Pop Trends Price Culture

Who's America's biggest political bully of the past 70 years? That's the question -- so discover how your (elected politician only) answer compares to the person we describe in this episode of Pop Trends, Price Culture.

What kind of scenario "leads to a multi-decade setback or dissolution" of one of the major political parties? From the top down and the bottom up, the answer is unfolding right before our eyes. Listen to the big picture story.

After the long-term stock market low in late 1974, positive social mood slowly began to build. Cultural evidence of the positive turn became visible in the success of great black comedians on stage, in film, and on television. Our friend Dr. Dennis Elam delivers part two of the story.

You know their names -- Pryor, Cosby, Eddie Murphy and more -- the great black comedians of the past 50 years. Yet you may not realize how these great comic voices were also the "audio track" for the trends and turns in social mood across the decades. Our friend Dr. Dennis Elam tells the story.

It was the one year in the 20th century that the United States population actually decreased in size. Several mood-driven events intersected to create a catastrophic outcome. The question is, what have we learned?...

It's easy to ignore information that contradicts what you think you know. Yet it's hard later on to find out that the information was right -- and that you were mistaken. We've all been there -- and most of us try to learn from our mistakes. But, you can't say that you're "learning from a mistake" if you have information you know is correct and choose to ignore it…

Who actually tries to get away with making the most outrageous and extreme comments in public? No, not professional wrestlers. The answer is, “Aspirants to the Oval Office.” Pop Trends, Price Culture explained why the Stupid Season of presidential politics arrived nearly a year and a half ahead of schedule.

We survey history's greatest horror films across the decades, and WHY they so often cluster during stock market declines. It's no coincidence. And don't miss the exquisitely done chart that brings the "why" to life visually, on the show notes page.

Alastair Macdonald has a pretty cool resume: Successful business owner, stockbroker on Wall Street, and a real estate investor. Yet he was born & raised in Zimbabwe, so before his career in finance he was a professional hunter and safari guide -- including leading a National Geographic film crew on a safari on the Zambezi River. Alastair has had amazing success using socionomics to anticipate major trend changes: This episode is a preview of what he'll have to say as a speaker at our Social Mood conference this coming April 9th in Atlanta.

The FBI knew who it was up against: Apple is a beloved and admired tech company, with hundreds of millions of loyal users. So, the FBI waited until it had a high-profile, clear-cut case of appalling terrorism to make its move. But what the FBI didn't foresee is just how anti-authoritarian Apple was (and is) prepared to be. 

The 2016 presidential race had already become the most fractious since 1968, yet in the days immediately following Super Tuesday (March 1) this election cycle mutated from a semi-amusing food fight amongst the candidates, and into an epic mood-driven political showdown. Hear the latest on Pop Trends, Price Culture.

Andrew Baptiste’s career spans three decades on Wall Street, including senior positions at Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan. Yet his familiarity with the Elliott Wave Principle began even earlier, as an insight literally passed from father to son. Hear him for yourself in this week’s episode of Pop Trends, Price Culture.

Dr. Dennis Elam is a tenured accounting professor at Texas A&M University-San Antonio. He is an expert in finance, yet Professor Elam blows up stereotypes about the accounting profession. He's incredibly well versed in popular culture: his insights go from Richard Pryor, to themes in cinema, to the "mob museum" in Las Vegas. Dr. Elam will join us as a featured speaker on April 9 in Atlanta, for the 2016 Social Mood Conference.

Win the White House by making it cool to be politically incorrect? This strategy is working for more than one candidate. Even so, the un-PC trend is only an effect. There's a much bigger cause to explain why so many people today despise political correctness.

It had been a bear market for a lot of years. The headlines were a parade of scary bad news. People were so polarized that fan groups began to hate on each another's music -- hostility so strong that it became its own trend. Then, an episode of this negative mood literally exploded its way into America's National Pastime: Namely, in the outfield between games of a double header.

Let's play "Name That Fear Tune." Listen to a couple of brief clips from a certain video presentation, and see if you can guess the topic behind the "fear tune." Hint: It's not the kind of dry documentary that's made for over-educated people...

What happens when you speak against your country's decision to go to war? Nothing good, most of the time: It's the hardest kind of political dissent. Here's a true tale of dissenters who were (so to speak) jailed by negative mood, yet remained in prison for years even after mood turned positive.

If his blunt words or insults hurt your feelings, too bad. As for the media, screw them too -- he's the master of his own message… Those words clearly bring to mind a certain leading presidential contender, but as Pop Trends, Price Culture explains, the big-picture truth goes far beyond any ONE candidate...

In 1968, anyone with a sense of American politics and history knew that they were living in a uniquely tumultuous time. Then, in August '68 came the epic, mood-driven debates between two men that created "The Best of Enemies." You may or may not know the story -- but Pop Trends, Price Culture helps you see (and hear) it in a whole new light.

There's no need to explain the name "Scrooge." It can be spoken playfully, but when someone uses that name seriously you know what it means: Heartless. Unforgiving. Spiteful in a season that calls for generosity. Yet for this Christmas season, Pop Trends Price Culture goes where even a "contrarian" might fear to tread -- by defending Ebenezer Scrooge.