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Republicans have begun embracing masks. It’s a welcome change -- but it’s also an economic indicator.
Guest: Slate’s Jordan Weissmann.
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The news to know for Monday, July 6th, 2020!
What to know today about:
... and more in less than 10 minutes!
Head to www.TheNewsWorthy.com under the section titled 'Episodes' to read more about any of the stories mentioned or see sources below...
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Sources:
More U.S. Infection Records: NY Times, Reuters, Politico, FOX News, Axios, Johns Hopkins
Scientists: Coronavirus is Airborne: NY Times, Reuters, Axios, WaPo
Weekend Protests: Reuters, The Hill, Baltimore Sun, Axios, AP, NY Times, FOX News, NBC News
Weekend Trump Speeches: AP, Reuters, WSJ, Politico, WaPo
Biden 4th of July Address: The Hill, FOX News, CBS News, LA Times
Kanye West Running for President: USA Today, Reuters, Politico, CNN, Tweet
Pipeline Canceled: AP, NY Times, USA Today, CNN, News Release
Boeing Pulls Plug on 747 Jets: Bloomberg, Reuters, Engadget
Airbnb Unveils Age Restrictions: USA Today, Fox News, Airbnb
Piano Business Thrives: NY Times
Monday Monday - Money Can Buy Happiness: FOX Business, WaPo, Full Study
Scientists worldwide want the World Health Organization to take a stronger stance on airborne transmission of COVID-19. In the US, records were set last week for the highest number of daily cases, with hotspots that led some governors to halt re-openings or begin re-closings.
Trump gave some hall-of-fame dumb speeches this week, stoking division by focusing on “cancel culture”, then adding to the confusion around coronavirus by downplaying the disease’s severity.
And in headlines: new opinions to come from SCOTUS, sports teams consider name changes, and some fish eggs that don’t give a duck.
Andy calls up Adam Schefter in-between his SportsCenter appearances to talk about sports in the era of the coronavirus. The pandemic has cancelled seasons for the pros, college athletes, and for you and your kids. Leagues around the world are looking to resume play, but should they?
Keep up with Andy on Twitter @ASlavitt and Instagram @andyslavitt, and follow Adam Schefter on Twitter and Instagram @AdamSchefter.
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Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, assistant secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services for mental health and substance use, joins the show to explain the physiological effects of extended isolation.
McCance-Katz is both an epidemiologist and a psychiatrist. That enables her to have a uniquely holistic perspective about the most effective way to protect the whole health of Americans during the pandemic.
If you are struggling with anxiety or depression, check out these resources:
We also read your letters to the editor and share the words of President Ronald Reagan on July 4, 1986, as he reminded Americans of where we came from and the importance of unity to maintain our national strength.
Enjoy the show!
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Studies in children who have been severely affected by Covid-19 in Italy, Britain and the US are showing the same thing – a range of symptoms linked to an overactive immune system. Elizabeth Whittaker from London’s Imperial College discusses the similarities in these cases and possible reasons for this syndrome with Shanna Kowalsky from Mount Sinai hospital in New York.
How much should drugs for Covid-19 cost? Remdesivir, which has shown promise against the virus, has been priced at over $2000 for a course of treatment, but drug price analyst Andrew Hill says the cost of production is actually below $10.
And how about some really alternative energy? Marion Cromb at Glasgow University has run an experiment to simulate a spinning black hole. In theory, a rocket sent to an equivalent real black hole could use its rotation as a power source.
Shoes are a surprisingly recent human invention. But running isn’t. That means for most of our time on the planet, we’ve run barefoot. Today, in most countries, it’s rare to see people out in public without shoes, let alone running. But might our aversion to the free foot be causing us pain?
CrowdScience mega-fan Hnin is an experienced runner - she enjoys ultra-marathons back home in Australia. But about six months ago she developed extreme foot pain, the condition Plantar Fasciitis, and this meant she had to stop doing what she loves. She reached out to CrowdScience presenter Chhavi Sachdev, to find out if barefoot running could reduce her pain and improve her performance. Simply put, is barefoot running better?
In an attempt to find Hnin some answers, Chhavi hits the ground… running. Literally throwing off her own shoes on the streets of her home city of Mumbai, India, to see how feeling the ground can change her whole gait. And with Prof. Dan Lieberman, Chhavi learns what sets the human runner apart from other species, while uncovering the strange form our feet have. She speaks with Dr Peter Francis, a researcher whose life’s work has focused on curing the pain in his own feet and learning how to help others.
But performance is also important for runners. Biomechanics and shoe expert Dr Sharon Dixon explains how modifications to the sports-shoe are helping marathon runners set records, and blade-running athlete Kiran Kanojia shows Chhavi how the technology behind her two prosthetic legs let her emulate either natural walking or natural running.
(Image: Getty Images)
In this audio interview, CoinDesk’s Leigh Cuen and Blockade Games co-founder Marguerite deCourcelle talk about bitcoin’s impact on artistic careers. From collecting unique, interactive pieces to designing video games, Cuen and deCourcelle explore how crypto could redefine modern art.
Bitcoin is money but blockchain technology can also be used in a wide variety of art projects.
Perhaps the best known variety of blockchain-based visual art is non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
For example, Blockade Games co-founder Marguerite deCourcelle said her startup sold $160,000 worth of crypto assets, like NFTs, with most of the profits from two editions of their first game Neon District.
“Blockade has minted over 850,000 assets to blockchain game players,” eCourcelle said.
She initially broke onto the scene with paintings that included clues to hidden bitcoin prizes, then started creating interactive, digital art coupled with written roleplaying folklore as well.
“Instead of the idea of running through the digital treasure hunt and possibly getting bitcoin at the end, the design is now that you start at the beginning, there’s no barriers to you can just start playing,” she said, describing her video games. “Earning tokens in the background and you’re notified once you’ve created something that’s unique.”
In short, the artist can now co-create with the audience in a way that scales individual experiences. Although DeCourcelle still paints, she’s become fascinated with the creative and artistic potential of blockchain technology.
Since the first wave of so-called decentralized applications (dapps) in 2017, non-fungible tokens (NFTS) have earned gamers more than $20 million through trading and startups roughly $13.6 million for selling the digital assets, according to blockchain analytics firm Flipside Crypto. Most of that traction was in 2017, when the collectibles game CryptoKitties was the season’s hottest trend and briefly surged to more than 14,000 users.
Yet Flipside Crypto CEO David Balter said observers should not dismiss blockchains like Celo and the CryptoKitties creators’ upcoming Flow. Other gaming dapps like Gods Unchained and My Crypto Heroes garnered $4.2 million and $1.5 million, respectively, selling digital assets.
“There are a number of chains that are working to establish dapps that are participants on the chain. Celo, for example, is doing a good job,” Balter said, listing the above-mentioned gaming projects as well. “We’re talking about customer acquisition costs and lifetime value...these are real businesses.”
Flipside Crypto data scientist Angela Minster added most of these games so far see a surge during the first year then struggle to retain users. In 2020, she expects to see improvement in that department.
In addition to niche gaming fans, investors’ interest in NFTs hasn’t wavered yet. The “Bitcoin Billionaire '' twins, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss of the Gemini crypto, are also bullish on NFTs. They acquired the NFT marketplace Nifty Gateway in 2019, which opened for business in March 2020 with digital pieces from artists like doodle-master Jon Burgerman and painter Kenny Scharf. A Nifty Gateway spokesperson said the platform has partnered with 16 brands and artists so far, with one Nifty selling for $1,500.
“Kenny Scharf sold out his collection around two and a half minutes,” the spokeswoman added.
Very early
Barely anybody uses crypto games these days and even Ethereum fans love to diss them, but some aficionados say a few startups show potential.
It’s a long shot, to be sure. Critics may argue these efforts are merely a small group of people trading software trinkets between friends. If so, that is also still true of the broader industry.
Balter estimated that by May 2020 roughly 2.13% of bitcoin wallets held 95% of bitcoin in circulation. This is still an industry with thousands of people holding most of the assets, betting broader demand from millions will drive value.
“This is actually the lowest concentration of [bitcoin] wealth since March 2016,” Balter said, as a crypto optimist himself. “Developer behavior rating is superb, over the past year the [diversity and contributions] rating has been trending up.”
According to a survey of 15,000 crypto fans by the startup Crypto.com, 73% of users believe cryptocurrency needs to be used as a currency to qualify for “mass adoption,” which 92% of respondents said could happen in the next 5 years. To some, this may seem as optimistic as betting on artistic crypto collectibles. Companies like Nifty Gateway are exploring how users might display them IRL, while video game creators like deCourcelle focus on interactive features.
“We try to keep a heavy focus on art and [the] story,” she said, speaking to how her characters can involve many interchangeable, tokenized parts. “When you compose them all into this one character, it’s a pretty unique item you’ve created, both in its story and legacy and also in terms of what it can do in the game application itself.”
She said she’s excited to explore what it means for a bitcoiner to develop her career as an artist, using software as a medium. If bitcoin is significant, and we accept its slow growing usage after a decade, then perhaps the fact the CryptoKitties trend of 2017 now has less than 100 daily users isn’t enough to dismiss all NFT experiments. Flipside Crypto’s analytics showed the top CryptoKitties user earned $698,887 and the median user earnings hovered around $53. Earning pocket money through relatively short gameplay, compared to Minecraft or Animal Crossing, may be an attractive factor for some avid gamers.
Balter said it’s “still very early.” If a niche app needs around 500,000 daily users to be successful, then there’s still a long way to go before anyone can claim crypto games are a significant niche within the gaming sector.
“You will see glimmers of better models and outcomes in 2020,” Balter said. “The more that the user is able to monetize, the more the company will succeed.”
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A rising population, developing landscape and evolving entertainment all helped form a need for the Chicago music venues we know today.