Underlying forces within the American economy and society have led to a crisis for America’s rural and small community hospitals. Hundreds are in danger of closing their doors. This was true before the pandemic and it’s true now. But the pandemic vividly displayed how the social and economic inequity endemic in the United States has led to declining health and longevity for both hospitals and their patients.

Americans are faced with two parallel economies, one the “normal” economy, and one the “healthcare economy.” Both are dysfunctional in different ways. The healthcare economy, the largest segment of the American economy, is rapidly consolidating. Wall Street financiers, like private equity funds, are buying up its pieces, from emergency room staffing, to private medical practices. Big hospitals and “health systems” are becoming diversified businesses determined to increase profit margins (even if the hospitals are officially “non-profit”).

But all this movement has left deep fractures exposed by the pandemic and increased interest in moving to a national health system. This will be a big part of the political battles to come.

What makes a community? Whether we're talking about a small town, a state, a nation, or the world, "community" implies a set of shared values, what we often call "the social contract." But America's social contract has been severely damaged by a number of forces acting over the past generation and a half. For his book, Glass House: The 1% Economy and the Shattering of the All-American Town, Brian Alexander took a deep dive into the story of one small Midwest community, an avatar for many American towns. In this presentation, Brian informs listeners about the history of Lancaster, Ohio, the rise of the post New Deal Town, and how the post-1980 change in American values created such distress in the "all-American town." His audience will learn about government policies, financial practices, and corporate dealing that actually encourage destruction of communities.

Capitalism is in a crisis. Many people have come to believe that it no longer works for them. This loss of faith has already had serious repercussions, as the 2016 election proved, and as populist revolts around the western world continue to demonstrate. So what happened? And how can faith be restored? Brian Alexander will walk his audience through some little known history of the evolution of American capitalism and business, showing with vivid examples how abuses led to regulations and reforms that helped create the most prosperous era in the history of any nation. Then he will argue for a return to common sense regulation, a new New Deal that, contrary to fears, could actually save capitalism from its worst excesses.

Tales from addicts and dealers, treatment and punishment. Over 50,000 Americans are likely to die from overdoses this year, most of them from ODs of heroin, prescription opiates and exotic synthetics like fentanyl. Opiate addiction and death has become a national epidemic, but is especially prevalent in areas hard-hit by economic disruption. How did the pharmaceutical industry help create the epidemic? How might that same industry cash in on it now? What do addicts say about how they became addicts and what reasons do they give? Most importantly, what do about this scourge? Brian Alexander spent months with both addicts and dealers. The current U.S. attorney general, Jeff Sessions, has advocated a return to the ways of the 1990s drug wars. Brian argues that there's a better way.