Up First from NPR - FBI Director Wray To Step Down, U.S. Life Expectancy, DNC Seeks New Leadership

What does a change at the top mean for the FBI? Director Christopher Wray announced he will resign next month. Shooting an insurance executive in the back produced a disturbing response about America's healthcare industry. The Democratic National Committee is meeting in Washington over the next two days to reflect on the election results and hear pitches from candidates for leadership positions.

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Today's episode of Up First was edited by Anna Yukhananov, Diane Webber, Megan Pratz, HJ Mai and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Ben Abrams. We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis and our technical director is Carleigh Strange.


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Code Story: Insights from Startup Tech Leaders - S10 Bonus: Andrey Kudievskiy, Distillery

Andrey Kudievskiy has always been fascinated by technology, and when asked about himself, he identifies as an entrepreneur. He has been a software engineer, database developer, administrator and then jumped accidentally into management. Outside of his professional life, he is marred with two daughters. He enjoys running long distance. He has officially run 5 marathons, and unofficially, he has joined many more along the way.

Right after he graduated from University, Andrey saw a fantastic level of talent in developing countries. At the same time, he noticed the amount of profitable opportunity in the United States - and decided to build a business that joined the two.

This is the creation story of Distillery.

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WIRED Politics Lab - Some Educated Guesses About Trump’s Second Term

Donald Trump’s presidency will be unpredictable, but in our final show, we make some guesses about what’ll happen anyway. WIRED’s Tim Marchman sits down with reporters David Gilbert and Makena Kelly to talk about what could go wrong between Trump and Musk, if Christian nationalists will get their porn ban, the rise of human brain organoids and whether the new administration will finally declassify those UFO files. 


Tim Marchman is @timmarchman. David Gilbert is @DaithaiGilbert. Makena Kelly is @kellymakena. Be sure to subscribe to the WIRED Politics Lab newsletter here.

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Bay Curious - Which San Francisco Sounds Are Lost to Time?

Our lives are full of sounds. The rumble of car engines, a particular birdsong, the 'ding' of phone alerts, even the voices of our friends and family — these everyday noises become so regular we don't even consider that you might hear them one day and then never hear them again. This week, KQED's Rachael Myrow takes back in time to track down some of the lost sounds of San Francisco.

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This story was reported by Rachael Myrow. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, Ana De Almeida Amaral and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Jen Chien, Maha Sanad, Katie Sprenger, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

Curious City - In Chicago, forget the cocktail; a beer and a shot will do

Chicago is a city of pubs and taverns with a robust drinking culture. During the holiday season, that might mean sipping on some warm Swedish glögg, or, as we heard in our last episode, grabbing a Tom and Jerry at Miller’s Pub. But what about a Chicago-specific cocktail? “People really want us to have a cocktail,” said Liz Garibay, executive director of the Beer Culture Center. “It's like, you go to New Orleans and there's a Sazerac. You go to New York, there's Manhattan.” So is there a quintessential Chicago cocktail? Curious City host Erin Allen talks to Garibay as well as Greg Shutters, owner of Cohassett Punch Liqueur to see what they think. Garibay says either way, the city’s drinking culture is shaped by its immigrant and working class roots. We talk with Garibay and Shutters about Chicago’s drinking scene, past and present.

The Intelligence from The Economist - Intel in slide: a chipmaker on the ropes

Layoffs, suspended dividends, a share price in free fall, a chief executive hustled out the door: Intel is in a bad way. But America needs a chipmaking champion, so what will save it? We examine a legally pioneering International Criminal Court case alleging cross-border crimes against humanity (10:31). And how the internet is changing the way people think about food and cooking (19:40).


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The Daily Detail - The Daily Detail for 12.12.24

Alabama

  • Governor Ivey declares this Saturday "Wreaths Across America" Day
  • A bill from Dale Strong passes House, dealing with CCP security threats
  • State Lawmaker strongly refutes article that Cullman is a racist town
  • Enrollment to start in January for School choice savings accounts
  • Sen. Tuberville endorses Trump's pick for next Secretary of Education
  • A candlelight vigil to be held tonight in Mobile for 7 year old lost at sea

National

  • Christopher Wray to step down from FBI on day that Trump is sworn in
  • Pete Hegseth proves he was accepted to West Point military academy
  • Future border czar Homan warns Chicago mayor to not obstruct deportations
  • NJ congressmen says drones in his state are likely launched by Iran
  • Woman sues Apple for not protecting I-cloud services from child porn

Honestly with Bari Weiss - Is Kemi Badenoch the Next Margaret Thatcher?

Kemi Badenoch just became the first black woman to lead the UK’s Conservative Party, the oldest in British politics, colloquially known as “the Tories.” She’s also 44, has three children, grew up in Nigeria, actually worked at McDonald’s (unlike some American politicians who have claimed to), didn’t go to Oxford or Cambridge, and has a master’s degree in computer engineering. Not exactly your typical Tory party leader profile.


But it’s Kemi Badenoch who has just inherited a Conservative Party that has dominated British politics for decades until Labour Party leader Keir Starmer became prime minister earlier this year. The Britain that Starmer inherited—the Britain that Conservatives like David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, and Rishi Sunak left behind—is a country with enormous debt, a shrinking GDP, a huge immigration challenge, and arguably a national identity crisis. Or as Free Press columnist and British historian Niall Ferguson has bleakly put it, “it seems that the UK has a national suicide wish.” 


Can Kemi Badenoch, the woman who has been compared to Margaret Thatcher, turn her party—and ultimately, her country—around? How will the rising star in British politics offer something different than the past five Tory leaders who served before her? And can she beat out not just the Labour left but also the growing threat from a very energized hard right? 


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NBN Book of the Day - Suzanne Owen and Angela Puca, “Pagan Religions in Five Minutes” (Equinox, 2024)

Pagan Religions in Five Minutes (Equinox, 2024) provides an accessible set of essays on questions relating to Pagan identities and practices, both historically and in contemporary societies as well as informative essays on different Pagan groups, such as Druidry, Wicca, Heathenry and others. The book includes answers to a range of questions such as: How many Pagans are there? What do Pagans believe? Is Paganism a real religion or is it just made-up? Is Satanism a type of Paganism? Do all Pagans celebrate the solstices? Why is it written "Pagan" and other times "pagan"? Do they have sacred texts? Is Druidry the indigenous religion of Europe? What does the pentagram symbol mean? Can anyone be a witch? Are Pagans anti-Christian? 

The book also covers issues with terminology, including the labelling of ancient, non-Western and indigenous groups as 'pagan', common assumptions and misconceptions about Pagans, and more. Each essay is by a leading scholar in the field, offering clear and concise answers along with suggestions for further reading. The book is ideal for both the curious and as an entry book for classroom use and studying Paganism. Because each chapter can be read in about five minutes, the books offer ideal supplementary resources in classrooms or an engaging read for those curious about the world around them.

Angela Puca, PhD (2021), is an independent religious studies scholar and university lecturer. She is bridging the gap between academia and the general public with her social media project Angela’s Symposium, where she disseminates peer-reviewed research to a wide audience engagingly. She’s the author of the forthcoming Italian Witchcraft and Shamanism, to be published by Brill, and coeditor of Pagan Religions in Five Minutes for Equinox Publishing Ltd.

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