Do not sign-up for Medicare Advantage! We don’t care what Joe Namath tells you. That’s the message of healthcare expert, Kip Sullivan, who returns to remind us why Medicare Advantage is simply a further for-profit corporate takeover of Medicare. Plus, we rifle through the mailbag where Ralph answers your questions and comments on your feedback about past programs.Kip Sullivan is a Health Care Advisor with Health Care for All Minnesota, and has written several hundred articles on health policy. He is an active member of Physicians for a National Health Program, which advocates for universal, comprehensive single-payer national health insurance.With the original Medicare you know what you’re buying. The two parts of this scam that we’re talking about is United Healthcare puts out this brochure making it sound like because they’re so efficient that they can offer these extra services. It’s not true. They’re overpaid. We’re wasting money on them. And the other piece of the scam is when you get sick you may very well not get the coverage that is described in the policy.Kip SullivanYou can’t overstate the enthusiasm with which the Biden administration is promoting the takeover of Medicare by both Medicare Advantage plans and this new breed of parasite called the Accountable Care Organization, or ACO.Kip SullivanThere are multiple reasons to oppose the takeover of Medicare by these corporations. But the Democrats ought to be thinking about their own political future and looking ahead to this so-called crisis in 2028.Kip SullivanWe’re underinvesting in the consequences of global warming— the climate disruption, droughts, gigantic wildfires, floods, surges from the sea, hurricanes. But we’re overinvesting in blowing up countries overseas that do not threaten us… This is a sign of the collective insanity of the corporate state.Ralph NaderThis article by Diane Archer would be very useful for any listeners just turning 65 and trying to figure out whether to enroll in MA or stay in traditional Medicare:Four things to think about when choosing a plan to fill gaps in Medicare, a “Medigap” or Medicare supplemental insurance plan Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

“Everyone is entitled to a defense” contend large law firms when they represent notorious corporate clients, but many of these firms push the ethical envelope. That’s the crux of the discussion Ralph has with David Enrich as outlined in his book, “Servants of the Damned: Giant Law Firms, Donald Trump, and the Corruption of Justice.” Plus, we welcome Dr. Michael Jacobson, founder, and former director of Science in the Public Interest to tell us how we need to raise taxes on Science in the Public Interest to reduce alcohol-related deaths and mayhem.David Enrich is the Business Investigations Editor at the New York Times, and the bestselling author of Dark Towers: Deutsche Bank, Donald Trump, and an Epic Trail of Destruction. His latest book is Servants of the Damned: Giant Law Firms, Donald Trump, and the Corruption of Justice.There’s a lot of lip service that the leaders of the legal industry pay to being good corporate citizens and being public-spirited officers of the court. And you often scratch a little bit beneath the surface of these giant law firms, and you realize that is just not true.David Enrich, author of Servants of the Damned: Giant Law Firms, Donald Trump, and the Corruption of JusticeIt was very clear to me the vast power that these law firms were wielding, not only defending their clients in and out of court, but also shaping the public’s perception of how these fights were transpiring—  in large part through the media. It’s more or less taboo— in the mainstream media in particular— to really pull back the curtain on the way that those law firms are operatingDavid Enrich, author of Servants of the Damned: Giant Law Firms, Donald Trump, and the Corruption of Justice[Jones Day] is not a monolith, and it’s not a place that I regard as evil. But it’s really a classic example of a place where even well-intentioned lawyers go, and—to make a living or to repay their debts or whatever—and they sometimes end up really pushing the envelope.David Enrich, author of Servants of the Damned: Giant Law Firms, Donald Trump, and the Corruption of JusticeWhen they say “we believe in the position of the clients we represent…” it really isn’t true. They don’t believe in all the positions of their clients. And when you nail them on that issue, they say “Well, we’re required by the professional code of ethics of our profession to zealously represent these clients. It’s not up to us to expose their Achilles heel— that’s what the adversarial system is for.”Ralph NaderMichael Jacobson holds a PhD. in microbiology from MIT. He is well-known for his nutrition advocacy that helped eliminate artificial trans-fat from the food supply, expose the enormous calorie counts of movie theater popcorn and many restaurant foods and make Nutrition Facts mandatory on food packages. Dr. Jacobson is the author of Salt Wars: The Battle Over the Biggest Killer in the American Diet.There’s no doubt that raising alcohol taxes would raise the price of alcoholic beverages, and consumption would decline. For any kind of imaginable tax increase, alcohol problems and deaths would not go to zero. But there would be a significant decline in proportion to the increase in tax rates.Dr. Michael Jacobson Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

Ralph does a deep dive into the real purpose of the Federal Reserve and other aspects of the American economy with progressive economist, Michael Hudson. Plus, our resident constitutional scholar, Bruce Fein, joins us to talk about the elected official from New Mexico, who got removed from office because of his role in the Jan. 6th insurrection and what that possibly could mean for Donald’s Trump eligibility for office. And he also discusses a letter from retired Secretaries of Defense and Joint Chiefs about military leaders rejecting illegal presidential orders.Michael Hudson is President of The Institute for the Study of Long-Term Economic Trends, a Wall Street Financial Analyst, and Distinguished Research Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. He is the author of Super-Imperialism: The Economic Strategy of American Empire, …and forgive them their debts – Lending, Foreclosure and Redemption from Bronze Age Finance to the Jubilee Year, and Finance Capitalism and its Discontents.The Federal Reserve was created to stop social purpose spending by the government, by essentially cutting the Treasury out of the monetary management process. And that’s true, not only of the Federal Reserve in America, but of central banks all over the world.Michael HudsonThe economy has never really recovered from Obama’s bailout of the banks in 2008. And government and the Federal Reserve have been keeping the financial markets afloat by quantitative easing, but they really haven’t helped the population at large.Michael HudsonIf money should be a public utility, just like the dollar bills in your pocket, the credit cards and the electronic payments should be a public utility. But instead, it’s privatized. It’s turned into a monopoly, and it’s a source of monopoly rents for the banks that really is unnecessary.Michael HudsonThe important thing about gambling is the casino always wins, and the second important thing is that there’s always a loser for every winner. And if you’re gambling on the stock market or on derivatives, the insiders— especially the crooks— always end up the winners. And the honest people… end up the losers.Michael HudsonThe drive is to get people not to use cash, check, or money order, and to do everything by credit card, debit card, and other multiplying payment systems. It impresses me as being a major controlling process. Once they suck you into the credit card gulag, they can penalize you, overcharge you, ruin your credit score… In effect, they strip you of control over your own money.Ralph NaderBruce Fein is a Constitutional scholar and an expert on international law.  Mr. Fein was Associate Deputy Attorney General under Ronald Reagan and he is the author of Constitutional Peril: The Life and Death Struggle for Our Constitution and Democracy, and American Empire: Before the Fall.[The decision to disqualify Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin from holding office] demonstrates that when [Trump], if he does try to run for the presidency in 2024, that he will confront a hurdle of having provided material assistance to the insurrection of January 6th— irrespective of whether he’s committed a crime or not.Bruce Fein Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

Ralph welcomes Washington Post columnist, Dana Milbank, who draws a direct line from Newt Gingrich’s ascendency to Speaker of the House in 1994 to the January 6th insurrection in his book “The Destructionists: The Twenty-Five Year Crack-Up of the Republican Party.” Plus, a new Capitol Hill Citizen is out!   Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

Ralph interviews North Carolina attorney, Mona Lisa Wallace, whose litigation team won more than $500 million in damages for the facility’s North Carolina neighbors against the hog production component of Smithfield Foods along with author Corban Addison who chronicled the gripping John Grisham-like tale in his book: “Wastelands: The True Story Of Farm Country On Trial.”   Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

In a live Zoom recording, Ralph welcomes attorney Josh Koskoff, who tells us how he won a groundbreaking 73 million dollars from Remington and other gun manufacturers on behalf of the families of the Sandy Hook mass school shooting.  Ralph and Josh lay out the story then Josh takes questions from our virtual audience. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

In a packed program, Ralph first speaks to our resident constitutional scholar, Bruce Fein, about the latest Trump-anigans from Mar a Lago, then Washington Post business reporter, Allan Sloan, joins to talk about the Federal Reserve and answers the question of  whether we are headed for an economic recession or a recovery. And finally, Steve Silberstein of National Popular Vote comes by to update us on their latest efforts to ensure that the candidate for president who wins the popular vote actually wins the election. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

Software hacking expert, Dan O’Dowd, founder of “The Dawn Project” joins us to critique Tesla’s Fully Self-Driving cars where they found they made a critical error every eight minutes. Then Ralph welcomes Steve Hutkins, the founder and editor of “Save the Post Office,” to ask why Trump’s Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, still has a job. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

 Ralph welcomes Washington Post investigative reporters, Sari Horowitz and Scott Higham, authors of “American Cartel: Inside the Battle to Bring Down the Opioid Industry,” that tells the thrilling David versus Goliath story that goes beyond the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma to expose the many other corporate criminals who aided and abetted the crisis and chronicles the heroes who fought to bring them to justice. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

We welcome back our resident Constitutional scholar, Bruce Fein, who gives us his take on the January 6th hearings, how they compare to the Watergate, and Iran Contra, why the Democrats seem to be holding back, and what the Department of Justice needs to do to live up to its name with regard to the crimes of Donald Trump. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe