Kelly Maher is filling in for Vic once again on this episode of Getting Hammered! Will J.D. Vance and his family step inside the VP residence before January 20th? And will the Village People show up in full costume for their inaugural performance? We’re diving into these questions and more—don’t miss it!
Do dogs belong with humans? Scientific accounts of dogs' 'species story,' in which contemporary dog-human relations are naturalised with reference to dogs' evolutionary becoming, suggest that they do. Dog Politics: Species Stories and the Animal Sciences(Manchester UP, 2024) by Dr. Mariam Motamedi Fraser dissects this story.
This book offers a rich empirical analysis and critique of the development and consolidation of dogs' species story in science, asking what evidence exists to support it, and what practical consequences, for dogs, follow from it. It explores how this story is woven into broader scientific shifts in understandings of species, animals, and animal behaviours, and how such shifts were informed by and informed transformative political events, including slavery and colonialism, the Second World War and its aftermath, and the emergence of anti-racist movements in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The book pays particular attention to how species-thinking bears on 'race,' racism, and individuals.
This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose forthcoming book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars.
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to run the Pentagon, faced tough questions — at least from Senate Democrats — during his confirmation hearing Tuesday. The veteran and former Fox News host is facing allegations of excessive drinking, sexual misconduct, and financial mismanagement. But none of that seems to be disqualifying for Republicans, because Hegseth appears headed toward confirmation. Veteran and Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth joins us to share her thoughts on Tuesday’s hearing.
Later in the show, Atlantic staff writer Rogé Karma breaks down the intra-MAGA war over H-1B visas.
And in headlines: Congress passes legislation banning trans athletes from female school sports teams, the Justice Department released part one of former Special Counsel Jack Smith's report on his investigations into Trump, and TikTok users are migrating to the Chinese social media app RedNote.
Starbucks’ is trying to save “the 3rd place”... by ending their open doors bathroom policy.
Greedy LA landlords are jacking up rents 100%... but there could be a housing market silver lining.
Planet Fitness stock hit an all-time high… but its greatest risk is “a run on the gym”.
Plus, Philadelphia Eagles WR AJ Brown read a book during a playoff game… now it’s #1 on Amazon.
$SBUX $PLNT
Want more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups 🥜
“The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you’re obsessed with — From the McDonald’s Happy Meal to Birkenstock’s sandal to Nintendo’s Super Mario Brothers to Sriracha. New 45-minute episodes drop weekly
When you picture a dinosaur, what does it look like? For Jingmai O'Connor, paleobiologist and associate curator of reptiles at the Field Museum of Chicago, the dinosaurs she studies look a lot more like birds.
"If you looked at an artist's reconstruction of something like Velociraptor or Microraptor ... you would see that it pretty much looks the same as a bird," Jingmai says. "In terms of the plumage, the soft tissues covering the body, it would have looked very, very birdlike."
In this episode, Short Wave delves into the dinosaur-avian connection. Which dinosaurs had feathers? Were they using them to fly? And once and for all – what are those ancient dinosaurs' relationship to birds today?
Have other dinosaur questions you want us to unravel? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear from you!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
Is it really cheaper to shop at an airport Duty Free store? And why are so many of them alike?
In the 1940s, if you were flying from New York City to London or Paris you would find yourself making a pit stop for fuel on the western coast of Ireland. The Shannon airport at the time wasn't much to look at, but the passengers arriving there were movie stars and celebrities, basically the super rich. And the people of Shannon realized pretty quickly that they needed to upgrade the local amenities for their wealthy clientele. They hired a man named Brendan O'Regan to make it happen. Being the quick-thinking entrepreneur that he was, O'Regan convinced the Irish government to create a tax loophole. And thus, duty free stores were born.
Today on the show, we follow the surprising origin of duty free, and try to answer the question: Are they really saving you any money?
Lithium is one of the hot commodities of the 21st century: needed for electric vehicles, semiconductors needed for AI, and grid-scale batteries. While the U.S. was once a pioneer in lithium production, it's fallen off — with others, including China, taking the reins. On our third and final episode of our grid battery series, we look at the race to produce the key ingredient in most of these batteries.
Related episodes: How batteries are already changing the grid (Apple / Spotify) How EV batteries tore apart Michigan (Update) (Apple / Spotify) The surprising leader in EVs (Apple / Spotify) How China became solar royalty (Apple / Spotify)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
A new book from writer, BBC broadcaster and cellist Kate Kennedy tackles the stories of four cellists connected by a mutual musical obsession. Cello: A Journey Through Silence to Sound focuses on musicians like Lise Cristiani, the first female professional cello soloist, and Pál Hermann, a Jewish-Hungarian cellist captured by the Gestapo during World War II. In today's episode, Kennedy speaks with NPR's Daniel Estrin – also a cellist – about these musicians' histories and her own complicated relationship with her instrument.
To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday
Ancient dogs! Domestic wolves! Anthropology! Archaeology! It’s all Ethnocynology: when humans and dogs started living and working together. The wonderful and iconic David Ian Howe is an educator and professional archaeologist whose focus is canines and people. So let’s curl up and be cute – like dogs – as we listen about breed histories, what evidence we have for doggies being friends, how wolves tamed themselves, why our relationships with canines make us what we are, talking dogs, if it’s fair it ask your dog to love you back, corn paws, and why your dog is trying to make fetch happen.