The Intelligence from The Economist - Shoutshow: Trump and Biden clash

America’s first presidential debate was unmitigated chaos, revealing little more than the rancour between the candidates. In Chicago a newish musical genre called drill has a strong relation to the city’s gang violence; we ask whether it is a causal one. And amid a global rise in hand-washing, we look at the fascinating, fragrant history of soap.

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The Best One Yet - “Hoooooow convenient” — Blackstone’s climate/profit pledge. Stitch Fix’s unraveling. Beyond Meat’s Walmartification.

Stitch Fix’s personal styling biz was already slowing - now Amazon’s doing the same thing. Beyond Meat shares surged 9% because this deal with Walmart is way more than just a deal with Walmart. And Blackstone is America’s biggest landlord. Their climate pledge is also a profit pledge. $SFIX $BYND $BX Got a SnackFact? Tweet it @RobinhoodSnacks @TBOYJack @NickOfNewYork Want a shoutout on the pod? Fill out this form: https://forms.gle/KhUAo31xmkSdeynD9 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 - The Bottom Line on Trump’s Taxes

Donald Trump has spent the last four years refusing to release his tax returns. When the New York Times published 20 years worth of them, it revealed a possible reason why. The president’s balance sheet listed huge losses, which he used to dramatically cut down what he owed in taxes. 


Were these the dealings of a savvy businessman, or an unscrupulous swindler? And what does it mean for the election to have a candidate who still has a stake in their business and an alarming amount of debt?


Guest: Andrea Bernstein, co-host of the Trump, Inc. podcast and the author of “American Oligarchs: the Kushners, the Trumps and the Marriage of Money and Power.”


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Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, Danielle Hewitt, and Elena Schwartz.

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The Goods from the Woods - “The Corona Diaries #88” with Andy Sell

Three L.A. comedians are quarantined in a podcast studio during a global pandemic. There is literally nothing to be done EXCEPT make content. These are "The Corona Diaries" and this is Episode 88.  Sitting in with us again today is our hilarious next door neighbor, Daniel Magden! Follow him on Twitter @MagdenDaniel and check out his podcast "Reefer Sadness".  Also, joining us for this episode via phone from the Twin Cities, it's comedian Andy Sell!  Music at the end is "Shady Grove" by Jerry Garcia and David Grisman.

NBN Book of the Day - Michele Goodwin, “Policing the Womb: Invisible Women and the Criminalization of Motherhood” (Cambridge UP, 2020)

Policing the Womb: Invisible Women and the Criminalization of Motherhood (Cambridge University Press, 2020) a brilliant but shocking account of the criminalization of all aspects of reproduction, pregnancy, abortion, birth, and motherhood in the United States. In her extensively researched monograph, Michele Goodwin recounts the horrific contemporary situation, which includes, for example, mothers giving birth shackled in leg irons, in solitary confinement, even in prison toilets, and in some states, women being coerced by the State into sterilization, in exchange for reduced sentences. She contextualises the modern day situation in America’s history of slavery and oppression, and also in relation to its place in the world. Goodwin shows how prosecutors abuse laws, and medical professionals are complicit in a system that disproportionally impacts the poor and women of color. However, Goodwin warns that these women are just the canaries in the coalmine. In the context of both the Black Lives Matter movement, and in the lead up to the 2020 Presidential election, her book could not be more timely; Not only is the United States the deadliest country in the developed world for pregnant women, but the severe lack of protections for reproductive rights and motherhood is compounding racial and indigent disparities.

Jane Richards is a doctoral candidate in Human Rights Law at the University of Hong Kong. Her research interests include disability, equality, criminal law and civil disobedience. You can find her on twitter @JaneRichardsHK where she avidly follows the Hong Kong’s protests and its politics.

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New Books in Native American Studies - Andrew C. Isenberg, “The Destruction of the Bison: An Environmental History, 1750-1920” (Cambridge UP, 2000)

In 1800, tens of millions of bison roamed the North American Great Plains. By 1900, fewer than 1,000 remained. In The Destruction of the Bison: An Environmental History, 1750-1920 (Cambridge UP, 2000), the University of Kansas Hall Distinguished Professor of History Andrew C. Isenberg explains how this ecological calamity came to pass. Bison populations always fluctuated along with changes to the volatile Great Plains climate. The adoption of horse-based nomadism by several Native societies in the 18th and 19th centuries put added pressure on bison populations, but it was the imposition of the capitalist marketplace in the form of white hunters who turned the dynamic bison population into an unsustainable tailspin. In this new 20th anniversary edition with an added foreword and afterword, Isenberg relates the book’s genesis and reflects on its legacy and the historiographical context of environmental history’s early days. Additionally, Isenberg argues that the story of the bison’s destruction serves as a warning to societies like 21st century America that rely overmuch on a single resource survive, and who ignore the chaotic nature of global environments at their own peril.

Stephen Hausmann is an Assistant Professor of US History at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. He teaches courses on modern US history, environmental history, and Indigenous history and is currently working on his book manuscript, an environmental history of the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming.

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What A Day - Presidential Interruption

The first presidential debate took place in Cleveland last night. It was an extremely bumpy ride, with Trump failing to condemn white supremacy and suggesting once again he might not accept the election results. We discuss the highlights and lowlights of a night that was almost all lowlights. 

And in headlines: Kentucky’s AG to release grand jury proceedings from Breonna Taylor’s case, the UK and Canada impose sanctions on Belarusian officials, and David Attenborough kills it on Instagram.