Five years ago, a vast wave of migrants and refugees began to spill into the country. We examine their fates amid a tangle of bureaucracy. Even for the uninfected, the coronavirus has caused widespread “collective trauma”; we ask about its effects and how to heal from it. And Palestinians sneak to the beach as security forces look the other way.
In which a single TV series builds the modern image of American police as righteous and efficient, despite much evidence to the contrary, and John uses its theme song in the bedroom. Certificate #35498.
Cheers of joy spread throughout the land as United ended its change fees — aka 15% of overall US airline sales. Netflix is trying a new “give-our-content-away-for-free” strategy. And renter’s insurance icon Lemonade is giving away 17X more money than the average publicly traded corporation does… but it’s still not profitable (investors not down).
$LMND $NFLX $UAL
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The Democratic primary for a Massachusetts Senate seat is becoming a test of progressive bona fides and the strength of the Kennedy family name. So perhaps it’s not surprising to learn that, when it comes to their voting records, the two candidates are extremely similar.
Guest: Victoria McGrane, political correspondent for the Boston Globe.
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Science writer Jennifer Leman did it. She ranked all 158 moons in our solar system. The criteria? Interviews with NASA scientists, astronomers, and her own moonpinions. She talks to host Maddie Sofia about some of her favorites. Here's her full list for Popular Mechanics. (Encore episode.)
There is something intuitive about the idea that when we believe, we ought to follow our evidence. This entails that beliefs that are the products of garden varieties of irrationality, such as delusion, confabulation, false memory, and excessive optimism, are for that reason epistemically derelict. Many philosophers would go so far as to say that people ought not to hold such beliefs; some would go further and say that it’s our duty to challenge those who hold beliefs of this kind.
However, in The Epistemic Innocence of Irrational Beliefs (Oxford University Press, 2020), Lisa Bortolotti argues that the full story about irrational beliefs is far more complicated and philosophically interesting. She identifies circumstances under which irrational beliefs are nonetheless beneficial, and thus, as she says, “epistemically innocent.”
Ok, it’s not just you. It’s all of us. Why do human beings tend to make bad decisions when it comes to spending money? According to Dan Ariely, best-selling author and professor of psychology and behavioral economics, a lot of it comes down to the environment we face as consumers.
Joe Biden spoke in Pennsylvania yesterday, where he condemned violence of any kind at recent protests. Trump spoke at the White House yesterday, where he declined to tamp down violence among his supporters and suggested instead that Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old Wisconsin shooter, had acted in self-defense.
Coronavirus outbreaks are continuing to pop up at colleges and universities in the US as the fall semester starts. Bars have been ordered closed in Alabama and Iowa after hundreds of students tested positive, and other schools are weighing the decision of whether to send students home if there are cases on campus. For more on schools, check out this week's episode of Hysteria: Crooked.com/Hysteria
And in headlines: New York City will pay $5.9 million to the family of Layleen Polanco, Lebanon has chosen its designated Prime Minister, and Trump and his allies “fix it in post.”