Episode 70: Trump v Biden in the polls, NCAA paying student athletes, #rawmilk, Will 2024 see the rise of global authoritarianism?

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Mailbag: One listener writes, “Like a lot of Republicans, Sam is pretty tone deaf when he talks about risk. On average, rich people have taken much less risk in their lives than the rest of us. Trump is a great example. Trump was a millionaire by age 8. Through all of Trump’s adventures and misadventures he was never in danger even of living the life of an average dentist or investment banker. And certainly not a school teacher or truck driver. Link.

When upper-middle class people tell poor people they should stop complaining and take more risks, they deserve scorn. If they do it wearing a monocle and/or top hat, they deserve the guillotine. Now that would be risk-taking! So, I propose that every time Sam wants to talk about all the risks rich people take and how that entitles them to more wealth than working people, he must wear a Monopoly-man style monocle and top hat.”

The Thought Provoker: Matt is up first this week. Bird flu is back in the US. Meanwhile, right wing media personalities are attacking pasteurized milk. A Media Matters analysis found over 13,000 posts on TikTok that included the hashtag #rawmilk. The first 581 videos from the “top” tab shown under a search “#rawmilk” had accumulated over 231 million views as of May 3. Instagram Reels promoting raw milk have also been plentiful, with one of the top reels encouraging pregnant women to drink raw milk even though consuming unpasteurized milk is particularly risky for pregnant women. Why are messaged like this so appealing to people who consume right wing media?

Next up, Sam. Why is Trump leading Biden in the polls?

Finally, Shawn. The NCAA has agreed to a $2.8B class-action settlement, paving the way for universities to directly pay college athletes for the first time. The settlement is a revenue-sharing model in which schools would pay athletes a cut of the money received from sponsorships, broadcasting rights, and ticket sales. Division I schools would have the ability to distribute up to $20M per year to their athletes. All Division I athletes dating back to 2016 are eligible to receive a share as part of the settlement class. Is it moral to pay students for the entertainment and income they provide schools?

The Big Question: David Brooks argues that the world seems to be experiencing a populist moment. In a recent global survey, sixty-six percent of Americans said that the country “needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful,” compared with 63 percent of respondents among the 28 nations overall. Forty percent of Americans said they believed we need a strong leader who will “break the rules,” which was only a bit below the 49 percent globally who believed that. There are certain big moments in the history of mankind in which there was a global movement toward greater freedom in the world. 1848 is called the spring of nations because of the number of revolutions throughout Europe that overthrew monarchies and created independent nation-states. 1989 saw the collapse of commun