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The Source - The roots of the rural-urban political divide

The vast political divide in America has largely become a battle between folks who live in the cities and those who don’t. This was not always the case. Somehow rural voters have almost uniformly become Republican voters. How did the divide emerge and why does it pose a threat to democracy?array(3) { [0]=> string(20) "https://www.tpr.org/" [1]=> string(0) "" [2]=> string(1) "0" }
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The Bulwark Podcast - Bill Kristol: Fight on All Fronts

Not a lot of people predicted that Trump would fold and let Congress vote on the release of the Epstein files. But his retreat shows that Democrats have more leverage than conventional wisdom has suggested, and they should not rule out long shots in the fight against Trump’s authoritarian project. Meanwhile, MAGA looks to be fracturing in real time and Trump looks more and more vulnerable—on his ballroom, falling asleep in meetings, and his constant reminders that he’s only out for himself. Plus, MTG’s possible Saul to Damascus moment, Border Patrol’s invasion of Charlotte, bombing Venezuela would not be America First, and the Epstein emails are a reminder of how gross and nauseating the elites can be. Go away, Larry Summers.

Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller.

show notes


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CoinDesk Podcast Network - Circle’s Vision for Programmable Money with Tim Queenan

Circle's SVP of Marketing, Tim Queenan, shares why stablecoins and the new Arc blockchain are creating the ‘Economic OS for the internet.

Tim Queenan, SVP of Marketing, Circle, joins Gen C this week to share that stablecoins and programmable money represent a foundational shift in the global financial system, similar to the early internet. He discusses how Circle is spearheading this transformation with USDC and its new blockchain Arc, creating the ‘Economic OS for the internet

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"Gen C" features host Sam Ewen. Executive produced by Uyen Truong.


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In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons - Former Inspector General Wants More From Chicago’s Budget

As Chicago’s City Council prepares to vote on Mayor Johnson’s latest budget proposal ahead of the city’s Dec. 31 deadline, In the Loop hears a critique from Civic Federation president Joe Ferguson, a former city watchdog and public finance expert. For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
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1A - ‘If You Can Keep It’: The Democrats After The Shutdown

The last two weeks have highlighted fractures within both the Republican and Democratic parties.

The fight over releasing the Epstein files has shaken the GOP, causing some of President Donald Trump’s staunchest allies – like Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene – to call him out. And recent incidents of antisemitism within the MAGA movement have prompted infighting about how (and whether) to root it out.

Despite that, the party in the country’s crosshairs is on the left.

The longest government shutdown in American history ended last week after 43 days. And it ended with eight senators breaking with the Democratic caucus to pass a spending bill – without securing the health insurance provisions they had demanded.

Many Democrats across the country — from Washington strategists to local activists — called the move a surrender. They say the defectors gave up a winning hand right when public opinion was on their side. The loudest criticism came from younger Democrats who called for new party leadership.

In this latest installment of “If You Can Keep It,” our weekly series on the state of democracy, we look at the fractures the shutdown exposed on the left and how a new generation of lawmakers thinks the party should govern in the years ahead.

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Lex Fridman Podcast - #485 – David Kirtley: Nuclear Fusion, Plasma Physics, and the Future of Energy

David Kirtley is a nuclear fusion engineer and CEO of Helion Energy, a company working on building the world’s first commercial fusion power plant by 2028.
Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep485-sc
See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.

Transcript:
https://lexfridman.com/david-kirtley-transcript

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EPISODE LINKS:
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Helion’s YouTube: https://youtube.com/HelionEnergy

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OUTLINE:
(00:00) – Introduction
(03:00) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections
(11:35) – Nuclear fission vs fusion
(21:35) – Physics of E=mc^2
(26:50) – Is nuclear fusion safe?
(32:11) – Chernobyl
(38:38) – Geopolitics
(40:33) – Extreme scenarios
(47:28) – How nuclear fusion works
(1:20:20) – Extreme temperatures
(1:25:21) – Fusion control and simulation
(1:37:15) – Electricity from fusion
(2:11:20) – First fusion power plant in 2028
(2:18:13) – Energy needs of GPU clusters
(2:28:38) – Kardashev scale
(2:36:33) – Fermi Paradox

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WSJ What’s News - Alternative Indicators: What Big-Rig Truck Sales Reveal About the U.S. Economy

Is U.S. manufacturing driving off a cliff or into the sunset—and taking the economy with it? Look no further than sales of heavy trucks. Trucking companies buy more of these big rigs when they expect they will have more stuff to ship, so declines in heavy truck sales often match up to economic contractions dating back to the 1960s. Now the data show that sales have been going downhill since 2023, falling off more dramatically since June of this year. Host Alex Ossola talks with Bob Tita, who covers manufacturing for The Wall Street Journal, and Avery Vise, vice president of trucking for data analysis and forecasting firm FTR Transportation Intelligence, about what that says about this moment in the economy, and what might be clouding the picture.


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WSJ Minute Briefing - Novo Nordisk Slashes Prices for Weight-Loss Drugs

Plus: Johnson & Johnson agrees to acquire Halda Therapeutics for just over $3 billion. And Federal Reserve Governor Philip Jefferson says the Fed should proceed slowly with any further interest rate cuts. Zoe Kuhlkin hosts.


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An artificial-intelligence tool assisted in the making of this episode by creating summaries that were based on Wall Street Journal reporting and reviewed and adapted by an editor.

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