A packed show today — and we’re going well beyond the headlines.
We’re digging into the ICE “shock gloves” — a new technology the agency says can help agents gain compliance without escalating to more dangerous forms of force. Is this a legitimate law-enforcement tool that could actually make encounters safer, or is it another expansion of government power that demands strict limits and accountability?
Then there’s the FAA recruiting video gamers to become air-traffic controllers. Gamers have developed concentration, hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, multitasking and rapid decision-making skills — so why shouldn’t government look outside the traditional résumé when searching for talent? We’ll look at this idea and the growing list of unconventional approaches coming from the Trump administration — from no tax on tips and overtime, the senior tax deduction and car-loan interest deduction, to incentives for voluntary self-deportation and the Gold Card for wealthy foreign investors. Is Washington finally becoming an “idea machine” instead of simply throwing more money at old problems?
We’re also taking a hard look at the Democratic Socialists of America and the candidates they’re helping put into office — including Abdul El-Sayed’s narrow Michigan Senate primary victory, Francesca Hong’s Wisconsin defeat, New York’s DSA-backed candidates and Mayor Zohran Mamdani. What have these candidates actually said about America, capitalism, policing, immigration, traditional holidays and American culture — and what happens when some of those positions suddenly get a little less radical when they need to appeal to a broader electorate?
And we’ll have the latest on the new Massachusetts abortion law and what it means for the state’s limits on abortion, along with the constitutional and moral questions surrounding it.
Plus, we’ve got your “One More Thing” — because after all of that, we need something ridiculous: police discover goats riding around in the trunk of a stolen vehicle!
The Joe Mangiacotti Show — today at 1 PM on WCRN 830 AM.
Call in: 508-871-7000.