That a housefly could steal the show at America’s only vice-presidential debate is telling, but a discussion with more substance than bombast was a welcome respite. Cuba is experiencing its worst food crisis in decades, and that at last may spur changes to its confused and market-distorting dual-currency system. And geopolitics sticks its beak into an enormous annual bird migration.
Meet the God Squad, the brains behind our series “Faith, Food, Friday: Improbable conversations for people of faith and no faith at all (because talking politics wasn’t hard enough)." We hope you’ll join us as we explore what happens when people of good will who might not agree cross each others’ thresholds and break a little bread together. Whoever you are, whatever your beliefs, bring an open mind and open heart for a continuing conversation on the topics your mother taught you to never broach in polite company.
What's happening to us? A conversation between neighbors. The God Squad is introduced to podcast listeners in this throwback program from November 2018, just after the synagogue tragedy in Pittsburgh and just before the 2018 election. As we approach the 2020 election during a time of deep divisions and a global pandemic, we find ourselves astonished at how relevant this program is today. Even the short description from this event could have been written for 2020:
"The tragic events of the last week have devastated an already polarized country. As we head into a divisive election we seem to lack the capacity to be together even in times of national grief and trauma. So we’ve asked the God Squad to provide some much-needed perspective in this storm. Whether you’re a God Squad regular or you’ve never been, we hope you’ll join us."
In which an unnamed Greek shipping magnate "jumbo-izes" an oil tanker so big that it can't even navigate the English Channel, and John ponders digging a canal between Seattle and Omaha. Certificate #36640.
Levi’s shares popped 5% after earnings, but we are most focused on its new online thrift store for secondhand Levi’s. McDonald’s just added its 1st baked breakfast item in 8 years, so we’ve got a bold idea for Ronald: Breakfast Club. And gene-editing pioneer Crispr watches its stock jump 11% — doesn’t hurt when your co-founder just got a Nobel Prize in chemistry.
$LEVI $CRSP $MCD
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.
In January 2020, the UK became the first country to leave the European Union after a troubled 47-year membership.
What was at the core of the country’s semi-detachment to the EU? Was the UK’s eventual inevitable or was it a tragedy of errors and misunderstandings borne of divergent political cultures? What does the future hold for the relationship?
In his new book Reluctant European: Britain and the European Union from 1945 to Brexit (Oxford UP, 2020), Stephen Wall provides unique insight with this narrative political history, having served in the foreign office from 1968, worked for two prime ministers, and ended his career as the UK’s Permanent Representative to the EU in Brussels then as head of the European policy for Tony Blair.
Tim Gwynn Jones is an economic and political-risk analyst at Medley Global Advisors.
Even though we've been living with the pandemic for months, there's still lots of confusion about coronavirus tests and what the results do — and don't — mean. NPR correspondent Rob Stein explains the types of tests, when they are most accurate and how to make sense of the results.
Last night was the first and only vice presidential debate, with Senator Kamala Harris and VP Mike Pence facing off. Their conversation covered police killings of Black Americans, Trump’s response to the pandemic, Roe v. Wade, and more. We discuss a debate that was a lot more measured than the last one, but still very frustrating.
Trump went back to the Oval Office yesterday and released another long-winded video in which he said contacting COVID-19 was a “blessing from God” and described the antibody cocktail he received as a “cure.” Outside of DC, there are still over 40,000 new cases being identified daily, with the Dakotas and Wisconsin as particular hot spots.
And in headlines: George Floyd killer Derek Chauvin is released on $1 million bail, a Greek neo-fascist political party is found guilty of running a criminal organization, and SNL pays their audience.
If you've been watching The Vow on HBO (or any number of other cult related shows) you may have been wondering how cults work - why people join, and how cults hang onto their members. There is a lot of psychology behind it, so who better to help break it down than our evo psych expert Lindsey Osterman!
