Locally Grown with Jim Fini
In my book, Locally Grown: The Art of Sustainable Government, I talk about how our country's bottom up design of 20,000 zip codes, 50 states and 1 Federal government, brilliantly distributes power within that bottom-up infrastructure. Our Founders intended most governance to be done locally. And about the inherent dangers of too much centralized power. My book exposes the unsustainability of our government debt and the awful bargain we make when we exchange freedom for security. I introduce readers to Locally Grown principles like sustainability, accountability, the double-bottom line, harnessing excess capacity, simplification, and engaged citizenship. I make the case that returning to our federalist roots through Locally Grown principles is the path to sustainable, effective government that better serves the “Common Good.”
Episodes
59 episodes
Episode 60: The Iran War with Ret. Diplomat David Hunter
I am lucky to have David Hunter as “a guy in the neighborhood”, especially at such a volatile time around the world. David and I are somewhat on opposite sides of the aisle so you will hear a really good discussion trying to find middle ground,...
Episode 59: with 21 year old entrepreneur Tommy Potter
Today my guest is Tommy Potter a student at the University of Michigan who I met while visiting my daughter this fall. Our conversation over coffee was just so interesting, I had to have him on my podcast. I think it is critical for...
Episode 58: Jim's Pasta Bolognese
Now that winter is here, I start to long for those comfort foods like stews and soups and pasta dishes. One of my go-to recipes is pasta and Bolognese sauce, or ragù alla Bolognese. It’s one of Italy's most celebrated culinary creations. Here’s...
Episode 57: Artificial Intelligence Explains Locally Grown Government
AI read my 285-page book and produced a cool podcast summarizing the key ideas. Google LM Notebook created a podcast with natural human characters talking. Complicated subject matter is boiled down to layman’s terms so it’s understandable with ...
Episode 56: Generation Z Gives Us Hope: an Interview with Lance Lunceford
I’m a Boomer, married to a Gen Xer, with Gen Z kids. My and my parents’ generation has left us with an ever-expanding unsustainable federal government that has taken on a life of its own, and we are sticking our kids with the bill. However, ...
Episode 55 - A Rock n Roll memoire with Jim and Tom Fini
In the words of the immortal Joan Jett, "I love Rock & Roll so put another dime in the jukebox baby." Join me and my older cousin Tom Fini as we traverse the decades from his early 1960s band, the Del Mars, to todays music including one of ...
Episode 53: A Phoenix Rising from the Ashes: former US Rep Chris Collins
My guest today is American entrepreneur and politician, Christopher Collins. Chris served as the U.S. representative for New York's 27th congressional district (Buffalo NY area) from 2013 until 2019. Prior to his time in Congress, he ran for Er...
Episode 52: Lessons in Preserving American Freedom: An interview with Laz Lopez
Laz Lopez joins me today to tell his family's story of escaping communist Cuba and achieving the American Dream as a successful business owner in the U.S. In these challenging times, it's just the reminder we need about how precious and tenuous...
Activism Posing as Journalism: My Love-Hate Relationship with PBS
Elon Musk recently labeled NPR and PBS as “government-funded media” on Twitter, angering both organizations. Is he right, and does it matter anyway?For many years, I supported PBS and NPR financially. I just loved their music, movies an...
Episode 50 - MLK is Rolling in His Grave
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.” 63 years ago, a great Amer...
Elections 2022: The Threat to Democracy is Real, But It’s Not What You Think.
Inflation and interest rates are inflicting painful damage today. Yet seemingly without notice the national debt is working like a cancer sapping the nation’s long-term economic vitality. Whether we reach the “doom loop,” or just become mired i...
Episode 48 - From a Life of Crime to a Wonderful Life
I was introduced to Larry Lawton through Congressman Bill Posey's office as someone with a compelling story that can help point at-risk kids in the right direction. Man what a story ! Larry was was one of the biggest jewel thieves in American h...
Episode 47 –America’s Absolute Most Important Priority
Climate? Guns? Abortion? Equity? Nope. Listen Up for America’s Biggest Issue.
Episode 46 - Memorial Day
It’s been a month since my last podcast where we spoke with Florida Congressman Bill Posey. I’ve had a lot of family stuff to deal with which I will get to later. But I wanted to get this out by Memorial Day because it is such a powerful ...
Episode 45 - with Florida Congressman Bill Posey
I am so pleased to have as my guest GOP Congressman Bill Posey who represents Florida's 8th Congressional District. He serves on the House Financial Services and Science, Space and Technology committees. Prior to that he served 8 ye...
Episode 44 - The New Cold War
Ultimately, our freedoms and rights power the innovative culture that makes the United States the most successful political experiment in history. Even with its historical warts, America has improved the living standards of its citizens more th...
Episode 43 - with Retired Ukraine Diplomat David Hunter
My guest today was a guest on this podcast about 18 months ago and we talked about how rising geo-political risks threaten the 75-year-old Pax Americana where global domestic product has increased by a factor of 20 times. Well, it appears those...
Episode 42 - The Health of our Oceans with Dr. Rikki Neilsen
Dr. Rikki Eriksen is a marine biologist focused on the health of our oceans. She grew up in Florida, living on the water with the amazing marine wildlife. Summers were spent on a sailboat in Denmark with her grandparents and winter school break...
Episode 41 - America is only as Good as its Public Schools
The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing and expect different results. Much of recent American federal government policy seems to fit into this paradigm. Like let’s print a whole lot of money then act surprised whe...
Episode 40 - Rome, China, the United States and the Cycles of History
History repeats and unfortunately, we are on the downhill run of the latest cycle. But remain optimistic because we have a system with a demonstrated track record of success. China has emerged as a powerful rival, but its authoritarian system w...
Episode 39 - on Race in America with Cecil Grant
Today my guest is Cecil Grant, the host of the new “Changing the Narrative” podcast which you can find on Apple, Pandora and other places. His podcast focus...
Episode 38 - Time to Wake Up to Rising Geopolitical Risks. Are You Listening Joe?
The Biden Administration is busy. Very busy. Busy making sure all we hear about is racial politics, the dreaded COVID Delta Variant, climate change, diminishing our election laws, defunding our police, and turning our schools into indoctrinatio...
Episode 37 - Seeking Middle Ground with Author Andrew Shelley
Today my guest is Andrew Shelley, author of the book, “American Butterfly”, an excellent exploration of the roots of the American culture war...
Episode 36 - Crypto with Stormborn Part 2.
Just like e-commerce internet companies in the 1990's, most crypto projects won't succeed. However, the ones that do transform our world. In the last decade, Bitcoin and Ethereum emerged as two of those transformers. If you invested $2000 in ET...
Episode 35 - May You Live in Interesting Times
The fact is that middle ground in America is to the Right of where we are now, not further Left. The pendulum swings back and forth in politics but a razor thin Democrat majority in the House and an equally divided Senate, is NOT a mandate to d...