Ron Rudson
Appearances
Fresh Air
Can The U.S. Aquire Greenland? & Other Q's About Trump Foreign Policy
In 2007, 2008, I went out and I bought the most popular luxury mattresses. I tore them apart and I realized, based on the raw materials cost and the analysis that I had done, that I was able to sell that level mattress, but with a very affordable price.
Fresh Air
Best Of: Learning From Silence / Comic Roy Wood Jr.
Support for NPR and the following message come from Fisher Investments. SVP Judy Abrams shares how clients' retirement concerns shift throughout different phases of their life and how Fisher works to support them every step of the way.
Fresh Air
Best Of: Learning From Silence / Comic Roy Wood Jr.
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Fresh Air
Best Of: Learning From Silence / Comic Roy Wood Jr.
Extreme weather disasters like wildfires and floods can devastate communities. On the Sunday story from Up First, we ask, are there places that just aren't safe to live anymore? People are going to die. They will be me and my neighbors, and I don't want that to happen. How we respond to disasters in an era of climate insecurity. Listen now on the Up First podcast from NPR.
Fresh Air
Best Of: Learning From Silence / Comic Roy Wood Jr.
What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See CapitalOne.com slash bank for details. Capital One N.A., member FDIC.
Fresh Air
Best Of: Tilda Swinton / Adrien Brody
At Sotva, we have a 365-day home trial. Why would we want to rush you or try to push you into something that's not right for you? We want to make sure that we guide you to the right mattress. Our team is always available to be helpful to make sure you make the right choice. To learn more,
Fresh Air
Roy Wood Jr. Thinks Of Comedy As Journalism
In 2007, 2008, I went out and I bought the most popular luxury mattresses. I tore them apart and I realized, based on the raw materials cost and the analysis that I had done, that I was able to sell that level mattress, but with a very affordable price.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
I tell my pediatric moms and dads. If they get a rash after the MMR, it's okay. It's not measles. It's just your body's reaction to the vaccine.
Up First from NPR
Smooth Sailing For Trump's Nominees?, LA Fire Outlook, South Korea President Arrested
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Up First from NPR
Smooth Sailing For Trump's Nominees?, LA Fire Outlook, South Korea President Arrested
This message comes from NPR sponsor, Sotva. Founder and CEO Ron Rudson shares why Sotva sales associates are focused on finding the perfect mattress for their customers.
Up First from NPR
Smooth Sailing For Trump's Nominees?, LA Fire Outlook, South Korea President Arrested
To learn more, Go to s-double-a-t-v-a-dot-com-slash-n-p-r.
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
This message comes from NPR sponsor, Sattva, maker of quality, handcrafted mattresses. Founder and CEO, Ron Rutzen, shares one of their core values.
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
At Sattva, we believe sleep does unlock a superpower. When you wake up and you're totally refreshed, you go after things more. And it all starts with being on the right mattress. And that's what Sattva has been inspired by from the day that we started.
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
To learn more, go to saatva.com slash NPR.
Up First from NPR
Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
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Up First from NPR
Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
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Up First from NPR
Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
This message comes from NPR sponsor, Sattva. Founder and CEO, Ron Rudson, shares the story of how he got started creating Sattva.
Up First from NPR
Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
In 2007, 2008, I went out and I bought the most popular luxury mattresses. I tore them apart and I realized, based on the raw materials cost and the analysis that I had done, that I was able to sell that level mattress, but with a very affordable price.
Up First from NPR
Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
To learn more, go to saatva.com slash NPR.
Up First from NPR
The Contours of a Ceasefire in Gaza, Preventing Future Wildfires In LA
In 2007, 2008, I went out and I bought the most popular luxury mattresses. I tore them apart and I realized, based on the raw materials cost and the analysis that I had done, that I was able to sell that level mattress, but with a very affordable price.
Up First from NPR
Can Old Age Be a New Beginning?
This message comes from NPR sponsor, Sattva, maker of quality, handcrafted mattresses. Founder and CEO, Ron Rutzen, shares one of their core values.
Up First from NPR
Unprepared: There is No Plan
It's bulls**t. Plain and simple. When they say affordability, and I've heard this line ever since I first went to a meeting in 1989, what they're meaning is profitability. Affordability to them means being able to close sales, hand the keys, and walk away.
Up First from NPR
Unprepared: There is No Plan
Listen, I saw the association fight for a decade, fall on its sword and twist it over a $200 exhaust fan requirement. They spent thousands of dollars and staff hours You know, just grinding on this issue of a requirement for an exhaust fan.
Up First from NPR
Unprepared: There is No Plan
They don't want those maps updated because all of a sudden a lot of areas that were previously developed are off limits. Or the rates, because of the higher proven risk, go up substantially.
Up First from NPR
Unprepared: There is No Plan
What was its main goal? Advocacy. Look, trade associations exist for one reason, and that is to help facilitate trade. the profit-making ability of their members. And it really doesn't owe an apology for that. What it owes an apology for is for pretending they're something that they're not.
Up First from NPR
Unprepared: There is No Plan
They pretend that they're an advocate for the American homebuyer, and it's all for show because what it's really about is figuring out how you can warehouse the American homebuyer for the least amount of cost and the most amount of profit.
Up First from NPR
Does the Military Have an Extremism Problem?
This message comes from NPR sponsor, Sattva. Founder and CEO Ron Rutzen shares the experience they hope to create in their viewing rooms.
Up First from NPR
Treasury and Other Trump Nominees, Fluoride Policy in Florida
He's one of the prime authors of the Project 2025 agenda. That's what the Conservative Heritage Foundation produced as a blueprint for a second Trump term. Trump himself disavowed that document many times during the campaign, but we've already seen some of its authors entering his new administration.
Up First from NPR
Treasury and Other Trump Nominees, Fluoride Policy in Florida
And vote in particular will be in a key position to change the way the federal government does business.
Up First from NPR
Treasury and Other Trump Nominees, Fluoride Policy in Florida
Lori Chavez de Riemer is a Republican member of the House from Oregon who just lost her reelection bid earlier this month, so she will be available in January. She had the backing of Teamsters President Sean O'Brien and was seen as the most pro-labor of the prospects for this job. You may remember O'Brien addressing the GOP convention last summer. and Housing and Urban Development.
Up First from NPR
Treasury and Other Trump Nominees, Fluoride Policy in Florida
Scott Turner was in the first Trump White House. He was director of the Opportunity Revitalization Council there. His job was helping attract business investment to depressed urban areas. Before that, he played for several teams over a nine-year career in the National Football League.
Up First from NPR
Treasury and Other Trump Nominees, Fluoride Policy in Florida
For the moment, it suggests there is a limit to what Trump can demand from Republicans, even in this, his moment of maximum triumph. Gates said he stepped out so as not to be a distraction, but it's widely reported Trump called Gates the morning he withdrew and told him the votes just weren't there in the Senate to confirm him.
Up First from NPR
Treasury and Other Trump Nominees, Fluoride Policy in Florida
But we don't know if this Gates case was a one-off or if it established some kind of precedent by which the Senate will try to push back Again, Trump quickly replaced Gates with former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. They have a political connection going back a decade and more.
Up First from NPR
Treasury and Other Trump Nominees, Fluoride Policy in Florida
She was mentioned for this job eight years ago, and she was on Trump's defense team during his first impeachment trial. The Washington Post is reporting that Trump plans to have Bondi clean out all the justice attorneys who built the criminal cases against him.
Up First from NPR
Treasury and Other Trump Nominees, Fluoride Policy in Florida
It's hard to see how it wouldn't one way or another, but the police have also said that allegation in 2017 was investigated and no charges resulted. Trump personally does not seem to be overly troubled by such controversies, whether his own or those of his nominees, but it could worsen some of Hegseth's other issues.
Up First from NPR
Treasury and Other Trump Nominees, Fluoride Policy in Florida
He has been openly hostile to the idea of women in combat and critical of the Navy admiral, who is now the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Hegseth is a decorated veteran and a commentator on Fox News, but he does not have any relevant administrative or political experience for one of the toughest jobs in any government.
Up First from NPR
Treasury and Other Trump Nominees, Fluoride Policy in Florida
If you watch the Republican National Convention, you know that Trump's connection to the world of professional wrestling has been important to his political persona and outreach. It might not seem to have much to do with education, but as you say, the Department of Education is one Republicans regularly suggest should not exist at all.
Up First from NPR
Treasury and Other Trump Nominees, Fluoride Policy in Florida
It annually funnels billions to schools and students, but Republicans say that could all be handled directly with the state and local governments. Ron Elving, thanks so much. Thank you, Scott.
Up First from NPR
Treasury and Other Trump Nominees, Fluoride Policy in Florida
Good to be with you, Scott.
Up First from NPR
Treasury and Other Trump Nominees, Fluoride Policy in Florida
Treasury is the crown jewel in this collection. It's one of the original four cabinet positions, all the way back to George Washington choosing Alexander Hamilton. Trump has chosen billionaire hedge fund manager Scott Besant. Most people have not heard of him, but that's going to change.
Up First from NPR
Treasury and Other Trump Nominees, Fluoride Policy in Florida
He's going to be in charge of imposing tariffs that Donald Trump insists he wants to have on foreign goods, especially from China. And he'll also be pushing the renewal of Trump's tax cuts from 2017, which are about to expire at the end of 2025. The new boss at the Office of Management and Budget is Russell Vogt. Not a surprise. He had the job for a while in the first Trump term.
Up First from NPR
DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
Good to be with you, Sarah.
Up First from NPR
DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
We do seem to be walking up to it. The phrase refers to a conflict between constitutional powers that has no clear resolution in the Constitution itself. Now, Trump suggests that a judge cannot contradict him because that judge didn't run for president.
Up First from NPR
DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
One has to wonder, does Trump understand and accept that the courts are meant to act as a check on the elected branches, the Congress and the presidency? This one deportation case is going to an appeals court next week, but there are more than a dozen court rulings out there against Trump so far. They're being appealed, and at least some of them will probably reach the Supreme Court.
Up First from NPR
DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
So how far is Trump prepared to go in pursuing his version of reality here? So far, at least, Trump has said he will not defy court orders. He will appeal them and rail against them and call for impeachment of the judge, but he has not yet said he will defy the courts outright.
Up First from NPR
DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
The DHS is cutting jobs at its Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and in the offices of the Ombudsman for Immigration Detention and the Ombudsman for Citizenship and Immigration Services. The DHS spokesman told NPR Friday that these offices, quote, obstructed immigration enforcement by adding bureaucratic hurdles and undermining DHS's mission, unquote.
Up First from NPR
DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
Well, their job was to provide in-house oversight and restraint on this powerful agency and make sure it stays within the law and follows its own mandates. That's what watchdogs do. That's what ombudsmen offices are for. But here, as with the inspectors general, Trump is fired in various agencies. The new administration sees these watchdogs and guardrails as impediments.
Up First from NPR
DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
And the Trump question is, why should anyone have any authority over these agencies other than the president? People can tell him that this is based in the laws and regulations as written and ultimately in the constitutional separation of powers. But it's not clear he accepts that answer.
Up First from NPR
DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
That could be the question of the year, Sarah. But let's start with the Institute of Peace. It was created by an act of Congress 40 years ago under President Reagan. Its mission is to prevent or resolve violent conflicts in other countries. The Institute calls itself independent and says its employees are not federal workers.
Up First from NPR
DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
But the White House says the president considers the Institute to be, quote, one of his agencies, unquote. And it says the Institute employees are rogue bureaucrats. As for the pushback from Congress, well, the Republican Party controls both House and Senate, and it's been very much on board for Trump and so far at least for Elon Musk as well.
Up First from NPR
DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
The Democrats, meanwhile, are debating how to resist Trump without making bad things happen like a government shutdown and how to resist without doing damage to their own interests and those of their voters.
Up First from NPR
DHS job cuts, Travel troubles under Trump, Sudan Civil War latest
Thank you, Sarah.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
The New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan have reported that there have been clashes between Musk and members of the cabinet, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, both of whom were reported to have been scolded by Musk for not cutting enough and for having too many DEI hires still working for their departments.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
Yes, that's right. It's not a clear liability yet, at least not for Republicans in Congress, because as we saw on Tuesday night at the State of the Union, Musk is still a hero to Trump fans, both in Congress and beyond. Musk still polls well among Trump supporters. But the Musk stock may have seen its peak, Scott. We will see how the cuts to Veterans Affairs staffing, for example, go down.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
with the families of vets in the care of the VA. And we'll also see how much Musk gets to do with Social Security. That's the most popular federal program in history by all measures. But Musk has compared Social Security to an illegal private investment swindle. He did that on Joe Rogan's podcast last month.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
Yes, Newsom took a more centrist position on bans on trans athletes in school sports. Now, Scott, I remember when would-be presidents would go on Larry King's CNN talk show to say they were thinking about the White House. Now, there may be a trend, as you suggest, towards starting your own pod. No one can be surprised that Newsom is thinking about what he may do for a living next.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
He's term limited as governor after 2026. So why not start a pod and start having guests who might attract an audience outside your own political base? And certainly Charlie Kirk at age 31 with millions of followers hoping to be influential even after the Trump era, he certainly speaks to people far from Newsom's base.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
Far apart and possibly getting farther even as we speak. Speaker Mike Johnson has said he wants a clean bill to extend current spending commitments through the end of the fiscal year in September and That sounds like the simple, typical kick-the-can solution here.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
But House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries points out that the bill Johnson is backing would actually be a setup for the new Trump-Musk budget regime, with all that implies and sets in motion. And Johnson himself says the new spending bill would get the ball rolling on the next era of Trump-Musk cuts.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
So there will not be any Democratic votes for that, meaning the Republican leaders in the House will have to get a majority. and in the Senate, a supermajority with the votes of their own members alone. And it's going to be tough bringing every last Republican on board for all this controversial stuff. That's not impossible, but the odds are not good.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
So right now, it seems likely that next week at this time, we'll be in a shutdown, at least for a short period of time.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
Thank you, Scott.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
Good to be with you, Scott.
Up First from NPR
Limiting Musk's Powers; VA Employees On DOGE Emails; No Cure For Long COVID
It's been sold that way, like it's Trump siding with his cabinet over Musk. But if you listen to that clip we just heard, it still seems that Musk gets to come along batting clean up and deciding whether the cabinet secretaries and other Senate-confirmed officials have done enough. So who decides what's enough? Is it Musk or is it Trump himself? And do we know whether that's really a difference?
Up First from NPR
Latest On New Orleans Attack; New Congress Comes Into Session; Carter's Funeral
At Sattva, we believe sleep does unlock a superpower. When you wake up and you're totally refreshed, you go after things more. And it all starts with being on the right mattress. And that's what Sattva has been inspired by from the day that we started. To learn more, go to saatva.com slash NPR.
Up First from NPR
Inauguration Day, Israel-Hamas Ceasefire, TikTok
This message comes from NPR sponsor, Sattva, maker of quality, handcrafted mattresses. Founder and CEO, Ron Rutzen, shares one of their core values.
Up First from NPR
Inauguration Day, Israel-Hamas Ceasefire, TikTok
To learn more, go to saatva.com slash NPR.
Up First from NPR
Dozens Dead in L.A. Fires, Middle East Ceasefire Talks, Homeland Security Chief
In 2007, 2008, I went out and I bought the most popular luxury mattresses. I tore them apart and I realized, based on the raw materials cost and the analysis that I had done, that I was able to sell that level mattress, but with a very affordable price.
Up First from NPR
Plane Crash Latest, German Far Right, Nuclear Testing
This message comes from NPR sponsor, Sotva. Founder and CEO Ron Rudson shares why Sotva sales associates are focused on finding the perfect mattress for their customers.
Up First from NPR
Gaza Ceasefire Deal Reached, Next Steps For TikTok, Anger Over Private Firefighters
In 2007, 2008, I went out and I bought the most popular luxury mattresses. I tore them apart and I realized, based on the raw materials cost and the analysis that I had done, that I was able to sell that level mattress, but with a very affordable price.