America Trends Podcast

<p><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-2713" src="https://www.americatrendspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/LesBernal-1-300x300-1.jpg" alt="" width="89" height="119" srcset="https://www.americatrendspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/LesBernal-1-300x300-1.jpg 217w, https://www.americatrendspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/LesBernal-1-300x300-1-201x270.jpg 201w" sizes="(max-width: 89px) 100vw, 89px" /> If you&#8217;re paying attention these days, and in the wake of the NCAA basketball tournament, it&#8217;s hard not to notice how legalized gambling has crept into every facet of American life.  You see it during sports games and with the full involvement of the leagues. You pass signs on the highway daily about games of chance being run by your state.  And you see the proliferation of Native American and other gambling facilities sprouting up far from Las Vegas. And the bookie on the street corner is still there.  What you may not see is the pernicious impact legalized gambling is having on young people, some of legal age and others not, as online gambling begins to ramp up across the country.  Joining us today to discuss it is Les Bernal, the National Director of Stop Predatory Gambling, a 501(c)3 network built to reveal the truth behind gambling operators to prevent more victims. He will open your eyes to the devastation caused by gambling for so many in our society.</p>

<p><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2710" src="https://www.americatrendspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/230718073320-clare-frank-headshot-1077635757.jpg" alt="" width="97" height="105" />When one of your friends tells you that pickleball is now the all-consuming passion in their life, what do you say?  Every day, thousands and thousands more people pick up a paddle and get hooked on the fastest growing sport in the land. What&#8217;s all the fuss about?  As a long-time tennis guy, I had to find out so I turned to Clare Frank, former firefighter turned pickleball obsessive.  She is the author of the new book, &#8220;Just One More Game.&#8221;  In it she describes why she&#8217;s fallen in love with the sport, its many health benefits, the types of players you will meet when you wander onto a court, the gear you&#8217;ll need, the injuries you should try to avoid and the hold it will have on your life.  We also discuss the growing sense that this sport may one day become part of the Olympics as its unfettered rise, among all age groups, continues.</p>

<p><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-2707" src="https://www.americatrendspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/walker-2187081646.jpg" alt="" width="88" height="120" /> It&#8217;s true.  The headline in Fortune on-line screamed &#8220;The Treasury Just Declared the U.S. insolvent. The media missed it.&#8221; Well maybe the media missed it, but Congress and the President also have been asleep at the nation&#8217;s wheel on this issue for a very long time. The Treasury&#8217;s own consolidated financial statements for fiscal year 2025, released just a few weeks ago, show $6.06 trillion in total assets against $47.78 trillion in total liabilities as of September 30, 2025.  And, folks, that&#8217;s just the public debt which you can see above the waterline.  When you add about the implied obligations to citizens going forward, like Social Security and Medicare obligations, the roughly $41 trillion in debt rises to around $100 trillion.  It is mind blowing.  So, what can the federal government do?  Simply put, it could curb spending, raise taxes or hope that economic growth can grow our way out of this mess.  Or you can look away, keep printing money and continue borrowing, until the interest payments on the debt wreck the economy or borrowers scatter to the hills.  We&#8217;re on the verge.  Our guest today, the Honorable David Walker is the former Comptroller General of the United States and CEO of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).  His words are clear and provocative as to the hole we have dug for ourselves. He thinks we need a good old talking to, as the citizenry, about our problem.  Will anyone listen?  You can begin today with this podcast.</p>

<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-2703" src="https://www.americatrendspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Julie-Frumin-267x300.jpg" alt="" width="83" height="93" srcset="https://www.americatrendspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Julie-Frumin-267x300.jpg 267w, https://www.americatrendspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Julie-Frumin-240x270.jpg 240w, https://www.americatrendspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Julie-Frumin.jpg 269w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 83px) 100vw, 83px" /> The test scores for 4th and 8th graders in math and reading have not been great lately.  The lag may be due to the time lost during the pandemic, but there may be another remnant of that time that is affecting things.  As teachers hurried to adopt EdTech practices in that time, much gave way to the computer becoming a dominant force in the classroom, not just in computer labs. The Chromebook was the symbol of this change.  This Google portable laptop option with cloud-based applications promised future-readiness, engagement and innovation for students. A few years down the road, there are crusader parents who sense different impacts on their children, including six-minute attention spans, normalizing the need for constant stimulation and academic mediocrity.  Not to mention that these devices track students&#8217; personal data.  Julie Frumin, one such mom, founder of HealthierTech and a licensed family and marriage therapist, joins us to discuss.</p>

<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-2697" src="https://www.americatrendspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AnjaliEnjeti2024.jpg" alt="" width="93" height="111" srcset="https://www.americatrendspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AnjaliEnjeti2024.jpg 247w, https://www.americatrendspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AnjaliEnjeti2024-228x270.jpg 228w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 93px) 100vw, 93px" /> While some states are making it easier to vote, with automatic registration when you renew a driver&#8217;s license, or aggressive campaigns to bring voter registration to you, other states are working aggressively to restrict voting by requiring proof of citizenship, which goes beyond basic voter identification.  And President Trump and the GOP-proposed SAVE Act is considered by many to be a solution for a problem that does not exist. It is not a Voter ID bill but rather a &#8216;show me your papers&#8217; bill with the government seeking your birth certificate or passport to vote.  Birth certificates will often not include a woman&#8217;s married name, those born outside a hospital may not have one and only about fifty percent of Americans do not have a passport.  C&#8217;mon, this is a burden meant to suppress voting by some. The big concern raised by those who are attempting to put more restrictions in place is non-citizen voting.  Even conservative groups who&#8217;ve studies that issue find it to be a red herring, representing at most .004 percent over a sweep of time.  In this conversation with Anjali Enjeti, author of &#8220;Ballot,&#8221; I share my greater concern&#8211;that too few people go out and vote.  In fact, the numbers in municipal elections, which used to be in the 70-80 percent range in many places have dwindled to about 25 percent.  And presidential elections now hover in the 60-70 percent range. How do we really know the will of the people when a dwindling share decides to participate? I believe we should be making it easier, not harder, to vote.  At the end of the conversation, I mention that Australia has mandatory voting or you are fined.  Would that work in America?  We discuss it today on this podcast.</p>