In this episode of Sit, Stay, Think, we break down what the federal interest rate actually is, how it works, and why it has become such a major political flashpoint.

Starting with a simple explanation of how banks borrow money from one another, the episode walks through how interest rates affect mortgages, car loans, business borrowing, and, indirectly, prices throughout the economy. We also look at why lower interest rates don’t always make things cheaper—especially when it comes to housing—and how short-term relief can lead to long-term consequences.

Finally, the episode examines why political pressure to rapidly lower interest rates misunderstands how businesses use borrowed money, and why attempts to force the Federal Reserve’s hand risk creating bigger economic problems rather than solving existing ones.

This is an explainer episode focused on clarity over headlines—what interest rates are, why they matter, and what’s really at stake when politics collides with monetary policy.

In this episode of Sit, Stay, Think, Paul sets aside prepared topics to respond in real time to a police shooting involving an ICE agent in Minnesota.

After watching the video, reviewing witness testimony, and reading conflicting accounts from media and government officials, this episode doesn’t debate policy or legality. Instead, it asks a harder question: what happens when people entrusted with authority lack restraint, critical thinking, and the ability to de-escalate?

Drawing on lived experience and a Buddhist understanding of fear, Paul argues that this incident reflects a deeper institutional failure—one rooted not in public safety, but in panic, insecurity, and power without accountability. The episode concludes with a blunt reckoning over the origins of ICE, the role of fear in governance, and the human cost of normalizing violence as control.

This is not a comfortable episode.
It is a necessary one.

In this opening episode of Sit, Stay, Think, we begin with a question few seem willing to ask: What happens after decisive action?

Following reports of U.S. actions involving Venezuela’s leadership, this episode steps away from partisan defenses and condemnations to examine something deeper—what Buddhism calls Right Action. Not just what we do, but why we do it, and whether we’ve truly considered the consequences that follow.

Drawing on Buddhist teachings like intention, impermanence, craving, and ignorance, this episode explores the danger of acting without wisdom—especially when powerful nations move quickly, confidently, and without a clear vision of what comes next. From historical examples of failed regime change to the quiet suffering created by instability and power vacuums, the focus is not justification, but accountability.

This episode also turns the lens inward, questioning how a nation struggling with healthcare access, institutional trust, and unresolved internal suffering can claim moral clarity abroad. When urgency replaces reflection, and impulse replaces foresight, suffering doesn’t disappear—it spreads.

The episode closes with a guided reflection, inviting listeners to pause, examine their own reactions, and sit with discomfort rather than rushing to certainty.

This is not an argument.
It’s not a solution.
It’s an invitation to slow down—and to ask whether our actions, personal or political, are truly reducing suffering… or simply creating more of it.