Month: May 2021

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NBN Book of the Day - Doron Taussig, “What We Mean by the American Dream: Stories We Tell about Meritocracy” (Cornell UP, 2021)

Doron Taussig invites us to question the American Dream. Did you earn what you have? Did everyone else? The American Dream is built on the idea that Americans end up, in our working lives, roughly where we deserve to be based on our efforts and abilities—in other words, the United States is supposed to be a meritocracy. When Americans think and talk about our lives, we grapple with this idea, asking how a person got to where he or she is, and whether they earned it. 

In What We Mean by the American Dream: Stories We Tell about Meritocracy (Cornell UP, 2021), Taussig tries to find out how we answer that question. Weaving together interviews with Americans from many walks of life—as well as stories told in American media about prominent figures from politics, sports, and business—What We Mean by the American Dream investigates how Americans think about whether an individual deserves an opportunity, job, termination, paycheck, or fortune. Taussig's frank assessment of the state of the American workforce and its dreams allows him to truly and meaningfully ask the question that underpins so many of our political debates and personal frustrations, did you earn it? By doing so, he sheds new light on what we mean by—and how we can deliver on—the American Dream of today.

Stephen Pimpare is director of the Public Service & Nonprofit Leadership program and Faculty Fellow at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire.

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What A Day - All That Glitters Is Not Golden Globes

The Center for Disease Control announced revised mask guidelines yesterday, stating that people who are fully vaccinated can safely go maskless and stop social distancing most of the time, even if they are indoors. One hope is that the guidance will cut down on vaccine hesitancy; The Biden administration is effectively telling Americans that you can get vaccinated and do a lot more, or you can keep on wearing a mask and do less.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is in hot water, with NBC announcing this week it cancelled its 2022 broadcast of the Golden Globes as a way of holding the show accountable for its lack of diversity and problematic pay-to-play model. We discuss the history of the HFPA, how it became so powerful, and how it responded to criticism.

And in headlines: the death toll in Gaza rises above 100, doctors in Japan urge the country to cancel the Summer Olympics, and Russia launches a movie space race. Plus, FANTI's Tre'vell Anderson fills in for Akilah Hughes.


Show Notes:

Kaiser Health News: "Latinos Are the Most Eager to Get Vaccinated, Survey Shows — But Face Obstacles" – https://bit.ly/3uLWxZ8

NYT: "They Haven’t Gotten a Covid Vaccine Yet. But They Aren’t ‘Hesitant’ Either." – https://nyti.ms/3eL6qkk


For a transcript of this show, please visit crooked.com/whataday.

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The Goods from the Woods - “The Corona Diaries #141” with Brandie Posey, Anna Valenzuela, & Patrick Devine

Three L.A. comedians are quarantined in a podcast studio during a global pandemic. There is literally nothing to be done EXCEPT make content. These are "The Corona Diaries" and this is Episode 141. We have THREE incredible guests today. First up Sam and Rivers are chatting with the newest member of the Disgraceland crew: comedian Patrick Devine! Patrick just moved to L.A. from Nashville and is hilarious. Give him a follow on Instagram @PatrickDevineComedy.  Then, Rivers scoots down the road to Eagle Rock, CA for a porch pod with two of our favorite folks: Brandie Posey and Anna Valenzuela! You can follow Brandie on all forms of social media @Brandazzle. You can follow Anna on all forms of social media @AnnaVisFun.  Strike Week is next week! HUGE guests coming up for that. For more information about the strike at Warrior Met Coal in Brookwood, AL, check out our friends at The Valley Labor Report. They can be found here.

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The Daily Signal - In New Book, Ken Starr Warns Religious Liberty Is ‘in Crisis,’ Advises What You Can Do About It

"Religious Liberty in Crisis: Exercising Your Faith in an Age of Uncertainty" is the provocative title of a new book by former U.S. Solicitor General Ken Starr.


Starr joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to explain why he thinks religious liberty is in crisis and what the biggest threats posed to religious liberty are.


He also explains why it’s important for every American to know his or her First Amendment rights to free exercise of religion and how the faithful can resist the encroachment of secularism.

We also cover these stories:


  • President Joe Biden says Americans should not buy gasoline in a panic, as the Colonial Pipeline returns to service after it was hacked by a criminal organization called DarkSide.
  • At a press conference Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., criticizes Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., for comments he made minimizing the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. 
  • Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to Biden, says people who have had COVID-19 vaccinations don’t need to wear a mask outside. 



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Opening Arguments - OA490: Chauvin Sentencing – Four Aggravating Factors

Big updates in the Derek Chauvin case! First, the judge found four aggravating factors. This is what Andrew predicted, but not exactly the same four! Also, one of the other officers in the case has filed a motion alleging witness coercion. We break down what this means, and how worried we should be. In our first segment, we answer an excellent patron question about an old OA episode: What ever happened to the Arlene's Flowers case? We discussed it back on OA180, and Andrew Seidel made a prediction that held up very well. Finally, apportionmentcalculator.com has been fixed, and a listener gives us great info about Census Blocks! Links: Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah, Docket for 17-108, Arlene's Flowers Remand, Thao motion, Federal indictments for all 4 cops, 18 U.S. Code § 242 - Deprivation of rights under color of law, Former Md. medical examiner's testimony for Chauvin defense leads to call for review of past cases, MINNESOTA SENTENCING GUIDELINES, Aggravating factors filing

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The Stack Overflow Podcast - Why are good Ruby developers so hard to find?

Ilya brought a host of good topics to the table. Bold Penguin went from one offshore developer, to one key dev, to one team, to multiple teams, multiple leaders, multiple external teams, to having a complete reboot only to go through it again. Ilya explains the lessons learned along the way.


If you’re trying to grow a software startup, you have to understand and adapt your business. Bold Penguin had to figure out if its focus was being a platform, a product, a SaaS company, an enterprise technology solution company, or all of the above. 

You can check out Bold Penguin here and find Ilya on LinkedIn here.

Our lifeboat badge of the week goes to Gibin Ealias, who helped to solve the enternal conundrum: Flex align-items: center not centering.

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This Machine Kills - *Unlocked* 65. TMK Book Club (Part 1)

We're unlocking the first episode of our biweekly TMK book club series – only on Patreon! You can get the other episode, plus more premium content every week, by subscribing at patreon.com/thismachinekills We’re discussing the Introduction and Chapter 1 of Autonomous Technology: Technics-out-of-Control as a Theme in Political Thought by Langdon Winner. Follow along with us as we take you on a guided tour of a foundational text in technological politics – one that has greatly influenced our own thinking about these issues and which has, for better and worse, remained extremely relevant today. You can find a free pdf of the whole book here: https://www.ratical.org/ratville/AoS/AutonomousTechnology.pdf TMK shirts are now available: bonfire.com/mech-luddite/ Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Pod Save America - “Cheney Reaction.”

Republicans purge Liz Cheney then meet with Joe Biden, Tucker Carlson launches an anti-vax crusade on Fox, and a look at this year’s Virginia gubernatorial race, including Dan’s interview with one of the Democratic candidates, Jennifer Carroll Foy. 



For a closed-captioned version of this episode, please visit crooked.com/podsaveamerica. 

For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.


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Consider This from NPR - The Debate Is Over: Donald Trump Owns The Republican Party

This week, House Republicans voted to expel Rep. Liz Cheney from party leadership after the Wyoming congresswoman repeatedly called out former President Trump's false claims about the 2020 election.

Republican Congressman John Curtis of Utah told NPR the party's decision had nothing to do with her opposition to the former President.

The fracture reminds Wall Street Journal Executive Washington Editor Gerald Seib of another era when Republican leadership tried to capture and control a growing political force: the tea party. Seib is the author of We Should Have Seen It Coming: From Reagan to Trump — A Front-Row Seat to a Political Revolution.

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Science In Action - Covid and clean air

We wouldn’t drink dirty water so why do we put up with polluted air? Researchers are calling for a major rethink on our attitude to air quality. Professor Lidia Morawska, from the Queensland University of Technology, says attention to air quality during the Covid pandemic has shown how levels of airborne disease can be reduced.

Sam Wilson from the UK Medical Research Council, University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research has been investigating genetic mechanisms associated with susceptibility to Covid infection. His team has identified a molecule that detects SARS-COV-2 when it starts to replicate in our cells. However, not all humans have this protective mechanism, which may help explain why some people become very ill with Covid and others have little if any symptoms.

Many Europeans lack this protective molecule, whereas the vast majority of Africans have it. The difference can be seen in cell cultures. However, the lack of diversity in the cells used in experiments worldwide can be a serious problem when looking at genetic differences as Samara Linton reports.

Nuclear material buried beneath the doomed Chernobyl nuclear power plant is becoming more active Neil Hyatt Professor of Nuclear Materials Chemistry at Sheffield University says it’s a small increase but needs to be monitored.

(Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Alex Mansfield