On The Gist, Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek will be moderating a gubernatorial debate in Pennsylvania. Mike says no thanks.
In the interview, Gregg Easterbrook is ever the optimist. Despite what your push alerts and Facebook news feed are telling you, the world is steadily getting safer, wealthier, and less afflicted by war and disease. Easterbrook is the author of It's Better Than It Looks: Reasons for Optimism in an Age of Fear.
In the Spiel, gun control advocates shouldn’t compromise.
On January 17, 2018, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Encino Motorcars v. Navarro, a case on its second trip to the high court regarding a dispute over the application of the Fair Labor Standard Act’s overtime-pay requirements for service advisors at car dealerships. Congress enacted the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in 1938 to “protect all covered workers from substandard wages and oppressive working hours,” and it requires overtime pay for employees covered under the Act who work more than 40 hours in a given week. The FLSA exempts from this requirement, however, “any salesman, partsman, or mechanic primarily engaged in selling or servicing automobiles, trucks, or farm implements, if he is employed by a nonmanufacturing establishment primarily engaged in the business of selling such vehicles or implements to ultimate purchasers….” Hector Navarro and other service advisors filed suit against their employer Encino Motorcars, alleging that it violated the FLSA by failing to pay them overtime wages. Encino countered that as service advisors, Navarro and the other plaintiffs fell within the FLSA exemption. The district court ruled in favor of Encino, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed, relying upon a 2011 regulation issued by the Department of Labor (DOL) and indicating that service advisors were not covered by the exemption. The Supreme Court, however, thereafter vacated the judgment of the Ninth Circuit. Determining that the regulation at issue was procedurally defective, the Court remanded the case for the Ninth Circuit to construe the FLSA exemption without “placing controlling weight” on the DOL regulation. On remand, the Ninth Circuit, assuming without deciding that the DOL regulation was entitled to no weight, held that the FLSA exemption, on its own terms, did not encompass service advisors. As a result, the court indicated, plaintiffs could proceed against Encino on their claims for overtime. Encino petitioned for certiorari, however, and the Supreme Court agreed to take up the case a second time to consider again whether service advisors at car dealerships are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act's overtime-pay requirements. To discuss the case, we have Tammy McCutchen, Principal at Littler Mendelson, PC. This podcast is cosponsored with the Labor & Employment Law Practice Group.
John Green reviews Halley's Comet, a celestial body visible from Earth once in a lifetime, and cholera, an infection caused by bacteria and people. Thanks to audible for sponsoring today's episode: http://audible.com/anthro
All the news you need to know for Wednesday, February 21st, 2018!
Today we're talking about gun laws, from President Trump's latest comments about bump stocks to which celebrities are donating $500k each to student activists.
Plus, why facebook plans to send postcards and how Google is predicting heart attacks.
All that and much more in less than 10 minutes!
Award-winning broadcast journalist and former TV news reporter Erica Mandy breaks it all down for you.
On The Gist, Team USA’s low medal count would be a bummer if these Winter Olympics weren’t so goofy.
In the interview, Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs didn’t campaign on universal basic income, but he’s bringing it to his city. Later this year, some residents will start getting $500 a month.
In the Spiel, conservative commentators have it plain wrong when it comes to gun control.
You should be able to try any drug you want to save your own life. And doctors and drug companies should be allowed to converse honestly about potential drug benefits without the fear of jail. Christina Sandefur of the Goldwater Institute comments.
Today's emergency episode breaks down the indictments issued in the Mueller probe on Friday, focusing on the shadowy, Putin-funded Internet Research Agency. What does this mean in terms of Yodel Mountain? Listen and find out! After that, we have a lengthy interview with friend of the show Bryce Blankenagel of the Naked Mormonism podcast. Bryce comes on the show to break down the Rob Porter scandal, an innocuous-sounding bill before the Utah state legislature, and the puppet-mastery of the Mormon Church of all things political in that state. After that, we end with the answer to Thomas Takes the Bar Exam Question #63, another very difficult question, this one about hearsay. Don't forget to follow our Twitter feed (@Openargs) and like our Facebook Page so that you too can play along with #TTTBE! Recent Appearances Check out the NEW PODCAST created by our very own Thomas Smith and friend-of-the-show Aaron Rabi, "Philosophers in Space." You'll be glad you did! Also, Andrew was just a guest on Episode 6 of the Wayward Willis Podcast -- give it a listen. Show Notes & Links
The Department of Justice indicts 13 Russian nationals who conducted information warfare against the United States, Mueller’s charges offer hints about his next move, Trump reacts on Twitter with his characteristic subtlety and cool, and the students of Stoneham Douglas lead a movement to stop mass shootings. Then Lovett talks to New York Times writer Zeynep Tufekci about Facebook’s role in the Russia indictments and whether mass shootings are contagious.
