Month: June 2015

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The Gist - Why Dylann Roof Picked Those Two Flags

Today on The Gist, a closer look at the apartheid-era South African and Rhodesian flags worn by the Charleston suspect, Dylann Roof, with vexillologist Ted Kaye. Plus, Richard Thaler offers common-sense ideas found in behavioral economics. He’s the author of Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics. For the Spiel, an explanation of the Jexclamation point! Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. 

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The Gist - Go-Go Wearable Gadgets

Does Congress care about the political interests of regular American citizens as much as those of their affluent donors? Today on The Gist, we speak with Princeton politics professor Martin Gilens about a study in Perspectives on Politics that makes Congress seem less populist than the populace. He’s the author of Affluence and Influence. Plus, we’ll ask Jill Duffy from PC Magazine how fitness trackers will inevitably change our relationship with health care. She’s the author of Get Organized: How to Clean Up Your Messy Digital Life. For The Spiel, Mike chatted with Kim Kardashian West the other day. Here are some of the products Jill mentioned in her conversation with Mike: Athos: Electromyography-sensing pants that measure your muscles as they fire during a workout.   BSXinsight: A compression leg sleeve that measures lactate threshold; much better than having a blood test every three minutes while running on a treadmill! HealthPatch MD: No need to stay in a hospital when you can be discharged with this adhesive patch that monitors your vitals for docs to watch remotely.  InsideTracker: A system that lets you track your blood test results and offers advice for maximizing your health through diet and lifestyle changes. Mio Alpha 2: A wrist-worn heart rate monitor and runner’s watch—the one that pissed off Mike for telling him his heartrate is 71 beats per minute. Spire: A wearable “stone” with a clip that measures breathing and alerts you when you’re tense. Stemp: An adhesive bandage that reads temperature; great for wriggling babies!  UBiome: An at-home, mail-in testing kit for quantifying the bacteria in your gut. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus.

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