Opening Arguments - OA348: The State of the Secular States, with Alison Gill

Today's show features an interview with American Atheists’ National Legal and Policy Director Alison Gill! American Atheists has just released their 2019 State of the Secular States Report, which you can find here. With how much the Trump Administration and the Christian Right have tried to enshrine conservative Christianity into our nation's laws, American Atheists has worked hard to bring us this comprehensive report detailing which states have good laws in place to protect the separation of Church and State. Some states are doing better than others, and some states might surprise you! The report provides a great blueprint of action for how we can work to fight the theocrats on a state by state basis.

The Gist - Trump’s Iranian Connection

On the Gist, Kellyanne Conway and unnecessary clarifications.

In the interview, New Yorker writer Adam Davidson is here to talk about Trump’s business dealings in Iran. Based on his past reporting, Davidson discusses with Mike how Trump became financially involved with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, a military force in Iran, and what impact that has had on recent events.

In the spiel, movies and TV.

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CoinDesk Podcast Network - BREAKDOWN: Taking the TON out of Telegram | January 6th 2020

Last week, the US government took out a key Iranian military leader. As the world - and the markets - reacts to the news, some are asking what happens with bitcoin. With global instability on the rise, will more people turn to bitcoin as a safe haven asset? Will speculators drive the price up on that narrative even if it doesn’t bear out in reality? If Iranians use crypto, will that draw the attention and ire of regulators? 

In a different area of the industry, Telegram has released updated information about their forthcoming crypto token TON. Most notable was the bombshell that the token would not be integrated into Telegram Messenger - which was, of course, the predominant logic behind the more than $1.7B that was invested in the TON presale. 

Finally, we discuss the dust up around Nakamoto.com, a new crypto journal that was almost immediately accused of affinity scamming and censorship. Is it a case of overzealous bitcoin defenders or does the critique hold merit? 

Topics discussed:

The implications of Iran and geopolitical instability for bitcoin 

https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-eyes-price-breakout-amid-us-iran-tensions

Telegram updates expectations around TON ahead of SEC deposition 

https://www.coindesk.com/telegram-tries-to-clarify-gram-crypto-project-amid-ongoing-sec-fight

New crypto journal Nakamoto.com stirs controversy

https://messari.io/article/naka-naka-naka-work-anymore


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The Nod - Borders Between Us

Saidu Tejan-Thomas Jr. was born in Sierra Leone, and when he was eight years old, his mom brought him to live with her in the States. Then, when he was a teenager, his mom got sick and passed away. In the years since, Saidu has struggled with how distant he felt from his mom, often using poetry to work through his feelings. On this week's show, a beautiful story about the infinite gratitude--and resentment--we can feel for the parents who gave us everything.

Plus, an update about our podcast.

"Borders Between Us" was produced by Saidu Tejan-Thomas Jr. and Jay Allison for the public radio website transom.org. The story was made possible by funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

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The Intelligence from The Economist - The general and specific threats: Iran

Killing Iran’s top military commander does not seem likely to further America’s aims for the region. What should America and its allies expect now? Biologists have long struggled to explain why homosexual behaviour is so widespread in nature, but a new theory simply asks: why not? And the global comeback of dubbing in foreign films. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer

The Best One Yet - Snapchat buys the “Cameos” company — One Medical’s IPO moves — Apple’s 2020 HomeKit mantra

Aaaand we’re back. While you were unwrapping gifts, Snapchat treated itself to an augmented reality startup that makes the hilarious filters for Snapchat. OneMedical just filed paperwork to IPO already even though the industry it’s in hates new brands. And Apple’s got a new mantra for 2020: Make HomeKit happen. 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.

Start the Week - A house and a home

Andrew Marr discusses the state of housing in Britain and what makes a house a home.

Common wisdom states that owning a house makes you a Tory, but is this true? Political scientist Ben Ansell says that Thatcher was right to assume that Right to Buy would create more Conservative voters. But today we see the opposite: the people whose houses have risen most in value are also the most likely to support Labour. Ansell looks back at the 1909 British Liberal Party budget, when politicians tried to take on the landlords who get rich at our expense.

The architect David Mikhail helped design a groundbreaking council house estate which won last year’s Stirling Prize, awarded to the best new building in the country. As the shortfall in social housing reaches crisis levels, his Goldsmith Street in Norwich was celebrated for creating sustainable and ambitious homes for people in need.

The writer Jude Yawson looks back at the emergence of Grime, a music culture which emerged from the tower blocks of East London. The artists – mostly young black men – used the city’s juxtaposition of their decaying tower blocks and the new gleaming skyscrapers, as the backdrop to their new urban music.

Fictional homes are at the centre of Christina Hardyment’s study, Novel Houses. Dickens and Austen both criticised grand country piles, seeing them as proxies for "the dead hand of the aristocracy". Hardyment explores the personal and social importance of unforgettable dwellings – from Bleak House to Howards End – and shows how the homes take on a life of their own, becoming as characterful as the people who live in them.

Producers: Katy Hickman and Hannah Sander