Oligarch or Philanthropist? It Depends Who Cashes the Check
Friday, October 23, 2026
You’re listening to American Ground Radio with Louis R. Avallone and Stephen Parr. This is the full show for October 23, 2026.
We start with a conversation about the future of public service in America. Senator Elissa Slotkin has talked about pursuing “signature cases” against people around President Trump, and David French has proposed impeaching administration officials. We ask whether that’s a recipe for scaring talented people away from government, and whether impeachment is meant to be a political tool or a remedy for high crimes and misdemeanors.
Then it’s the Top 3 Things You Need to Know. Virginia State Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas has been arrested on drug trafficking charges. Kissimmee, Florida Mayor Eva Espinoza is accused of steering $50,000 in federal COVID relief money to her own family’s businesses. And federal agents have arrested a 17-year-old from McKinney, Texas, who allegedly plotted to assassinate Congressman Keith Self. We also take on GM’s plan to ditch the oil dipstick and New York City’s move to end its horse-drawn carriages.
On American Mamas, Teri Netterville and Kimberly Burleson join us to answer a listener question: do conservative college students have to hide their beliefs to pass their classes? Prompted by a student’s comment at Steven Crowder’s latest Change My Mind debate, they share a story about a Louisiana Tech student who took on a professor over an unfair grade and won.
In Digging Deep, we look at billionaire influence in the midterms, including Michael Bloomberg’s $80 million for Democrats, and ask why the “oligarch” label seems to depend on which party gets the check. We’re then joined by Alyssa Ducuna, co-chair of WilmerHale’s Congressional Investigations Practice. She explains what a Democratic House or Senate could mean for companies that have done business with the Trump administration: subpoenas, executive privilege questions, and how to prepare CEOs to testify.
Next we turn to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has 44 million TikTok followers and has signed just one bill into law in ten months. We also have two Bright Spots this week. The Fifth Circuit has struck down the federal Switchblade Act as a violation of the Second Amendment, and new jobless claims fell to just 194,000, a historic low when adjusted for population. We close with a Moment of Whoa from Pennsylvania, where homecoming king Kenny Cedano Ramirez gave his crown and sash to his friend Axton Cole, who has Down syndrome and had dreamed of the title for years.
Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, visit AmericanGroundRadio.com, and join the conversation at 866-AGR-1776.
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