I’m Not Even Supposed to Be Here Today!

The Kids Are Not Alright: Tokyo Drift

In the ‘youth in crises’ finale, Chris and Des hand the mic to two Gen-Zers — Julia Bevolo and Jayden Torres — and ask what it’s actually been like from March 2020 forward. COVID-disrupted college, Snapchat at 12, the looksmaxxing rabbit hole, $20 movie tickets, the lazy/entitled label, Scott Galloway’s drinking advice, and — against the odds — a closing argument for hope. Group therapy disguised as cultural commentary. Subscribe for new episodes weekly.  ==================== Subscribe, watch and listen to I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Podcast ==================== 🖥️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod [https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod] 📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928] 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9 [https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9] ==================== Sponsored by Bearing 287 https://www.bearing287.com/ [https://www.bearing287.com/] https://substack.com/@chrisabevolo [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa1Y1S0d1UDBqUXlKQ0ZRUXZTaU9PWEZIWVVmd3xBQ3Jtc0ttMm9aXzlUa2ZUY3U3cXllOHlueHFJWDlOMUhOVU15WFpTay1VNGVKWmdiQkp6eTRYY3hrZUlpazA5RFhUcHJhTmR0ZGkwSjBqRHVjdnh1Mjd2a3c3SGFQV0FzOGp0Z2hEcHRUNnZDMkgwR190cFpWVQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2F%40chrisabevolo&v=TpWlZIZ_pKI]  ==================== Check out Jayden on spotify! https://open.spotify.com/artist/6YfwUW5w7MOErVEh0yhhRl?si=KvxwVuAJRAy3n1sLFm-SVwht [https://open.spotify.com/artist/6YfwUW5w7MOErVEh0yhhRl?si=KvxwVuAJRAy3n1sLFm-SVwhttps://open.spotify.com/artist/6YfwUW5w7MOErVEh0yhhRl?si=KvxwVuAJRAy3n1sLFm-SVw] #BeHerePod #NotEvenSupposedToBeHere #CulturalCommentary Timestamps: 0:00 — Open 3:00 — Icebreaker: making music in Ableton, ’90s alt rock, Cities 97 deep cuts 13:00 — What shaped Gen Z: Snapchat at 12, Kik, TikTok 17:00 — Twitch, streamers, side-hustle culture 22:00 — COVID: dropping out, going chronically online 26:00 — Scott Galloway, drinking, and “you should go out more” 30:00 — Run clubs and the sober social shift 33:00 — Looksmaxing, hunter eyes, and bone-breaking 38:00 — Body image, GLP-1s, and the body-positivity backslide 44:00 — Male friendship, the male gaze, and St. Louis DTF 47:00 — The labels: chronically online, lazy/entitled, snowflake, doomer 53:00 — Nihilism vs. realism 56:00 — David Hogg, Mamdani, and the case for hope Sources: https://www.newsweek.com/gen-z-experiencing-major-drop-life-satisfaction-2119029 [https://www.newsweek.com/gen-z-experiencing-major-drop-life-satisfaction-2119029] https://globescan.com/2025/05/21/insight-of-the-week-gen-z-climate-impact/ [https://globescan.com/2025/05/21/insight-of-the-week-gen-z-climate-impact/] https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2021/05/26/gen-z-millennials-stand-out-for-climate-change-activism-social-media-engagement-with-issue/ [https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2021/05/26/gen-z-millennials-stand-out-for-climate-change-activism-social-media-engagement-with-issue/] https://www.unicef.org/partnerships/mental-health-study-shows-gen-z-overwhelmed-undeterred-unrelenting-global-crises [https://www.unicef.org/partnerships/mental-health-study-shows-gen-z-overwhelmed-undeterred-unrelenting-global-crises] https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/23/college-graduates-are-struggling-to-find-jobs-ai-is-partly-to-blame.html [https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/23/college-graduates-are-struggling-to-find-jobs-ai-is-partly-to-blame.html] https://www.harmonyhit.com/state-of-gen-z-mental-health/ [https://www.harmonyhit.com/state-of-gen-z-mental-health/] https://www.rtor.org/2025/01/27/breaking-down-gen-zs-mental-health-crisis-why-depression-rates-are-higher-than-ever/ [https://www.rtor.org/2025/01/27/breaking-down-gen-zs-mental-health-crisis-why-depression-rates-are-higher-than-ever/] https://www.gwi.com/blog/gen-z-loneliness [https://www.gwi.com/blog/gen-z-loneliness] https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/camh.12747 [https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/camh.12747] https://georgetownvoice.com/2025/11/04/adolescence-warns-us-of-the-manospheres-dangerous-accessibility [https://georgetownvoice.com/2025/11/04/adolescence-warns-us-of-the-manospheres-dangerous-accessibility] https://lens.monash.edu/recommending-the-manosphere-how-algorithms-amplify-antifeminist-masculinities/ [https://lens.monash.edu/recommending-the-manosphere-how-algorithms-amplify-antifeminist-masculinities/] https://buildersmovement.org/2025/10/17/the-dangerous-mindset-spreading-across-america-cultural-nihilism-among-gen-z/ [https://buildersmovement.org/2025/10/17/the-dangerous-mindset-spreading-across-america-cultural-nihilism-among-gen-z/] https://buildersmovement.org/2025/10/17/the-dangerous-mindset-spreading-across-america-cultural-nihilism-among-gen-z/ [https://buildersmovement.org/2025/10/17/the-dangerous-mindset-spreading-across-america-cultural-nihilism-among-gen-z/] https://fortune.com/2026/01/30/gen-z-believes-ai-making-colleagues-dumb-and-lazy-critical-thinking-wharton-led-survey/ [https://fortune.com/2026/01/30/gen-z-believes-ai-making-colleagues-dumb-and-lazy-critical-thinking-wharton-led-survey/] https://feminist.org/news/new-data-shows-the-growing-political-divide-between-gen-z-men-and-women/ [https://feminist.org/news/new-data-shows-the-growing-political-divide-between-gen-z-men-and-women/] https://www.clevelandfed.org/publications/economic-commentary/2025/ec-202514-are-young-college-graduates-losing-their-edge-in-the-job-market [https://www.clevelandfed.org/publications/economic-commentary/2025/ec-202514-are-young-college-graduates-losing-their-edge-in-the-job-market] https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/23/college-graduates-are-struggling-to-find-jobs-ai-is-partly-to-blame.html [https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/23/college-graduates-are-struggling-to-find-jobs-ai-is-partly-to-blame.html]https://www.redfin.com/news/homeownership-rate-by-generation-2025/ [https://www.redfin.com/news/homeownership-rate-by-generation-2025/] Produced by Julia Bevolo

The Kids Are Not Alright: The Legend of Curly's Gold

Part 2 of The Kids Are Not All Right traces youth in crisis through the digital era — the ’90s, 2000s, and 2010s. Chris and Des draw the line from 1992’s pickup-artist manuals and the heroin chic era to today’s incel forums, pro-ana Tumblr and the modern manosphere. Plus: Chris’s 30-year cycle theory, a story about an 11-year-old getting bullied online by a grown adult, and a closing question worth sitting with — is social media the next nuclear? ==================== Subscribe, watch and listen to I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Podcast ==================== 🖥️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod [https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod] 📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928] 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9 [https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9] ==================== Sponsored by Bearing 287 https://www.bearing287.com/ ==================== #BeHerePod #NotEvenSupposedToBeHere #CulturalCommentary https://substack.com/@chrisabevolo [https://substack.com/@chrisabevolo]  Timestamps: 0:00 — Open 2:00 — The Beef Season 2 10:30 — The ’90s: video games, pickup artists, riot grrrl, supermodels 16:30 — Columbine and Woodstock ‘99 22:00 — Chris’s 30-year cycle theory 24:00 — The 2000s: MySpace, AOL chat rooms, Britney, BlackPlanet 31:30 — The 2010s: smartphones, the manosphere, Instagram, Trayvon 36:00 — Parenting in the smartphone era 49:30 — Spencer Pratt for mayor, and the 21-year arc 54:30 — Is social media the next nuclear? 62:00 — What documentaries will they make about 2026? References: Riot Grrrl — Britannica [https://www.britannica.com/art/Riot-Grrrl-Movement]Pro-ana — Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro-ana]Manosphere origins — Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manosphere] SPLC: Pickup Artists and the Male Supremacist Industry [https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/pickup-artists-alpha-males-self-help/] Video vixen — Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_vixen] Woodstock '99 — Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock_'99] New Statesman: Trainwreck Woodstock '99 review [https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/tv/2022/08/trainwreck-woodstock-99-review-netflix] Netflix: Trainwreck Woodstock '99 documentary [https://www.netflix.com/title/81280924] Columbine effect — Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_effect] ResearchGate: Columbine Effect on Culture and Policy (Muschert) [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332276573_Afterword_The_Columbine_Effect_on_Culture_Policy_and_Me]Jezebel: The Manosphere's Existential Crisis [https://www.jezebel.com/the-manospheres-existential-crisis-is-building-the-futu-1844673454] Semantic Scholar: From Pick-Up Artists to Incels (data study) [https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/From-Pick-Up-Artists-to-Incels:-A-Data-Driven-of-Ribeiro-Blackburn/4743a52a95d31c49b34152f4e23ac4c1076ab4f2]Waterloo University: Tracing Radicalization to the Incel Movement (PDF) [https://researchcentres.wlu.ca/centre-for-research-on-security-practices/assets/documents/incel-ks-report.pdf] Washington Post: Framing Britney Spears documentary [https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2021/02/05/framing-britney-spears-documentary/]The Culture Sift: Britney, Paris, and Misogyny in the Early 2000s [https://theculturesift.com/reclaiming-the-narrative-britney-paris-and-misogyny-in-the-early-2000s/]The Conversation: ANTM Reality Check documentary review [https://theconversation.com/reality-check-americas-next-top-model-docuseries-never-apologises-for-abuse-of-contestants-276167] BuzzFeed: Former ANTM contestants' accounts [https://www.buzzfeed.com/jennaguillaume/antm-contestants-call-out-tyra-banks-in-netflix-documentary] MEFeater: Did Diary of a Video Vixen Influence #MeToo? [https://www.mefeater.com/did-diary-of-a-video-vixen-influence-me-too-movement/]Oxford Academic: We Tried to Tell Y'all — Black Twitter and Digital Counternarratives [https://academic.oup.com/book/58931]Grinnell College: Pro-Ana as Subculture (sociology) [https://oldsitecopy.haenfler.sites.grinnell.edu/subcultures-and-scenes/pro-ana/] NAMI: LGBTQ+ communities and mental health [https://www.nami.org/your-journey/identity-and-cultural-dimensions/lgbtq/] SAGE Journals: Mainstreaming Manosphere Misogyny (peer-reviewed, 2024) [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/20563051241228811]CBC: Andrew Tate social media bans and ongoing reach [https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/andrew-tate-social-media-bans-1.6573978]SPLC: Andrew Tate profile [https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/andrew-tate/]Nylon: Tumblr/TikTok eating disorder content and disguised wellness trends [https://www.nylon.com/beauty/tumblr-eating-disorder-content-is-on-tiktok-how-to-navigate-it] Variety: Social Studies documentary (FX/Hulu, 2024) [https://variety.com/2024/tv/reviews/social-studies-review-fx-hulu-lauren-greenfield-1236163855/]PBS NewsHour: Black Twitter: A People's History (Hulu, 2024) [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/black-twitter-documentary-explores-its-history-and-cultural-impact]The Culture Crypt: Video Vixens in Hip-Hop [https://www.theculturecrypt.com/posts/video-vixens-in-hip-hop-feature]HRC: 2023 LGBTQ+ Youth Report [https://reports.hrc.org/2023-lgbtq-youth-report] Produced by Julia Bevolo

The Kids Are Not Alright 2: Electric Boogaloo| Part One |

Every generation gets a panic about its kids — and every generation’s panic looks deeply stupid in hindsight. In Part 1 of a new three-part series, Chris and Des trace how the modern “teenager” was even invented, then walk the timeline through Elvis’s hips, James Dean, the 70s nihilism of Over the Edge, Chris’s 80s coming-of-age in Ames, Iowa, and the slacker label that never quite fit. The setup for everything coming next: it’s not that the kids aren’t all right. It’s that the kids aren’t supposed to be all right — and adults keep forgetting their own teenage years. ==================== Subscribe, watch and listen to I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Podcast ==================== 🖥️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod [https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod] 📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928] 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9 [https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9] ==================== Sponsored by Bearing 287 https://www.bearing287.com/ ==================== #BeHerePod #NotEvenSupposedToBeHere #CulturalCommentary Timestamps: 0:00 — Cold open: “the kids end up okay at the end” 1:30 — Welcome + a new three-part series 4:00 — The Michael Jackson biopic conversation 8:00 — The teenager was invented after WWII 13:00 — “Kids these days” — the cyclical hand-wringing 15:00 — Elvis’s hips and rock and roll panic 21:00 — “Cut your hair” as the universal theme 23:00 — The 70s: latchkey kids and Iowa childhood 29:00 — Over the Edge: the dark side of 70s teen life 32:00 — “It’s 10 PM. Do you know where your kids are?” 33:30 — The 80s: the “fake decade” 36:00 — Jocks, bullies, and 80s masculinity 41:00 — John Hughes brings teenagers to cinema 43:00 — MTV, hairbands, grunge, and the rise of rap 48:30 — Why we got called “slackers” 52:00 — Where does that energy go? 55:00 — Kids aren’t SUPPOSED to be all right 57:00 — Belonging, generational labels, and what’s next References: Project MUSE [https://muse.jhu.edu/article/197476]University of Southern Indiana [https://www.usi.edu/news/releases/2017/02/rock-n-roll-and-moral-panics-part-one-1950s-and-1960s]https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2022/10/the-senate-comic-book-hearings-of-1954/ [https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2022/10/the-senate-comic-book-hearings-of-1954/] https://www.archives.gov/legislative/resources/education/comic-books [https://www.archives.gov/legislative/resources/education/comic-books] https://the-artifice.com/masculinity-gender-roles-tv-1950s/ [https://the-artifice.com/masculinity-gender-roles-tv-1950s/] AAIHS [https://www.aaihs.org/black-women-and-the-politics-of-respectability-an-introduction/]Springer [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-024-01486-x]https://www.history.com/articles/the-stonewall-riots [https://www.history.com/articles/the-stonewall-riots]https://guides.loc.gov/lgbtq-studies/stonewall-era [https://guides.loc.gov/lgbtq-studies/stonewall-era]Latchkey kids [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latchkey_kid]Over the Edge (1979) [https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Over+the+Edge&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&mstk=AUtExfA8Ul08FuNZYOBQqYgBjyYPfIPp5ZaEok9Q0j5xdsQGBtkK1_AcVfq7qH6rBQJboBwyhAVGprWfGyAw9GlRZBhs3j4tIZkIc-rPAbcQC2e3y_LXTkZzJE8eIQPtaNI-fMs64VkdxFRmVpFEusdYRtDo9DsC8C2EQvFM1Owv6ijJpfaool23Yx5oZu60wWzDyvxOpfoyJif_-7nzQL1AuWoBCoS8XC24vFdb0yXTZWSXQnKbk7A-vFqfaP_m-rf6Ic4MEBHqbs76ylTQByit1PhS&csui=3&ved=2ahUKEwi0wpeF5IyUAxVfmIkEHbE3K5MQgK4QegQIARAC]Info on Stonewall [https://www.britannica.com/event/Stonewall-riots]https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0044118X211001096 [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0044118X211001096]  Produced by Julia Bevolo

The Myth of the American Melting Pot

The melting pot was supposed to be America’s most generous self-description. Turns out it’s one of our most carefully curated myths. In the finale of the Crumbling American Myths series, Chris and Des trace ‘melting pot’ from a 1908 play to a Schoolhouse Rock earworm to the 2026 Supreme Court. Chris discovers that ‘melt’ always meant assimilating into whiteness, and even then only a narrow band of Europeans were ever really welcome. Expect history, pop culture, and a sharp read on present-day ICE raids, the H1B brain drain, and the wedge politics keeping working people fighting each other instead of looking up. Welcome to group therapy disguised as cultural commentary and enjoy episode 16 of I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Today. Check out Kareem’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SubwayTakes [https://www.youtube.com/@SubwayTakes] Schoolhouse Rock - ''The Great American Melting Pot'' [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZQl6XBo64M]  Timestamps: 00:09 - Intro 10:24 Click here to skip Sirat spoilers! 10:45 The Melting Pot Myth 16:46  Historical Context of the Melting Pot 21:18 Cultural References and Reality of Immigration 29:01 The Impact of Immigration Policies 38:44 Contemporary Issues and the Political Climate 48:25 Suggestions for Understanding Immigration 56:59 Conclusion and Future Topics ==================== Subscribe, watch and listen to I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Podcast ==================== 🖥️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod [https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod] 📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928] 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9 [https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9] ==================== Sponsored by Bearing 287 https://www.bearing287.com/ ==================== #BeHerePod #NotEvenSupposedToBeHere #CulturalCommentary References: Harvard Pluralism Project [https://pluralism.org/gods-melting-pot]Newsweek [https://www.newsweek.com/immigration-myth-melting-pot-408705]EBSCO Research [https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/sociology/melting-pot-theory]Wikipedia: Melting Pot [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melting_pot]ResearchGate [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262955761_The_American_melting_pot_A_national_myth_in_public_and_popular_discourse]Sosyalarastirmalar.com [https://www.sosyalarastirmalar.com/articles/impact-of-melting-pot-on-defining-american-identity-97901.html]SSRC [https://items.ssrc.org/border-battles/the-impact-of-immigration-on-american-society-looking-backward-to-the-future/]Gale [https://www.gale.com/intl/essays/david-h-bennett-immigration-immigrants-anti-immigrant-sentiment]CMS [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/233150241700500111]Global Boston [https://globalboston.bc.edu/index.php/home/nativism-and-racism/]National Archives [https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/chinese-exclusion-act] / State Dept [https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/chinese-exclusion-act-repeal]Penn Today [https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/immigration-act-1924-hardeep-dhillon]American Immigration Council [https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/Immigration_and_Natvism_091310.pdf]TIME [https://time.com/6214285/us-holocaust-inaction-ken-burns/]American Immigration Council, Jan. 2026 [https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/report/immigration-detention/] Vera Institute [https://www.vera.org/explainers/weaponizing-the-system-one-year-of-trumps-attacks-on-due-process]Deportation Data Project [https://deportationdata.org/analysis/immigration-enforcement-first-nine-months-trump.html] Produced by Julia Bevolo

Is America Still the Good Guy? The Collapse of America’s Brand

Part 2 of our Crumbling American Myths series tackles the big one: American exceptionalism and the U.S. global brand. Chris and Des trace the arc from WWI creditors to post-WWII superpower to—as Chris puts it—“the Sears of global brands.” They walk through three body blows that shattered the “shining city on a hill” image, share international polling data that will make you flinch, and close with real actions you can take to rebuild soft power from the ground up. Plus: the launch of Bearing 287’s Paradox Platform for mission-driven organizations navigating AI. The Paradox Platform on Substack [https://theparadoxplatform.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips]Take the Paradox Assessment [https://freeparadox.com/] Timestamps: 0:00 — Intro & Paradox Platform announcement 8:30 — The myth of American exceptionalism defined 13:00 — How the U.S. rose to superpower status (WWI–WWII) 19:00 — The American hero narrative vs. reality 24:00 — Reagan’s “shining city on a hill” 30:00 — The hypocrisy: voting rights, torture, foreign intervention 35:00 — The Iran backstory most Americans don’t know 44:00 — “The Sears of global brands” 46:00 — Three body blows: Iraq, 2008, Trump 57:00 — Where the U.S. brand stands today 1:00:00 — Comparing fallen empires 1:04:00 — What we can do about it ==================== Subscribe, watch and listen to I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Podcast ==================== 🖥️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod [https://www.youtube.com/@BeHerePod] 📱 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-not-even-supposed-to-be-here-today/id1867373928] 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9 [https://open.spotify.com/show/3bypMpSmcoIjt4bHk0nvzz?si=18eab826d1394fd9] ==================== Sponsored by Bearing 287 https://www.bearing287.com/ ==================== #BeHerePod #NotEvenSupposedToBeHere #CulturalCommentary References: Reagan’s Farewell Address [https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/farewell-address-nation]WSJ Opinion Piece [https://www.wsj.com/opinion/free-expression/america-is-the-best-brand-5a4650a5?st=2CALgP&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink]Project Syndicate [https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/the-future-of-american-soft-power-by-joseph-s-nye-2025-05] - Soft power Federal Reserve History (wiki) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Federal_Reserve_System]Harvard - USAID [https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/usaid-shutdown-has-led-to-hundreds-of-thousands-of-deaths/]Bright Line Watch [https://brightlinewatch.org/]Forbes [https://www.forbes.com/sites/allenadamson/2025/05/20/the-cracks-in-americas-brand-are-starting-to-show/]Forbes - Tourism [https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2026/02/20/us-tourism-trump-slump-2026/]Internat’l Trade Administration [https://www.trade.gov/feature-article/december-2024-international-inbound-visitor-spending] Produced by Julia Bevolo