But there’s always hope.

In this increasingly radical, fragmented time we’re in, I do wonder if things would work better as “a fleet of little boats” in this country—or at least some more flexibility within the whole. But we are one nation, currently under Trump and all his provocations. And my best guess is that last night most people on our battleship deck said, “We’re going to change direction and go this way now.”

This is the beauty of democracy. The people do have a say. So they made their voices heard and provided a clear repudiation of the war, the economic damage, and the general dismissal of everyday Americans.

That Trump got this message is the silver lining from last night.

The bad, however, includes some pretty dark truths as well.

1. The Blue Wave – First, how much was this wave motivated by helping Americans versus attacking or getting back at Trump? Focusing on opposition rather than solutions is a race to the bottom. And what about the harms they threaten—many of them being radical themselves? In other words, did the nation just end up overcorrecting into a different kind of danger?

2. There are parts of this U.S. battleship that really did not need to turn left—and our state happens to be right at the top of that list.

We Minnesotans have been enduring a 5–10-year stretch of dysfunction and unrest—incredible amounts of financial fraud, riots, and unprecedented political division. Education rankings that were once routinely top-5 have fallen into the teens, and public safety in the Twin Cities has deteriorated. Part of why this all happened has been because of unchecked left-leaning rule. And now the very people in charge throughout most of this descent are being re-elected and even promoted.

Two examples stand out on the law-and-order side of things: Keith Ellison, our state’s attorney general, is open about his radical political beliefs and has made controversial legal decisions (suing small business owners open during COVID lockdowns, suing car manufacturers when carjackings became common in Minneapolis). He’s now been re-elected for a third term

The current Hennepin County attorney, Mary Moriarty, is similarly open about her polarizing politics. Sentencing reductions and diversion programs have allowed many to reoffend once released, with victims’ families among the most vocal in their anger. Under scrutiny, Moriarty decided not to seek this office again. Two candidates emerged: another Progressive-minded former public defender and a former federal prosecutor promising a more “law-and-order,” safety-conscious direction. Despite the frustrations with rising crime enabled by Moriarty’s approach, county residents just voted for the Progressive.

I don’t have a crystal ball. Huge trends like crime and the economy make large, sometimes unexpected, turns irrespective of who is in office. But to the degree officeholders do matter, and judging by all those now elected in our state, all signs point to Minnesota’s continued descent.

This is me just calling things as I see them. I hope I’m wrong, and it’s certainly less important to cast blame than it is to respond accordingly to these forecasts. (After all, one might understand Minneapolis residents not wanting a “law-and-order” county attorney with a federal background after Operation Metro Surge, which resulted in the deaths of two Minnesotan protesters. In a way, Minnesotans in the city have been primed to vote this way.)

So, in advance of more trouble, I think it's crucial to become close with your community. Or find a new one, if you’re around unnecessary danger and harm. Consider running for office or supporting good people who will. I believe most people take for granted security and provision from the government that might not always be available. It will increasingly be up to the individual (person or community). So, keep your head on a swivel; be aware of the changing social climate out there. And keep your head up. I know it can be scary seeing who gains power, but all the awesome people in our lives are still here regardless of the activity (or inactivity) at the political top.

Lastly, be kind to each other and to your local elected officials. I recently interviewed a few small city mayors who shared how difficult their jobs have become—largely as volunteers, by the way—because of the contentiousness between their residents. In all, we might not be able to change the direction of the battleship of our country or our state, but we can have a role locally. In fact, we need more good people to step up and do just this. As things continue to fragment, the community will only become more important.

-Brandon

The Premise: Over the past 5-10 years, Minnesota has suffered a series of events and controversies that have greatly intensified civic activity and divided our communities & state. Concurrently, our rank has fallen in recent years regarding education (now 21st in the U.S.) and crime (now 16th).

The Question: Given this state of our state, how can we best proceed? As city leaders, how have you experienced this negative trend in your communities, and what actions can you take (are you taking) to address it?

With this, we began our discussion on stage in Wayzata last Thursday night, Oct. 22. It was a the 3rd Annual Culture Convergence event organized by Local Ties Media, a modest-sized but meaningful affair bringing together experts and enthusiasts in various topics surrounding technology and society.

This night saw three discussions on A.I., decentralized systems, and, for my panel kicking off the evening, a look at how Minnesota’s political culture has shifted and how we might turn the page toward a new, better chapter for our state.

Joining me (left-right) were mayors Tom McKee (Corcoran, also now running for State House 37A), Julie Maas-Kusske (Maple Plain), and Todd Albers (Medina) as well as Plymouth city council candidate Sarah Anderson.

The biggest takeaway for me wasn’t a political one, but a human one: With all the tension and community infighting, it’s not easy being a mayor these days. I took a moment in the middle this conversation to thank these four for stepping up. They’re largely volunteers. I also noted the “death spiral” risk in play when it comes to political leadership: The job gets more difficult and thankless, so good people step away, leaving a leadership void that can further a community’s struggle.

So, their communities are fortunate to have these local leaders.

Enjoy their testimonies in the video above, a look behind-the-scenes at city halls large and small affected by the challenges across our state.

Hope you had a wonderful Halloween and have a terrific start to your November.

And thank you, as always, for all your support helping make this work of mine possible.

-Brandon

Here was a people from the mountains in the tropics, with an agrarian culture, largely living off the land, from literally halfway across the world.

They’d be moving to a climate of arctic-like winters, one of the most technologically advanced societies on the globe, and a largely homogeneous society composed of another race.

And yet…

Come 2016, I was working at a charter school in St. Paul catered to this population. A school by and for the Hmong.

And yet, for how much they carried on their traditions, here is where I began to notice their integration into Minnesota culture. The Hmong insurance salesman up the road has hunting photos and deer antlers mounted in his office. The Hmong IT guy the school hired told me all about his fishing outings (ice-fishing included). The school security guard loved the Vikings as much as any fan in my family.

The candle on top was learning about the storied Minnesota small town of Walnut Grove—made famous by Laura Ingalls Wilder—now had many Hmong families calling it home. They even painted a large, intercultural mural in town that would be the featured image for my story in the Star Tribune that December ten years ago.

There have also been clashes, of course. My article relays the stories from the Hmong’s early days in Minnesota: struggling with traffic laws, coping with the cold, translation issues. This extended to the criminal element. An “Asian gangs” problem in the 90s featured second-generation Hmong caught between two worlds and finding a belonging in the defensive, rebellious, and antisocial.

Thoughts of recent criminal clashes with the Somali come to mind. One can hope the recent surge in antisocial activity from their youth similarly fades.

Cultures are just so varied. And the intermingling of them—with mixed results indeed—will continue to rise in our evermore fluid world.

It’s good to be aware of this trend and intentional about how to proceed within it.

For any given community, it’s good to exercise strength when necessary to defend the way of life and maintain the cultural identity foundational to its progress thus far.

Security and sound leadership were two of the main discussion points on stage this past Thursday night. At the “Culture Convergence” tech and society event in Wayzata, I moderated a panel discussion featuring three Twin Cities mayors and candidates for public office.

The premise for this talk: Minnesota has experienced unprecedented unrest and division the past 5-10 years. What has been your experience with this general trend in your communities? How are you forging ahead?

These local leaders shared how even in their smaller communities, crime and tensions have risen. They then relayed their approach for handling the conflict and maintaining community integrity. It was a revealing discussion—inspiring as well. Balancing the troubling headlines and trends at the top, I realized we have such good leaders out there putting in this everyday effort on the ground.

How things in general unfold will be revealed—from the wellbeing of a small community dealing with crime, to a whole state or country addressing the integration of immigrants. Despite the appeal of the negative, the example of the Hmong in Minnesota reminds us it’s certainly not all bad. Unpredictable, pleasantly surprising successes occur as well.

-Brandon

I’ve spent enough time on social media to learn which places are more popular with the ladies and which are more popular with the guys. As controversies and tensions in society have arisen, I’ve watched them become places to bash the opposite sex.

Given the spate of news about sexual assault, the spigot is wide open for those on, say, TikTok to expressing their feelings about men being the problem. But recently, I thought of a question: Since we all agree men do commit the vast majority of sexual assaults (with women the victims), why do women so strongly support letting crowds of unvetted young men into their country?

This contradiction revealed to me that the problem isn't just about one sex or the other. It’s a society-wide breakdown.

I lay this all out in my new video:

-Brandon

P.S. In related news, I posted about the recent gang shooting canceling a homecoming event in suburban Twin Cities. It’s getting some attention on Facebook for those interested.

On July 25, new legislation redefining Americans’ access to healthcare went into effect in Montana. Already known as a frontier, this state has been a pioneer of what are known as “Right to Try” laws.

With the pace of new medical treatments accelerating far beyond the speed of approval from U.S. regulatory agencies, recent years have seen many Americans leave the country for cutting edge (yet often unregulated) treatments. To address this disparity and the rising numbers of sick Americans legally prevented from accessing potential options at home, many states have passed enhanced healthcare access laws of their own. Perhaps like with marijuana policy, these states have decided that the importance of liberalizing restrictions outweighs the risks of clashing with federal law.

Far from fighting the states on this matter, though, the federal government has been following their lead. Before enacting their own 2018 Federal Right to Try Act, 41 states had already passed bills allowing people with terminal illnesses to receive treatments not yet fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—the U.S. agency that approves which foods and treatments can be sold to Americans. If a treatment passes FDA Phase 1, proving itself to be safe, such patients may consent to and access these therapies.

“The federal government does want states to act as the laboratories for policy,” said Ken Bogner, Montana State Senator, District 19. “So that they can take the best of the best around the country and apply it at the federal level.”

Having observed how this first wave of Right to Try legislation unfolded, Senator Bogner felt confident introducing a bill that went even further. In 2023, five years into his legislative tenure, Bogner’s successful Senate Bill 422 expanded Right to Try to non-terminal patients. After all, while restricting terminal individuals’ access to care was the most egregious failure, many other examples of regulatory misalignment have been evident through Americans flying away to seek treatments for chronic pain, mental health, corrective surgeries, general longevity, and more.

From his rural, southeast Montana district, Sen. Bogner’s original motivation for his bill was a non-terminal one: to help his aging constituents maintain their way of life.

“I ran on a platform of rural economic development. And [it] became clear that it wasn’t necessarily the [economic] policies,” he recalled. “The older generation was struggling to help the next generation because either they’ve gotten older and just didn’t have the energy… Or they were spending their disposable income on healthcare costs.”

Bogner wondered what a state might do to increase access to treatments for age-related health problems.

“So, I came up with an idea,” Bogner said. “Why don’t we expand medical Right to Try? Why do you have to be terminally ill to get treatments that you want or need?”

Senate Bill 422 removed this requirement—as have several other states since then in what is now known, collectively, as “Right to Try 2.0.” Two years later in 2025, The Treasure State passed Bogner’s Senate Bill 535, creating the framework for clinics to administer these treatments. Then, in July, these framework rules took effect, enabling facilities to submit the licensing application to open physical centers.

These treatment centers apply to the state. The treatment developers—biotech and pharmaceutical companies—apply to a newly-created review board.

​“There’s three different priorities here,” said Steve Martin, U.S. Lead for the company and biotech innovation hub, Infinita, who assisted Sen. Bogner in drafting the legislation. “There’s the review boards, the biotechs, and the clinics, all of which are completely separate.”

Steve continued, explaining this three-legged stool.

“A biotech comes to a review board to get approval for its treatment protocol,” he shared. “Once it’s approved, they then take that treatment protocol to a clinic and they say, ‘Hey, we want to treat patients. Can you do this?’ And if the clinic says ‘Yes,’ patients can go get treatment at that clinic.”

Now living in Montana, Steve was drawn to this cause following his own recent healthcare access struggle.

“I injured my spine,” he recalled. “And I was trying to access some stem cell treatments that were in the clinical pipeline.”

Yet despite the 2018 Federal Right to Try Act and the liberalized policy of the state in which he sought the treatment, Steve said he discovered that “all these laws are pretty useless. I couldn’t get a hold of anything.”

Already working in the biotech industry at the time, Steve began researching right to try laws, which led him to Infinita and the role he has today.

Infinita promotes biotech development by building an ecosystem of biotech companies and clinics for early patient access options. Initially focused within the Próspera economic development zone on Roatan Island, Honduras, Infinita is now shifting focus to the U.S.

In addition to supporting SB535, Infinita has formed the first review board for this new healthcare system. Officially labelled Experimental Treatment Review Boards (ETRB), they serve as safety and ethical gatekeepers for experimental therapies entering the state—evaluating the safety data and approving treatment protocols for use in Montana.

Steve said initial correspondence with interested companies has mostly been with startups focused on life-saving treatments.

“The most popular indications are oncology (cancer) and neurodegenerative,” he said.

Other potential treatments include those addressing disabilities such as hearing loss, tissue regeneration, and other non-terminal impairments comprising a newly-coined area of care: healthspan.

“It’s not just about living longer. It’s about living a longer, healthier life,” said Marci Torres, defining this term. Marci is Founder and CEO of Wildcreek Life Sciences, the first company to announce its application to become an Experimental Treatment Clinic (ETC).

Echoing the motivation for Sen. Bogner’s initial bill, Marci represents the third leg of this legislative stool alongside the biotech companies and review boards. With a 30-year background spanning public health, military health systems, higher education, and healthcare operations—and her state now the center of this medical movement—Marci is taking this opportunity, she said, to “be a part of something that could have such a massive impact on our health care system as a whole.”

In the run-up to opening their doors in Bozeman early next year, Marci has also been hearing from several biotech companies, further foreshadowing the kinds of new services and treatments they’ll begin administering in 2027. These include potential breakthroughs in cell and gene treatments for various diseases; healthspan therapies (treating chronic pain, hearing/vision, and vitality infusions), and longevity treatments for those wanting to delay the onset of aging in general.

One disadvantage of being out in front of this issue: getting ahead of how insurance companies cover treatment expenses.

“It’s all out of pocket,” Marci stated.

The spirit of providing healthcare access, though, has inspired ways an all-cash clinic can open its doors to many. A percentage of Wildcreek’s profits “will go toward creating access for people who can’t afford [care],” Marci explained, adding they’ll also partner with disease-specific foundations and groups such as those serving veterans, so patients can apply for funding. Helping enforce this, SB 535 requires licensed clinics to allocate at least 2% of their net annual profits toward patient access.

Yet insurance coverage isn’t the only wrinkle when breaking ground in healthcare. Getting out ahead of the whole healthcare industry raises significant difficulties and scrutiny.

Bioethicists and patient advocacy groups, for example, have long asserted that administering experimental treatments disrupts the controlled settings necessary for clinical testing of new drugs. Also, in Montana, some in the public have interpreted “experimental” to mean risky or fringe, including “snake oil” treatments being sold to those desperate for a cure. Finally, pro-life groups in the state raised concerns about treatments using stem cells from aborted pregnancies.

Marci directly addressed this matter of stem cells.

“We’re not sourcing anything from embryonic cells,” she explained. Then, during a subsequent fact-check of this story, Marci solidified her stance, declaring, “No abortion-derived tissue. No embryonic stem cells. No embryo is created or destroyed at any point in our pipeline.”

Regarding the worry about experimental treatments, Sen. Bogner pointed out the bill’s guardrails.

“…these therapies have to complete Phase 1 safety trials,” he emphasized. “They have to go through an Experimental Treatment Review Board. It’s not a free-for-all.”

Finally, a response to the clinical testing objection took place on the industry’s turf, so to speak, when Infinita founder and CEO, Niklas Anzinger, published his June 9 article on PharmExec.com. In it, he pointed out how clinical trials today struggle to find test subjects because they have become unnecessarily exclusionary.

“In Alzheimer’s, over 90% of real-world patients are excluded from the leading trials,” he wrote. As a result, Niklas added, these studies (much like the patients themselves) are going overseas, as the “U.S. share of new trials has fallen from 49% in 2015 to 33% in 2025.”

Niklas countered, in fact, that Montana’s new healthcare infrastructure helps trials by generating real-world human outcome data and creating a parallel revenue stream, addressing another large reason trials fail—expense.

Lastly, there is the ethical matter: With so many trial candidates denied, Montana’s new clinics offer a potential alternative for suffering people seeking recovery options.

If only the drug-makers would get on board.

Unfortunately, perhaps ironically, the federal government’s passivity—while allowing states to expand these rules—is also interfering with activity in this space by not explicitly permitting it. The Montana legislation’s distance from federal policy scares away the industry’s biggest players.

“Big Pharma, for the most part, isn’t going to participate in this because they have too much to lose,” Steve summarized. “If an adverse event happens in a clinic under a state law—even if the patient was late-stage or complex—it creates a headline that can tank their stock or pause their main FDA approval track.”

Crossing the FDA is also a great concern for foreign companies, as seen in the ongoing case of toddler Brody DeVault.

Brody is an American boy with a rare genetic condition called creatine transporter deficiency. The lack of creatine in the brain leads to complications such as developmental delays, motor impairments, and severe speech limitations.

There is no known cure.

So, Brody’s father, Kris, was excited when learning a French biotech company, Ceres Brain Therapeutics, had developed a potential treatment and is even now planning a Phase II trial for people with Brody’s condition. But the trial takes place in France, and fully approved access to this drug for U.S. patients is still years away.

A July 31, 2026, story from MIT Technology Review titled, Montana’s new “right to try” law can’t come soon enough for some, introduced this new legislation as the potential answer to these federal regulatory burdens. And yet, despite Ceres’s CEO “finding Montana’s legislation and clinical infrastructure to be ‘suitable for our drug,’” he hesitates to provide the medication through an ETC for fear of “getting on the wrong side of the FDA.”

Consequently, both Kris DeVault and Steve Martin have approached the FDA requesting legal assurances for biotech companies, ultimately enabling access to these possible cures.

“State laws create the legal pathway, but federal ambiguity keeps the biggest players in the stands,” Steve argued.

Yet, remaining attached to their three-phase clinical testing model, according to Steve, the agencies in D.C. have remained largely unmoved.

This presents a Catch-22: Federal regulators remain in a wait-and-see posture toward state-level Right to Try expansions, but that very ambiguity keeps companies with “the most promising treatments” from participating, Steve assessed.

So, for now, hope for new cures via this expanded healthcare access may best lie in the very phenomenon exercised by Montana’s SB535: Decentralization in medicine. The move away from one giant regulatory framework now rigid with bureaucratic sclerosis is being accompanied by moving away from relying on just a few giant pharmaceutical companies.

Today, Kris and Brody may be yet another pair of Americans flying away for better treatment options as they consider a trip to Próspera in Honduras. The founding home of Infinita is also a nascent hub for experimental medical treatments. Back in the U.S., though, Marci sees the future of healthcare going through Montana, observing, “SB535 is the completion of what Federal Right to Try promised.”

The feds won’t have to “wait-and-see” for long. As happened with “Right to Try 1.0,” states are moving swiftly ahead, with New Hampshire, Florida, Nevada, and others drafting and passing their own versions of such healthcare expansions.

And in addition to their governments, many states’ residents have been active.

​“I started getting calls and emails from people all over the country,” Senator Bogner recalled when looking back on this legislative journey. “I think we had over a hundred inquiries—patients looking for hope, biotechs looking for a place to actually run these treatments, and clinics wanting to know what the process is to get licensed.”

As tech evolves, so do social institutions. Some governments tighten their rules; others loosen theirs. And as medical technologies improve, and costs to innovate come down, breakthroughs will emerge from all new places. Rather than from a biotech R&D lab in New England or Minnesota and passing through a multi-year, multi-phase gauntlet of FDA approval, a brand-new treatment of tomorrow might be developed on a Honduran island and administered at a clinic in Bozeman.

— Brandon Ferdig

To connect with those featured in this story:

• Sen. Ken Bogner

• Steve Martin

• Marci Torres

• Niklas Anzinger

NOTE: This is the second of two stories written in partnership with Infinita.

What’s on your bucket list?

• Reel in a huge ocean fish

• Find a fossil on a dinosaur dig

• Attend a Wagnerian opera at Bayreuth, Germany

Oh wait, these are mine.

One item I’m guessing is pretty common on people’s lists: a safari.

When volunteering in Tanzania in 2014, I was privileged to enjoy this experience:

I made some lasting contacts in the safari/tourism world.

One such gentleman, Ras Kibodya, even received a little support from The Periphery Foundation—AKA a handful of you chipping in—to help with his safari truck.

Thanks to this support, Ras led safaris all summer to Ruaha National Park.

He welcomes anyone here to visit and enjoy this wild adventure with his Jungle Beat Safari Tours.

Many also come to Africa to experience the life there, perhaps even participate directly. Well, another friend, Michael Kalamu, started a school in his home village.

Many folks I met while there—usually in the provincial capital, Iringa—originated from a another part of the country. Their home regions were home to their tribes, each with their own tribal language or dialect.

For Michael, this region is Njombe, where he founded a primary school.

Like Ras, Michael invites anyone from the U.S.—or from anywhere—to come take part in a volunteer experience at his school.

He wrote to me:

I invite you to come to our institution—located in Njombe in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania, East Africa—to volunteer with various activities at our practical skills project and to exchange our Tanzanian cultures and customs.

We are really looking forward to your visit to share skills and culture. This will inspire the youth, helping even those with negative mindsets to change, particularly in developing a strong work ethic and a love for their progress for generations to come.

Of course, these two represent countless opportunities in this one part of the world—real, raw, grounded.

Back when I was there (and struggling regularly with the Internet) I realized two things:

1. Intermittent technology is sometimes worse than no technology at all.

2. I appreciated how Tanzania’s unique gifts are found offline.

Hm, Ras or Michael could incorporate that into their marketing: “Come to Tanzania and unplug.”

Unplug and connect or, perhaps, unplug to connect – That’s a fun paradox. It’s how I feel when camping. And now that I think about it as I write this, it’s how I feel about all my bucket list items! It’s the joy of hearing a string instrument, brushing the dirt off of an exposed fossil, and reeling in a monster from the deep.

Then again, maybe your bucket list (and maybe my own) includes taking one of those rockets through the stratosphere and seeing Earth from 50 miles up.

I appreciate my connection to Ras and Michael and their precious corner of the earth. I also appreciate this greater consideration of the kinds of experiences we hold most dear and hope to enjoy before our final days.

If you have any questions about Ras or Michael or those experiences, let me know.

Otherwise, please share what’s on your bucket list! What do you hope to experience—or accomplish—before passing away? If several folks share, I’ll the results in a future post.

And on that note, I hope you all have a fulfilling week ahead.

-Brandon

Tired of the drama, struggle, and negative attention on our state, I felt some encouragement when talking to Tom McKee, candidate for Minnesota House.

It wasn’t his positions.

We actually didn’t talk much about that, which was nice. We didn’t have to. His experience as mayor of a growing community revealed his approach to policy and action.

But nor was it this assurance that a capable person was running for state office.

Rather, it was this: This year’s election offers an unusually high amount of turnover in Minnesota.

Tom shared that scores of new Minnesota House and Senate members will be joined by a new Governor, potentially a new Attorney General, and some big federal offices as well. When he laid it out like that, I realized this could be just be the opportunity our state needs.

So, we talk about his campaign, his role as mayor, and this unique opportunity for Minnesota to start a new chapter.

Enjoy this episode of The Periphery Podcast:

thanks for watching and caring,

-Brandon

It’s a forgotten, revealing tragedy.

In September 1857, the American West was its legendary wild self with vast empty lands dotted with communities and passersby armed and ready to defend themselves.

One wildcard in the region were those congealed under the banner of a new religion—the Mormons in the Utah Territory. Still charged from persecution in states eastward, they saw outsiders increasingly as threats.

So they went on a massacre.

A wagon train of Arkansas families, known today as the Baker-Fancher Party, were passing through some Mormon settlements on their way to California—reportedly with some verbal conflict. On September 7, Mormon militiamen, aided by Paiute Native Americans whom they had recruited, attacked this wagon train at a place called Mountain Meadows.

The Baker-Fancher Party fortified themselves behind their wagons and fended off the attack. In addition to being strong fighters, they were observant and noticed how some of “Paiutes” were actually white men donning painted skin and Paiute attire. The resultant standoff, along with knowing their cover was blown, led to the act whose barbarity was matched by its underhandedness.

On September 11, the militiamen approached under a white flag and promised to safely escort the families past local hostiles if they surrendered their weapons. Trusting the militia, the emigrants agreed. Now unarmed, one of the Mormons would later give the signal, and the militiamen and their allies turned on the Arkansas families and murdered approximately 120 men, women, and children.

Point-blank shootings, clubbing the victims, stabbing them.

They spared 17 children under seven years old, believing they couldn’t effectively testify. The orphaned children were then taken and distributed among local Mormon families to be raised.

​Twenty months went by before the U.S. sent a delegation led by an Army officer to investigate. The men were appalled to find, after all this time, the exposed remains of the victims. Wild animals had scattered them across the valley floor. The officer, Major Carleton, recorded seeing human skulls, bones, and long locks of women’s hair littered across the site, alongside women’s dresses, children’s shoes, and the burnt remnants of baggage.

​He and his troops gathered the bones of at least 34 victims and buried them in a mass grave, erecting a stone cairn and a large wooden cross inscribed with: “Vengeance is mine, I will repay saith the Lord.”

In his official 1859 Special Report to Congress, Carleton wrote:

​“The scene of the massacre, even at this late day, was horrible to look upon… skulls and bones of all sizes… were scattered over the surface of the ground… The small children who were saved were sold out among the Mormon families… The property of the emigrants was divided—some of it was sold at public auction in Cedar City… and the clothing stripped from the dead was placed in the tithing office of the church.”

Upon arriving at the Mormon settlements, the investigators located the children, some found wearing clothes made from their murdered parents’ garments. Upon talking to them and piecing together the evidence, they discovered the truth behind the Mormon culprits, that they tried to pin it all on the Paiute Indians, and then one more fact that stunned the investigators even more: These Mormon families—including the leader of the massacre—had submitted bills to the federal Indian Superintendent for the children’s room, board, and clothing.

Captain James Lynch, who accompanied the federal investigation team, stated in his 1859 sworn affidavit:

​“I have witnessed many harrowing sights on the fields of battle, but never did my heart thrill with such horrible emotions, as when standing on that silent plain contemplating the remains of the innocent victims of Mormon avarice, fanaticism, and cruelty…

“The children pointed out to us the dresses and jewelry of their mothers and sisters that now grace the angelic forms of these murderers’ women and children.”

​Lynch then directly called out the financial scheme, that it “was so done to cheat the government out of money [and] to again reward the guilty wretches for their inhuman butcheries.”

​The investigators eventually secured $10,000 from Congress to recover all 17 children, outfit them properly, and escort them back to their surviving relatives in Arkansas later in 1859.

These discoveries revealed a scandal of depths too vast to ignore. Eventually, the Mormons realized their inescapable situation, and, despite having maintained strict silence stifling the prosecutions, finally singled out the fall guy—the leader of the massacre. John D. Lee would be tried, found guilty, and executed by firing squad. Everyone else who committed the murders or was complicit suffered no legal consequences—this includes the legendary Mormon leader Brigham Young. Historians believe he didn’t have a direct hand in the massacre. In fact, he had sent a letter to the militiamen, directing them to let the Arkansas families go. But it didn’t arrive in time. Young was complicit in keeping quiet, though, and yet today we have a top tier university named in his honor—not to mention an enormous American religion that regards him as a prophet and holds him in the highest esteem.

This is part of what got me when first learning about this massacre: How so much of our societal foundations are built upon the legends of those that seem so unworthy of their standing. I guess when a major movement is formed around the work of one or a few people, these founders become too important to disavow. This would undermine the movement’s foundation, threatening the whole edifice of its culture and meaning—and rendering life suddenly much less meaningful for its practitioners.

In modern times, we’ve watched the movement for social justice built around the death and honoring of George Floyd. Outsiders are confused (if not mocking) in their observations of the kind of man Floyd was. Also today, we see plenty of mockery toward Mormon beliefs.

“How could otherwise smart people seriously believe such farfetched theology and history?”

Until I learned of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, I was quick to accuse Mormon critics of unreasonable harshness. But now I don’t see that faith as so harmless. Not that it’s a significant direct threat to me; just the general waywardness of people, steered by group beliefs and ignoring the past.

And the Mormons are far from alone in this regard.

This is the other part—the main part—that got to me when learning of this story: How familiar it was.

Take a look at what we had here: A religious group so radical as to shield themselves off from mainstream society, who did so with prejudice and suffered persecution (or at least severe judgement) from others, furthering their isolation and suspicions. And then it all came to a head with an eruption of absolute violence.

It’s become a predictable cycle now studied in social psychology. (It’s also what makes peaceful separatists like the Amish and Mennonite stand out.)

Also common between this example and those of other religious groups is the seeming complete lack of honor or shame—a “soullessness”, ironically, or at least a lack of conscience—of such groups to ruthlessly victimize outsiders and then, in this case, ask for payment from their victims’ government on top of it. (There’s also the polygamy and underage brides in common sometimes.)

That kind of brazen disregard always makes me pause with disturbance. And I struggle to understand how a movement built, at least in part, on that can have such staying power. But they did. Maybe this explains why the U.S. didn’t pursue the case harder. And, again, this isn’t just about Mormons. In fact, this whole piece is in no way written to judge Mormons today. I recently had a lovely interaction with a couple of missionaries at my local coffeeshop. They are some of the most pleasant, warm people you’ll meet.

Perhaps this is about episodes of humanity where the power of religion is exploited by charismatic and narcissistic individuals. And maybe, turning the tables here, Mormons offer a positive example of how not to let a horrific episode in your history derail and define the entirety of the movement in perpetuity. Amend your movement by being unusually kind and generous moving forward.

I do think many would welcome today’s Mormon energy adopted by major religions not known for their tolerance and humility.

Maybe, in that way, this 9/11 anniversary relates to *the* 9/11 anniversary we all immediately refer to on this date.

In any case, it is a day to reflect and appreciate the richness of our species, the innocents lost to this complexity, and the fallibility (sometimes extremely so) in even the most cherished of our institutions. And with that, go find our path honoring and navigating a world with all these considerations.

I hope it’s a meaningful 9/11 for you.

-Brandon

p.s. I recently learned of the Mountain Meadows Massacre when listening to the captivating book Blood and Thunder, now the 3^rd title I’ve so enjoyed from history author Hampton Sides. Here also is an overview of this historic tragedy.

p.p.s. Thank you so much to subscribers Marc and Lou, who’ve recently upped their investment in my work by becoming paid subscribers. Your contributions go directly to my ability to create these stories. 🙏

Talking about having children on this day gives new meaning to “Labor Day” :)

Jokes aside, some people are really starting to sound the alarm about a troubling trend hitting many developed countries: People aren’t having enough children.

Wait, what? Weren’t we just freaked out about overpopulation?

Well, yeah—and some still are—but the latest is actually the opposite.

Korea is perhaps the most striking example, but many others are following the trend—Japan, many European countries, and the U.S.

🙋‍♂️Okay, so I raise my hand to own up to my part in this. But like I share in this new video below, my story of not having children—at least right out of high school—prevented what would have been a downright traumatic upbringing for those kids. (I even share my mugshot in the video to prove it.) And there are countless others like me who prevented such trouble by waiting to first be ready to be a parent.

But whether it’s waiting or in some other way, so many families nowadays are having children with intention and preparation—rather than incidental or even accidental. This is the silver lining to the general negative trend of too few births.

Given all this, perhaps we’re seeing the rise of the healthiest generation ever.

Far-fetched? Relatable?
It’s my take on this issue from The Periphery.

Hope you like it:

Oh, and thank you to Marc and Lou, my two most recent subscribers who’ve chosen to invest in becoming paid supporters.

It helps so much—as does any feedback I receive, steering me toward producing more, better stories for all of you here to enjoy.

So, enjoy my new video and enjoy your post-Labor Day week ahead. (So, we’re not supposed to wear white anymore, yeah?)

-Brandon

Last week, an interview clip with actor Christopher McDonald went viral.

He shared—for the first time publicly, I believe—the story of how his fiance (80s bombshell Geena Davis) cheated on him with another actor and broke off their engagement.

It was just a short clip because the whole point of being asked about this was the twist: How five years later, he was cast to play Geena Davis’s husband. But most viewers were simply shocked to learn this well-known actress ran off with the well-known actor Jeff Goldblum. Also, people didn’t know McDonald was ever even dating Geena Davis.

Others, like myself, were drawn to the “survival” aspect—how McDonald hung in there after such a devastating heartbreak and was even a gentleman about it. Then, the comments responding to the video struck me: Men feeling the gut punch and even expressing vicarious anger toward Davis; women surprised by the story as well but then some reacting to the men’s anger.

“Geez, it was 40 years ago. People make mistakes,” was the general sentiment from these women pushing back against the men.

I realized some women underestimate the pain such an experience would trigger in a the man because I don’t think they realize what a cheating partner means to his sense of value. Put another way, I don’t think these women realize how much men value the women in their lives.

Thursday, I hit the record button and spoke into the camera, sharing these thoughts. Here is the final product, published just minutes ago. I hope it triggers some thoughts and perhaps even some growth in you.

I’d love to hear if it does.

Enjoy:

I’m taking spare time
to go back in time
with others recalling former times.

The headline of this article is no clickbait. Click below and see for yourself.

From just the handful of life stories I captured when traveling Alaska in 2020, we heard the extreme, the tragic, and the wholesome & lighthearted. And given our new era of short form social media video, these (and many of my interviews from over the years) are now granted second life with these “highlight reels” so to speak, these remarkable testimonies and personalities.

I’ve linked several of these videos below. Enjoy flipping through the variety of life story highlights.

But first, let me spell out one of the most extraordinary of them all…

The Earthquake Survivor

I met then-90-year-old Bonnie Carriker outside Fairbanks. Sitting in her office, she recalled her experience being one of the people nearest to the epicenter of the most severe US earthquake in history (in terms of magnitude). Back in 1964, in the small coastal town of Valdez, Alaska, Bonnie’s husband was even nearer. He and several coworkers on the docks met a uniquely terrifying fate when the earth opened beneath them, plummeting into its depths.

The disaster was biblical in scope.

Ironically, this 9.2 earthquake occurred on Good Friday of that year.

Bonnie and her suddenly-fatherless two small children had to reach down deep within themselves for the strength to endure. In our interview, Bonnie credited her faith.

This irked one viewer.

“Where was God when the earthquake took her husband?” someone countered in the YouTube comments.

Indeed, a 3-minute video can speak to a lot: history, natural disasters, enduring a tragedy, faith, and even theology.

While this new trend of shortform videos is sometimes criticized for abbreviating longer works and enabling people’s limited attention spans, I’m grateful Bonnie’s and others’ worthy stories I’ve captured are finding new life on various platforms through these videos.

Here’s Ruth, another older woman, but on the other side of the country—Chattanooga, Tennessee—speaking about segregation, poverty, and the raw nature of life during her childhood:

Bonnie has since gone to be with her husband taken by the earthquake. When revisiting this story, I reached out to my family in Alaska who had introduced me to her, and I learned she passed away about 2 1/2 years ago.

Almost 60 years of life following that singular disaster, and Bonnie lived them faithfully. When visiting, I stayed with that relative employed at the Christian radio station Bonnie provided seed money for decades earlier (money that no financial planner would have ever advised her to lend out). But she felt it was right in her heart at the time, she recalled to me—that God was steering her. As the station grew from that point on, so did Bonnie’s position within, seeing her as President of the thriving KNJP radio at the time of our interview.

RIP, Bonnie.

Enjoy more short stories below, everyone.

And, if you’d like to follow me on the other platforms where I'm sharing these videos, here you go: Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, X.

-Brandon

It’s like the Boomers with whom I spoke to throughout the protests and riots in Minnesota six years back—and who I considered shockingly mellow. More than one of them told me, “Yeah, we saw this sort of thing in the 60s.”

I had no such direct experience to refer to.

But I do have my own ever-growing experience archive, evermore strengthening the validity of the adage that, “Everything’s going to be alright.”

That said…

There’s also a growing counteracting factor.

Time may strengthen my resolve in staying calm, but time also raises the bar of crazy—sometimes troubling—things happening in our country.

The rising crazy recently outstretched my growing experiential calm, erupting and moving me to take action in a way I can’t recall ever doing: I called my two U.S. Senators. There have been many bills I haven’t liked over the years, but July 14th’s procedural vote to advance legislation furthering the integration of parts of our military with Israel’s finally got me to pick up the phone.

It’s not about siding with the Palestinians or any anti-Jewish sentiment. I was just stunned that a proposal to decay something as vitally important as national sovereignty would be presented at the level of the military, that it would be proposed with a country visibly committing military atrocities, and that it would be supported by the side of the aisle known for championing this country’s independence. It’s like all the concerns Republicans have about being beholden to the U.N or other international body were balanced by this manifestation of the deterioration of our autonomy—which the Democrats were overwhelmingly against.

The Senate Republicans did vote overwhelmingly in support of this procedural vote and did so as well in the House, which just four days ago passed its full national Defense spending bill, including this now-notorious U.S.-Israel military integration policy.

This whole Israel matter feels like the straw breaking the camel’s back of our vulnerable, two-party government.

Focusing on this cause across the ocean, one side, the conservatives, stands with those committing military crimes by way of our funding and technologies. Meanwhile, the liberals’ representatives willing to speak out against this activity (indeed, are being elected for this reason) also happen to be the most radical in that political direction. Thus, there seems diminishing representation for the vast majority of Americans in the middle. With the attention on this proxy battle far away from the issues in our country, the U.S. is either being led by politicians arguing for more involvement with this Middle East conflict while overlooking their constituents or being led by politicians elected to pull out of this conflict while enacting harmful policy upon their constituents.

With evermore then to point fingers at in either direction, that’s continually what either side does.

With these rising voices against this military merging now coming from those with far left ideals—continuing to add dysfunctional layers to the situation—I don’t know how this bind gets resolved, how America disentangles from this ball of yarn.

Regardless of all that, though, we still have our voices.

If fellow Minnesotans are interested in sharing your thoughts with our Senators, their numbers are here and here. When I called, Klobuchar’s line only allowed me to leave a message. But someone from Smith’s office did pick right up and was courteous.

Also, that Senate procedural vote mentioned above actually did not pass, as it required 60 of the 100 Senators to approve it. So right now the ball in back in their court, to hash out a compromise and propose a bill for full defense department funding starting in 2027.

Finally, regardless of all of this, I still have my faith.

We got through the 60s, right Boomers?

We in the Twin Cities got through the riots of 2020.

In some way, shape, or form, we’ll get through anything happening in the present day as well.

hope you get through this week wonderfully,

-Brandon

David consults and speaks on the topic. He also builds.

In this conversation, we discuss his new AI platform for tailoring this technology for the individual. He answered all my questions (and those that readers sent my way), we discussed AI’s capabilities & controversies such as data centers, and we looked ahead to what our AI-integrated future might look like.

▶️Watch our interview here:

Whatever the degree of your experience and exposure to such frigidity, this physical sensation blends the surreal stinging pain and numbness, extreme debilitation and discomfort. When I’ve done a cold plunge, the pain goes from surface shock to deep shivers to aches in the chest—in only a few minutes, which is all I’ve endured. The men of the Arctic shipwreck the U.S.S. Jeannette waded in such conditions for hours at times throughout their ordeal of ice sheets splintering the wooden ship and then the long trek atop and around the breaking ice. In between these drenchings, particularly on that long trek, was a constant dampness, day after day, with temperatures in the 20s and 30s. Later, when they miraculously reached land, autumn temps in Siberia fell drastically lower.

It’s easy to forget the hardships people before us endured to give us the standard of comfort we enjoy today. Set aside the conditions for those Arctic explorers—we’ll get back to them in a bit. Set aside the cold winter nights of the Revolutionary War 100 years before this shipwreck, when colonial soldiers in drab gear shivered around a campfire awaiting their orders to charge into British gunfire. I’m referring to the average, everyday life for those who built this country and our state, Minnesota: clearing the first roads and railroad tracks through mosquito-infested woods, tilling the earth with beasts and eventually a basic tractor, and, of course, the frigid winters they suffered with just basic gear and a fireplace at home.

No, no one forced these settlers to move here and struggle under these conditions. The Native Americans lived here for ages and made do with their methods, which didn’t require roads or tractors. But to the degree we all appreciate the comforts of such a developed society, can we appreciate those who built it from scratch and lived their lives without?

Beyond the technological blessings they bestowed, our ancestors exemplified character. There seems to be a relationship between wealth and character, as if our ancestors’ meager possessions were compensated by their maturity. If nothing else, this might just be the result of circumstance. It’s pretty hard to be materialistic, hedonistic, and take things for granted when one doesn’t have much and is occupied with the necessary hard work at hand. This isn’t a one-way correlation—poverty can also tempt crime, for instance. But overall, living with less means fewer distractions and less interference between an individual and humility, gratitude, contentment, and connection with others.

Perhaps this is why my mom loved the books and T.V. show Little House on the Prairie. Life in the late 1800s in rural America was exposed to many more risks and lacked the buffers of environmental comforts we have today: A/C, an abundance of food, home electronics, the automobile, and even just indoor bathrooms. This vulnerability to the elements parallels the rawness and “real” quality of the people—a presence and groundedness that stand out to me when looking back on those in our country’s past.

Laura Ingalls is the author of this series, set during her childhood in the upper Midwest. Laura’s father, Charles—played by actor Michael Landon—portrayed a character with such character wonderfully, perhaps ideally. In one episode, when in need of money, Charles asked a neighbor if he needed any work done. When the neighbor said he could use a hand around the place, putting up fences or something, Charles jumped at the chance with exultant gratitude:

“Thank you so much, Mr. Smith!”

I remember these life lessons Mom pointed out when we kids watched that show with her:

“See kids, to have work is a blessing.”

Or, “See kids, those children are so happy just to have a piece of candy.”

I’m not sure how much of those lessons came through. I do remember thinking it was a bit apples and oranges because those were the “olden days,” but I also think it planted a seed that sprouted and continues to grow in me to this day.

It was right around this time in our country’s history when Lieutenant Commander George De Long and his crew on The Jeannette set sail. Departing from San Francisco, they sailed north to Alaska, and then through the Bering Strait into the Arctic unknown. Their incredible saga reads like a work of fiction, and some of the characters and survival trials were indeed stranger than fiction. Yet, it really happened. We know this thanks to the thoughtfulness, wisdom, and resolve of the men who—through frostbite, hunger, infection, sleeplessness, and immense psychological stress—maintained and carried their journals and charts through this Arctic gauntlet back to land.

And then, when they reached land, they buried the records for later retrieval. Some survivors from a separate lifeboat eventually did just that, while searching and miraculously finding the bodies of those from this other boat in this vast stretch of Siberia. Despite these victims’ weeks-long journey inland, their three-month trek from the shipwreck to land, and the full 21 months marooned in their ship frozen in the unrelenting Arctic ice, these men ultimately succumbed to the elements and died. Their leader and others in this doomed party remained with the infirm, knowing the odds were slim but true to their vow to not leave the slower men behind.

I want to say more about this story. The details of their final days and some of their backstories stunned me with sorrow when learning of their demise, humbled me with how honorable they were, and exemplified how a life fully lived means taking chances and stepping out into the unknown—whether literally a cold plunge into the Arctic or within their personal relationships. But I also want others of you new to this story to enjoy, as I did, hearing it for the first time. So I’ll resist saying more and refer you to a book below.

I will add they did discover Arctic islands never before seen by humans, which, in addition to their current Russian titles, still bear the English names given by these explorers.

The survivors of The Jeannette were treated graciously by local Siberian populations as well as the Russian government, who fully supplied the risky search for the deceased. The frozen bodies were all moved to higher ground to avoid the spring flooding and placed within a makeshift, yet impressively sturdy, tomb built with nearby rocks. Two years later, the U.S. Navy ventured back to the Siberian tomb, exhumed the bodies, and laid them to rest in the U.S. at Brooklyn’s Woodlawn Cemetery.

Throughout their multi-year saga, these men hunted, cared for their dogs, cared for one another, celebrated New Year’s (twice), and, despite stark ethnic differences—fresh immigrants from across Europe, two from China, and two Alaskan Natives—lived as one crew on the U.S.S. Jeannette. And in all their ceremony and island discoveries, they proudly proclaimed them in the name of their country, the United States of America.

This July 4, we celebrate the Independence of our nation and the freedoms and prosperity bestowed upon us as Americans. Yet between the Revolution and today, countless men and women built the economy and culture of this country—from laborers to educators to explorers. I recently read a post on X (aka Twitter) saying we’ve become too detached from our myths, that we’re too attached to fantasies like The Lord of the Rings instead of the legends bonding us to our culture and people. I counter that we can connect to our roots through actual historical figures, finding a deeper truths in such history than in tall tales like Paul Bunyan or Pecos Bill. Men like George De Long and Charles Ingalls, and women like Laura Ingalls and De Long’s wife, Emma, allow us to reach back into the past to see deeper within ourselves—to learn where we come from and to aspire to live our lives as such men and women lived theirs.

Happy Independence Day.

-Brandon

p.s. I recently finished the audiobook of Hampton Sides’s In the Kingdom of Ice, an inspiration for this article. It narrates with great detail and intrigue the story of The Jeannette, the historical figures shaping this saga, and our country during this era of builders, visionaries, explorers, and survivors.

Perhaps some of you have strong opinions on it. If so, what are they? And what questions do you have?

Tuesday I’m interviewing David Espindola, author and tech consultant specializing in A.I.

He’s pretty busy these days—not just working with organizations but also building his own A.I. products. He’s a speaker and author of two books on the future of our world with A.I. So, he can cover all the bases on this topic, and he and I will cover as many as we can in our time together—including any questions you have. So, please share either via email or commenting below.

Leave a comment

Next, I’ll offer some thoughts of my own. Perhaps they’ll jar within you some questions or thoughts on this issue.

Like many new trends, the alarm is often more audible before the benefits become clear.

Maybe it’s concern about jobs being replaced by A.I. or scams enabled by the tech. Maybe it’s the data centers now widely disliked. Or maybe we’ve just seen all A.I.-turning-evil movies.

Then again, maybe you are enjoying some advantages of this technology—self driving cars, image and video creation, or just the everyday convenience of a Google search supplemented by their own A.I.-generated reply.

I like to remind people of the overwhelming good that can result from this technology. Like with social media, one can point out all the arguing on these platforms, how it enables false information to spread, how addictive it can be, and what it does to young people. Yet the everyday benefits of empowering practically everyone to connect with many more people are incalculable. With it, humans can better express themselves, make new contacts personally and professionally, learn more about their world, find a community support group, stay in the know with news and updates from loved ones, or just buy and sell things.

With A.I., creators are having field day with all they can now do—everything from short sci-fi films to graphics for their company newsletter.

Organizing and consuming information is now so much more efficient—from having a tutorial on YouTube summarized and read out loud, to building a spreadsheet or chart based on information you ask A.I. to research.

For something more practical than flag raising, I screen-grabbed the web pages of a grant application last week and shared these images along with an explanation by way of a voice recording. The A.I. took all of this and offered insights into the grant process, including whipping up a template spreadsheet for the project budget for me to fill in. I would have otherwise needed to learn this through articles and videos or emailing others.

As big tech investor Marc Andreessen recently said in an interview, A.I. is like having an expert on everything with you and available all the time.

The more I explore its uses for tasks and information, the more I appreciate it and its potential for enhancing our lives. It’s enabling us to dive deeper into topics and freeing us up to live the life we prefer. And this is just today when A.I. is about as “smart” as we are. When it’s “smarter,” it will be able to crack scientific and medical breakthroughs—theoretically (and this level of intelligence, of course, is precisely what concerns some people).

But before we get too sci-fi here, I’ll sit down with the human expert, David Espindola, to discuss A.I. today in 2026, what it might look like in the future, answer all of my questions, and answer all of yours.

So…

What are you curious about regarding A.I.?

• How it works

• The risks of A.I. such as job loss, rendering people less creative or smart, threatening our digital security, being used for malicious purposes like scams or fake videos of real people

• Tips for using A.I. in different ways—professional applications, ways is can help us be artistic, and just making day-to-day living easier

Let me know, and I’ll share them with David on Tuesday when we hop on our call for The Periphery Podcast.

thanks,

-Brandon

p.s. Thank you to all the recent paid subscribers. You each greatly help more of my stories, interviews, and documentary work come to life. That said, I am just getting started in seeking contributions here. So, if you enjoy my work and feel it adds to your day, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

Moderators and other candidates pressed him.

“Would you visit Israel?” interjected a moderator.

“Do you believe Israel has the right to exist?” another urged.

It was a “you better fall in line and do as we do” moment. It stunned many viewers—not so much because of Mamdani’s defiance but the focus on this topic. It was strange and even troubling.

Similarly curious was U.S. Senator John Fetterman’s post on X two days ago, lamenting the recent victories of far left New York City political candidates.

Why was Fetterman’s priority this other country? He has no ethnic or religious ties to Israel. And his profession is to serve his American constituents. Yet he placed this concern behind that of another nation.

The grip the US has on its relationship with Israel—despite the costs and today’s humanitarian emergency—has built up great pressure in our country.

Why this grip? Who knows exactly. Money, leverage, but also the religious angle is significant. Israel, in many Christians’ eyes, cannot do wrong. This status can be exploited.

The U.S. government’s lack of response to the humanitarian disaster in the Middle East and growing frustrations resulting back home has created an opportunity for those campaigning outside the political mainstream to stand out in addressing this.

And voters in New York City listened.

It reminds me of how conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones have gained popularity—just replace politics with media. Mainstream sources neglect important issues around COVID or Jeffrey Epstein, leaving a void for Jones to fill. Similarly, mainstream American politics’ has left this void regarding Israel for radical political voices to fill. And there seems a correlation: The more tense and pressured a taboo topic, the more radical are those who successfully challenge it. And then they become leaders.

They’re a symptom of a problem. Sometimes the symptoms are far to the right politically; sometimes they’re far to the left.

It’s not so much that there are all these socialists in New York. The recoil against these American-complicit atrocities is just that strong. So, voters are siding with candidates whose ideologies have repeatedly sown disorder as well as fly in the face of bedrock ideals that built this country, such as their reduction of the value of the individual.

Given this leftist blowback now felt on their home, political turf, perhaps conservative U.S. politicians will relent in the trajectory taking us here. But instead what we see are conservatives attacking these successful candidates—not asking why they were successful. The wayward seesaw continues.

So, to the degree New York City is representative of the country, we Americans are looking at two increasingly radical political choices:

• Conservatism dedicated to Israel

• Liberalism leaning toward Communism

How many of us out here are not on either team? Yet when the game is played by only these two, where does that leave us?

Thus, another pressure is building in our country—this from neglecting the American people who hold American ideals. Our apathy, frustration, and even disgust about politics and government will, itself, eventually burst to build something of its own.

I met Virginia in 2017 in rural northern Minnesota when making a video for a home healthcare company whose services she used. It was a testimonial video, where she and other clients expressed appreciation for that business helping them.

Virginia and I got to know each other that day, and she soon began expressing more than just her thoughts on the company. Just as strong were her opinions on the state of the country. And just as descriptive, I’d later discover when visiting Virginia’s trailer home, were her stories about her rough-and-tumble life.

Yet the motorcycle gangs and poverty-stricken single motherhood in her past contrasted Virginia’s quiet life out in the country, where I would return on a couple of occasions to deliver bags of birdseed and greet her big, energetic guard dog.

Her thoughts on Trump's first election were what made it into my video on that very topic. It featured a montage of reactions from a dozen or so other Americans from several different states and political backgrounds.

In her gravelly voice, Virginia was brash but kindhearted, opinionated but appreciative of those who helped her. She also helped as much as she could, giving to the local police and donating a $1 a month on my former Patreon account to support my stories. As a storyteller, Virginia was a gold mine for her graphic recollections of extreme life featuring crime and violence. She'd recall them animatedly with cigarette in hand despite her physical limitations and, eventually, her need for oxygen.

Virginia's life and personality were uniquely American, and I'm sorry hers is no longer able to decorate our world.

-Brandon

p.s. Just as grateful as I am to have met Virginia am I grateful for another supporter helping these articles and stories of mine come to life. THANK YOU, Debbie K., for becoming the latest paid subscriber. 🙏

This is Minneapolis City Hall six days ago.

To celebrate Pride, the city hosted an event featuring a drag queen performing a sexual dance for money while a little child looks on.

[Note: That statue is the 120+ year-old “Father of Waters,” or the Mississippi Statue. It was chiseled from a single block of marble in Italy. Around the turn of the last century, a group of civic leaders in Minneapolis funded this work for their city.]

​I respect and honor any injustice suffered by gay people throughout history, motivating Gay Pride from the start. As an outsider, though, my question is: Isn’t it crazy how the same group we are being asked to accept and respect then demonstrates themselves in these undignified ways?

It’s like, “Yeah, okay. I don’t want to be homophobic. I want to be kind and loving. Oh look, they’re twerking in front of children.”

Twerking, full frontal nudity, bondage, etc.—photos of each of these and more, from various Pride parades, are abundant.

It’s like the universe is having a good laugh, us being asked to accept evermore off-putting activity.

​Perhaps it’s some unconscious desire to see what they can get away with since they have this space to seemingly do what they want. But what I think we’re seeing is a combination of things: exploitation of this total freedom, on this occasion rooted in sexual expression, gay-adjacent groups wanting in on the Pride visibility, and then outside do-gooders wanting to demonstrate their tolerance by cheering on even lewd displays in what had been a most respected, sober space in Minneapolis.

As an aside, I like to think that if I was gay, I’d be all the more averse to these scenes, which give Pride and the gay community a bad image. And, as I’m seeing more of, some gay people are speaking out.

This aversion can apply to most any interest group nowadays, too, because the occasion above is far from the only example of a people, in the name of their cause, taking things too far. Personally, I don’t like seeing high-profile gun rights proponents publicize Christmas cards with their families holding automatic weapons.

And so, for those more on the gun control side of things, it might be tempting to judge all gun rights people as fanatics. Yet, one desires to be peaceful and loving in life and not judge all members of a group negatively. Unfortunately, we’re in a time of polarity and radicalization, testing that desire more and more.

So we’ll be tested, and it will be on us to pass.

-Brandon

p.s. BIG thanks to Carol, who, this week, became my latest paid subscriber. 🙏 I’d love to devote more time to my writing and videos, so thank you so, so much!

Dear Readers:

About two weeks back, I wrote a Facebook post about the exhibit “Race: Are We So Different?” at the Science Museum of Minnesota.

This exhibit includes a video artwork highlighting all black Americans killed by police in 2020. It’s a striking piece heavy with its message, and my concern was how this political artwork—weighted with emotion and urging viewers’ adherence—undermines the purpose of this institution for dinosaur fossils and learning the laws of thermodynamics.

From behind a monitor, me and several others discussed this exhibit. But beyond just writing about it, I went to check it out myself to experience it in the context of the museum—and see what came up.

Plenty did. And I recorded my reaction right there in the museum, seen in this new video at the top of this post.

That exhibit (top left of photo) was the trigger, but it represented something broader: The deterioration of the institutions in my state.

I remember being in 6th grade, coming to “the cities” for this special field trip, and how surreal it felt to see actual dinosaur skeletons. And since then, I’ve enjoyed several other exhibits and films at the Omni Theater. So, to see this museum violate its purpose, to see its attendance fall by half in just the past seven years, to see the president of the museum steering these changes making $600,000 a year, and seeing, from what I can tell, no action to address all this—particularly by the museum board; it all motivated me to get my butt there and make this video.

I sense fear in our state keeping us from snapping Minnesota out of this deteriorating trajectory. Maybe this video can help a little with turning the museum around.

Thanks for watching and caring.

-Brandon

p.s. If you like my work and wish to support more of it, you can join in becoming a paid subscriber. BIG thanks to Chris P. for becoming my latest “Benefactor” (and gifting another subscription to a friend!)

Dear Readers:

In March I returned to Honduras, the underdeveloped country in Central America that is also home to a leading, groundbreaking experiment of what a society of the future might look like.

Próspera is the name of the entity behind this startup society also known by this same name. They teamed up with the Honduran government to establish this autonomous zone on Roatán island, breaking ground in 2020.

This zone has since become a hub for a global movement flexing newfound freedom, development, and actualization of what communities and societies can be. And as a result, it’s helped Honduras by way of tourism and tax revenues as well as assisted Hondurans who’ve gained jobs and careers.

I returned this week in March not just to deliver resources to the school we support but because there was a conference taking place: The Liberty Acceleration Summit.

So, in addition to checking out the progress on the ground and reacquainting myself with a biotech community here called Infinita City (who hosted this conference), I enjoyed and absorbed all the presentations and conversations surrounding this conference showcasing the progress of startup societies around the world.

The interpersonal openness and eagerness here—about which I’ve previously shared—reverberated through these pioneers of fresh, new societies.

It was like a meetup of peaceful revolutionaries.

It was well attended. So, no vacancy at the main housing accommodation: Próspera’s towering achievement, the tallest building on Roatán island, Duna Tower.

They placed me in the dorm along with eight or so other attendees.

Fellas here came from several countries, represented various backgrounds and careers (software, entertainment, biotech, and even one social media influencer), and ranged from about 25-55 years old.

I shared much time in the communal/kitchen area with these guys, discussing everything from topics of the conference, travel tips for the island, and our countries of origin. One early-20s German man, upon learning where I was from, looked at me with a cheesy grin and said, “LEARing Center.”

There was a second of confusion followed by a thump of humility and amusement. News travels fast and far today. I didn’t know Minnesota’s reputation as a hotbed for welfare fraud would precede me. Perhaps it’s appropriate, then, that I’d be here to learn about these ideas on building a better society.

Próspera, itself, is today’s leading example of a startup society.

It provides residents and incorporated entities a jurisdiction with less red tape, lower taxes, and more efficient, responsive governance. Yet this isn’t the breakthrough. The gamechanger is how Próspera allows such entities to select their own regulatory framework from which to operate, subject to insurance approval.

All of this has opened the door to many businesses incorporating here—especially those in medical tech and biotech, which is the focus of the community, Infinita City.

Infinita City is also a startup society. They use Próspera on Roatán as their base for their biotech/longevity network. Starting off as a venture capital fund, they then brought people together for pitch events. Infinita City now hosts several kinds of gatherings related to their focus and startup societies in general—such as this conference.

While based here on Roatán, Infinita City is a network free of a single jurisdiction and is presently establishing themselves in other places. And whereas Próspera broke ground by adopting Bitcoin as an optional accounting platform upon which businesses within can operate, Infinita City has pushed the boundaries of monetary tech by adopting their own cryptocurrency $LIVES.

The night before the Liberty Acceleration Summit, a reception:

One realizes the richness of the world through travel. Here at this reception, I realized the richness of the many new internet-influenced cultures and networks usually tucked away online but now on display. I met folks in the nomad community, members of a Humanist spiritual group, some tech founders, and, of course, startup society builders—many of whom would be on stage the following two days.

Onsite, near the Duna Tower, sits the Infinita Dome, wherein attendees gathered the next morning, filling the chairs for several talks, panels, and news from afield.

Representatives from several projects shared updates on (or introduced) their work.

In addition to updates from Próspera and Infinita City, we heard from the Principality of Sealand, a jurisdiction off the coast of England resting upon repurposed infrastructure—an abandoned WWII fort. Today, the grandsons of the founder continue to manifest its mission through modern methods such as eCitizenry.

A touch of defiance toward the local country has maintained the development of Sealand as well as another project we heard from, the Free Republic of Liberland.

Located on a previously unclaimed Danube River bank and island between Croatia and Serbia, this sliver of land maintains its independence and progress toward international recognition.

Demonstrating further potential for the staying power of these projects and movement, the leader of OurWorld presented his work in Zanzibar, the island off of East Africa, part of the country of Tanzania.

The case of OurWorld, just as with Próspera in Honduras, demonstrates the growing extent to which host nations (usually smaller and less economically developed) welcome these projects. Startup societies aren’t just endeavors for pioneers or rebels dissatisfied with their homelands wanting to go their own way; they’re tools for current countries recognizing an opportunity to improve their societies by way of teaming up with these pioneers to benefit the whole.

Other projects mentioned were Jungli Nomad Village in India and Edge City, which, itself, is nomadic with different locations for this annual month-long pop-up city. And there are dozens more of these around the world—ranging from some vying for permanent independence, to temporary communities within existing nations.

Spaced out on a map, we can visualize this movement waking up.

Further, many more companies and professionals not on the map reveal this movement’s scope. For it’s one thing for pioneers to stake their claim. It’s another for onlookers to start believing in them and see their opportunity to join in by being of service consulting, fundraising, reporting, sales, and more.

In all, through the concentration of a conference, I realized the brewing potential for this movement of builders and industries in support of it. And, again, it breathed with this peaceful revolution energy.

They’re not letting the woes of a stagnating world get them down.

Nor are they ignoring its problems or relying purely on blind faith that things in their homelands will be alright. They’re doing something about it. And that something aligns with their values and amounts to this space and community working to build a better tomorrow.

In a world that seems to be at a crossroads, the startup society movement feels like a widening ray of hope—builders looking beyond the redundant, ineffective, sometime corrupt systems in place today and toward futures realizing abundance and an expanse of possibilities.

To learn more, explore the links throughout this story.

Please ask any questions, or offer your thoughts, in the comments.

Thanks, and have a spectacular week ahead.

-Brandon

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