Two years ago, the Supreme Court handed down a major ruling in the Janus decision. That decision freed up public-sector workers from having to pay unions against their will. But since then, a lot of states haven’t been complying -- and unions have fought back. Alaska is leading the charge in the opposite direction -- bringing its state into compliance with the Supreme Court decision. Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson joins the podcast to discuss. Plus: Peloton, the home workout bike, is taking heat after an ad that some say is offensive and sexist.
We also cover the following stories:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announces the House will vote on impeachment next week.
Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks out about impeachment in the Senate.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., blames the New Jersey shooting on "white supremacy."
The shipping regulation known as the Jones Act turns 100 next year. It's long past time for it to go according to Keli'i Akina of Hawaii's Grasroot Institute.
Today's episode breaks down the Articles of Impeachment currently being debated in the House Judiciary Committee. Find out Andrew's disappointment, the hidden clause that lets the Senate consider Mueller evidence (if they want), and what these articles can't let the Senate evaluate in determining whether to impeach Trump. You won't want to miss it! Oh, and also, you'll get a mini-deep-dive on the Espinoza decision and so much more!
We begin with an important listener question about whether Donald Trump could plead the 5th Amendment during the impeachment process. The answer might surprise you -- and you'll enjoy the deep dive into the Constitutional protections against self-incrimination.
Then, during the main segment, we tackle the two articles of impeachment in depth, evaluating what crime(s) the articles consider, how they respond to the Republican arguments, and much, much more.
After that, we're excited to bring you a segment in which law students can win up to $10,000 in an essay-writing contest that also gives you a chance to make a real difference in a case pending before the Supreme Court, Espinoza v. Montana Dep't of Revenue.
Then, of course, it's time for another #T3BE, this time about a homeowner who paints over some water damage. Is there a viable reason for the buyer to rescind the contract, or is it "buyer beware"? Listen and play along on social media!
Appearances
None! If you’d like to have either of us as a guest on your show, drop us an email at openarguments@gmail.com.
Show Notes & Links
Our opening segment discusses the 1957 Supreme Court case of Watkins v. U.S. and also references this 1956 law review article.
Also, don't forget that we broke down Trinity Lutheran before the Supreme Court ruled way back in Episodes 14, 17, and 18, and then dissected the travesty of an opinion in Episodes 82 and 85. Phew!
In the interview, Mike talks to Dannagal Goldthwaite Young about satire, irony, and humor in a politically divided world. They discuss successful and not-so-successful examples of conservative political satire, how humor differs on the right and left, and the psychology behind comedy. Her new book is Irony and Outrage: The Polarized Landscape of Rage, Fear, and Laughter in the United States.
Democrats are on the verge of voting to impeach Donald Trump and to approve his trade deal, Bernie Sanders is underestimated, Joe Biden contemplates serving one term, and Pete Buttigieg releases his McKinsey clients. Then Mike Isaac of the New York Times talks to Dan about Uber, Facebook, and tech industry culture.
Bernie Sanders has a series of labor market interventions he'd like to see, including ending at-will employment. Ryan Bourne says it's a terrible idea.
This week’s programme comes from the world’s largest earth sciences conference, the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.
Roland Pease talks with Diana Roman of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington DC about the tragic White Island volcanic eruption in which at least eight tourists died.
Aurora Elmore of National Geographic and Arbindra Khadka of Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu Nepal discuss the state of Himalayan glaciers and climate change.
Robert Hazen of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington DC tells Roland about the research area called geobiochemistry and Hilairy Hartnett of Arizona State University explains why it may not be easy to find life on extra solar planets.
(Image: Smoke from the volcanic eruption of Whakaari, also known as White Island. Credit: Reuters)
The last couple of months or so have been rather eventful for Africa's fintech scene— particularly in Nigeria where Interswitch notably attained unicorn status in November following Visa acquiring 20% of the company for a reported $200 million.
Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey's much-publicised visit to Africa last month also did much to put a global spotlight on the continent’s fintech arena, and the subsequent capital raises by OPay (backed by Opera) and PalmPay (backed by Transsion) drew attention to the on-going race for platform dominance in the space.
In this instalment of the African Tech Roundup podcast, Andile Masuku and The Subtext’s Osarumen Osamuyi are joined by Malawian mobile tech entrepreneur, Wiza Jalakasi, to unpack some of the more pertinent fintech industry signals and discuss their implications for the continent’s tech and innovation ecosystem at large. (To skip the introductory niceties, head straight to [11:58].)
Wiza is a passionate USSD proponent who formerly headed up business development and international expansion at Africa’s Talking. He is currently the head of strategy and business development at Hover.
Questions discussed in this episode include:
1) Is the hype around Jack Dorsey’s recent Africa visit well-deserved? [12:38]
2) Why might PalmPay’s $40 million seed round be the most significant China-related fintech startup play of late? [25:47]
3) Are aspiring ‘banks’ like Google and Facebook well-positioned to dominate Africa’s fintech industry? [28:52]
4) Is there credence to Jack Dorsey’s citing of Bitcoin as a key part of the future of African fintech? [37:55]
5) How significant is the trend towards digital-first and digital-only banks? [50:46]
6) Could the Zimbabwean mobile telco NetOne spark a continental trend by making mobile money transactions free? [1:01:57]
7) How will Google’s new Play Store lending term restrictions for financial services apps impact microlenders on the continent? [1:07:34]
To view resources referenced in this episode, visit https://www.africantechroundup.com/fintech-signal-check-2019-part-1/
Image credit: Namnso Ukpanah
Myanmar’s de facto leader appeared before the International Court of Justice to answer allegations of war crimes. We look at the stark turnaround of an icon of democracy. Storing renewable energy remains a powerful problem, but engineers are getting more creative. And a look at Americans’ obsession with dogs. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer
