The Gist - America’s Worst Year Ever

On the Gist, sorting out how undemocratic of our democracy is.

In the interview, the Atlantic’s James Fallows contends that while 2020 has been bad, 1968 was actually quite worse. The Vietnam War was raging, young men were being drafted, and in 1968 the North Vietnamese and Vietcong forces launched their Tet Offensive. Not to mention, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were both assassinated. Fallows and Mike discuss how the assassinations compounded on the stress of the war, how shooting targets have shifted from politicians to schools, and compare the civil unrest of 1968 with 2020. Fallows’ piece in the Atlantic is “Is This the Worst Year in Modern American History?

In the spiel, we’re not getting those $2,000 checks...which leads to a Remembrances of Things Trump where the president likes a certain phrase about talking and action. 

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Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder, Margaret Kelley, and Cheyna Roth.

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Editor’s note: This episode mistakenly identifies Martin Luther King Jr. as having been assassinated “when he was in his early 40s.” King died at the age of 39 on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee.

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the memory palace - Episode 173: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1



The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

A note on notes: We’d much rather you just went into each episode of The Memory Palace cold. And just let the story take you where it well. So, we don’t suggest looking into the show notes first.

Music

  • Waltz for Sky by Muriel Botsdorp

  • A Gathering to Lead me When You're Gone by Brian McBride

  • 20 (Lichen) by Brendan Eder Ensemble

  • Electronium Movie Score by Raymond Scott

  • Someday We'll Linger in the Sun by Gaelynn Lea

  • 32 (Harp) by Nearly Oratorio

Notes



Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - Closing The Gap On Food Insecurity: The View From The Food Bank (Part 2)

What does a household that is food insecure look like? And who is most impacted? We talk to folks who have experienced food insecurity in their own families. We also hear from one of Illinois’ biggest food banks about how they’re addressing the “invisible” problem of hunger in the suburbs.

Consider This from NPR - Contact Tracers Struggle to Keep Up As Coronavirus Cases Surge From Holiday Travel

One in every thousand people has died of COVID-19 in the U.S. And California just passed 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases. This surge, likely from Thanksgiving travel, is making contact tracing efforts difficult across the country.

Dr. Christina Ghaly, Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, says hospitals are being forced to treat COVID-19 patients in conference rooms and gift shops as beds fill up.

To help contain the spread, Brett Dahlberg reports that some health officials in Michigan are asking people to do their own contact tracing.

In New York City, WNYC's Fred Mogul found a contact tracer who is making home visits in an effort to alert people in at-risk categories.




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Read Me a Poem - “Lights Out” by Edward Thomas

Amanda Holmes reads Edward Thomas’s poem “Lights Out.” Have a suggestion for a poem by a (dead) writer? Email us: podcast@theamericanscholar.org. If we select your entry, you’ll win a copy of a poetry collection edited by David Lehman.


This episode was produced by Stephanie Bastek and features the song “Canvasback” by Chad Crouch.



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Chapo Trap House - Plug for Labor Campaign for Single Payer

Amber here with a quick plug for Labor Campaign for Single Payer, an organization of unions who are bringing more unions into the fight to win Medicare for All. Support links below: https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/donate-to-labor-campaign-for-single-payer?source=website& While you're at it, also please give a pitch for our January 23-24 virtual strategy conference: https://www.laborforsinglepayer.org/medicare-for-all-strategy-conference/

Stuff They Don't Want You To Know - CLASSIC: What is the Octopus?

It sounds like something out of a paranoid political thriller - one journalist stumbles across a vast international conspiracy involving the world's most important leaders and corporations. But could it be true? What is the Octopus, and what happened to Danny Casolaro? Join Ben and Matt for more in this week's Classic episode.

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They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/

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CoinDesk Podcast Network - BREAKDOWN: The Devastation of Main Street Business, feat. Daniel Lacalle

The popular economist talks about the K-shaped recovery and why we could be in for more pain in 2021.

This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com and Nexo.io.

Daniel Lacalle is the chief economist for Tressis SV and a well-known economics personality. In this conversation with NLW he discusses the devastation of small businesses in America and around the world and why the recovery could be less even than people think in the year ahead.

Find our guest online: @dlacalle_IA

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CBS News Roundup - World News Roundup: 12/29

Will the Republican controlled Senate vote to increase stimulus checks to $2,000 dollars or defy President Trump? Hospitals in crisis as coronavirus and deaths surge. Investigators seeking motive in the Christmas Day bombing in Nashville. Correspondent Deborah Rodriguez has the CBS World News Roundup for Tuesday, December 29, 2020:

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