Apex Ascend
Apex Ascend is a weekly podcast where Rodney LaBruce amplifies the voices of Texas' District 30 residents, spotlighting real issues and offering bold, policy-driven solutions. It's where truth meets transformation—and everyday people rise and roar.
Episodes
20 episodes
The Hidden Engine Behind Poverty
In this episode of Apex Ascend, Rodney LaBruce continues the “Understanding Poverty” series with one of the most important truths of all. Poverty is not random. It is not natural. It is created. And one of the engines that keeps it runnin...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 21
•
22:50
Access to Education and Opportunity
We’ve been told the same story our whole lives—go to school, get good grades, graduate, and success will follow. But what happens when you do all that and the door still doesn’t open? In this episode, Rodney LaBruce takes a hard loo...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 20
•
17:56
The Gospel of Wealth and the Sin of Inequality
A Nation Built for a Few From the Declaration to the Constitution, America’s founding documents promised liberty but protected wealth. In this episode, Rodney LaBruce traces how the nation’s economic system was designed to serve the ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 19
•
21:02
When Stability Turns Fragile
In this first episode of the Understanding Poverty series, Rodney LaBruce challenges the myth that hard work alone guarantees success. Through personal reflection and powerful examples, he explores how poverty isn’t a matter of lazines...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 18
•
22:58
Beyond Resources: Transforming the Ecosystem of Poverty
In this episode of Apex Ascend, Rodney LaBruce unpacks why resources alone can’t fix broken communities. From a chance conversation with a formerly incarcerated man to lessons from a landmark Montgomery County study, he shows how the <...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 17
•
26:45
When Leaders Act Like Pimps, Not Servants
In this episode of Apex Ascend, Rodney LaBruce draws a bold parallel between unhealthy churches and unhealthy politics. From the story of “Sweet Daddy” Bailey — a pastor who turned faith into personality worship — to the cult of person...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 16
•
30:17
Poverty Anywhere Is a Threat to Prosperity Everywhere
In this episode of Apex Ascend, Rodney LaBruce explores why “poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere.” Drawing on groundbreaking studies — from Montgomery County’s school integration to Moving to Opportunity and the Abece...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 15
•
33:22
Bridging the Gap: Poverty, Power, and the Fight for Real Democracy
In this episode of Apex Ascend: Teaching Lions How to Rise and Roar, Rodney LaBruce shares why he’s running for Congress — to bridge the gap between the powerful and the powerless, the wealthy and the poor, the democracy on paper and t...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 14
•
37:14
Apex Ascend Episode 13 - Charisma, Chaos, and the Cult of Personality
Speaker Mike Johnson says Trump’s approval is at 90%—and even though that’s not true, it still tells us something real: Trump’s grip on the Republican Party is as strong as ever. In this episode of Apex Ascend, Rodney LaBruce unpacks t...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 13
•
32:57
Apex Ascend Episode 11 - The Economy--It’s Not Complicated
They called it bold. They called it beautiful.But history—and the numbers—tell a different story. In this episode of Apex Ascend, I break down how decades of so-called “trickle-down” tax cuts have stacked the deck for t...
•
34:53
Apex Ascend Episode 11 - Silencing the Truth: Why We Let the Wrong Voices Lead
Why do we elevate false teachers and corrupt leaders while silencing those who speak truth? In this powerful episode, Rodney LaBruce takes aim at the systems—both spiritual and political—that reward charisma over character and comfort over conf...
•
32:32
Apex Ascend Episode 10 - They're Not Like Us
In this powerful episode of Apex Ascend, Rodney LaBruce takes you from the boarded-up grocery stores of South Dallas to the backrooms of Washington—exposing how broken systems aren't failing, they’re working exactly as designed. <...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 10
•
42:29
Apex Ascend Episode 9 From Lincoln to Trump
In this episode, Rodney LaBruce dives deep into the historical cycles that have defined the Republican Party—from Lincoln to Roosevelt to Eisenhower—and the consequences when those cycles break.When the GOP focused on the people, America...
•
26:22
Apex Ascend Ascend — Episode 8: Lemon Juice and Mount Stupid: Why We're So Confident and So Wrong
🧠 Episode Description: In this episode of Apex Ascend, Rodney LaBruce dives into the bizarre true story of McArthur Wheeler—the man who robbed banks with lemon juice on his face—and how it inspired one of the most important ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 8
•
24:02
Apex Ascend Episode 7 - The Knife Is Still There
Subtitle: From Medical Exploitation to Historical Revisionism, Why America Still Resists Equity In this episode, Rodney LaBruce continues building the case for reparations for African American descendants of slaves.<...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 7
•
25:21
Apex Ascend — Episode 6: Torn from the Land: The Story of Robert Gleed and the Theft of Black Prosperity
In this episode of Apex Ascend, Rodney LaBruce uncovers one of the most brutal and under-told stories of American history: the systematic dispossession of Black-owned land. We begin with the incredible life of Robert Gleed—a formerly e...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 6
•
20:23
Apex Ascend Episode 5 - The Tariff in Chief
🎙️ Episode Title: Tariffs, Tantrums, and Turmoil: What Trump Doesn’t Get About TradeDescription: In this episode of Apex Ascend, we break down one of the most misunderstood weapons in America’s economic toolbox...
•
31:57
Apex Ascend — Episode 4: “The Southern Strategy: Still Echoing Today”
In this powerful episode, host Rodney LaBruce unpacks the Southern Strategy—its origins during the Civil Rights era, its calculated use of racial coding, and the lasting harm it continues to inflict on our political system and communities today...
•
33:02