Month: January 2022

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More or Less: Behind the Stats - Omicron, pandemic birth rates and boosters

The pandemic seems to be entering a new phase as Omicron has taken hold. Is it milder? And how might we make decisions based on the latest data?

Predictions that lockdowns might lead to a baby boom have proven wrong - in fact fertility is falling.

We re-examine a baffling claim about the number of children being abducted every year in the US after claims by a Republican politician on social media, and we run our statistical measuring tape up the inside leg of the government?s promise to give everyone a booster jab before New Year?s Day.

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NBN Book of the Day - Anat Plocker, “The Expulsion of Jews from Communist Poland: Memory Wars and Homeland Anxieties” (Indiana UP, 2022)

In The Expulsion of Jews from Communist Poland: Memory Wars and Homeland Anxieties (Indiana University Press, 2022), Anat Plocker examines the campaign of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism that swept through Poland in 1967 and 1968, in the wake of the Six-Day War. Plocker offers a new framework for understanding how this anti-Semitic campaign was motivated by Polish fears of Jewish influence and international power. She sheds new light on the internal dynamics of the communist regime in Poland, stressing the importance of mid-level functionaries, whose dislike and fear of Jews had an unmistakable impact on the evolution of party policy. The Expulsion of Jews from Communist Poland examines how Communist leader Władysław Gomułka’s anti-Zionist rhetoric spiraled out of hand and opened up a Pandora's box of old assertions that Jews controlled the communist Party, leading in turn to a revival of nationalist chauvinism and witch hunts in universities and workplaces that conjured up ugly memories of Nazi Germany.

Piotr H. Kosicki is Associate Professor of History at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is the author of Catholics on the Barricades (Yale, 2018) and editor, among others, of Political Exile in the Global Twentieth Century (with Wolfram Kaiser).

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The NewsWorthy - Filibuster Fight, Extreme Cold & Smart Guns – Wednesday, January 12th, 2022

The news to know for Wednesday, January 12th, 2022!

We're detailing a possible change to the rules in Congress. Why the president says he now supports it, and why Republicans call it a power grab.

Also, when it comes to the pandemic, it was one of the most blunt statements from the FDA head yet. We'll explain.

Plus, we're talking sub-zero temperatures, smart guns, empty store shelves, and a new type of Girl Scout cookie.

Those stories and more in around 10 minutes!

Head to www.theNewsWorthy.com/shownotes for sources and to read more about any of the stories mentioned today.

This episode is brought to you by StitchFix.com/newsworthy and MamaZen (Listen for the discount code) 

Thanks to The NewsWorthy INSIDERS for your support! Become one here: www.theNewsWorthy.com/insider 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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What A Day - Voting Rights Now, Not Later with LaTosha Brown

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Atlanta, Georgia yesterday to make a stand for voting rights. Absent from the audience to Biden’s speech were several Georgia voting rights groups that refused to attend. Black Voters Matter co-founder LaTosha Brown joins us to discuss why activists like her sat this one out and what they’re concerned about ahead of this year’s midterm elections.


And in headlines: Russia will begin withdrawing its troops from Kazakhstan this week, Chicago students and teachers are back in school after a long standoff between the city and the Chicago Teachers Union, and writer Maya Angelou is set to become the first Black woman to be depicted on the U.S. quarter.


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The Daily Signal - How Kazakhstan’s Unrest Threatens America’s Interests

It’s a country few Americans have heard of, but Kazakhstan is going through political unrest that should make everyone sit up and take notice. With Russians on the doorstep and a bevy of strategic resources on the line, there’s a lot at stake.

"[Kazakhstan] has about 40% of the world's uranium. It has lots of oil and gas and big U.S. companies like Chevron are deeply involved in Kazakhstan," explains Luke Coffey, director of the Allison Center for Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation.

Coffey joins the "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss why Kazakh unrest matters to the U.S., and what we should be doing about it.

We also cover these stories: 

  • President Joe Biden says if Senate Democrats don’t get their way on voting legislation, the filibuster needs to end.
  • Dr. Anthony Fauci clashes again with Sen. Rand Paul as Fauci accuses him of endangering his life by criticizing him.
  • Sen. Mitch McConnell says there will be consequences if Senate Democrats change the filibuster.



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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Greg Abbott’s PR Play at the Border

Back in March, Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent a couple hundred members of the Texas National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border to counteract what he called President Biden’s “open border policies.” Almost a year later, around 10,000 troops are stationed there at Abbott’s command. Many guardsmen have had to upend their lives for a mission that seems to have little purpose. 


Guest: Davis Winkie, staff reporter for Army Times.


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What Could Go Right? - This Changes Everything: The World-Turning Power of Ideas (Bonus)

Ideas start wars and movements, undergird societies and governments, and shape the daily experiences of our personal lives. We ignore or underestimate the power of ideas to our detriment. And yet they can feel slippery to reckon with; difficult to see, tougher still to understand their complex movement through the world.

Join The Progress Network for a wide-ranging discussion on ideas—which ones are significant now, which may be significant in the future, and how we can participate in ideas' power ourselves—with Joan Blades, co-founder of Living Room Conversations and MoveOn.org, and public intellectual Steven Pinker, author of Enlightenment Now and several other books. Zachary Karabell, founder of The Progress Network, moderates.

This conversation was recorded on May 12, 2021.

What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and The Podglomerate.

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Philosophers In Space - 0G172: Spiders-Men and the Metamedia Turn

Meta meta meta meta meta. Money please.   Content: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man:_No_Way_Home   Aaron's atheism workshop: https://evergreen.humanitru.com/web/campaigns/the-innerwork-center~winter-spring-2022?attend=id%3A4465&sharer_id=3509&medium=¬es=Listing+Card&remote_id=RSgy   Editing by Luisa Lyons, check out her amazing podcast Filmed Live Musicals: http://www.filmedlivemusicals.com/   Support us at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/0G   Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/0gPhilosophy   Join our Facebook discussion group (make sure to answer the questions to join): https://www.facebook.com/groups/985828008244018/   Email us at: philosophersinspace@gmail.com   If you have time, please write us a review on iTunes. It really really helps. Please and thank you!   Sibling shows:   Serious Inquiries Only: https://seriouspod.com/   Opening Arguments: https://openargs.com/   Embrace the Void: https://voidpod.com/   Recent appearances: Aaron was on Beyond Atheism talking about moral realism for non-believers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8dZHGosvPM   Content Preview: Matrix 4 and Meta Narrative Demand
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Short Wave - Wingspan! It’s Got Birds, Science, Caterpillars – An Ideal Night In

Wingspan is a board game that brings the world of ornithology into the living room. The game comes with 170 illustrated birds cards, each equipped with a power that reflects that bird's behavior in nature. Wingspan game designer Elizabeth Hargrave speaks with Short Wave's Emily Kwong about her quest to blend scientific accuracy with modern board game design. (encore)

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NPR's Book of the Day - Get the most out of that noggin with ‘Supercharge Your Brain’

Author James Goodwin has written about brain trauma, which, as you can guess, is something you want to avoid at all costs. His new book, Supercharge Your Brain: How to Maintain a Healthy Brain Throughout Your Life, looks at both the effects of brain damage and how you can boost your brain's health. He told Morning Edition's A Martinez that keeping your brain in good working condition is easier than you might think.