On episode 225, we welcome Casey Michel to discuss the roles foreign lobbyists play in shaping US foreign policy, the good and bad aspects of the lobbying industry, Paul Manafort’s and Ivy Lee’s efforts to aid propaganda for dictators, the differences between government lobbying and diplomacy, US congressional ties to authoritarian regimes and how congressmen are bought, the reasons the democrats lost the 2024 elections and how much hope there is, dark money, and American universities taking in billions from regimes with human rights abuses.

Casey Michel is an author, journalist, and director of the Combating Kleptocracy Program with the Human Rights Foundation. He is the author of American Kleptocracy, named by The Economist as one of the "best books to read to understand financial crime." His writing on offshoring, foreign lobbying, authoritarianism, and illicit wealth has appeared in The New York Times, Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, and The Washington Post, among other outlets, and he has appeared on NPR, BBC, CNN, and MSNBC, among other stations. He has also testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the links between illicit financial networks and national security. His newest book, available now, is called Foreign Agents: How American Lobbyists and Lawmakers Threaten Democracy Around the World.

| Casey Michel |

► Website 1 | https://www.caseymichel.com

► Website 2 | https://hrf.org/program/combating-kleptocracy

► Twitter | https://x.com/cjcmichel

► Linkin | https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseymichel

► Foreign Agents Book | https://amzn.to/4hSI8U2

Where you can find us:

| Seize The Moment Podcast |

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On episode 224, we welcome Rob Jackson to discuss the effects of climate change, the human contributions to it, weighing the costs of revenue loss against environmental harm, the historical contributions of the Republican party to environmental protections and their road to climate denial, worries about another Trump presidency, the effects of climate change on poor communities, the promise of electric and solar power, and the everyday harms of methane gas.

Rob Jackson is the Chair of the Global Carbon Project, a Senior Fellow at Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment and Precourt Institute for Energy, and a professor of earth science at Stanford University. Through global scientific leadership and groundbreaking research, communications, and policy activities, Rob’s work has reduced millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions and improved human health, safety, and air and water quality. One of the top five most-cited climate and environmental scientists in the world, he has authored more than 400 peer-reviewed publications, and his writings have appeared in many outlets, including The New York Times, Scientific American, and The Washington Post. His newest book, available now, is called Into the Clear Blue Sky: The Path to Restoring Our Atmosphere.

| Rob Jackson |

► Website 1 | https://jacksonlab.stanford.edu

► Website 2 | https://robjacksonbooks.com

► Into the Clear Blue Sky Book | https://amzn.to/4f74T4E

Where you can find us:

| Seize The Moment Podcast |

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On episode 223, we welcome Claudia Strauss to discuss the four types of work ethic, the glamorization of hustle culture and what type of work most people value, how productivity became associated with one’s moral standing, whether and how much meaning should be expected from a job, how automation might impact our work lives, studies about the effects of a four day work-week, and the myth of people on government assistance programs not wanting to work.

Claudia Strauss is Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Pitzer College. She is the author of Making Sense of Public Opinion and coauthor of A Cognitive Theory of Cultural Meaning.Her newest book, available now, is called What Work Means: Beyond the Puritan Work Ethic.

| Claudia Strauss |

► Website | https://www.claudiastrauss.org

► What Work Means Book | https://amzn.to/40bofkH

Where you can find us:

| Seize The Moment Podcast |

► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment

► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast

► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment

► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast