Most economists say that the U.S. economy is in a relatively strong position. Although inflation is still a concern, overall GDP numbers are strong, the unemployment rate is low, and wages are rising. Yet in a poll from earlier this year, just 28 percent of Americans rated national economic conditions as excellent or good.

There are many reasons for this disconnect, but one is certainly the high price of housing and the stubborn problem of homelessness in many of our cities.

Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada talk about how the tight housing supply and zoning restrictions are especially harmful for those with the lowest incomes.

Links to stories mentioned in the podcast:

Share of gross rent in household income in the United States in 2022, by Statista

Why is housing inventory so low? Understanding the the U.S. housing shortage, by Jess Ullrich, Bankrate

Where are all the apartments for families? by Rachel Cohen, Vox

Homeless or overhoused: Boomers are stuck at both ends of the housing spectrum, The Wall Street Journal

Biden administration to boost affordable housing programs, supply of manufactured homes, by Alex Gangitano, The Hill

Looking for a new car under $20,000? Good luck. Your choice has dwindled to one vehicle, by Tom Krisher, The Associated Press

About the hosts: Scott Rada is a digital strategist with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His forthcoming book, "Finding Your Third Place," will be published by Fulcrum Books.

Episode 141: Our lives are dependent on the choices we make, and in most cases, we have more choices than ever.

A study by Harvard University shows that having fewer choices can promote happiness because the more options you have, the more opportunities you have to regret the choice you've made. There is also a term called the “parallelizing paradox,” which is when people who are faced with more options than they can effectively consider feel unsure what to do.

Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss how people can navigate the seemingly unlimited number of options they face in everyday life.

Episode 140: Nearly seven months after the Israel-Hamas war began, many campuses across the country are dealing with pro-Palestinian demonstrations and encampments.

Some college presidents have chosen to involve the police, which has led to hundreds of students being arrested. In addition, these protests have again stirred up a debate about the limits of free speech, as some think the messaging has become antisemitic.

Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss the four tenets of ethical protests and why such principles are important.

Links to stories mentioned in the podcast:

Are student protests against Israel missing the mark?, by Richard Kyte

What students read before they protest, by Ross Douthat, The New York Times

Columbia University responds after Robert Kraft says he's pulling support over anti-semitic violence, by Greg Norman, Fox Business

College students should study more, by Matthew Yglesias, Slow Boring

About the hosts: Scott Rada is a digital strategist with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis. His forthcoming book, "Finding Your Third Place," will be published by Fulcrum Books.

Episode 139: If you were making a list of superstar psychologists, Carl Jung would be toward the top. According to a recent story by Arthur C. Brooks in The Atlantic, the one-time associate of Sigmund Freud coined the terms extravert and introvert, along with many of the other words we use to describe mental health today.

One topic he thought a lot about was happiness, and how difficult it was to obtain. In 1960, as he neared the end of his long life, Jung shared five pillars that he said could help us make progress toward being happy. Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss these five pillars and why they each play an important role:

1. Good physical and mental health.
2. Good personal and intimate relations, such as those of marriage, family and friendships
3. Seeing beauty in art and in nature.
4. A reasonable standard of living and satisfactory work.
5. A philosophical or religious outlook that fosters resilience.

About the hosts: Scott Rada is social media manager with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis. His forthcoming book, "Finding Your Third Place," will be published by Fulcrum Books.

Episode 138: There are 137 episodes of The Ethical Life podcast, and that means there are more than 6,000 minutes of hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada talking about various ethical issues. This also means that AI can stitch together all this information and create replicas that would sound — and possibly even think — like them.

Some people already are using such technologies to attempt to keep alive relationships for people who have died. The hosts discuss whether such technologies would help with the healing process or instead make it tougher to move on.

Links to stories discussed during the podcast:

Using AI to talk to the dead, by Rebecca Carballo, The New York Times

Artificial intelligence advances fuel industry trying to preserve loved ones after death, Max Zahn, ABC News

AI versions of deceased loved ones could be a serious threat to mental health, by Nigel Mulligan, The Conversation

About the hosts: Scott Rada is social media manager with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis. His forthcoming book, "Finding Your Third Place," will be published by Fulcrum Books.

Episode 137: With more data accumulating about us each day, hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada talk about whether privacy is still important — or even possible.

Links to stories discussed during the podcast:

What Gen Z really cares about when it comes to privacy, David Ruiz, Malwarebytes

AI hustlers stole women’s faces to put in ads. The law can’t help them, by Nitasha Tiku and Pranshu Verma, The Washington Post

The rise of the worker productivity score, Jodi Kantor and Arya Sundaram, The New York Times

About the hosts: Scott Rada is social media manager with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis. His forthcoming book, "Finding Your Third Place," will be published by Fulcrum Books.

Episode 136: Earlier this year, James and Jennifer Crumbley were convicted, in separate trials, of involuntary manslaughter. In 2021, their son, then 15, shot and killed four students at his Michigan high school. Six more students and a faculty member were wounded. He is serving a life sentence, with no possibility of parole.

The Crumbleys were accused of failing to take critical steps, including safely securing a gun at home, that could have prevented their son's attack. They will be sentenced later this month.

In the wake of this verdict, The New York Times asked a group of teens whether parents should ever be held responsible for the harmful actions of their children? And if so, under what circumstances?

Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss the responses the teens had to that question and why there often are many layers of blame in such a tragic situation.

Episode 135: It’s common to hear people say they’ve reached the point in life where they don’t care what others think about them. This can either sound like someone who is firm in their convictions, or it can give the impression that they don't value feedback from others about their actions and beliefs.

Host Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss when it's appropriate to give advice — or even judge — others, and why we've been trained to believe that politics and religion are two topics that should be avoided at all costs.

About the hosts: Scott Rada is social media manager with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis. His forthcoming book, "Finding Your Third Place," will be published by Fulcrum Books.