By dint of geography, history, culture and human evolution, Turkey is one of the most influential nations in the world and certainly that's the case throughout Asia. The trade and cultural gateway between Europe and Asia, Turkey has recently taken a light authoritarian and nationalist turn under the presidency of Reyup Erdogan, who has been serving as president for the last decade.

As Donald Trump prepares to return to the American presidency, there has been speculation that Erdogan's natural stylistic affinity to Trump may he draw him closer to the United States as Turkey — like all countries between great powers — balances the US and its European allies against Russia and perhaps even plays them off against each other. On the other hand, Russia has gained the upper hand in Ukraine. And Trump seems to want to end the Russo-Ukrainian War. Then there's the country’s complicated relationship with Europe: it's been a member of NATO since 1995 but its application to join the EU has stalled since Erdogan became president.

Dr. Hasan Ünal, professor at Baskent University in Ankara, has published extensively on Turkish foreign policy-related matters. He joins Ted Rall and Manila Chan to explore Turkey’s dilemma: East or West? Which to Choose?

Keywords: Dr. Hasan Ünal, istanbul, Ankara, turkey, Asia, Europe, east, west, Putin, Trump, Russia, Ukraine, Russian Ukraine war, bosphorous, clash of civilizations

It's very close to being an American to admit to not liking Thanksgiving. You're supposed to like the food, even though if it was popular, why don't we eat these things all year round? In fact, surveys consistently show that Americans, when given the option to answer these questions privately to pollsters, strongly dislike yams, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, stuffing and, yes, even turkey.

Ted Rall has always hated Thanksgiving and isn't afraid to say so here and now. Although there are deep-rooted psychological reasons going back to his childhood growing up with a single mom, there are also some objective reasons that Thanksgiving is a disliked part of his calendar. In most parts of the country, late November offers some truly terrible weather. What's the point of having a four-day weekend when you can't go outside? The food sucks. Yes, all of it. The conceit that everyone has something to be thankful for is ridiculous — should a homeless person with cancer feel grateful on Thanksgiving day for the one day a year that the local food kitchen throws open its doors? Politically, of course, it's a holiday that commemorates the genocide of the Native American people.

On the TMI show, we give you too much information about everything, including hatred of beloved national holidays. Ted lays out the case for why Thanksgiving well and truly sucks while Manila defends the holiday.

The TMI Show Ep 26: “Ted and Manila Say: Ask Us Anything”

It’s Friday or, as Manila calls it, Fri-Yay! Which means it’s time for something different and something fun: we’re answering questions from you, our listeners and viewers! In terms of topic, anything goes, just as it does on the show. Whether you want our takes on ethics, politics, personal finance, romance, you name it, Record your question as a short audio or video clip and Email it as a File Attachment to: TMIShowQuestion@yahoo.com.

It’s our answer to Open Mic Friday.

Today we’ll dig into the first two to hit the virtual mailbag. Join the party and send in yours and we’ll answer it on the air next week!