many masters, and their competition may find themselves serving one too few. Is there a balance between demographics? Can party affiliations cross party lines? The answer may be somewhere in the middle.

This week on Somewhere In The Middle, the Founding Fathers defended America's ability to defend itself with the inception of our 2nd amendment. So where do 3-D Printed Firearms land in that? And as the new school year picks up, is there anything we can learn from the events of last year?

This week on Somewhere in the Middle, does the current U.S. campaign finance structure ensure that we get the candidate who's the most qualified for their position, or the one who can raise the most money? What impact would congressional term limits have, if any? And is the word "principled" overused in politics?

Should we care what the world thinks? Or should we truly be America first? Last week you saw President Trump meet at the NATO alliance, and this week with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Criticism has come in hot and heavy.

The primary process is familiar to politically motivated Americans, but is it tearing this country apart? Is there a better way? Is it part of the reason we've seen more and more extreme political candidates winning their party's nomination? Also, do you think public protests are effective? Think about the last several you've seen. Has their message resonated with you? Do you even remember what they were about?

On the second episode of Somewhere in the Middle, Seth sits down with Frisco Personal Injury Attorney Scott Snellings and DFW Insurance Executive (and thought provocateur) Matt Bowers on to the show to talk about the Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's recent retirement announcement and it's implications along party lines along with Maxine Water's recent wade into the civility argument in regards to her comments about Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sander's ousting from a Virginia restaurant.

On his inaugural episode, Seth breaks in the studio by introducing his longtime friend Brandon and producer Zach onto the show to dig into Seth's background growing up conservative and moving to a liberal city, his transition into the healthcare business, and why he thinks a podcast is a good place to start a dialogue about the current political climate in America. The guy's take a swing at at First Lady Melania Trump's controversial jacket that she wore to her boarding of a flight to the Mexican border, and Seth rounds out the show with some poignant thoughts on the Immigration crisis.