A scandal rocks Europe as an international group of nuns is exposed as a secret Russian spy ring. You can pay a million dollars for a hotel on the moon. Farts might save you from Alzheimer’s, and cows may be the newest confirmed non-human tool users. The Bank of England is worried about aliens. All this and more in this week’s strange news segment.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth says he is taking a “sledgehammer” to a federal program that many tribes and tribal businesses rely on. He is referring to the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development Program that extends contract priorities to disadvantaged business owners. Hegseth uses words like “fraud” and “scheme” to describe what he says is an outdated diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiative. His is part of an overall scrutiny of the program by the federal government. Hundreds of Native small businesses have accessed the program over the past 60 years, and some Alaska Native corporations have multi-million dollar contracts.
GUESTS
Jon Panamaroff (Native Village of Afognak), co-chair of the Native American Contractors Association and CEO of Command Holdings
Kevin Allis (Forest County Potawatomi), founder and president of Thunderbird Strategic and former CEO of the National Congress of American Indians
Nick Grube, investigative reporter at Honolulu Civil Beat
She skateboards to work, has a skydiving license, and was the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire. Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC Business Editor Simon Jack tell the story of Lucy Guo and trace her trajectory to becoming one of the tech titans. From dropping out of college to join Peter Thiel’s Fellowship, to couch-surfing as a millionaire, they follow Lucy Guo's journey to found Scale AI, a company that trains artificial intelligence for giants like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google, and Microsoft.
Good Bad Billionaire is the podcast that explores the lives of the super-rich and famous, tracking their wealth, philanthropy, business ethics, and success. There are leaders who made their money in Silicon Valley, on Wall Street and in high street fashion. From iconic celebrities and CEOs to titans of technology, the podcast unravels tales of fortune, power, economics, ambition and moral responsibility. Simon and Zing put their subjects to the test with a playful, totally unscientific scorecard — then hand the verdict over to you: are they good, bad, or simply billionaires?
Here's how to contact the team: email goodbadbillionaire@bbc.com or send a text or WhatsApp to +1 (917) 686-1176. Find out more about the show and read our privacy notice at www.bbcworldservice.com/goodbadbillionaire
What's the Word: Culture; News Items: Increasing Life Expectancy, AI 2027, Deep Reading, Spray on Wound Treatment, Monkeys and AI; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Global Warming Falsifiable; Science or Fiction
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Have you heard of the California Timber Wars? In tonight's interview, returning guest Toby Ball, the creator of Rip Current, joins the guys to explore the 1990 pipe bomb attack on radical environmental activist Judi Bari. It's a deep, strange tale involving powerful corporations, grassroots activists, allegations of terrorism, COINTELPRO and more. Tune in to learn more about Rip Current… and why this bombing remains officially unsolved in the modern day.
Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve (Sicangu Lakota and Ponca) mistook her first interaction with racism — a separate gas station outhouse reserved for “Indians” — as a privileged courtesy for her and her people. It is one of the “Special Places, Sacred Circles” that she recalls in the account of her life on the dry, windy plains of South Dakota. She tells of the Great Depression, grandmothers who taught her the power of words, and the navigation of a literary world that embraced her. Sneve was one of the first authors to offer an alternative to children’s literature flush with stereotypes. Her insightful writing took her from her home along Ponca Creek to a presidential honor at the White House. We’ll hear Sneve talk about her life as a writer and public school educator.
Break 1 Music: Song of Encouragement (song) Porcupine Singers (artist) Alowanpi – Songs of Honoring – Lakota Classics: Past & Present, Vol. 1 (album)
