Episode 65: Possession Obsession

When I first started the EnRoute Podcast (which was called something else), I tended to do a lot of solo podcasts. But there were a number of issues I wanted to get out there into podcast-land before Christmas. Hence, episode 65 which is called “Possession Obsession” (which is the title of a Hall and Oates song.) The focus of the episode is on my obsessions. I’ve written a lot over the last few years about the downfall of Sears and Kmart. One of the best podcast episodes is about Sears. What all these articles and the podcast below are saying is that Sears isn’t dying because of Amazon or bad decisions in 1986. They might have a small role, but not the main role. The main reason is because of a hedge fund manager that has caused two well-known chains to falter. Listen to the episode below to learn about the story.

But I wanted to come clean about why I’ve written so many articles and made podcasts about these two retailers. What it comes down to is a strong belief in the free market, a belief in the necessity of unions and respect for the working men and women and a dislike about the financialization of America.

I also talk a bit about the media’s role in this story. Save for some business reporters, the media pretty much ignored the story. I explain why.

Finally, I talk about my time as a writer with Frum Forum a news website by David Frum. Frum Forum was started in 2009 and brought a number of writers to talk about forging a conservativism that can win again. Frum was ahead of the curve in making the case for a larger role for the government among conservatives. I make the case that we need to have a website like this today. (You can read a written version over at Medium.)

You can listen to the podcast below, on your favorite podcast app or use the YouTube link below.