Parks and Rec actor Nick Offerman is famous for playing an outdoorsman on TV, but it turns out he actually is one in real life, too — albeit considerably less gruff than his character Ron Swanson. NPR's Scott Simon met up with him in the wilds of Central Park to discuss Offerman's new book Where the Deer and the Antelope Play. A testament to the pastoral takes a philosophical look at the vast wilderness of America and how open lands affect our approach to recreation, conservation, farming, and more.
When people can't afford rent, they often end up in closer quarters. NPR health policy correspondent Selena Simmons-Duffin shares two stories from her reporting and the research being done on housing and eviction policies in the US.
For more of Selena's reporting, check out "Why helping people pay rent can fight the pandemic" (https://n.pr/3BIluHt).
School boards have quickly become one of the main frontlines for pushing far-right ideas into the zeitgeist. This episode we discuss how online organizing is accelerating the acceptance of violence at these meetings.
Steve Viscelli is a former truck driver and now an economic sociologist at University of Pennsylvania studying freight transportation, including autonomous trucks. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
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OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(07:36) – Ethnography
(19:49) – Challenges of driving a truck
(38:28) – Trucking industry: State of affairs
(1:11:33) – Future of autonomous trucks
(1:37:49) – Solving the automated truck dilemma
(2:09:44) – Role of society in automated trucking
(2:36:53) – Tesla and revolutionizing the trucking industry
(2:56:33) – Hope and final thoughts
Pediatricians and pharmacies are preparing for the newest round of COVID shots, which could start being offered in the next few days. About 15 million doses are already being shipped to vaccination sites throughout the country, but some parents still have concerns when it comes to their kids.
Any ruling is months away, but this week's oral arguments provided some clues. NPR's Nina Totenberg watched them unfold. Hear more from Nina's coverage on the NPR Politics Podcast via Apple, Google, or Spotify.
Also in this episode: Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi, an OB-GYN in Texas, who told NPR pregnant people in Texas have been travelling to Oklahoma for abortions.
Metastasis is the process of cancer cells spreading to other parts of the body. Facebook is in its full on metastatic phase. We talk about the big news of Facebook rebranding as Meta – its impotent propaganda campaign, the extractive economy underpinning this vision of society, why the metaverse as its pitched is bullshit, and how the actual metaverse is more likely to be an infinite virtual office we’re all forced to used.
Some stuff we reference:
••• Facebook Has No Clue How to Solve Its Image Problem, Leaked Doc Shows | Shoshana Wodinksy https://gizmodo.com/facebook-has-no-clue-how-to-solve-its-image-problem-le-1847945657
••• The Real Reason Facebook Changed Its Name | Brian Merchant https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/10/facebook-metaverse-mark-zuckerberg/620538/
••• Zuckerberg Announces Fantasy World Where Facebook Is Not a Horrible Company | Jason Koebler https://www.vice.com/en/article/qjb485/zuckerberg-facebook-new-name-meta-metaverse-presentation
••• Why Facebook has become Meta | Hannah Murphy, Madhumita Murgia https://www.ft.com/content/29762a96-419f-41b2-9e96-fa7423abb125
••• Founder’s Letter, 2021 | Mark Zuckerberg https://about.fb.com/news/2021/10/founders-letter/
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Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
The War on Drugs is a band from Philadelphia who formed in 2005. They won the Grammy for Best Rock Album in 2018. This year, they put out their fifth album, I Don’t Live Here Anymore. Adam Granduciel is the singer and lead guitarist in the band, and I talked to him at his recording space here in Los Angeles. In this episode, Adam breaks down the title track from I Don’t Live Here Anymore, from the original demo to the version that was hammered out after months of work. And he explains how the song was influenced by Bob Dylan and his own newborn son.
We unpack the Youngkin victory [0:29] and a host of other races around the country, including New Jersey [5:21], Buffalo [7:26], Minneapolis [12:15], and Cleveland [14:44].
Despite (or perhaps because of) being one of the world’s great traditional financial hubs, New York has a contentious relationship with crypto. Between the BitLicense and a very active state attorney general, New York and crypto aren’t always simpatico. That’s why it has been exciting for many New Yorkers to see candidates of both parties advocating for New York City to become a crypto hub, and to do so in a way that benefits financial access and economic empowerment goals. NLW breaks down candidate statements and looks at the friendly competition brewing between NYC and Miami.
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NYDIG, the institutional-grade platform for bitcoin, is making it possible for thousands of banks who have trusted relationships with hundreds of millions of customers, to offer Bitcoin. Learn more at NYDIG.com/NLW.
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“The Breakdown” is written, produced by and features Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell, research by Scott Hill and additional production support by Eleanor Pahl. Adam B. Levine is our executive producer and our theme music is “Countdown” by Neon Beach. The music you heard today behind our sponsor is “Dark Crazed Cap” by Isaac Joel. Image credit: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images News, modified by CoinDesk.
