Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg was announced as Biden’s nominee for transportation secretary yesterday, and former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm is expected to be picked to lead the Energy Department. We discuss those picks, plus other recent Biden nominees, like Marcia Fudge, Tom Vilsack, and Denis McDonough.
The Dolly Parton-backed Moderna vaccine has been reviewed by the FDA and found to have an efficacy rate of 94.1 percent. Zooming out, a New York Times report said it may take until 2024 for less affluent countries to fully immunize their population, since rich countries have bought up all the supply.
And in headlines: Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for kidnapping 300 boys in Nigeria last Friday, European countries announce antitrust proposals for tech companies, and Prince Harry and Meghan are podcasters now.
Comedian Rivers Langley is back in his hometown in Alabama for the rest of 2020. Also, there's a global pandemic still happening. This podcast is him catching up with his funny friends; sometimes on the phone, sometimes socially-distanced outside. These are "The Corona Diaries" and this is Episode #111. Our first guest today is comedian Monika Scott. You should give her a follow @MightyMonika and check out her podcast with Rivers called "What Did You Learn?" where they talk about documentaries with comedian Luke F. Jensen. Our second guest is professional wrestler and all-around hilarious dude, Justin Morales. You should give him a follow @TheJustinMo and check out the back catalog of Wrestling Pro Wrestling on YouTube. Listen to Carter Glascock's new album 'The Crystal Pistol' now streaming on all platforms!
Dec. 18 will mark one year since the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump.
Looking back, what happened "behind the scenes" of the impeachment proceedings? Fred Lucas, the chief national affairs correspondent for The Daily Signal and author of “Abuse of Power: Inside the Three-Year Campaign to Impeach Donald Trump,” joins "The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss it.
We also cover these stories:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell referred to former Vice President Joe Biden as “president-elect” for the first time on Tuesday.
The Supreme Court voted to protect religious groups on Tuesday in a lawsuit brought by faith-based organizations in New Jersey and Colorado that sought relief from coronavirus restrictions.
After review of Federal Election Commission records, Fox News reported that Facebook and Twitter executives donated tens of thousands of dollars to Biden’s campaign, many of them giving the legal maximum of $2,800.
On the Gist, Pete Buttigieg named Biden’s secretary of transport. And, today in Remembrances of Things Trump: Ryan Zinke, Trump’s first secretary of the interior.
In the interview, it’s the final half of Mike’s discussion with writer Matthew Yglesias. After touching on Yglesias’ argument from his Vox piece, “Trump’s Gains With Hispanic Voters Should Prompt Some Progressive Rethinking,” he and Mike go deeper on the divide between white Democrats and Democrats of color, and why some social issues in the progressive mainstream don’t necessarily work for the larger Democratic base. Yglesias’ Substack newsletter is Slow Boring.
In the spiel, Biden-esque buddyism.
And, a short tribute to the late Catie Lazarus, comedy writer, and former host of the Slate talk show Employee of the Month.
At last, the Luddism episode has dropped! We dig into the actual, and massively misunderstood, history of Luddites — not as an insult for people who are deemed “anti-progress,” but as a labor movement who confronted the machinery of industrial capitalism. We discuss how Luddism should inform militant working class power, what lessons we can apply today for how we think about technology, and draw connections to other struggles against oppressive systems, whether in the streets or the shop floors. Think of Luddism as like Marie Kondo, but for technopolitics. Does this technology contribute to human well-being and/or social welfare? If not, take it apart and toss it away! (Listen to the end for a post-outro treat from Klobbering Klobuchar.)
Some stuff we reference:
• A Nod to Ned Ludd by Richard Byrne https://thebaffler.com/salvos/a-nod-to-ned-ludd
• Sabotage by Elizabeth Gurly Flynn https://www.marxists.org/subject/women/authors/flynn/1917/sabotage.htm
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Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl). Thanks to Laura for voicing Klobbering Klobuchar.
Buying a car is a big purchase, no matter how you pay for it. Laura answers a listener's question about whether to spend cash for a car when you have it. Find out the upsides and downsides of financing or paying cash for your next vehicle.
