As COVID ravages the American plains, the Cherokee nation stands alone – an example of how government might work to contain the virus. The tribe long ago gave up waiting for the federal government to come through on its promise of fully-funded health care, and invested in state-of-the-art healthcare infrastructure, just in time. But as winter sets in, Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. worries his community can’t remain an island forever.
Guest: Chuck Hoskin, Jr. is the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
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Manu Prakash is the co-inventor of the Foldscope, a low-cost microscope aimed at making scientific tools more accessible. We chat with him about why he wants to change how we think about science, and what it'll take to make science something everyone is able to enjoy. (Encore episode)
Paul Donovan's Profit and Prejudice: The Luddites of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Routledge, 2020) is a great example of what Robert Shiller has championed as narrative economics--pointing out the power and real-world economic import of stories, of narratives. In this case, Donovan highlights the cost of prejudice and how it will become even more expensive as we enter the fourth industrial revolution, a period in which human capital will be critically important to the success of any endeavor. Prejudice is bad for business and the economy, he concludes. Donovan argues for "Fighting Back"--the title of a chapter--to confront the economic cost of prejudice, but it will be an uphill battle.
To get a 25% discount on Profit and Prejudice, enter the code NBN25 at checkout here.
Daniel Peris is Senior Vice President at Federated Investors in Pittsburgh. Trained as a historian of modern Russia, he is the author most recently of Getting Back to Business: Why Modern Portfolio Theory Fails Investors.
A single penny costs more than two cents to make, which means the U.S. government loses roughly $90 million a year on its production. Stephen Dubner, co-author of the bestselling "Freakonomics" books and host of “Freakonomics Radio”, makes the case for getting rid of the penny altogether.
A bipartisan relief bill that had some momentum last week hit a snag after two senators said they won’t support the proposal. We explain. Plus, an update on coronavirus restrictions in New York.
The Trump administration has five executions planned between now and January 20th, including that of Brandon Bernard, whose sentence many are fighting to commute. Biden is against the death penalty and said he will work to end it as president.
And in headlines: police shooting of 23-year-old Casey Goodson in Ohio, the Trump admin passed on extra doses of the Pfizer vaccine, and one weird trick pandas use to stay warm.
There’s no denying that 2020 has been a trying year.
Churches all over the nation closed their doors because of COVID-19. Rioters burned and looted businesses in cities from Portland, Oregon, to Kenosha, Wisconsin. And a contested election has left many Americans concerned for the country’s future.
Amid the trials and tribulations of this year, Becket Law’s annual Religious Freedom Index found that religious liberty is still an essential American value. Becket Law, a nonprofit, public interest legal institute, says its mission is "to defend the free exercise of all faiths, from Anglican to Zoroastrian."
In a survey of 1,000 Americans, 78% said they believe “religion is important to providing stability to society during times of social unrest,” Becket Law reports in its index.
Caleb Lyman, director of research and analytics at Becket Law, joins the show to explain Americans’ current view of religious freedom and whether the nation's perspective on faith has changed during 2020.
Lyman also discusses the survey’s surprising findings regarding how Generation Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) views religion.
We also cover these stories:
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says he will recertify the state's election results.
Conservatives push back on former Vice President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Federal judges in both Michigan and Georgia dismiss election-related lawsuits from lawyer Sidney Powell.
Gaze into the cosmos and wonder at broken satellites, retired rockets and shattered contraptions. Archaeologist Dr. Alice Gorman is a leading expert on orbital debris and chats about what’s up there, how it got there, and how to get it down. Strap in to hear about everything from Sputnik to sports cars, flaming garbage bonking us, alien clutter, collision potential, the most adorable space rubbish, cosmic burials and how one does this type of archeology without boarding a rocket. Also: steaming hot cruise ship gossip.
After last week’s Cameron discussion we decided it was finally time to induct this film into the official Chapo Canon: it’s been a long time coming but here’s the AVATAR episode. Join us as we examine the most anti-imperialist blockbuster of the 21st century, argue that its subversiveness is precisely why this massive hit “made no cultural impact,” and explain how Avatar teaches us to shed our baby selves as we confront America’s role as the 9/11 do-er.
Schmidt also helped create Monument, which he describes as "an affordable live/work art event space in downtown San Francisco. The upstairs is 24 private bedrooms and studio spaces and the downstairs is a 200+ capacity person event venue and makerspace. Our goal is to connect creative people across different fields, and in particular build bridges between art and technology."
