Tom Sutcliffe talks to the director Erica Whyman about a series of plays by the RSC which focus on the idea that 'well behaved women rarely make history'. The historian Helen Castor looks back at the Middle Ages to some of the earliest roaring girls, while the soprano Joyce DiDonato brings alive Mary, Queen of Scots, the tragic hero of Donizetti's opera. The political activist Julie Bindel has been behaving badly since she came out as a lesbian in the 1970s. She looks at what it means to be gay in 2014 and whether the genuine gains that have been achieved in the last forty years have castrated a once-radical social movement. Producer: Katy Hickman.
The Gist - The Sinister Business of Advertising to Kids
Today’s Gist is a special New Haven hotel room dispatch. Mike shares an excerpt from the New Haven ideas festival event “Thinking About Sports.” He was a panelist there alongside legendary sportswriter and NPR commentator Frank Deford, poet Elizabeth Alexander, and author Nicholas Dawidoff. Also in today’s show, we ask Dartmouth professor of pediatrics James D. Sargent about McDonald’s new happy meal branding, and how other countries limit marketing to young children. In today’s Spiel, some ideas about ideas festivals.
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The Gist - Does the Minimum Wage Create or Kill Jobs?
Today on the Gist, political writer Harry Enten from Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight handicaps Democratic and Republican chances in November’s key Senate races. Plus, Adam Davidson from Planet Money explains why economic theory says a higher minimum wage is a terrible, terrible idea, but economic reality may differ. In today’s Spiel, Mike teaches us his special song hack with help from “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” by Gordon Lightfoot and “Whoomp! (There It Is)” by Tag Team.
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TLDR - #29 – Olivia Taters, Robot Teenager
Rob Dubbin accidentally built a teenage girl named Olivia Taters who lives on the internet. She may not always communicate in complete sentences, but she's convincing enough that teenagers actually converse with her. Also, she's very, very funny. PJ talks to Dubbin about how Olivia came into existence, and what she's been talking about lately.
The Gist - Should We Ditch Internet Comments?
Do nasty comments affect how readers perceive an article? Maria Konnikova of The New Yorker discusses research on the psychology of negative Internet comments. Then, in light of GM CEO Mary Barra’s testimony before the House on Wednesday, law professor David Luban explains why lawyers sometimes hide or compartmentalize information to protect their companies from liability. For the Spiel, Mike does the numbers.
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The Gist - Dirty Laundry? There’s an App for That
On today’s The Gist, Mike and New York magazine’s Jessica Pressler head to a laundromat to discuss what the hot new laundry app Washio says about the worldview of the bros who make apps. Plus, law professor Dean Rivkin explains how truancy fines work against the problems they’re trying to solve. In the Spiel, Mike explores headlines that overpromise and underdeliver.
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The Gist - Should Ruth Bader Ginsburg Just Quit Already?
With many well-respected liberal thinkers pressuring Ruth Bader Ginsburg to step down while a Democrat’s in the White House, what might be going through her mind? Today on The Gist, Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick discusses the latest news from the high court. Then, with ISIS on the march in Iraq, the American Interest editor Adam Garfinkle shares historical and contemporary insight from the right. In today’s Spiel, our countdown of reasons Mike thinks the late Casey Kasem was overrated.
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Start the Week - Pain and Prejudice
Tom Sutcliffe discusses the history of pain with the historian Joanna Bourke, who explores how our attitude to suffering has changed through the centuries. The former Conservative MP, Norman Fowler, looks back at the public health campaign that revolutionised the fight against HIV and Aids in Britain in the 1980s, and how discrimination and political expediency are hampering prevention and treatment around the world today. The Director of the Wellcome Trust, Jeremy Farrar remembers when he was a junior doctor and patients were dying of Aids because there was no treatment. He warns that the overuse and misuse of anti-biotic drugs could herald a return to the days of untreatable diseases.
Producer: Katy Hickman.
Start the Week - Pain and Prejudice
Tom Sutcliffe discusses the history of pain with the historian Joanna Bourke, who explores how our attitude to suffering has changed through the centuries. The former Conservative MP, Norman Fowler, looks back at the public health campaign that revolutionised the fight against HIV and Aids in Britain in the 1980s, and how discrimination and political expediency are hampering prevention and treatment around the world today. The Director of the Wellcome Trust, Jeremy Farrar remembers when he was a junior doctor and patients were dying of Aids because there was no treatment. He warns that the overuse and misuse of anti-biotic drugs could herald a return to the days of untreatable diseases.
Producer: Katy Hickman.
The Gist - Blame Salt-n-Pepa for American Glottal Stop
Today on The Gist, why Chipotle has become an important battleground for open carry advocates in Texas. Then Mike and language maven Ben Yagoda discuss their pet peeves against words like “amongst,” and revel in the American glottal stop. Yagoda’s new book is You Need To Read This. Plus, this is what it sounds like when Mike spiels about doves crying.
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