Is your home worth more than your mortgage? For many Americans that is not the case and they fall further and further behind in their payments.

Yet why did so many Americans obtain mortgages they should not have?

Have you wondered why you can’t pick up a paper today without reading about someone having their home foreclosed on and what caused that problem?

The number of Americans behind on their mortgage payments keeps increasing. For some- they obtained mortgages they could not keep up with. Many mortgages were given to people who could not repay. According to panelist: Richard Bitner,” the mortgage industry is essentially a food chain-

Borrowers on one end and investment banks, rating agencies and securitization on the other. Mortgages were bundled and sold off to investors world wide under the belief they would perform better than they did. There was a belief that mortgages were low risk, like bonds.”

Panelist: C.K. Lee adds “ People owning homes is a good thing. Everyone from the President to mortgage bankers have said so- BUT- But there was a flawed premise behind this . The problems started with investment banks and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac- operating under the auspices of government.”…

In this program we’re going to examine, in simple language, all the mistakes and fraud that led us to where we are today and the many causes of the mortgage debacle.

Panelists include:

• C.K. Lee –Managing Director; Commerce Street Capital
• Richard Bitner- Author; Confessions of a Sub Prime Lender

***

1903 – 2.20.11

The direct debt of the Federal government is over 14 trillion dollars and increasing at a trillion dollars a year; not to mention the tens of trillions in unfunded liabilities.

Joining host, Dennis McCuistion are:

• Mike George: Founder of Strong America Now and developer of the Lean Six Sigma Process; a technique for determining and eliminating waste, and
• David Walker: Former Comptroller General of the United States and CEO of the Government Accountability Office from 1998 to 2008. He is the author of Comeback America: Turning the Country Around and Restoring Fiscal Responsibility.

The discussion focuses on the sustainability challenges which threaten the US economic future. According to both guests, the survival of the Republic is at stake and in some cases we don’t even understand what the problem is.  Waste in government is at an all time high, with the Department of Defense being one of the government’s biggest wasters of resources.

The conversation differentiates between corruption and waste, spending increases between 2009 and 2010, and how much higher spending still is compared to receivables.  The challenges and solutions may surprise you.

Tune in to discover what needs to be done to reclaim our children and grandchildren’s future, and where, as always, we continue discussing things that matter with people who care…

Thanks once again for joining us…

Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/ Producer
Co-Founder

Airing this Sunday, September 18th at 12:30 PM on KERA, Channel 13

Dan Burrus is considered, one of the top three gurus in the country on the future. In the 90’s he wrote the best seller Technotrends and many of his key points have become fact. His newest book, Flash Foresight: How To See the Invisible And Do The Impossible, takes a look at what we can do to transform our lives- in this century and decade- and pokes holes at the traditional ways of looking at the world and how we run our businesses.

He asks, “wouldn’t it be amazing if you could predict the future and be right?” Dan states that we can indeed predict the future. And we can have a better future as a result. Dan who bases his predictions on scientific principles tells us, “we all have a sense of foresight, but we don’t know how to trust or use it, yet it is a sense we can accurately make sense of”.

In part two of this series Dan talks about how to see invisible opportunities and solutions to seemingly impossible problems. He covers several additional points from his book:

• The key to doing something that seems impossible is to see invisible solutions.
• Take your biggest problems and skip them. You’ll often find that if there is a recurring problem, that isn’t the real problem you have to solve.
• Opposites work better.
• Anticipate by solving tomorrow’s problems before they happen.
• Direct your future or someone else will. Take charge of it.

His rapid fire dialogue and common sense solutions to many of the quirks of life and business challenges we all share will leave you saying, “Now why didn’t I think of that?”

Tune in and hear more of these incredible insights, as we talk about things that matter with people who care…

Airing this Sunday, September 11th at 12:30 PM on KERA, Channel 13

Our guest: Dan Burrus  is the author of Flash Foresight: Seven Radical Principles That Will Transform Your Life and is considered one the world’s leading forecasters, corporate strategists and visionaries. In the early 1990′s, he joined us for two programs based on his then best seller: Technotrends.

In his newest book, Flash Foresight, Dan Burrus takes a look at what we can do to transform our lives in this century and decade and pokes holes at traditional ways of looking at the world and how we run our businesses.

He asks, “wouldn’t it be amazing if you could predict the future and be right”?

Burrus states that we can indeed predict the future. And we can have a better future as a result. Dan bases his predictions on scientific principles. He tells us, “we all have a sense of foresight, but we don’t know how to trust or use it, yet it is a sense we can accurately make sense of.”

In Part One of Flash Foresight, Dan Burrus gives input on the key points in his book related to how to use your sense of foresight to shape a better future for yourself and your family. “Not flash hindsight because we can’t change the past,” which is what many of us do. He asks that we:

Start with Certainty:

Transformational change brings personal opportunity. We’re in the process of changing everything we do. And humans like change, contrary to popular belief. We need to blow away the thought of bad news and believe that under it all there is a tremendous need to discover opportunity.

He counsels us to:

Redefine and Reinvent your career. While it used to be job security, now it’s about adaptability. We can and must learn new things. This part one of Flash Foresight will truly help you determine the future you.

So thanks for joining us on a must watch conversation about things that matter…

Niki McCuistion

 

Airing this Sunday, July 24th at 12:30 PM on KERA, Channel 13

What do Martha Washington, Sojourner Truth, Abigail Adams, and Ayn Rand have in common? They’re just four of the twenty women who impacted the cause of freedom in America.

John Blundell: Fellow at Atlas Economic Research Foundation and author of the new book Ladies for Liberty; offers a series of insights into twenty American ladies who made a difference in the history of our country.  John spent 16 years at the Institute of Economic Affairs in London and he is past president of the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University and the Atlas Economic Research Foundation in Washington, DC.

While Mr. Blundell is a Brit, he lived in the United States for many years. He was always fascinated by the American women who truly impacted our society: in politics, the arts, economics, science, education etc. Looking at the landscape available of the giants in the field, he chose twenty women from our past to represent his premise. He brings the lives of these incredible women to life, and he explores, from his perspective, why each was a leader and tells us how they changed the history of our country. He addresses each of their accomplishments, and what made their character and their contributions to society.

This cross section of women includes: Marcy Otis Warren, Abigail Adams, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Tubman, The Grimske Sisters, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Bina West Miller, Madam CJ Walker, Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder, Isabel Pattersen, Lula Bell Wallace, Vivien Kellams, Taylor Caldwell, Clare Booth Luce, Ayn Rand, Rose Friedman, Jane Jacobs, and Dorian Fisher.

Tune in Sunday, July 24th on KERA Channel 13 for a journey into the past – of some incredible well known icons in US history.

Thanks again for joining us as we continue talking about things that matter with people who care.

The Tea Party of 2009 began as a protest to the stimulus plan supported by the Obama Administration. But there quickly became other reasons for its protests. This program examines what Tea Partiers want and why, how they influence political conversations and perhaps the last election, and how they will continue to protest government involvement in economic decisions.

Panelists include:

Mark Davis: Radio Talk Show Host – WBAP
Thomas Brunell, PhD: Professor of Political Science University of Texas Dallas
Ken Emanuelson: Head of the Dallas Tea Party

Join us as always as we talk about things that matter… with people who care.

Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/Producer
Co-founder

Dennis McCuistion and a panel of guests discuss alternative ways to feel better and stay healthy.  McCuistion is joined by three panelists:

• Robert Carpenter – Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and President of a biotechnology company, Texas Enterosorbents, Inc
• Sheila George – Leadership Council for Nussentials, a nutraceutical company that helps people heal naturally
• Blaine S. Purcell – Medical doctor, senior physician in internal medicine at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, TX, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and lawyer

Studies show that taking the right natural nutrients and supplements can increase your health, stamina, slow down aging and contribute to overall better health. In fact, some evidence points to supplements reversing the effects of some diseases. On this edition of McCuistion Television, experts discuss ways to feel better and be healthy.

Carpenter and Purcell’s backgrounds in veterinary medicine have allowed them to look at health differently than the average medical doctor, as there is more of a nutrition focus in veterinary medicine than in traditional medicine. There are natural ways to prevent disease and nutraceuticals are a big part of that.  Nussentials focuses on nutraceuticals and incorporates them into their stabilized rice bran.  Putting the right nutrients in the body and in the environment in which we live can help our bodies heal.

Together the panelists discuss micronutrient additions to a whole food diet and its benefits to diabetes patients and the critical nature of lifestyle changes.  Ending the conversation, Carpenter touches on their clay products’ benefits to health as they are turned into pharmaceuticals.

***

1716 – 07.27.08

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Wellness means making life choices in your diet, exercise and how you care for yourself. Applying general wellness solutions can prevent diseases and slow down the signs of aging. Read more

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

During an interview and follow-up Q & A with T. Colin Campbell, PhD., author of The China Study, Campbell discusses what we should eat, shouldn’t eat and how to eat right in a fast food nation. Campbell, a strong proponent of vegan benefits for health, disease prevention, and longevity of life goes on to further explain details of his research and findings during his China Health Study.

Campbell’s initial research consisted of in-depth lab research focusing on the consumption of animal based foods versus plant based foods and its effect on the rate of disease. In his research, conducted in China, he and his team surveyed 130 villages (6,500 families) taking necessary samples, such as blood and urine, and sited nutrient levels and elements of that nature. They then compared information on their blood health with the rates of disease for 400+ kinds of diseases.

Their findings clearly indicated that to have optimized health, animal products should be eliminated and a strict vegan diet is the healthiest way to prevent disease.

Throughout the course of the interview and Q & A, he continues to compare the China study’s diet with the Mediterranean diet, the myth of animal calcium intake, the role of fat in relation to disease and more.

Following the original airing of this episode, host, Dennis McCuistion tried out the diet to see if it was everything it claimed.  Click here to see his findings on Vegan Benefits to Health.

***

04.19.09 – 1714

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In Part One of the two-part series on science and health with T. Colin Campbell, PhD., Campbell discusses his findings on what science is actually saying about health and nutrition and the vegan benefits to health.  Dr. Campell is the author of The China Study, a Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University and the Project Director of the China-Oxford-Cornell Diet and Health Project.

Click here to read how Dennis McCuistion applied the principles of this episode in his vegetarian diet experiment.

There is an obvious health problem in the United States.  While, American citizens spend more on health care than any other country, two-thirds of the country is overweight. Greater than 15 million Americans have diabetes, more than 1 million have high cholesterol and half of all Americans have a health problem that requires them to use a prescription drug.  Dr. Campbell sought to discover what, if any, are the changes that could be made to the American diet to better prevent disease. Partnering with Cornell, Oxford and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, Dr. Campbell conducted his study.

The American diet consists of high quantities of protein. However, the findings of The China Study suggest that there are significant vegan benefits to health.  Disease increases when a person consumes more than 10% protein in comparison to his or her daily caloric intake. The average American has a protein consumption of 17-18%  and 70-75% of that is from animal foods. Through Campbell’s research, it became very clear that there is a direct relationship between animal protein intake and disease increase. The findings showed that as soon as animal protein started to show up in the diet, there was an increase in cholesterol, cancer and heart disease.

Dr. Campbell, closes his conversation noting that his intention in his message is not to push an opinion on listeners, but rather to provide information to the public that unfortunately has not been taught. His concern is that the information the public tends to receive is incorrect, therefore consumers cannot make educated choices on healthy diets.  The facts from his study clearly point toward strong vegan benefits to healthy living.

***

04.12.09 – 1713

Podcast: Play in new window | Download