The Gist - Making the Worse Argument

On The Gist, unpopular opinions.

In the Interview, Mike talks to actor Kal Penn about his sitcom Sunnyside. They discuss how he came up with the idea for the show, his time working for the Obama administration, and the Easter eggs hidden throughout the season. You can watch Sunnyside on Hulu, Amazon, and other streaming platforms.

In the Spiel, the rebuttal to impeachment.

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Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - Fred Hampton’s Legacy in Chicago 50 Years After His Killing

Today marks 50 years since police killed the young Black Panthers leader during a pre-dawn raid. Reset looks at how Hampton's legacy lives on in Chicago.

Also: Chicago's winter parking ban went into effect this week. We look at what you need to know to avoid getting your car towed. 

Undiscovered - Into The Ether

In 1880, scientist Albert Michelson set out to build a device to measure something every 19th century physicist knew just had to be there. The “luminiferous ether” was invisible and pervaded all of space. It helped explain how light traveled, and how electromagnetic waves waved. Ether theory even underpinned Maxwell’s famous equations! One problem: When Alfred Michaelson ran his machine, the ether wasn’t there. 

Science historian David Kaiser walks Annie and Science Friday host Ira Flatow through Michaelson’s famous experiment, and explains how a wrong idea led to some very real scientific breakthroughs.

This story first aired on Science Friday.

 

GUEST

David Kaiser, Germeshausen Professor of the History of Science, Professor of Physics, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

 

FOOTNOTES

Find out more about the Michelson-Morley experiment on APS Physics. 

Read an archival article from the New York Times about the physicists’ experimental “failure.”

 

CREDITS

This episode of Undiscovered was produced by Annie Minoff and Christopher Intagliata. Our theme music is by I Am Robot And Proud

Stuff They Don't Want You To Know - Can weather make you ‘crazy’?

For thousands of years, people have been convinced that the weather and the position of the moon can wreak profound havoc on human behavior. This belief continues in the modern day, with numerous law enforcement officers, medical professionals and more swearing people act strangely during the full moon. Additionally, science shows certain environmental factors, such as an extended lack of sunlight, can spark measurable changes in mood. So what's the truth here? Can the weather really make people go crazy?

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The Intelligence from The Economist - Inquiring minds: impeachment’s next stage

The House Judiciary Committee will now take up the inquiry into President Donald Trump. But will any of it matter to uninterested voters? The probe into the mysterious death of an investigative journalist is now haunting Malta’s halls of power. And a look back on the life of a beloved athlete who never quite won cycling’s biggest prize. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer

The Best One Yet - Google co-founders retire — Zume robot pizza aims for $4B valuation — Roku’s ratings drama

Google’s legendary co-founders are stepping down effective immediately, but it’s probably because Google’s had its most controversial year in ever. Our “Unicorn of the Day” is Zume whose robot pizza is already worth $2B, and it sells the most intense food trucks you’ve ever experienced. And Roku stock plummeted and then surged after two analysts gave opposite interpretations of its streaming potential. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Will Republicans Derail Jerry Nadler?

The next impeachment hearing will be in the House Judiciary Committee, where Corey Lewandowski made a mockery of Democrats in September. So perhaps it’s by design that the testimony planned for Wednesday seems rather low-stakes: Four professors will speak about the constitutional grounds for presidential impeachment. 

Guest: Jim Newell, Slate’s senior politics writer.

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Short Wave - The Evolution Of HIV Treatment

A lot has changed since the first cases of AIDS were reported in 1981. Globally, AIDS-related deaths have dropped by more than 55% since 2004, the deadliest year on record. But, the road to effective treatment for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, was long. Maggie Hoffman-Terry, a physician and researcher who's been on the front lines of the epidemic for decades, explains how treatment has evolved, its early drawbacks, and the issue of access to medications. Follow Maddie on Twitter — she's @maddie_sofia. And email the show at shortwave@npr.org.

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What A Day - Kamala’s Second Act

  • California Senator Kamala Harris suspended her presidential campaign on Tuesday. We discuss the factors that led her to this point, including ones many in the press seem to have overlooked.
  • Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee released their impeachment report, and the White House response produced our new favorite insult. You didn’t hear it from us, but Adam Schiff is a “basement blogger.”
  • And in headlines: Willie off weed, McKinsey loves ICE, and Rap Genius is a real genius