President Joe Biden’s surprise visit to Ukraine wasn’t all it was chalked up to be. Join Federalist Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway and Senior Editor David Harsanyi as they scrutinize Biden’s pledge to write blank checks to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky “for as long as it takes,” discuss CNN’s Don Lemon and his comments that Nikki Haley is past her “prime,” consider the 2024 presidential prospects, and urge parents to keep their kids away from screens. David and Mollie also share their culture picks for the week, including “Columbo.”
We discuss the supermarkets for data – giant grocery chains like Kroger have created powerful capacities for data extraction and monetization. This forces us to expand our analysis of data surveillance beyond the usual suspects in big tech and reckon with the fact that data capital is not a thing that can be excised from the political economic system, but is now an essential component of that whole system’s operations.
Stuff we reference:
••• Forget Milk and Eggs: Supermarkets Are Having a Fire Sale on Data About You https://themarkup.org/privacy/2023/02/16/forget-milk-and-eggs-supermarkets-are-having-a-fire-sale-on-data-about-you
••• “Out Of Control”: Dozens of Telehealth Startups Sent Sensitive Health Information to Big Tech Companies https://themarkup.org/pixel-hunt/2022/12/13/out-of-control-dozens-of-telehealth-startups-sent-sensitive-health-information-to-big-tech-companies
••• Now for sale: Data on your mental health https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/02/13/mental-health-data-brokers/
••• Senators Launch Inquiry into Telehealth Companies for Tracking and Monetizing Personal Data https://themarkup.org/pixel-hunt/2023/02/07/senators-launch-inquiry-into-telehealth-companies-for-tracking-and-monetizing-personal-data
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Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (www.twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (www.twitter.com/braunestahl)
For the past two weeks, tens of thousands of people, most of them college students, poured into a small chapel at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. Some drove from South Carolina and Oklahoma. Others flew in from Canada and Singapore. They waited in line for hours to stand next to people they share nothing in common with except for a single conviction: God was visiting a two-stoplight town in Kentucky.
Religion has been on the decline in America for years. But last year, for the first time in American history, house-of-worship membership dropped below 50%. And nowhere is the decline in religion and faith more dramatic than when you look at our youngest generation. Gen Z is the most likely generation ever to say they don’t believe in God, and they are the least religiously affiliated and the least likely to attend church.
Zoomers are also a generation riddled with anxiety and depression, and inundated with nihilistic and fatalistic messages – TV shows, movies, pop songs – throughout the culture. In poll after poll, they are the generation with the least positive outlook on life. The CDC recently published a report stating that “almost 60% of female students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness during the past year.”
And yet, in this tiny chapel in Kentucky, God, faith, meaning and hope have been on full display.
What moved so many young people to nonstop prayer – more than 250 hours – at a moment like this? How did this revival come to be? And why is it happening now? Today, Free Press reporter Olivia Reingold explains from the chapel at the Asbury Revival.
If you state made jaywalking a felony, should that necessarily mean you should never be able to own a firearm again? Clark Neily details the practical debate over gun rights now brewing in federal court and says the implications for the average American are substantial.
Custodia Bank is fighting back against the Federal Reserve's rejection.
In a recent tweet, Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell suggested U.S. regulators like it when bad actors beat good actors because it takes down the crypto industry and the bad actors can be jailed later. In this episode, NLW explores the issue in the context of Custodia Bank's battle to join the Federal Reserve system, and its argument that it is being unlawfully used as a “sacrificial lamb” in the wake of the FTX failure.
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“The Breakdown” is written, produced and narrated by Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with editing by Michele Musso and research by Scott Hill. Jared Schwartz is our executive producer and our theme music is “Countdown” by Neon Beach. Music behind our sponsor today is “Foothill Blvd” by Sam Barsh. Image credit: Godong/Getty Images, modified by CoinDesk.
Join the most important conversation in crypto and Web3 at Consensus 2023, happening April 26-28 in Austin, Texas. Come and immerse yourself in all that Web3, crypto, blockchain and the metaverse have to offer. Use code BREAKDOWN to get 15% off your pass. Visit consensus.coindesk.com.
Is an out-of-the-way ruin in South Africa the oldest human structure on the planet? Or did something other than humans build it? These are the rumors surrounding a place sometimes called Adam's Calendar -- but how do the rumors compare to the facts? Join Ben and Matt as they dive into the story of strange historical ruins.
The U.S. Supreme Court appears ready to clarify when and under what circumstances federal labor law preempts state tort claims for strike-related misconduct. On January 10, it heard oral arguments in Glacier Northwest, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local No. 174, a case involving the intentional destruction of an employer’s property.
The employer, Glacier Northwest, manufactures ready-mix concrete. Ready-mix concrete hardens quickly and must be poured on the same day it’s mixed. In August 2017, a union representing Glacier’s employees called a sudden strike. The union allegedly timed the strike so that concrete would be left to harden in Glacier’s trucks. Predictably, the concrete was ruined, and Glacier sued the union for damages. But state courts rejected the suit. They held that the suit was preempted by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) because (a) the union’s conduct was arguably protected by federal law, and (b) the conduct fell outside an existing exception for intentional-tort claims because it involved no violence or “outrageous conduct.”
The central issue for the Court is whether the NLRA preempts intentional tort claims except when they’re accompanied by violence or outrageous conduct. The union argues that the state courts got it right: violence or outrageous conduct is necessary. Glacier, on the other hand, argues that violence or outrageous conduct has never been required. In fact, the Supreme Court itself has long recognized that intentional property destruction is unprotected and falls outside the NLRA’s preemptive reach.
Regardless of who wins that argument, the resulting decision will likely clarify the scope of NLRA preemption. And potentially, it will offer guidance on the bounds of acceptable strike-related conduct.
Join Alex MacDonald to stay informed on one of the most important cases currently before the Supreme Court.
Featuring: Alex MacDonald, Director, Future of Work and Labor Law, Instacart
Today’s podcast discusses the political impact of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, especially as regards Democratic darling Pete Buttigieg; considers the presidential candidacy of Vivek Ramaswamy (who?); and assesses the presidential chances of Republican Sen. Tim Scott. Give a listen. Source
