In today's show, I look at three pressure points converging at once: a renewed push to revive pandemic-era controls as masks, mandates, and unanswered conflicts of interest re-enter the public conversation; a growing confrontation between Elon Musk and European authorities over censorship, fines, and who gets to decide what speech is permissible online; and mounting questions around Ukraine, as corruption allegations, financial accountability, and Western political narratives collide around Zelensky's leadership. Taken together, these stories reveal a wider pattern of institutional power being reasserted — through public health, digital regulation, and foreign war — and raise uncomfortable questions about trust, transparency, and who ultimately pays the price.