Donald Trump says he’ll be reinstated as President this August as his former National Security Advisor calls for a military coup, Republicans continued their coordinated assault on voting rights, and Democrats win big in a New Mexico special election. Then, Stacey Abrams talks to Jon Favreau about the fight for democracy, her latest book, and more.
Corporations had a lot to say about racial justice last summer. They made statements. They donated millions to civil rights organizations. They promised to address their own problems with diversity and representation.
Today’s episode looks at crypto in geopolitical context, focusing on:
A follow-up on the ransomware surge, with experts suggesting that it’s not about crypto payments but about the “ransomware-as-a-service” distribution model
A look at why a Russian opposition leader is moving his supporters to crypto fundraising exclusively
A review of a series of reports from Chinese state-owned media that, while trying to convince citizens to stay away, nevertheless reinforce they still have agency to own and trade crypto
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Image credit: Igor Kutyaev/iStock/Getty Images Plus
On June 1, 2021 the Supreme Court decided City of San Antonio, Texas v. Hotels.com L.P. The issue was whether, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit alone has held, district courts “lack[] discretion to deny or reduce” appellate costs deemed “taxable” in district court under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 39(e). In a 9-0 opinion authored by Justice Alito, the Court affirmed the ruling of the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The Supreme Court held, “Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 39 does not permit a district court to alter a court of appeals’ allocation of the costs listed in subdivision (e) of that rule.” Charles Campbell, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Law at Faulkner University’s Jones School of Law, joins us today to discuss this decision and its implications.
On this episode, Peter Meyer joins contributing editor Mark Bauerlein to discuss his career as a journalist turned educator and the innovative way he’s improving literacy in his low-income school district. To subscribe to his news quarterly, visit www.paideiatimes.org.
Researchers map where the riskiest areas are for viruses to jump from bats into humans. Also, synthetic bacteria with unnatural DNA, and the origin of the humble watermelon.
David Hayman of Massey University in NZ and colleagues have published in the journal Nature Food a study highlighting areas of the world where zoonotic transmission of coronaviruses are most likely to occur between humans and bats of the type most suspected of being the origin of the current SARS CoV2 virus. There are a lot of hotspots combining fragmented forest, livestock farming, human habitation, and populations of horseshoe bats. It is, as he says, just part of the evidence suggesting a natural origin in the areas of northern south-east Asia and southern China.
Jason Chin, Wes Robertson and team at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology have been tinkering with their work on synthetic organisms. By rewriting the dictionary of DNA itself, their new molecular alphabet is able to encode far more elaborate and innovative functions than even nature has ever produced. Publishing this week in the journal Science, their latest bacterium is even capable of being completely immune to viral infection. But as they describe, this could be just the start of what the new technology could deliver in terms of new materials and medicines.
Meanwhile, Susanne Renner has been tracking down some of human beings’ earliest genetic engineering. The selection and breeding of various fruits to produce sweet, sweet watermelon was long suspected to have originated in Africa, the question was where and when? Using a combination of genetic sequencing, ancient Egyptian art, and early modern paintings, she describes to Roland how what we now know as Sudan likely played a part in the story.
(Image: Horseshoe bat Credit: Getty Images)
Presented by Roland Pease
Produced by Alex Mansfield
The long-awaited FDA ban on menthol cigarettes is now in the works. Guy Bentley of the Reason Foundation believes the social consequences will be both negative and predictable.
Tech Commentary columnist James Meigs joins the program to talk about his latest piece for the magazine “Thank God for Big Pharma.” We discuss the “lab leak” hypothesis and the terrifying consensus within the scientific community that shut its advocates up. Source
Businesses and governments ramp up vaccine incentives. Ransom hacks becoming more brazen. A 12 and 14-year-old target police. CBS News Correspondent Steve Kathan has today's World News Roundup.
