Jospeh Robinette Biden did not cover himself in glory in last night's debate. As Democrats discuss changing horses midstream, The Gist analyses what went wrong besides the obvious mental discombobulations. Our guest is Sarah Isgur, ABC legal expert, Senior Editor at The Dispatch, and veteran campaign adviser including to Carly Fiorina, Ted Cruz, and Mitt Romney. Plus, we trace the circle of blame for Biden's potentially disastrous performance.
The day after a debate in which he faltered many times, President Joe Biden hit the campaign trail to try and reassure supporters that he is still up for the job and capable of beating former President Donald Trump in November.
His performance in the CNN debate on Thursday led many Democrats to panic about his chances of winning reelection. Some commentators who have long supported Biden even called for him to step aside.
NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with NPR Senior White House Correspondent Tamara Keith and Congressional Correspondent Deirdre Walsh about what happens next and whether Biden can quell Democrats' fears.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
The day after a debate in which he faltered many times, President Joe Biden hit the campaign trail to try and reassure supporters that he is still up for the job and capable of beating former President Donald Trump in November.
His performance in the CNN debate on Thursday led many Democrats to panic about his chances of winning reelection. Some commentators who have long supported Biden even called for him to step aside.
NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with NPR Senior White House Correspondent Tamara Keith and Congressional Correspondent Deirdre Walsh about what happens next and whether Biden can quell Democrats' fears.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Joe Biden and Donald Trump face off in a presidential debate, Chicago makes a deal with some protesters ahead of the Democratic National Convention, and NASCAR gets ready to shut down some Chicago streets.
Reset goes behind these headlines and more in the Weekly News Recap. This week’s panel: Jon Seidel, federal courts reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times; David Greising, president of the Better Government Association; and Carrie Shepherd, Chicago reporter for Axios.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
Alice Waters helped the farm-to-table movement go mainstream in the U.S. through her restaurant Chez Panisse. In the decades since she has kept advocating for locally grown, organic food over the fast food Americans regularly consume. Kate Linebaugh sat down with Waters at The Wall Street Journal’s Global Food Forum. To watch a video of the conversation, check out the episode on Spotify.
Amazon joins the likes of Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia and Alphabet above $2T. Who is least likely to stay there?
(00:21) Jason Moser and Bill Mann discuss:
- Tips for playing the long game with the 2024 election cycle ramping up
- Amazon joining the $2T club, and which member is most likely to experience a big fall.
- Disappointing earnings for Walgreen’s and Nike, while McCormick keeps business zesty.
(19:11) Author Nicola Twilley talks about her new book Frostbite, the development of modern refrigeration, and what its evolution can teach us about the development of other technologies today.
(31:22) Jason and Bill break down two stocks on their radar: Disney and Itron.
The CrowdScience team like a challenge. And listeners Jenny and Kai in the UK have come to us with a big one. They want to know how many flies have ever existed.
Flies first appeared around 270 million years ago, so presenter Caroline Steel prepares herself to calculate a very, very large number indeed. She enlists the help of Dr Erica McAlister, Curator of Flies at the Natural History Museum in London. As Erica introduces her to specimens from the Museum’s collection of over 30 million insects, they start with the basics. Like... how do you define a fly in the first place?
Caroline also explores the incredible diversity of flies… from fast-moving predators like robber flies which catch other insects on the wing to midges which are a vital part of chocolate-production; and from blood-sucking mosquitoes which transmit fatal diseases to the housefly buzzing lazily around a room.
And that leads to another fly-related question. Listener Brendan in Colombia wonders why they always fly in circles around a particular area of his apartment. For an explanation we turn to Prof. Jochen Zeil from the Australian National University who reveals that this apparently aimless behaviour is, in fact, a battle for sex.
And Collin in Barbados has e-mailed to ask how flies and mosquitoes benefit us. He’s had first-hand experience of their negative effects through contracting the disease chikungunya from a mosquito bite so he’s wondering if these insects are anything other than a nuisance. However, passionate fly advocate Erica McAlister is ready with plenty of reasons that we should be extremely grateful for them!
Contributors:
Dr Erica McAlister, Natural History Museum, London
Dr David Yeates, Director, Australian National Insect Collection
Prof. Jochen Zeil, Australian National University
Prof. Jo Lines, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Presenter: Caroline Steel
Producer: Jeremy Grange
Editor: Cathy Edwards
Production Co-ordinator: Ishmael Soriano
Studio Manager: Sarah Hockley
(Image: Close-up of insect on leaf, Kageshwori Manohara, Bagmati Province, Nepal. Credit: Aashish Shrestha via Getty Images)
The Secret Pod makes an emergency appearance to work through last night's terrible performance by Biden and to urge the Democratic Party to do the responsible thing in this moment. And Jonathan Martin discusses the strategy behind Biden's failed gamble and whether sitting Democrats would actually publicly push the president to leave the ticket. Sarah Longwell, JVL, and Martin join Tim Miller for the weekend pod.
In the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. and many western governments sought to isolate Russia politically and economically through sanctions. But Russia insists it still has plenty of friends in the world. Our Moscow correspondent went to meet some of them at an economic forum in Saint Petersburg.
