Month: September 2020

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NBN Book of the Day - Joshua Greenberg, “Bank Notes and Shinplasters: The Rage for Paper Money in the Early Republic” (U Pennsylvania Press, 2020)

What is money? No, really, what is money? It turns out the answer is not so simple.

During the course of the 20th century, most of us have gotten used to the notion of a single medium of exchange based on Federal Reserve notes which we call dollars. They look the same, feel the same, and have the same use everywhere in the country. We are so comfortable with that medium of exchange that we are now increasingly doing away with the paper and accepting a digital version of said money. The convenience of having a single and stable currency as a medium of exchange did no exist in the early republic.

Joshua Greenberg's Bank Notes and Shinplasters: The Rage for Paper Money in the Early Republic (University of Pennsylvania Press) describes the many types of money in circulation at the time and how all participants in the economic system had to master the discounting of paper money from one institution to another, from one town to another, from one transaction to another. It constituted an entire sub-culture, and an excellent lens to view the economic history of the pre-Civil War period.

Joshua R. Greenberg is the editor of Commonplace: the journal of early American life.

Daniel Peris is Senior Vice President at Federated Investors in Pittsburgh. Trained as a historian of modern Russia, he is the author most recently of Getting Back to Business: Why Modern Portfolio Theory Fails Investors. You can follow him on Twitter @Back2BizBook or at http://www.strategicdividendinvestor.com

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The Intelligence from The Economist - Unpicking the thread: forced labour in Xinjiang

Sanctions are tightening around the Chinese province amid suspicions of forced labour. Western firms that are reliant on the region’s cotton and other commodities are in a bind. The pandemic has shown the merits of some governments’ digitised bureaucracies, but rushing the digital shift comes with risks. And how Canada’s border closures threaten a tiny town in remotest Alaska. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer
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The Best One Yet - “The tech stock white whale” — Softbank’s big Nasdaq money. Nikola surges 40% on GM investment. Boeing’s business class dreams

Tesla-challenger Nikola just saw its stock jump 40% because it’s marrying an older, wealthier life partner: GM. Just a year after jacking up private tech valuations, turns out Softbank is doing the same thing now to publicly-traded tech stocks. And Boeing has itself a cancelation problem because business class’ future is uncertain in the age of Zoom. $NKLA $GM $SFTBY $BA Want a shoutout on the pod? We got the form for Snackers to fill out right here: https://forms.gle/KhUAo31xmkSdeynD9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Can We Trust the Polls This Time?

For months after Donald Trump’s 2016 victory, pundits labored over how the polls, and the reports surrounding them, had badly misjudged and mischaracterized the election. Since then, pollsters have made significant changes in hopes of painting a more accurate picture of the 2020 race.

How much trust should voters put in the numbers this time? And what does the data say about Joe Biden’s perceived lead in the 2020 presidential race?

Guest: Jim Newell, Slate’s senior politics writer

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More or Less: Behind the Stats - Covid cases rising, a guide to life?s risks, and racing jelly-fish

A jump in the number of UK Covid-19 cases reported by the government has led to fears coronavirus is now spreading quickly again. What do the numbers tell us about how worried we should be? Plus a guide to balancing life?s risks in the time of coronavirus, the government?s targets on test and trace, and a suspicious statistic about the speed of jelly-fish.

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Short Wave - Managing Wildfire Through Cultural Burning

Fire has always been part of California's landscape. But long before the vast blazes of recent years, Native American tribes held controlled burns that cleared out underbrush, encouraged new plant growth, and helped manage wildfires. It's a tradition that disappeared with the arrival of Western settlers. NPR climate correspondent Lauren Sommer explains how tribal leaders are trying to restore the practice by partnering up with state officials who are starting to see cultural burns as a way to help bring extreme wildfires under control.

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What A Day - One Simple Trick To Slim Down Your Relief Bill

The Rochester, NY police chief and other high ranking officers all resigned or took demotions yesterday, following protests over the police killing of Daniel Prude. Prude’s case, along with other recent violent incidents, are leading some to propose alternatives to police intervention for mental health emergencies. 

Republicans in the Senate are back in session with a new coronavirus relief bill, which is itself a pared down version a bill they proposed earlier this summer. For now, Democrats are rejecting it because they believe a larger, more comprehensive bill is necessary. While aid is held up in Congress, state and local governments are facing severe budget shortfalls. 

And in headlines: two ex-soldiers from Myanmar’s army say they were ordered to commit atrocities against Rohingya villagers, the Trump administration is ordered to stop winding down the census, and nine drug companies say they won’t seek vaccine approval without doing rigorous testing.

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The NewsWorthy - Vaccine Trial Paused, New Oscars Rules & Moon Rust- Wednesday, September 9th, 2020

The news to know for Wednesday, September 9th, 2020!

We'll tell you about:

  • why one vaccine maker is suspending its research trials and the promise it's now making with eight other drug companies
  • why taxpayers could end up footing the bill for a lawsuit against President Trump
  • where the largest wildfires are now growing out of control in the western U.S.
  • what it could mean that there's rust on the moon
  • how #OscarsSoWhite could have changed Hollywood forever
  • which popular reality show is calling it quits after 20 seasons

Those stories and more in just 10 minutes!

Award-winning broadcast journalist and former TV news reporter Erica Mandy breaks it all down for you. 

Head to www.theNewsWorthy.com to read more about any of the stories mentioned under the section titled 'Episodes' or see sources below...

This episode is brought to you by www.Blinkist.com/news and CastleGrade - use discount code NEWS

Thanks to The NewsWorthy INSIDERS for your support! Become one here: www.theNewsWorthy.com/insider 

 

 

 

Sources:

AstraZeneca Trial on Hold: Stat News, AP, WSJ

Vaccine Safety Pledge: WaPo, USA Today, Politico, NPR, Read Pledge

DOJ Seeks to Defend Trump in Defamation Suit: NY Times, Bloomberg, NBC News, FOX News

Rochester Police Leaders Retire: AP, NY Times, WSJ, Mayor Statement, Police Chief Letter 

CA Wildfires, More Rescues: AP, SF Gate, Reuters, Fresno Bee, Cal Fire

Other Western Wildfires: OPB, Salem Statesman Journal, NY Times

The Moon is Getting Rusty: CNN, Space.com, Mashable, NASA

Kaepernick Becomes 'Madden' Character: USA Today, The Verge, Axios, EA Sports

Oscars New Inclusion Standards: Deadline, WSJ, LA Times, AP, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences 

'Keeping Up With the Kardashians' Ending: E! News, AP, Kim Kardashian West

Work Wednesday: Working Remotely Could Affect Taxes: NY Times, WSJ,  CNBC