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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Song Exploder - Converge – Dark Horse

The band Converge formed in 1990, when its members were teenagers. They've been making music that lives somewhere in the intersection of punk, hardcore, and metal for almost 25 years. Guitarist Kurt Ballou spoke to me from his studio GodCity, which is where Converge writes and records. I also spoke over the phone with singer Jake Bannon. Coming up, they'll talk about how the physical space of GodCity influenced their songwriting, how the Boston hardcore scene gave them a home, and how to get the classic Swedish death metal guitar tone.

Serious Inquiries Only - AS42: Creating Atheists with Tracey Moody

On today’s show we have The Moody Atheist for a first ever Atheistically Speaking book review segment! It’s not just a simple review though, we go in depth into A Manual for Creating Atheists, by Peter Boghossian. Is it a bit insulting to believers? Is it a little too evangelical in nature or is it … Continue reading AS42: Creating Atheists with Tracey Moody →

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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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