Send us a text

A listener asked a blunt question we couldn’t ignore: what happens if Congress lets the enhanced ACA subsidies expire—and how likely is it they’ll do nothing? We walk through what those subsidies actually did for real families, what vanishes when they lapse, and why “gridlock” isn’t a neutral accident but a choice with a body count. Expect straight talk about premium shocks, ballooning deductibles, and the knock-on costs that hit hospitals, states, and anyone one medical bill away from disaster.

From there, we widen the lens. The same political habits that stall basic health protections also shape how we talk about violence. We unpack how “war” becomes respectable killing with a budget, how “terrorism” is reserved for those without a flag, and how “law” can launder cruelty behind official language. When words become costumes for power, the public becomes easier to pacify. So we interrogate the vocabulary: who profits, who pays, and who gets shielded when these terms are deployed. You’ll hear archival insights from Gore Vidal on perpetual war and from Noam Chomsky on how to reduce terror by addressing real grievances instead of feeding the cycle.

This isn’t policy wonkery for its own sake. It’s about the human consequences of delay and the moral clarity to call things by their true names. We make the case for a clean extension of ACA subsidies now, then challenge listeners to keep their loyalties in order—conscience before slogans, people before spectacle. If you found value in this conversation, subscribe, share it with a friend who cares about health justice, and leave a review to help more people find the show.

Support the show