Tired of partisan bullshit tearing America apart while politicians hide behind excuses and sacred cows get endless protection? Step into The MiddleGround Mic, the no-compromise centrist politics podcast that refuses to play nice with extremes. No Left. No Right. Forward. Hosted by Joseph Steagall, we deliver militant centrism at full throttle — ripping apart hypocrisy from every angle, calling out the nonsense on both sides, and hammering pragmatic, zero-BS fixes for the real fights: elections, foreign policy disasters, border security failures, economic meltdown, and community breakdowns in this fractured mess of a country. Regularly hitting the top 30 in U.S. News Commentary with over 750,000 downloads and rising fast, we bring raw, bipartisan truth from thought leaders, journalists, policymakers, and actual people — not scripted talking heads. This is the honesty, clarity, and politics without tribal loyalty that the mainstream media won’t touch. Being MiddleGround or centrist isn’t weakness or fence-sitting — it’s being a straight-up warrior against the insanity of echo chambers, armed with facts and the spine to say what everyone else is too scared to. If you’re independent, moderate, or just sick of the screaming on both ends, lock in for no-fluff episodes that cut through the noise, rebuild real trust, and force real progress. Watch full video episodes on YouTube and Spotify for unfiltered visuals and deeper cuts. Subscribe, follow, and turn on notifications now for weekly reality checks — and rate and review to help push us higher. No sacred cows protected. No side gets a free pass.
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The MiddleGround Mic
Anthony Forlini: Election Security, Voter Rolls & Trust in Michigan Government
Sep 23, 202628 min
What actually happens behind the scenes of Michigan’s election system? Macomb County Clerk/Register of Deeds and Michigan Secretary of State candidate Anthony Forlini joins Joseph Steagall for a wide-ranging conversation about election administration, voter-roll maintenance, security procedures and public trust. Forlini explains why he has raised concerns about noncitizen registrations and what changes he believes should be made to Michigan’s voter-registration system. The conversation also covers: • Election equipment, verification and security procedures • Voter-roll maintenance and eligibility checks • E-poll books and election administration • College-campus voting • Customer service and wait times • Notary fraud • The Office of the Great Seal • Forlini’s priorities for the Secretary of State office Rather than campaign slogans, this episode focuses on the actual systems, procedures and disagreements surrounding how Michigan elections and Secretary of State services operate. The MiddleGround Mic features long-form conversations that give guests enough time to explain their positions — and listeners enough information to make up their own minds. Learn more about Anthony Forlini and his campaign: forliniforus.com CHAPTERS 00:00 Anthony Forlini on Michigan Election Security 02:15 Noncitizen Voting & Michigan Voter Rolls 07:40 How Michigan Voting Machines Are Secured 12:30 Cutting Wait Times & Improving Service 18:10 College Campus Voting & Election Procedures 23:45 Notary Fraud & Michigan’s Great Seal 29:00 Why Forlini Is Running for Secretary of State
Xi’s Washington Visit, Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain & the Risk of $7 Gas Ron bee
Sep 21, 202625 min
What do China, Greenland, Iran, artificial intelligence and the price of gasoline have to do with each other? Potentially quite a lot. Ron Bee returns to The MiddleGround Mic to connect several of the biggest geopolitical stories happening right now — and explain how international decisions can eventually reach American consumers and businesses. Joseph and Ron discuss: • The new U.S.-Denmark-Greenland security agreement • Greenland, the Arctic and strategic competition • Rare earth minerals and China’s leverage in global supply chains • Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to Washington • U.S.-China tariffs and trade negotiations • Artificial intelligence as a geopolitical battleground • Iran and the mysterious Pickaxe Mountain facility near Natanz • Satellite intelligence and nuclear uncertainty • Oil markets and global energy disruption • Whether another major shock could push gasoline toward $6–$7 per gallon Instead of treating each headline as an isolated story, Ron connects the pieces and explains how geopolitical decisions thousands of miles away can eventually affect prices, businesses and households at home. 00:00 How China, Iran & Energy Prices Connect 02:10 Greenland, the Arctic & Rare Earth Minerals 08:30 Xi Jinping’s Washington Visit & U.S.-China Trade 15:45 Iran, Pickaxe Mountain & Nuclear Concerns 22:30 The Global AI Trade War 28:15 Could Global Conflict Push Gas to $7?
Can an Independent Beat the Machine? with Mike Thurow
Sep 16, 202635 min
Can an Independent candidate realistically win a seat in Congress? Former firefighter Mike Thurow joins host Joseph Steagall on The MiddleGround Mic to share why he bypassed party politics to run in Wisconsin's 6th District. Thurow breaks down the corrupting power of corporate money, the challenges of third-party ballot access, and how direct public service shapes his approach to representation. Connect with the campaign: Official Site: https://www.thurowforcongress.com/ Text & Updates: https://mtwi6.com/ Chapters: 0:00 - Can an Independent Win? 2:15 - From Firefighter to Congressional Candidate 6:40 - Breaking Free from the Two-Party Machine 12:10 - How Corporate Money Ruined Politics 18:35 - The Strategy to Win WI-06 25:10 - Restoring Faith in Public Service
Can a High School Principal Flip a Trump +10 Seat? | Pia Dandiya
Sep 13, 202639 min
Former high school principal, Apple alum, and White House Fellow Pia Dandiya is running to flip Florida’s 22nd Congressional District—a seat Donald Trump won by 10 points—on a central motto: "Make Common Sense Great Again." In this episode of The MiddleGround Mic, Pia breaks down why voters across party lines are hungry for outcome-based education, practical housing expansion, healthcare accountability, and an immediate ban on congressional stock trading. KEY TAKEAWAYS: • Outcome-Based Education: Shifting focus from funding inputs to measuring 4th-grade literacy and 8th-grade math results. • Housing & Cost of Living: Expanding supply through office building conversions rather than artificial price caps. • Healthcare & AI Denials: Curbing middleman PBM markups and stopping automated insurance claim rejections. • D.C. Integrity: Banning individual stock trading for members of Congress. CONNECT & LEARN MORE: Campaign Website: https://piaforcongress.com TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 - Managing High Schoolers vs. Managing D.C. 0:29 - Flipping a +10 Trump District in Florida 02:40 - Gerrymandering and Political "Seed Chopping" 04:21 - How to Turn 86% Poverty into 100% College Acceptance 07:42 - Fixing Public Schools: Measuring Outcomes Over Inputs 12:59 - Rent Caps vs. Housing Supply: Real Economic Solutions 17:53 - "Make Common Sense Great Again": Bipartisan Appeal 20:56 - Fixing Healthcare: PBM Abuse & AI Claim Denials 34:43 - Why Congress Must Ban Individual Stock Trading
Commanding Drones With Natural Language: Ex-Amazon AI Lead Krishna Kumaar Sharma on Omokai & Autonomous Warfare
Sep 9, 202628 min
What happens when you shift AI out of text chats and into physical machines operating on the battlefield? Ex-Head of AI at Amazon Germany Krishna Kumaar Sharma joins Joe Steagall to explain how his startup, Omokai, is engineering a speech-driven intelligence layer for autonomous drones and robotics. From sovereign AI development in Europe and the stark realities of AI-driven warfare between Russia and Ukraine to the core principles in his UC Berkeley research paper and upcoming book "Agentic Coding the Boring Way," Krishna shares an engineer's perspective on building reliable, zero-hallucination guardrails for autonomous hardware. Venture & Platform: https://omokai.com CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Introduction & Building the Future of Human-Machine Interaction 01:12 - What Sovereign AI Means for Global Defense 02:24 - Leaving Amazon: Corporate Constraints vs. Startup Innovation 07:10 - Why Physical AI Requires More Than Large Language Models 10:10 - Eliminating Hallucinations With Multi-Algorithmic Guardrails 14:15 - The Reality of Autonomous Drones in Modern Warfare 17:35 - Ethics, Governance, and Legal Responsibility in AI Operations 21:28 - The Essential Guardrails for Autonomous Targeting 22:40 - Agentic Coding the Boring Way: Sustainable Software Architecture 26:37 - The Ultimate Goal: Safe Human-Robot Collaboration
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