The Staples Center is about to become “Crypto.com Arena” — it’s the biggest naming rights deal in the history of sports. Apple stock just jumped because it’s giving you tools to fix your own iPhone. And gas prices have hit such high levels, that President Biden sent a letter to Big Oil (FYI, we just saw $6/gallon. How about you?).
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Beto O’Rourke is running to replace Greg Abbott as governor of Texas. Though it’s his first time in this particular race, you’d be forgiven for thinking, “again?”
Where does this habitually-losing smooth-talking Irish-guy-with-a-bordertown-nickname fit into a state with changing demographics and an incumbent governor under assault from both the right and left? Is Beto building a coalition, or heading for a third and final defeat?
Guest: Patrick Svitek, political correspondent for the Texas Tribune.
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Back in July of 2020, a man in the middle of a pandemic decided to launch a new podcast. It would be a daily podcast that would cover, well, everything. It was an ambitious project that everyone told him was crazy to do, but it pushed ahead and did it anyhow. Today, 16 months later, that podcast is celebrating its 500th episode. Learn more about Everything Everywhere Daily on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
The avocado is the iconic food of the twenty-first century. It has gone from a little-known regional food to a social media darling in less than a hundred years. This is an astounding trajectory for a fruit that isn’t sweet, becomes bitter when it is cooked and has perhaps the oddest texture of any fruit or vegetable. But the idea that this rich and delicious fruit is also healthy despite being fatty and energy-dense gives it unicorn status among modern eaters, especially millennials.
Through lively anecdotes, colourful pictures and delicious recipes, Jeff Miller's book Avocado: A Global History (Reaktion Books, 2020) explores the meteoric rise of the avocado, from its co-evolution with the megaherbivores of the Pleistocene to its acceptance by the Spanish conquistadores in Mexico and its current dominance of food consumers’ imagination.
Amir Sayadabdi is a lecturer in Anthropology at Victoria University of Wellington. He is mainly interested in anthropology of food and its intersection with gender studies, migration studies, and studies of race, ethnicity, and nationalism.
The news to know for Thursday, November 18th, 2021!
What to know about a big White House auction that President Biden doesn't want to have.
Also, how a U.S. lawmaker became one of only two dozen in history to face a certain strict punishment in Congress.
And why the history behind one of the most notorious killings of the civil rights era is being rewritten more than five decades later.
Plus, an iconic sports stadium is getting a name change, TikTok may owe you money if you take action in the coming months, and when you can see the longest lunar eclipse in more than 600 years.
This week is Trans Awareness Week, leading up to the Trans Day of Remembrance on Saturday. This year is particularly important because 2021 is the deadliest year on record for trans and nonbinary people in the U.S., according to the Human Rights Campaign. Kate Sosin, the LGBTQ+ Reporter for the non-profit news organization, The 19th, joins us to discuss the rights and safety of trans people in America, among other trans news.
And in headlines: tensions at the border between Belarus and Poland temporarily eased, two men found guilty of assassinating Malcolm X in 1965 are expected to be exonerated today, and President Biden unveiled a plan to drastically increase the country’s investment in coronavirus vaccines.
The murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, after eight days of testimony, has gone to a jury in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to arrive at verdicts in the highly publicized case.
The jury, which finished its second day of deliberation Tuesday, was considering seven counts, including first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, and attempted first-degree homicide. As Americans wait to learn Rittenhouse's fate, it's helpful to look back and see how we got here.
Self-defense expert and attorney Andrew Branca extensively covered the trial’s ins and outs. Branca has written that he thinks the jury should find Rittenhouse, 18, not guilty because he acted in self-defense in shooting three men who pursued him during a riot in Kenosha, killing two.
"I don't even think it's close. It should be an acquittal on all these criminal charges," Branca says. "I'm sure what we're experiencing here is a holdout of one or perhaps two jurors. The evidence is not close on any of these issues."
Branca joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss what you need to know about the case.
We also cover these stories:
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration suspends implementation of President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for private employers, pending litigation.
The International Olympic Committee releases new guidance for intersex and transgender athletes, reversing policies requiring biological males who identify as females to lower their testosterone levels.
House Democrats censure and strip committee assignments from Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., over an edited anime clip he posted on Twitter depicting him as physically attacking characters with the faces of Biden and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
After a life of civic hacking outside the system through efforts like vTaiwan, Audrey Tang, now Digital Minister of Taiwan, speaks with Baratunde about how to use digital tools to include people in more direct, participatory, democratic practices and her design philosophy of “fast, fair, fun.” She shows how tech can help government be more responsive to and collaborative with its citizens.
Guest: Audrey Tang
Bio: Digital Minister of Taiwan, open-source software contributor, poetician
Go to howtocitizen.com for transcripts, our email newsletter, and your citizen practice.
ACTIONS
- PERSONALLY REFLECT
Flexing our personal power
When have you felt justified pushing against an authority in your life? How did you do it and did it achieve your goal? If not, why not? If so, were there other unintended consequences? If you could go back in time, would you change your actions in any way?
- BECOME INFORMED
What is Open Government?
Get informed about this idea of "open government." Learn more about Audrey’s work at digitalminister.tw. If you want to go deeper, read the book Open Democracy by Hélène Landemore. It's about centering ordinary citizens in the democratic process. Find it in our online bookstore bookshop.org/shop/howtocitizen. And search social media for the hashtag #OpenGovernment to discover other related thinkers and doers helping us govern ourselves.
- PUBLICLY PARTICIPATE
Public Forums
Practice sharing your voice on an issue you care about in a public forum (not just social media). For example, you can comment on upcoming federal regulations at regulations.gov. But the real action is local, so join a participatory budgeting initiative by searching online for “participatory budgeting near me”, or attend a virtual or live city or neighborhood council meeting and offer feedback during the public comment section. Use your voice to influence a public issue. Flex your power!
Utah is ahead of more than a dozen states in approving medical cannabis. How did a conservative state like Utah get it done? How well does its program serve patients? Molly Davis with the Libertas Institute and the Utah Cannabis Association comments.
The National Rifle Association is being sued. The nonprofit at the heart of the gun lobby is accused of diverting money from its charitable mission. NPR investigative journalist Tim Mak has been following the paper trail, much of it tracing back to Wayne LaPierre, longtime leader of the NRA. NPR's Steve Inskeep talked with Mak about his new book, Misfire, detailing congressional investigations, and what the New York state attorney general has identified as tens of millions of dollars of corrupt spending on private jets and six figure suits.
