We'll tell you new information about that spy balloon shot down off the coast of the U.S. and explain why things got pretty tense on Capitol Hill over the ordeal.
Plus, new promises from Southwest Airlines, how ChatGPT is being used in a popular dating app, and what makes this weekend's Super Bowl one for the history books.
Those stories and more news to know in around 10 minutes!
Whether it's a family or a single male, the drug cartels play a role in every illegal crossing into the U.S. at the southern border, former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott says.
“They're either directly paying the cartels or the cartels are controlling their movements for another benefit, meaning to systematically overwhelm Border Patrol, create a gap in the border security, and then bring the narcotics across,” Scott says.
Scott, who worked in U.S. Customs and Border Protection for three decades, served as the 24th chief of the Border Patrol from Jan. 24, 2020, until Aug. 14, 2021. Through his decades of work on the border, Scott says, he observed that “every single day, almost without exception until January of 2021 [when President Joe Biden took office], the border was getting more and more secure.”
The cartels are taking advantage of the Biden administration’s border policies, Scott says, explaining that because most illegal aliens coming across the border are released into the U.S. interior, the cartels “push [asylum-seekers] all across at the same time.”
The result, he says, is that “it overwhelms all the law enforcement resources so that [the cartels] can push a second wave through, commonly referred to nowadays as 'gotaways.'"
The gotaways tend to be individuals who are "willing to pay more to not encounter a law enforcement officer,” Scott says, adding, “That's where most of the narcotics [are]. That's where most of the criminal aliens are.”
Scott joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the long-term implications of Biden’s border policies and why Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is allowing the crisis to continue at the southern border.
For many Americans, the “Green Book” is an Oscar-winning film. But for generations of Black Americans, it served as a literal map for traveling through an often hostile and hateful country, finding safety and businesses that would serve us. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by writer and financial educator Alvin Hall. He’s the author of Driving the Green Book: A Road Trip Through the Living History of Black Resistance. Hall explains how the original Green Book began, discusses its evolution, and why he’s dedicated years to studying and sharing stories of its impact.
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Make an impact this Black History Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund UNCF scholarships for HBCU students. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more.
TikTok was banned on government agency devices in December; several schools and universities have banned it on their devices and wifi networks, and the governor of Texas unveiled a plan to ban it in the state. Can “Project Texas” stem the anti-TikTok tide? And would banning the app actually achieve…anything?
Guest: Louise Matsakis, reporter for Semafor covering tech and China
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Andrew Torrez, Thomas's 50/50 partner in Opening Arguments Media, LLC has been accused of sexual misconduct and unwanted/uncomfortable behavior by many women and 1 Thomas. Thomas's allegations are here, major content warning. Here's Since then Andrew has gone off the deep end and completely stolen control of the show and company assets. Here's a drive link with tons of info. I talk about all that, how you can support me if you choose, and give a heartbreaking update: Lindsey Osterman has left SIO. So much heartbreak these past weeks.
Please, pretty please, support this feed at patreon.com/seriouspod. Thank you so much, truly.
Emery Berger, Professor of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, joins Ben for a conversation about the impact of AI on academia. As a young sci-fi fan, he was fascinated by computers that could spit out solutions (a fascination that survived exposure to BASIC and COBOL). Now his CS students are using Copilot to do the same thing. How can educators (and students) adapt?
Episode notes:
Professor Emery Berger is a systems builder who studies “programming languages, runtime systems, and operating systems, with a particular focus on systems that transparently improve reliability, security, and performance.”
AI giveth and AI taketh away: an incredible tool for developers is creating new challenges for CS educators and students. Read Emery’s 2022 essay “Coping with Copilot.”
Today's episode covers two YA novels centered around Black youth and the portrayals they receive – or don't – in coming-of-age literature. First, NPR's Andrew Limbong speaks with Talia Hibbert about her new romantic comedy, Highly Suspicious And Unfairly Cute, which follows an unapologetically nerdy heroine reconciling with the ex-best friend jock that ditched her. Then, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe gets to talking with author Nick Brooks about his new mystery, Promise Boys, which revolves around how a group of Black students are blamed for the murder of their prestigious school's principal.
Every year, lightning is estimated to cause up to 24,000 deaths globally. It starts forest fires, burns buildings and crops, and causes disruptive power outages. The best, most practical technology available to deflect lightning is the simple lightning rod, created by Benjamin Franklin more than 250 years ago. But lightning rods protect only a very limited area proportional to their height. So today's show, why a group of European researchers are hoping the 21 century upgrade is a high-powered laser. Plus: Regina makes incremental progress on conquering her irrational fear of lightning.
Struck by other illuminating scientific research? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
We get some Parisian updates and stories from Ed. Then we enter the mind palace of a libertarian who, with all the annoying pretension of a philosophy major, tried to make ChatGPT say the word. We wrap up with a discussion of the “year of efficiency” in Silicon Valley as the biggest four tech companies are rewarded with over $800 billion in market cap for making massive job cuts, massive stock buybacks, and massive investments in AI.
Some stuff we reference
••• Big Tech groups disclose $10bn in charges from job culls and cost cutting https://www.ft.com/content/9daf27f6-dde7-40d8-b01d-33b70844aa69
••• Tech’s Biggest Companies Discover Austerity, to the Relief of Investors https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/02/technology/big-tech-earnings-austerity.html
••• Tech's Elite Hates Labor https://ez.substack.com/p/techs-elite-hates-labor
••• Big Tech companies use cloud computing arms to pursue alliances with AI groups https://www.ft.com/content/5b17d011-8e0b-4ba1-bdca-4fbfdba10363
••• Google reveals plans for Bard chatbot as AI tech race heats up https://www.ft.com/content/66fad3e0-f530-48c1-984c-82578274ce7a
••• Microsoft Throws a Coming-Out Party for A.I. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/07/technology/microsoft-ai-chatgpt-bing.html
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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)
