Pope Leo XIV, the first American Pope, has been seen as a stabilizing force in the Catholic Church after a tumultuous papacy of Pope Francis. And while he is disciplined, thoughtful, and measured in his words and deeds, perhaps more traditional than Pope Francis, he has also been very vocal about his concerns about the actions of political leaders in the United State and elsewhere, as evidenced by his back and forth recently with President Trump. His watchword as Pope seems to be to spread the Jesus’s gospel of peace in an era of conflict. How he combines his traditional liturgical leanings with a willingness to comment on the negative effects of war over diplomacy, his concern about the ravaging of the environment, and the plight of immigrants here and abroad, will be an interesting juxtaposition as the years go on. With us today to discuss what to expect from this Pope is Paul Kengor, Ph.D., author of “American Pontiff: Pope Leo XIV and His Plan to Heal the Church.”

There is a largely invisible pricing structure in the American health care system that dictates the types of medical procedures that are most valued and therefore best compensated. It affects the way you interact with the system day after day. In her short, but clear-eyed, dissection of why specialists and surgery are often the weapon of choice to fight disease, as opposed to front end interventions focused on prevention, Dr. Robin Blackstone, author of “American Health: Who Gets Paid” unwraps how the process works. In it she shows how the system rewards procedural intervention and late rescue, while undervaluing early judgment, longitudinal care, prevention, and accountability at the time. The result is a system that incentivizes volume over health, fragmentation over continuity, and crisis response over risk reduction. Dr. Blackstone, herself a surgeon, is now writing on medical topics that are vital and little understood. Her newest book, touched upon as well in the conversation, is “Doctor AI: Reimagining Health Rebuilding Trust Delivering Health 4.0.”

If you’re paying attention these days, and in the wake of the NCAA basketball tournament, it’s hard not to notice how legalized gambling has crept into every facet of American life. You see it during sports games and with the full involvement of the leagues. You pass signs on the highway daily about games of chance being run by your state. And you see the proliferation of Native American and other gambling facilities sprouting up far from Las Vegas. And the bookie on the street corner is still there. What you may not see is the pernicious impact legalized gambling is having on young people, some of legal age and others not, as online gambling begins to ramp up across the country. Joining us today to discuss it is Les Bernal, the National Director of Stop Predatory Gambling, a 501(c)3 network built to reveal the truth behind gambling operators to prevent more victims. He will open your eyes to the devastation caused by gambling for so many in our society.