This Thanksgiving, Filtered with TJ Walker steps back from the daily news cycle for a data-driven reality check on the state of the world.

TJ tackles the negativity bias, our tendency to focus on dramatic, recent bad news, and contrasts it with long-term global trends that rarely make headlines. Using data from major international sources, he walks through four massive improvements since 1962:

1. The collapse of extreme poverty worldwide
2. A huge jump in life expectancy and a plunge in child mortality
3. A global surge in literacy and education, especially for girls
4. A long-term decline in violent deaths from war and homicide

In the final segment, TJ reflects personally on how his own life has exceeded anything his teenage self in 1979 could have imagined: on-demand media, global information access, smartphones, ride-hailing, and the ability to broadcast and teach to millions from a laptop.

If you want less doomscrolling and more perspective, this episode explains why, by most historical measures, there has never been a better time to be alive, while still recognizing the work left to do.

This special Thanksgiving-week episode of Filtered with TJ Walker covers five big stories through the lens of data, incentives, and communication, rather than partisan spin.

Topics covered:

1. Thanksgiving Sticker Shock & Inflation Reality Check Why this year’s Thanksgiving grocery bill is the most expensive ever, what’s really driving the spike in turkey and food prices, and how the Trump administration’s “prices are coming down” narrative stacks up against the actual inflation numbers in the U.S. and other advanced economies.
2. AI “Singers” Quietly Taking Over the Charts AI-created “artists” like Solomon Ray, Xania/Xenia Monet, Breaking Rust, and Kane Walker are now topping Christian, country, and R&B charts. We explore what this means for working musicians, why labels love it, and how quickly streaming platforms could be flooded with AI-only music.
3. McConnell vs. Trump: GOP Civil War Over Ukraine & Russia Mitch McConnell publicly warns that Putin is “playing Trump for a fool,” blasts Trump’s peace plan as rewarding Russian aggression, and urges Trump to fire advisers who are “appeasing Putin.” Meanwhile, Marco Rubio admits the team has been working off Russia’s own talking points.
4. Trump’s Quiet March Toward State-Run Capitalism The Trump administration has committed over $10 billion in taxpayer money for ownership stakes or options in companies like Intel, MP Materials, Lithium Americas, Trilogy Metals, Vulcan Elements, Westinghouse, and even a golden share in U.S. Steel. We unpack why this looks less like free-market conservatism and more like creeping state ownership plus cronyism.
5. Ten Longevity Habits from Real Centenarians (No Gym Required) After five years of studying centenarians and long-life cultures, one author’s findings are surprisingly simple: constant light movement, modest whole-food eating, deep social ties, a sense of purpose, accepting aging instead of fighting it, prioritizing sleep, managing stress, cultivating small daily joys, staying optimistic and grateful, and living ordinary lives with extraordinary consistency.

Plus: Trainer Q&A How can trainers make sure key messages are actually remembered and acted upon? TJ explains a simple test every trainer should use at the end of every session.

This episode of Filtered with TJ Walker takes you through four sharp stories about law, branding, and political theater.

• A federal judge tosses the Trump administration’s case against James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James after ruling the supposed prosecutor was never properly appointed. TJ explains how this became a “comedy of errors” and a serious abuse of power.
• Campbell’s Soup faces a reputational mess after an IT vice president is recorded calling its products “s, for poor people, and insulting coworkers. What does effective crisis communication look like here?
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatens Senator Mark Kelly with sedition for reminding troops they must refuse illegal orders, reviving the specter of the Nuremberg defense.
• ShamWow infomercial star Vince Shlomi runs for Congress in Texas to “destroy wokeism,” while the real crackdown on speech is coming from the right.

Smart, centrist analysis with practical media-literacy lessons in every segment.

Americans say they need more money to feel secure, but fresh polling shows the real frustration is about how we save and spend, not just how much we make. In this episode of Filtered with TJ Walker, we unpack the gap between income and happiness, from everyday coffee victories to long-term financial freedom.

Then we widen the lens:

• Kids & social media bans, Malaysia, Australia, Denmark, and Norway move toward under-16 bans as research mounts on smartphone-driven anxiety and depression.
• Trump’s “DOGE” department – The Department of Government Efficiency quietly disappears while the deficit soars and drug prices remain protected.
• Rand Paul vs. Trump on Venezuela – Why strikes and quasi-war powers could splinter Trump’s anti-war base.
• Kash Patel & FBI abuse of perks – SWAT teams and government jets allegedly used to protect his girlfriend, and what that reveals about power and hypocrisy.

TJ ties all of this back to one core question: Are we structuring our money, politics, and tech in ways that make us freer, or just more miserable?

Topics covered:

• Money, happiness and why saving matters more than we admit
• Social media, teen mental health, and Jonathan Haidt’s warnings
• Government “efficiency” theater vs. real spending cuts
• War powers, Venezuela, and Rand Paul’s libertarian alarm
• Kash Patel’s ethics scandal at the FBI
• Using your money and career to buy independence, not more stress

Subscribe for more unfiltered analysis on money, media, and power.

You can also watch the video version on YouTube: Filtered with TJ Walker.

New York’s elites were supposed to be running for the exits under democratic socialist mayor Zohran Mamdani. Instead, luxury rents are soaring, and the billionaires are staying put. At the same time, Mexico has quietly become the top buyer of U.S. goods, reshaping “America First” economics while China slips back.

In this episode of Filtered with TJ Walker, we look at the day’s top business, tech, and culture stories through the lens of communication and power:

New York City & Mamdani: Why the “rich exodus” was mostly right-wing fairy tale plus realtor gossip, and what the numbers actually show.

Mexico’s rise: How Mexico overtook China as America’s top customer, what that says about supply chains, and why most voters never hear the real story.

Democracy innovation: Inside the German-speaking corner of Belgium where ordinary citizens are drafted by lottery to write real laws – and why that model is spreading.

Trump, AI & MAGA: How Trump’s embrace of Silicon Valley AI barons is pushing him out of step with his own base on jobs, kids’ safety and state power.

Pardons & corruption: A nursing-home magnate steals tens of millions, does three months, pays nearly $1 million to scandal-plagued lobbyists – and walks away with a full Trump pardon, as the president cashes in on crypto and foreign perks.

Grab bag: AOC’s growing political machine and 2028 ambitions, a “golden age of travel” dress-code crusade, and the right-wing media war over Epstein, Nick Fuentes, and who owns MAGA after Trump.

Communication Q&A: How long should you really prepare for a big speech – and what matters more than your slide deck?

🔔 Support the show: Follow/subscribe on your favorite podcast app and leave a review – it helps more than you think.

Today on Filtered with TJ Walker, we follow the money and the power:

• Warner Bros Discovery in play – Paramount, Comcast and Netflix line up with bids that could reshape Hollywood, streaming, and cable all at once.
• The right-wing YouTube economy – Conservative podcasters and influencers turn “vote with your wallet” into a powerful ad machine, building a parallel media-commerce ecosystem.
• AI in the recording studio – AI-generated tracks are now charting and signing major deals. What does that mean for working musicians and the future of creativity?
• The A.I. boom vs. everyone else – Data centers, chips and utilities boom while much of the broader economy slows. How fragile is this model?
• Eli Lilly’s $1 trillion moment – GLP-1 “skinny shots” dominate revenue and profit as questions about pricing, access and long-term consequences grow louder.
• Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resignation – A symbol of what happens when a MAGA icon stops toeing the Trump line.
• Trump & Zohran Mamdani – A democratic socialist mayor-elect and a populist president find common ground in the Oval Office. What does that signal for cities, markets and movements?

Listen in for forward-looking analysis on media consolidation, AI, pharma power, and the evolving Trump era – all through the lens of how narratives are sold to you every day.

Americans keep being told we’re hopelessly divided. The data says otherwise. In this episode of Filtered with TJ Walker, we begin with a massive Gallup democracy survey, which shows that Americans are surprisingly united on several key issues: rejecting political violence, supporting leaders' willingness to compromise, embracing free speech, and even embracing multiculturalism. The “civil war” may be more of a media storyline than a public reality.

Then we turn to Fox News’ own polling, which delivers brutal news for Donald Trump: voters overwhelmingly say the economy is bad and they blame Trump more than Biden, even on grocery prices.

Next, we break down Trump’s latest social media outburst, accusing Democratic lawmakers of “sedition, punishable by death,” and the rare moment when top Republicans publicly say, “I don’t agree with that.” Is his grip finally slipping?

We cleanse the palate with New York’s first “aroma ad” in the Grand Central subway, where vanilla-pine holiday scent replaces the usual underground stench.

Finally, we look at Rupert Murdoch’s California Post, a West Coast spin-off of the New York Post, and ask if this is real innovation or just another Murdoch misfire in a state where the New York Times has quietly become the dominant “local” paper.

In the grab bag, we cover powerful new research showing midlife exercise can cut dementia risk by up to 45 percent, and a growing wave of congressional Republicans who are, very cautiously, planning for a post-Trump future.

If you care about democracy, media power, your wallet, and your brain, this one’s for you.

Nvidia just posted a $31.9 billion profit and a colossal revenue surge on the back of the A.I. boom. Is this sustainable transformation, or the center of an A.I. bubble ready to pop? TJ Walker unpacks Nvidia’s dominance, “circular” AI investment deals, and why some economists think we’re in a “rational bubble” that could still move the economy to a higher long-term growth path.

In this episode, we also cover:

• Lawrence Summers and Epstein: Summers steps back from teaching at Harvard and exits major boards after new Epstein emails reveal years of friendly contact, even after Epstein’s conviction. Is this finally career-ending, or just another elite scandal that fades?
• The Comey case in free fall: Trump-aligned prosecutors are grilled in court after admitting the full grand jury never saw the final indictment. Trump’s former White House lawyer Ty Cobb now says Pam Bondi and Lindsey Halligan should be disbarred over how the case was handled.
• The Charlie Kirk purge: Hundreds of Americans reportedly facing professional punishment for social posts that didn’t sufficiently praise a right-wing figure, even when they quoted his own words and added bland “thoughts and prayers.” What does this say about right-wing wokeism, free speech, and political loyalty tests?
• Democrats’ biggest polling lead in eight years: New data shows Democrats up by double digits on the generic ballot. TJ examines what’s driving the shift and how it connects to Democratic warnings that Trump may deploy federal forces or legal maneuvers to undermine trust in the 2026 and 2028 elections.

Plus:

• The Miss Universe judging crisis and allegations of a shadow panel.
• A surprising wave of Franco nostalgia among young Spaniards, and what it reveals about global democratic backsliding.

Subscribe to Filtered with TJ Walker for sharp, unapologetic analysis at the intersection of tech, politics, media, and power.