WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.439 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today, we're jumping 00:00:03.439 --> 00:00:05.599 right into something that's really taken over 00:00:05.599 --> 00:00:08.820 the headlines. I mean, just dominated. The tragic 00:00:08.820 --> 00:00:11.080 killing of Charlie Kirk. It's shocking, obviously. 00:00:11.699 --> 00:00:14.320 But these moments, you know... as awful as they 00:00:14.320 --> 00:00:17.480 are, they often open these like stark windows 00:00:17.480 --> 00:00:20.000 into what's really going on deeper down in our 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:22.000 society and politics. Absolutely. And that's 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:24.320 what we're aiming for today. We've pulled together 00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:27.719 a lot of recent analysis, research, news reports. 00:00:28.019 --> 00:00:29.820 We're not just going to recite the facts you've 00:00:29.820 --> 00:00:32.340 already heard. We want to dig into the broader 00:00:32.340 --> 00:00:35.079 implications, really pull out the key insights 00:00:35.079 --> 00:00:37.420 so you get a fuller picture, you know, beyond 00:00:37.420 --> 00:00:39.560 just the breaking newsflash. OK, so let's start 00:00:39.560 --> 00:00:42.060 peeling back those layers, the immediate details 00:00:42.060 --> 00:00:45.450 around on the killing itself. The accused killer, 00:00:45.649 --> 00:00:49.250 Tyler Robinson, he hasn't confessed. That seems 00:00:49.250 --> 00:00:50.909 significant right off the bat. Yeah, it does. 00:00:50.969 --> 00:00:52.890 It tells you this isn't some open and shut case. 00:00:53.329 --> 00:00:55.090 But interestingly, while Robinson isn't talking, 00:00:55.149 --> 00:00:58.729 his roommate, Lance Twiggs, is. Twiggs, who shared 00:00:58.729 --> 00:01:00.570 an apartment with him in St. George, Utah, he's 00:01:00.570 --> 00:01:02.250 been cooperating fully with the authorities, 00:01:02.850 --> 00:01:05.250 turned over communications from Robinson. So 00:01:05.250 --> 00:01:07.709 Twiggs is cooperating. And then there were these, 00:01:07.709 --> 00:01:10.269 well, rumors, whispers about their relationship. 00:01:10.609 --> 00:01:12.980 What came out about that? Well, those whispers 00:01:12.980 --> 00:01:16.180 became official pretty quickly. Utah Governor 00:01:16.180 --> 00:01:18.859 Spencer Cox, he's a Republican, he publicly confirmed 00:01:18.859 --> 00:01:21.560 it. He stated that the suspect's roommate was 00:01:21.560 --> 00:01:23.840 indeed a boyfriend who is transitioning from 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:27.099 male to female. Wow. Yeah. So that adds this 00:01:27.099 --> 00:01:29.359 whole new dimension, right? Investigators now 00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:33.569 have to ask, did Kirk's... very public, very 00:01:33.569 --> 00:01:37.230 strong anti -trans stance player role here. Governor 00:01:37.230 --> 00:01:39.549 Cox also mentioned Robinson's worldview seemed 00:01:39.549 --> 00:01:42.569 shaped by quote, very dark places of the internet. 00:01:42.870 --> 00:01:45.030 So you've got ideology potentially mixed into. 00:01:45.150 --> 00:01:47.730 That is a lot to process. It makes you think 00:01:47.730 --> 00:01:49.790 though, these huge shocking political events 00:01:49.790 --> 00:01:52.950 happen and then they seem to fade so fast from 00:01:52.950 --> 00:01:55.290 the news cycle. Is this just another awful incident 00:01:55.290 --> 00:01:57.319 or is it? part of something bigger in the US. 00:01:57.599 --> 00:02:00.079 It's a really important question. And when you 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:03.540 look at the history, the pattern is frankly disturbing. 00:02:04.239 --> 00:02:07.640 Political violence is, in a grim way, as American 00:02:07.640 --> 00:02:11.719 as apple pie. Think about it just recently. Gabrielle 00:02:11.719 --> 00:02:14.860 Giffords in 2011, Steve Scalise shot in 2017, 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:17.580 those two Minnesota state reps just this past 00:02:17.580 --> 00:02:20.460 June, and now Charlie Kirk. Right. And historically, 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:24.379 four presidents assassinated. 11 members of Congress, 00:02:24.680 --> 00:02:26.659 four governors, dozens of state legislators, 00:02:26.960 --> 00:02:30.280 mayors. The list goes on. It's a long, sad history. 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:32.599 But here's the thing that worries me and a lot 00:02:32.599 --> 00:02:35.799 of analysts. It's the normalization. Lincoln's 00:02:35.799 --> 00:02:38.259 assassination, right? Still taught 160 years 00:02:38.259 --> 00:02:41.080 later, these modern shootings. They might get 00:02:41.080 --> 00:02:43.340 a couple of news cycles, if that much, and are 00:02:43.340 --> 00:02:45.159 then gone with the wind. Yeah, you see the spike 00:02:45.159 --> 00:02:47.280 online. Exactly. Google searches surged that 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:49.219 day, then boom, they plummet. Newspaper coverage 00:02:49.219 --> 00:02:51.020 does the same. It's like the collective reaction 00:02:51.020 --> 00:02:52.960 is, oh, another one. Awful. OK, what's next? 00:02:53.120 --> 00:02:56.560 That rapid desensitization, that's really worrying. 00:02:56.659 --> 00:02:58.759 It starts to feel like this is just normal life 00:02:58.759 --> 00:03:01.240 in America, which is terrible for our civic health. 00:03:01.340 --> 00:03:03.340 That's a really sobering thought, that desensitization, 00:03:03.479 --> 00:03:05.979 maybe for some it's not indifferent. maybe it's 00:03:05.979 --> 00:03:07.800 just exhaustion, like the problems feel too huge. 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:10.219 On that note, Political Magazine actually gathered, 00:03:10.280 --> 00:03:13.780 what, 10 experts on political violence to ask, 00:03:13.879 --> 00:03:15.919 okay, where do we go from here? What do they 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:18.719 say? Yeah, they brought together a range of voices 00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:21.099 and their insights really map out the current 00:03:21.099 --> 00:03:23.240 climate, including maybe some of that weariness 00:03:23.240 --> 00:03:25.460 you mentioned. We can kind of group their thoughts 00:03:25.460 --> 00:03:28.919 first on the problem and its roots. Barbara Walter, 00:03:28.919 --> 00:03:31.240 she points to four conditions where violence 00:03:31.240 --> 00:03:35.020 often spikes. Democracy weakening, society deeply 00:03:35.020 --> 00:03:38.020 split along lines like race or religion, leaders 00:03:38.020 --> 00:03:40.780 tolerating or even hinting at violence, and easy 00:03:40.780 --> 00:03:43.819 gun access. Her take. The U .S. checks all four 00:03:43.819 --> 00:03:47.490 boxes right now, which is... Then Sean Westwood 00:03:47.490 --> 00:03:49.669 points out how leaders can exploit the idea that 00:03:49.669 --> 00:03:52.210 the other side is a vast, murderous faction. 00:03:52.689 --> 00:03:54.650 It works for short -term gain, but it eats away 00:03:54.650 --> 00:03:57.250 at stability, even though, he notes, only like 00:03:57.250 --> 00:03:59.669 2 % of Americans actually approve of political 00:03:59.669 --> 00:04:02.509 assassinations. The perception is what gets exploited. 00:04:03.310 --> 00:04:05.449 And Erica France says, look, the crook killing 00:04:05.449 --> 00:04:08.310 isn't in a vacuum. Think January 6 rioters, other 00:04:08.310 --> 00:04:11.310 incidents. She sees a big problem in the personalization 00:04:11.310 --> 00:04:13.689 of politics leaders seen as just out for themselves, 00:04:13.750 --> 00:04:15.909 not representing the people. Okay, so that's 00:04:15.909 --> 00:04:18.069 the roots. What about the nature of the violence 00:04:18.069 --> 00:04:20.850 itself? Client of Raleigh offers a slightly different 00:04:20.850 --> 00:04:25.069 angle. She sees the U .S. trend more as lone 00:04:25.069 --> 00:04:27.810 -actor violence without a clear partisan trend. 00:04:28.189 --> 00:04:30.629 Think John Wilkes Booth or Lee Harvey Oswald. 00:04:31.129 --> 00:04:34.029 Her point is, this suggests maybe we're not on 00:04:34.029 --> 00:04:36.870 the verge of full -blown civil war, which is 00:04:36.870 --> 00:04:39.910 something, I guess. But it does mean we absolutely 00:04:39.910 --> 00:04:41.810 need to look at gun access and mental health 00:04:41.810 --> 00:04:44.589 support. And how do we break this cycle? What 00:04:44.589 --> 00:04:47.329 about leadership? That's the crucial part. Joel 00:04:47.329 --> 00:04:49.389 Buscher warns that just cracking down hard could 00:04:49.389 --> 00:04:52.089 actually backfire, lead to more violence. Leaders, 00:04:52.149 --> 00:04:54.850 he says, have to condemn all violence unequivocally, 00:04:55.029 --> 00:04:56.990 even if it seems to help their side politically. 00:04:57.509 --> 00:04:59.649 And they need to acknowledge people are genuinely 00:04:59.649 --> 00:05:02.290 unhappy with the system. Acknowledge the anger, 00:05:02.509 --> 00:05:05.569 but condemn the violence. Exactly. Saulvault 00:05:05.569 --> 00:05:07.529 -Hillerson agrees when people feel the system 00:05:07.529 --> 00:05:10.470 ignores them, violence can start to look justified 00:05:10.470 --> 00:05:13.389 to some. And look at the scale. Shannon Hiller's 00:05:13.389 --> 00:05:16.430 group tracked 250 threats against politicians 00:05:16.430 --> 00:05:20.370 just in the first half of 2025 across 40 states. 00:05:20.810 --> 00:05:23.250 Her point is We don't have to accept this. We 00:05:23.250 --> 00:05:25.389 need cross -party efforts to reject violence, 00:05:25.709 --> 00:05:29.069 stop the blame game. 250 threats. Yeah. Yeah. 00:05:29.170 --> 00:05:31.129 Dolly Berkovitz adds that glorifying attacks 00:05:31.129 --> 00:05:34.290 is super dangerous. Risks normalizing them could 00:05:34.290 --> 00:05:36.629 lead to tit -for -tat violence. She says leaders 00:05:36.629 --> 00:05:38.810 have to lower the temperature, stop attacking 00:05:38.810 --> 00:05:41.470 their favorite enemies. Makes sense. Robert Pape, 00:05:41.509 --> 00:05:43.970 who actually predicted back in June we were nearing 00:05:43.970 --> 00:05:47.250 major political violence, he sees this as a critical 00:05:47.250 --> 00:05:49.769 moment. He's calling for every leader, president 00:05:49.769 --> 00:05:52.769 on down, to put Strong video condemnations of 00:05:52.769 --> 00:05:55.009 political violence pushed them hard on social 00:05:55.009 --> 00:05:57.889 media, especially TikTok, aimed right at their 00:05:57.889 --> 00:06:00.430 own supporters. A really direct call to action 00:06:00.430 --> 00:06:03.769 for leaders. Absolutely. And finally, Eduardo 00:06:03.769 --> 00:06:06.389 Moncada echoes the concern about normalization 00:06:06.389 --> 00:06:09.370 people justifying violence if the system fails 00:06:09.370 --> 00:06:12.470 them. He says partisan narratives have to stop. 00:06:12.850 --> 00:06:14.829 Leaders need accountability for dehumanizing 00:06:14.829 --> 00:06:17.910 language. And we have to correct this false idea 00:06:17.910 --> 00:06:20.430 that the other side actually wants violence. 00:06:21.029 --> 00:06:23.649 Those are some really powerful and honestly pretty 00:06:23.649 --> 00:06:25.870 disturbing takeaways about the situation here. 00:06:26.250 --> 00:06:28.439 But Kirk's death. It didn't just stay within 00:06:28.439 --> 00:06:30.959 U .S. borders, did it? We saw international reactions, 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:34.519 too. Condemnations from Italy's Maloney, France, 00:06:34.860 --> 00:06:37.300 the U .K.'s Starmer. Yes, there were those official 00:06:37.300 --> 00:06:39.639 condemnations calling it atrocious and so on. 00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:42.100 But what was really striking was how partisan 00:06:42.100 --> 00:06:45.139 other international reactions were. How so? Well, 00:06:45.259 --> 00:06:47.399 Hungary's Viktor Orban, for instance, immediately 00:06:47.399 --> 00:06:49.220 pointed the finger at the progressive liberal 00:06:49.220 --> 00:06:52.279 left. You saw vigils for Kirk popping up, organized 00:06:52.279 --> 00:06:54.600 by far -right groups in places like London, Berlin, 00:06:54.740 --> 00:06:56.560 Rome. Right, I heard about the London march. 00:06:56.800 --> 00:07:00.000 Yeah, that was huge. Over 100 ,000 people, led 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:02.519 by Tommy Robinson, the far -right activist, it 00:07:02.519 --> 00:07:05.100 ended in clashes with police, arrests, officers 00:07:05.100 --> 00:07:07.500 injured, and across Europe, populist parties 00:07:07.500 --> 00:07:10.819 are seizing on Kirk's murder, pushing anti -immigrant, 00:07:11.100 --> 00:07:14.040 anti -globalist, anti -elite messages, sometimes 00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:17.199 using the slogan, mega, make Europe great again. 00:07:17.759 --> 00:07:20.569 Mega. Wow, so it's like a parallel movement. 00:07:20.870 --> 00:07:23.709 What's the historical context of this transatlantic 00:07:23.709 --> 00:07:26.029 linkup? It's a real paradox, actually. You have 00:07:26.029 --> 00:07:28.170 the American right and the European right aligning 00:07:28.170 --> 00:07:30.189 on goals in a way we haven't really seen since 00:07:30.189 --> 00:07:32.870 the Cold War ended when anti -communism was the 00:07:32.870 --> 00:07:34.970 glue. What's weird is that many of these groups 00:07:34.970 --> 00:07:38.430 now cooperating have traditionally viscerally 00:07:38.430 --> 00:07:41.230 hated transatlantic cooperation. It's a strange 00:07:41.230 --> 00:07:43.089 new dynamic. Fascinating. OK, let's bring it 00:07:43.089 --> 00:07:45.709 back home. How did Donald Trump himself react? 00:07:45.930 --> 00:07:48.050 especially considering those expert calls for 00:07:48.050 --> 00:07:50.170 de -escalation we just talked about. Well, reports 00:07:50.170 --> 00:07:53.589 say he was in shock, anger, and disbelief. Kirk 00:07:53.589 --> 00:07:56.430 was seen as a really key ally, a personal friend. 00:07:56.889 --> 00:07:59.069 Donald Trump Jr. even said Kirk was like another 00:07:59.069 --> 00:08:02.470 son to his father. Trump acted accordingly, sent 00:08:02.470 --> 00:08:05.329 JD Vance on Air Force Two for the casket, awarded 00:08:05.329 --> 00:08:07.829 Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously, 00:08:08.470 --> 00:08:11.660 planned to attend the funeral. So... a very personal, 00:08:11.699 --> 00:08:14.139 strong reaction. But what about his public statements 00:08:14.139 --> 00:08:16.100 in light of the calls for unity? That's where 00:08:16.100 --> 00:08:19.040 the contrast is really stark. On Fox, Ainsley 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:21.160 Earhart asked him directly, how can the country 00:08:21.160 --> 00:08:23.160 come together now? And Trump's response was, 00:08:23.680 --> 00:08:25.180 well, he said, I'll tell you something that's 00:08:25.180 --> 00:08:26.639 going to get me in trouble, but I couldn't care 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:29.379 less. The radicals on the right oftentimes are 00:08:29.379 --> 00:08:30.819 radical because they don't want to see crime. 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:32.340 They're saying we don't want these people coming 00:08:32.340 --> 00:08:35.159 in. We don't want you burning our shopping. So. 00:08:35.389 --> 00:08:38.809 You notice, instead of a unifying message, it 00:08:38.809 --> 00:08:41.029 pivots back to grievances, kind of justifying 00:08:41.029 --> 00:08:43.970 the radical right's anger. It wasn't the de -escalation 00:08:43.970 --> 00:08:46.549 many experts were hoping for. Yeah, quite a departure 00:08:46.549 --> 00:08:49.730 from those calls for unity. Okay, the Kurt killing 00:08:49.730 --> 00:08:53.629 is obviously a huge tragic event, highlighting 00:08:53.629 --> 00:08:57.129 these deep tensions. But these political currents... 00:08:56.909 --> 00:08:59.210 They run deeper than just specific events, right? 00:08:59.210 --> 00:09:01.110 They're changing how leaders operate, how the 00:09:01.110 --> 00:09:03.769 system itself works. Let's shift gears a bit. 00:09:04.149 --> 00:09:06.830 What other big shifts are you seeing? Well, one 00:09:06.830 --> 00:09:08.909 really interesting shift, I think, comes from 00:09:08.909 --> 00:09:12.009 former President Obama. Remember his famous 2004 00:09:12.009 --> 00:09:15.330 speech? No red America, no blue America, only 00:09:15.330 --> 00:09:18.610 the United States of America. Yeah, iconic. Well, 00:09:18.750 --> 00:09:21.059 sources suggest he's basically decided. He was 00:09:21.059 --> 00:09:23.840 wrong. He's reportedly endorsed California Governor 00:09:23.840 --> 00:09:26.419 Gavin Newsom's strategy to make California even 00:09:26.419 --> 00:09:29.519 more blue. It's like an acceptance of the kind 00:09:29.519 --> 00:09:32.360 of unity he envisioned back then is, quote, passe, 00:09:32.820 --> 00:09:35.080 a pretty significant turnaround from his earlier 00:09:35.080 --> 00:09:37.480 idealism. That's striking. And how does that 00:09:37.480 --> 00:09:39.960 fit with, say, Donald Trump's approach in this 00:09:39.960 --> 00:09:42.259 divided landscape? It fits perfectly in a way, 00:09:42.580 --> 00:09:44.320 because sources make it clear Trump sees himself 00:09:44.320 --> 00:09:46.340 as the president of the red states of America. 00:09:46.779 --> 00:09:49.240 He apparently doesn't give a rat's about the 00:09:49.240 --> 00:09:51.940 blue states, views them almost as internal enemies. 00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:55.580 And it's not just him. Think back to Steve Bannon 00:09:55.580 --> 00:09:58.480 in 2016 saying, we didn't win an election to 00:09:58.480 --> 00:10:01.279 bring the country together. Or even Trump's OMB 00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:04.000 director, Russell Vaught, complaining appropriations 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:07.990 are too bipartisan. It feels like a deliberate 00:10:07.990 --> 00:10:10.750 turning away from trying to bridge divides, almost 00:10:10.750 --> 00:10:13.879 institutionalizing the separation. And that separation, 00:10:14.120 --> 00:10:16.679 that drive for partisan advantage, seems really 00:10:16.679 --> 00:10:18.899 visible in the fights over gerrymandering, too. 00:10:19.299 --> 00:10:21.500 Missouri just passed a map targeting Emanuel 00:10:21.500 --> 00:10:24.580 Cleaver, a Democrat in a D -plus -12 seat. Yeah, 00:10:24.620 --> 00:10:26.559 they redrew it specifically to make it almost 00:10:26.559 --> 00:10:28.620 impossible for him to win, even though the district 00:10:28.620 --> 00:10:31.179 leans heavily Democratic. Voters might get a 00:10:31.179 --> 00:10:32.759 say because of an emergency clause, but it's 00:10:32.759 --> 00:10:35.200 a clear power play. And Ohio looks like it's 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:37.000 next. They're expected to go after Democratic 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:39.820 reps Marcy Capture and Amelia Sykes. So what's 00:10:39.820 --> 00:10:41.740 the bigger picture here with gerrymandering? 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:44.220 The big implication is the House becoming more 00:10:44.220 --> 00:10:47.259 and more like the Electoral College, where whichever 00:10:47.259 --> 00:10:49.879 party controls the state legislature can basically 00:10:49.879 --> 00:10:52.539 draw lines to guarantee they get nearly all the 00:10:52.539 --> 00:10:55.019 House seats in that state, regardless of the 00:10:55.019 --> 00:10:58.039 statewide popular vote. It's like this huge bug 00:10:58.039 --> 00:11:00.639 in the Constitution that nobody, not even Madison, 00:11:00.940 --> 00:11:02.919 really foresaw. And the Supreme Court has mostly 00:11:02.919 --> 00:11:05.159 stayed out of it, which just lets the political 00:11:05.159 --> 00:11:09.259 maneuvering run wild. So faced with these deep 00:11:09.259 --> 00:11:13.159 divisions, the gerrymandering, What's the strategy 00:11:13.159 --> 00:11:15.000 for Democrats? How do they connect with voters 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:17.379 who might feel the whole system is broken? Well, 00:11:17.559 --> 00:11:19.659 two Democratic strategists, Ashley Etienne and 00:11:19.659 --> 00:11:21.639 Jesse Lee, they've put out this memo arguing 00:11:21.639 --> 00:11:24.580 for a pretty direct approach. campaign hard on 00:11:24.580 --> 00:11:26.759 the culture of corruption and abuse of power. 00:11:27.000 --> 00:11:29.279 Their thinking is people already feel the system 00:11:29.279 --> 00:11:32.100 is rigged. So validate that feeling and then 00:11:32.100 --> 00:11:34.259 point fingers, arguing Trump is the one rigging 00:11:34.259 --> 00:11:37.659 it. They list specific examples they'd use, alleging 00:11:37.659 --> 00:11:40.159 the DOJ covered up Eckstein's crimes, firing 00:11:40.159 --> 00:11:42.720 officials who disagreed, rigging elections via 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:45.559 gerrymandering, using crypto for donor access, 00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:48.259 weaponizing law enforcement. They argue this 00:11:48.259 --> 00:11:51.120 worked in 2018 when Democrats picked up 41 seats. 00:11:51.460 --> 00:11:53.289 Right. So it's not just complaining. proposing 00:11:53.289 --> 00:11:56.049 fixes to exactly it's not just diagnosis it's 00:11:56.049 --> 00:11:58.730 prescription they propose a whole package of 00:11:58.730 --> 00:12:02.029 reforms things like banning stock ownership for 00:12:02.029 --> 00:12:05.009 officials except broad ETFs, diversified funds, 00:12:05.529 --> 00:12:08.169 ending gerrymandering for good, real binding 00:12:08.169 --> 00:12:10.950 ethics rules for everyone with teeth, Senate 00:12:10.950 --> 00:12:13.350 approval needed for emergency declarations limited 00:12:13.350 --> 00:12:15.889 to 30 days, no more acting heads of departments 00:12:15.889 --> 00:12:18.570 for long periods, repealing presidential emergency 00:12:18.570 --> 00:12:21.850 powers, making it impeachable to mess with congressionally 00:12:21.850 --> 00:12:24.309 approved funding, court reforms, especially the 00:12:24.309 --> 00:12:26.990 Supreme Court, and big campaign finance changes, 00:12:27.190 --> 00:12:29.610 public matching funds, making superpig donors 00:12:29.610 --> 00:12:32.190 transparent. It's a pretty sweeping list aimed 00:12:32.200 --> 00:12:35.299 systemic change. Okay, shifting from political 00:12:35.299 --> 00:12:38.679 strategy to, well, kitchen table stuff. Health 00:12:38.679 --> 00:12:41.019 insurance. We're hearing premiums might be about 00:12:41.019 --> 00:12:43.340 to jump a lot. What's going on there? Yeah, this 00:12:43.340 --> 00:12:45.279 could be a big deal for a lot of people and it 00:12:45.279 --> 00:12:47.879 definitely has political angles. There are a 00:12:47.879 --> 00:12:52.299 few key drivers, the biggest one. Those enhanced 00:12:52.299 --> 00:12:54.419 subsidies for health insurance, the ones put 00:12:54.419 --> 00:12:57.659 in place back in 2021 during the pandemic. They're 00:12:57.659 --> 00:13:01.940 set to expire December 31st, 2025. If they expire, 00:13:02.299 --> 00:13:05.299 some people could see premium heights of 50 percent, 00:13:05.320 --> 00:13:07.940 which often means younger, healthier people drop 00:13:07.940 --> 00:13:10.960 coverage, making the insurance pool riskier and 00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:13.320 driving costs up even more for everyone else. 00:13:13.419 --> 00:13:16.039 It's a potential spiral. OK, that's huge. What 00:13:16.039 --> 00:13:18.500 else? Well, they're also the proposed Trump terrace 00:13:18.500 --> 00:13:21.000 on imported drugs, potentially up to 250 percent. 00:13:20.809 --> 00:13:22.929 Even if they're not enacted yet, insurers are 00:13:22.929 --> 00:13:25.090 likely already pricing in that risk because supply 00:13:25.090 --> 00:13:27.690 chains are global. And you've got the rising 00:13:27.690 --> 00:13:30.629 cost of new, expensive drugs like the GLP -1s 00:13:30.629 --> 00:13:32.929 for weight loss and diabetes. That's adding pressure, 00:13:33.129 --> 00:13:35.450 too. So politically? Politically, Democrats have 00:13:35.450 --> 00:13:38.470 a clear line of attack here. They can blame Republicans 00:13:38.470 --> 00:13:41.129 for letting the subsidies expire and for proposing 00:13:41.129 --> 00:13:44.210 the tariffs. It could be a really powerful Democratic 00:13:44.210 --> 00:13:47.389 weapon heading into future elections. OK, finally, 00:13:47.450 --> 00:13:49.590 let's just touch on the human side of all this 00:13:49.590 --> 00:13:52.490 pressure. We heard about Dr. Yadira Caraveo in 00:13:52.490 --> 00:13:55.490 Colorado ending her campaign. She was the first 00:13:55.490 --> 00:13:58.029 Latina to represent the state in Congress. Yeah, 00:13:58.029 --> 00:14:00.769 her story is really poignant. It highlights the 00:14:00.769 --> 00:14:02.850 intense pressure these politicians are under. 00:14:03.269 --> 00:14:06.370 Sources say she cited mental health issues, including 00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:09.799 very sadly, to suicide attempts. And she spoke 00:14:09.799 --> 00:14:12.379 about the stigma associated with mental health. 00:14:12.779 --> 00:14:15.240 It's just a stark reminder of the human cost 00:14:15.240 --> 00:14:17.519 behind the political battles. Absolutely. And 00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:19.159 on a related note, though, for different reasons, 00:14:19.259 --> 00:14:21.179 Representative Mike McCaul, a senior Republican 00:14:21.179 --> 00:14:24.159 from Texas, he's decided not to run again, looking 00:14:24.159 --> 00:14:26.120 for private sector work instead. It just shows 00:14:26.120 --> 00:14:28.299 how demanding these jobs are. We have covered 00:14:28.299 --> 00:14:30.480 a lot of ground today, a truly deep dive from 00:14:30.480 --> 00:14:33.120 the shocking killing of Charlie Kirk and what 00:14:33.120 --> 00:14:35.059 that reveals about political violence. And the 00:14:35.059 --> 00:14:37.629 normalization of it. Right, that normalization. 00:14:38.250 --> 00:14:40.769 To the shifts in political strategy, the mechanics 00:14:40.769 --> 00:14:43.090 of things like gerrymandering, and these real 00:14:43.090 --> 00:14:44.929 -world pressures like health insurance costs. 00:14:45.450 --> 00:14:47.490 Yeah, and if you try to connect all those dots 00:14:47.490 --> 00:14:50.879 the bigger picture, it's challenging. We're clearly 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:53.279 in an environment where democratic norms feel 00:14:53.279 --> 00:14:56.200 strained, divisions are sharp, both here and 00:14:56.200 --> 00:14:58.580 globally. And that leaves a really important 00:14:58.580 --> 00:15:00.500 question for you, the listener, to think about. 00:15:00.899 --> 00:15:02.980 In this kind of world where division is often 00:15:02.980 --> 00:15:05.460 exploited, where violence risks becoming normalized, 00:15:05.940 --> 00:15:08.559 how do we as individuals keep thinking critically? 00:15:08.700 --> 00:15:11.039 How do we demand accountability from leaders? 00:15:11.220 --> 00:15:13.360 And how do we resist these forces trying to pull 00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:15.360 us apart? It's definitely something to mull over 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:17.600 as we all try to navigate these really complex 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:18.019 times.