Month: March 2020

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Opening Arguments - OA366: Your Guide to the Coronavirus!

Today's episode breaks down force majeure clauses in contracts and takes a look at what might happen in the next few weeks as the world prepares to deal with COVID-19 coronavirus. Along the way we also tackle the news of the week, including the baffling decision out of the DC Circuit not to require Don McGahn to testify. You won't want to miss this episode!

We begin, however, with some recurring Vice Presidential/line of succession questions and take a mini-deep-dive into the absolutely bonkers elections of 1796 and 1800 that produced the 12th Amendment, and what it says about vice-presidential qualifications.

After that, it's time for our main segment on coronavirus, which includes a deep dive into various cases where contracts have been broken due to "acts of god." Is a global pandemic an "act of god?" Listen, find out, and you'll soon be able to whip out four-part tests if your hotel tries to cancel your room due to coronavirus scares.

Then, it's time to pick apart the D.C. Circuit's 2-1 baffling opinion that the House Oversight Committee lacks standing to go to a court to enforce its subpoena over Don McGahn. This is technically an "Andrew Was Wrong," because Andrew did not imagine that any judges with functioning brain cells could have authored an opinion this bad. Find out what's next!

After all that, it's time for a brand new Thomas Takes the Bar Exam involving a tainted witness identification. And remember that you too can play along by sharing out this episode on social media and using the hashtag #T3BE.

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

  1. For all your Vice Presidential qualification questions, check out the 12th Amendment!
  2. Here's the D.C. Circuit's decision in McGahn, and we also referenced Raines v. Byrd, 521 U.S. 811 (1997) and, of course, Opening Arguments's good friend Richard Nixon in United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683, 696-97 (1974).
  3. Finally, you can read Josh Chafetz's law review article, "Executive Branch Contempt of Congress."

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The Gist - Trump Is Clueless About Coronavirus

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On the Gist, daylight savings time.

In the interview, Mike talks with journalist and political analyst Yuval Levin about his most recent book, A Time To Build: From Family and Community to Congress and the Campus, How Recommitting to Our Institutions Can Revive the American Dream. They discuss why institutions are important to shaping individuals, why gatekeepers remain important and should be required to prove themselves, and why conservatives have damaged American institutions.

In the spiel, Trump and the coronavirus.

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Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - Film Festival Highlights Issues Of The Environment, Sustainability

Film festival highlights how we can look differently at the environment, our own sustainability practices, and the intersection of the environment and social justice. Films will play in multiple venues in Chicago, suburban cook, and surrounding counties. Oneearthfilmfest.org

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Science In Action - Australia’s fires – fuelled by climate change

Attributing Australia's bush fires, a major study says man-made climate change was a big driver – making the fires at least 30% worse than they would have been if natural processes were the only factors.

We look at preparations for coronavirus in Africa. Although cases there are currently lower than in much of the rest of the world a major training initiative is taking place to spread awareness amongst medics across the continent.

We ask why Horseshoe bats in particular carry coronaviruses, and find a novel idea for distributing vaccines in places without refrigeration.

(Image: Australian bushfires. Credit: Getty images/AFP)

Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Julian Siddle

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CoinDesk Podcast Network - BREAKDOWN: Why Bitcoin Mining Might Be the New Business Model for US Power Plants

It was another good day for global crypto, as South Korea votes to formally integrate the industry into the existing financial system, opening the market to new players and potentially improving services for crypto companies. 

In New York state, meanwhile, a recently renovated power plant is taking advantage of low cost energy with 7000 bitcoin miners. This is part of a larger trend of US-based mining in 2020. 

In a very different part of the industry, a new partnership between ConsenSys, EY and Microsoft suggests the intranet era of enterprise blockchain might be coming to a close. 

Finally, the new governor of the Bank of England says be prepared to lose money if you buy bitcoin.

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Lex Fridman Podcast - #78 – Ann Druyan: Cosmos, Carl Sagan, Voyager, and the Beauty of Science

Ann Druyan is the writer, producer, director, and one of the most important and impactful communicators of science in our time. She co-wrote the 1980 science documentary series Cosmos hosted by Carl Sagan, whom she married in 1981, and her love for whom, with the help of NASA, was recorded as brain waves on a golden record along with other things our civilization has to offer and launched into space on the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft that are now, 42 years later, still active, reaching out farther into deep space than any human-made object ever has. This was a profound and beautiful decision she made as a Creative Director of NASA’s Voyager Interstellar Message Project. In 2014, she went on to create the second season of Cosmos, called Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, and in 2020, the new third season called Cosmos: Possible Worlds, which is being released this upcoming Monday, March 9. It is hosted, once again, by the fun and brilliant Neil deGrasse Tyson.

EPISODE LINKS:
Cosmos Twitter: https://twitter.com/COSMOSonTV
Cosmos Website: https://fox.tv/CosmosOnTV

This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast. If you would like to get more information about this podcast go to https://lexfridman.com/ai or connect with @lexfridman on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Medium, or YouTube where you can watch the video versions of these conversations. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts, follow on Spotify, or support it on Patreon.

This episode is presented by Cash App. Download it (App Store, Google Play), use code “LexPodcast”. 

Here’s the outline of the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.

OUTLINE:
00:00 – Introduction
03:24 – Role of science in society
07:04 – Love and science
09:07 – Skepticism in science
14:15 – Voyager, Carl Sagan, and the Golden Record
36:41 – Cosmos
53:22 – Existential threats
1:00:36 – Origin of life
1:04:22 – Mortality

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CBS News Roundup - WORLD NEWS ROUNDUP: 03/05

Cruise ship coronavirus scare off California. Bernie Sanders vows post primary unity. Chuck Schumer criticized for challenging Supreme Court justices. CBS News Correspondent Steve Kathan has today's World News Roundup.

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The Intelligence from The Economist - Testing times: the world responds to covid-19

Our journalists explore the variance in both policy and preparedness among different countries and regions that are dealing with coronavirus outbreaks—or that soon will. American graduates are saddled with crippling student debts; we examine the systemic problems behind the crisis. And a look at Scotland’s landmark period-products bill. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer
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Bay Curious - Why Highway 280 Has So Few Billboards

Question asker David Shayer has a lot of opinions... about billboards. He says the worst are electronic billboards that flash changing images at night. But in addition to an opinion, David has a question: "Why is Highway 101 plastered with billboards while Highway 280 doesn't have any billboards?" In this episode, reporter Christopher Egusa takes a roadtrip to find out more.


Additional Reading:


Reported by Christopher Egusa. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Jessica Placzek, Asal Ehsanipour, Katie McMurran and Rob Speight. Additional support from Julie Caine, Paul Lancour, Kyana Moghadam, Suzie Racho, Carly Severn, Bianca Hernandez and Ethan Lindsey Patricia Yollin.