Dive into the frustratingly relevant world of magical memes and ancient Egyptian gods. We explain how a frog comic went from a meme to a symbol of Trumpian chaos, to an internet religion with power to alter reality.
Another classic deep dive! You might remember California passing AB5, which sought to elevate so-called "gig economy" workers from independent contractors to full on employees. It was not a perfect solution and left some small businesses wondering how they would cope. However, after that was passed, tech companies poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Proposition 22, which would basically take the giant corporations off the hook while still requiring everyone else to obey AB5. This was a terrible result and had everyone angry at California voters. But now there is a happy update to the story! Listen in!
We’re joined by Labor Notes’ Jonah Furman to discuss the ongoing strike of over 10,000 John Deere workers. We discuss the effects of a tight labor market on labor power, what’s at stake in the strike, and how the current “vibe” of labor militancy might affect future strikes. We then look at the other end of capital with a piece from FT detailing the “vibe” at the Milken Jamboree, an event named after the “junk bond king” headlined by, of course, Bari Weiss.
Check out Jonah’s writing in Labor Notes: https://labornotes.org/author/5777/content
And sign up for his newsletter here: https://whogetsthebird.substack.com/
How does Medicare's incentive structure impact the quality of care it delivers? Cato's Michael Cannon is coauthor of a new paper exploring the question.
School board members across the country are being intimidated and threatened. Now the National School Boards Association wants the federal government to step in. The group said in a recent letter to President Biden that acts of school board harassment and confrontations seem to be coordinated.
Chicago’s inspector general is charged with getting the mayor and city agencies to be transparent, ethical and accountable. Reset talks with the man who held that job for 12 years, overseeing the Daley, Emanuel and Lightfoot administrations.
At Messari’s Mainnet conference in September, rumors flew that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had served a subpoena on a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol founder moments before he was set to speak on stage. The rumors were confirmed late last week when Terraform Labs and CEO Do Kwon filed a lawsuit against the SEC for due process violations. On today’s episode, NLW breaks down the lawsuit, the community’s response and what the precedent and outcome might mean for the industry going forward.
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“The Breakdown” is written, produced by and features NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell, research by Scott Hill and additional production support by Eleanor Pahl. Adam B. Levine is our executive producer and our theme music is “Countdown” by Neon Beach. The music you heard today behind our sponsor is “Exit” by Isaac Joel. Image credit: Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images News, modified by CoinDesk.
Special guest Dana Schwartz tells Sarah about Catherine the Great. Topics of interest include the very not great life of serfs, the accidental flattening of women via the girl-bossification of history, and a very solid Bertie Wooster reference.
James B. Meigs joins today’s podcast to discuss his two articles in the November issue of Commentary. One, “COVID and the Authorities: It’s Even Worse Than We Thought,” has only gained momentum over the past week as more has emerged to suggest leading figures in the public-health community might have been involved in a major cover-up at the beginning of the pandemic. The second... Source