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Hey folks,
My dad, Bill Nellis, is back, which means it’s time for another Nellis vs. Nellis—and somehow we agreed on way more than I expected.
We got into Trump’s tariff wars, the exploding cost of beef, Flock cameras and government surveillance, ICE, AI data centers, and what happens to working people if AI really does wipe out millions of jobs.
And yes, we still found plenty to fight about.
[00:01:43] We start with Trump trying to rename Lake Ontario—and my Trump-voting dad immediately admits the whole thing is ridiculous before we get into the much bigger problem underneath it: Trump’s trade war with Canada.
[00:10:03] My dad lives in Nebraska, where ranchers are feeling the consequences of Trump’s policies firsthand. His verdict is pretty simple: Trump says he loves farmers, but “he’s not loving the farmers” with what’s happening to beef.
[00:18:49] Things get heated over Flock cameras. My dad sees an incredibly useful law-enforcement tool. I see another massive surveillance system that can be abused—and we wrestle with where public safety ends and our right to privacy begins.
[00:31:44] We turn to AI data centers, and this is where the politics are getting really interesting. We talk electricity bills, water, farmland, corporate promises to struggling communities, and why both Republicans and Democrats are starting to question whether these projects are worth the cost.
[00:39:01] Then we hit the question underneath the entire AI debate: what happens if there simply aren’t enough jobs anymore? We get into government ownership, universal basic income, job guarantees, and whether America is prepared for the economic disruption coming our way.
This is exactly why I wanted to do Nellis vs. Nellis. My dad and I disagree—a lot—but we actually listen to each other, find places where the politics get more complicated than the talking points, and occasionally discover that we’re not as far apart as we thought. If you’re exhausted by political conversations designed only to make us hate each other, this one is for you.
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With urgency,
—Mike
