Back to school today in more districts. The President defends his executive orders. Joe Biden set to announce his VP pick. CBS News Correspondent Steve Kathan has today's World News Roundup.
First it was Bytedance’s app TikTok, now it’s Tencent’s WeChat: the Trump administration’s fervour to ban or dismantle wildly popular Chinese apps is increasing. In these straitened times, employees naturally worry that robots and software are coming for jobs—but the pandemic may actually slow that transition. And Britain’s government suggests slimming down even as it subsidises meals out.
In another "mini" episode that accidentally turned mega, Mike tells Sarah about the Wayfair conspiracy theory and the sketchy statistical screenshots that have shown up in its wake. Digressions include "Inside Llewyn Davis," Miranda Priestley and (sigh) Jeffrey Epstein. This episode contains, we're sorry to say, detailed descriptions of child abuse.
Leah and Kate are joined by Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of NAACP LDF. They further break down the “shadow docket” cases from last term, highlight an underappreciated theme of the last term, and identify some things to watch in the next few months.
Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025!
So much relies on science. But what if science itself can’t be relied on? In Science Fictions: Exposing Fraud, Bias, Negligence, and Hype in Science (Penguin Books, 2020),Stuart Ritchie, a professor of psychology at King’s College London, lucidly explains how science works, and exposes the systemic issues that prevent the scientific enterprise from living up to its truth-seeking ideals.
While the scientific method will always be our best way of knowing about the world, the current system of funding and publishing incentivizes bad behavior on the part of scientists. As a result, many widely accepted and highly influential theories and claims—priming, sleep and nutrition, genes and the microbiome, and a host of drugs, allergies, and therapies—are based on unreliable, exaggerated and even fraudulent papers. Bad incentives in science have influenced everything from austerity economics to the anti-vaccination movement, and occasionally count the cost of them in human lives.
Stuart Ritchie has been at the vanguard of a movement within science aimed at exposing and fixing these problems. In this New Books Network conversation, we speak specifically about how even the most well-meaning and truth-seeking scientists can unwittingly introduce bias into their analyses. We discuss ways that scientists’ training is inadequate.
Matthew Jordan is a professor at McMaster University, where he teaches courses on AI and the history of science. You can follow him on Twitter @mattyj612 or his website matthewleejordan.com.
Trump signed a bunch of executive orders and actions over the weekend that he presented as a fix to our economic problems. But the reality is much less transformative. We explain what his actions do (cut unemployment) and what they don't do (protect renters from eviction).
ByteDance, the Chinese company behind TikTok, is planning to sue the Trump administration over its ban on US companies doing business with the app. The executive order against TikTok also bans US dealings with WeChat, another Chinese-owned app.
And in headlines: a massive oil spill in Mauritius, protests in Beirut, and Amazon goes to the mall.
Herd immunity. It's the idea that enough people become immune to an infectious disease that it's no longer likely to spread. It makes sense theoretically. But as NPR's Geoff Brumfiel tells us, the reality — in this coronavirus pandemic and without a vaccine — is potentially full of risk and maybe even unachievable.
Hey y'all! This week on the Patreon, it's CHRISTMAS IN AUGUST! Rivers is chatting with comedian and host of the Bleak in Review Podcast all about one of the shittiest movies ever made, 'Santa with Muscles'. This episode is a request from our Patron @JMJanks! The movie is available in its entirety for FREE on YouTube. We had such a great time recording this episode! Follow Kevin on all forms of social media @KBAndersonYo! Join the Tower of Power by signing up for our Patreon now for only $5 a month. http://www.Patreon.com/TheGoodsPod