Month: January 2021

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Consider This from NPR - How Trumpism Led To An Ideological War Over Voice Of America

In its very first broadcast, the U.S.-government-run service called Voice of America pledged honesty.

"The news may be good and it may be bad. We shall tell you the truth."

The idea was to model a free press, especially for audiences in places that might not have one. Places where political parties and governments might pressure or intimidate journalists.

But over the past seven months, Voice of America and its federal parent organization, U.S. Agency for Global Media, have been caught in an ideological war. Employees say agency CEO Michael Pack, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, obsessed over staff loyalty and embraced conspiracy theories.

NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik talked to more than 60 current and former staffers. He's put together a comprehensive picture of Pack's radical tenure.

In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what's going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

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Science In Action - New Covid vaccine

Researchers at Imperial College have been working on a strategy that can make RNA vaccines stretch further. Anna Blakely explains how the new approach works and why RNA vaccines are adaptable to a changing disease. In January 2019 a dam collapsed in Brazil, spilling 10 million cubic metres of red sludge down nearby rivers, claiming the lives of at least 259 people. An engineering report into the collapse looked at data from safety sensors around the site, and said they’d not revealed any weakening of the dam prior to the failure. But a new study using data from Earth observing satellites has found signs of subtle movement starting weeks earlier. Stephen Grebby of Nottingham University and Roland Pease discuss this finding. An international collaboration led by Kew Gardens has just set out a list of ten golden rules for maintaining and restoring forests. The main author, Kate Hardwick talks about why the rules are necessary and why it isn’t as simple as planting any old trees. There’s been a lot of debate about whether being bilingual is good for the brain. Does knowing more than one language take up precious capacity that could be used for better things? Or does it sharpen it, all the better to take on more challenges? Dean d’Souza of Anglia Ruskin University has been addressing this question by comparing the behaviour of infants brought up in monolingual and multilingual homes.

(Image: Getty Images)

Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Deborah Cohen

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CoinDesk Podcast Network - BREAKDOWN: WallStreetBets Is Occupy Wall Street With Teeth

The retail trader insurgency has massive implications for the future of capital markets. 

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io.

This week, a collective of foul-mouthed internet memers took down some of Wall Street’s best-known hedge funds. In today’s episode, NLW looks at:

  • The historical context of how the Great Financial Crisis set the stage for WallStreetBets
  • How WSB gained infamy during the COVID-19 crisis by correctly predicting the market’s rebound while other investors remained bearish 
  • Why WSB started going after short-sellers, particularly around GameStop (GME)
  • How WSB forced a short squeeze that required Melvin Capital to call in nearly $3B of emergency capital 
  • Why Robinhood forcing users to stop buying GameStop and other related assets will go down as an inflection point in the history of capital markets


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Earn up to 12% APY on Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD, EUR, GBP, Stablecoins & more. Get started at nexo.io.

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Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images News and WallStreetBets Subreddit

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Everything Everywhere Daily - The Green Bay Packers

The National Football League is big business. It earns more money than any other professional sports league in the world. All of the NFL teams are own by billionaires or consortiums of multi-millionaires….except for one. One team, has no billionaire owner, is located in the smallest town in America to have a professional sports team, and yet has won more championships than any other team in the NFL. Learn more about Green Bay Packers on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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The Commentary Magazine Podcast - It’s All in the GameStop

The COMMENTARY Podcast is not the place you want to turn for stock market tips but we do have something to say about the political and cultural meaning of the extraordinary events surrounding the Gamestop stock and the runup in its value. And we wonder at the Biden administration's foot-in-mouth disease when it comes to job-destroying executive orders. Give a listen.

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Curious City - Why You Should Skip Delivery Apps And Other Ways To Support Local Businesses

A listener wanted to know some practical things he could do to support struggling businesses. Monica Eng shares tips from industry experts on how to support small businesses like bookstores and music venues. She also talks with chef Beverly Kim about how female restaurateurs in Chicago have been supporting one another during the pandemic.
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The Intelligence from The Economist - Conte’s inferno: political crisis in Italy

The president is scrambling to pull together a workable government following Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s resignation—and the instability has big implications for Europe’s post-pandemic plans. We examine the staggering rise of shares in GameStop and the day traders trying to stick it to the hedge-funders. And the sport of back-country skiing gets a lift in America.

For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer