Plus: The Justice Department probes Netflix’s proposed acquisition of Warner Discovery’s studios and HBO Max streaming service. And a jury orders Uber to pay $8.5 million in passenger sexual assault case. Julie Chang hosts.
Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) AI worries crush software stocks 2) Why is software in the crosshairs? 3) Is it vibecoding or that software becomes an input into AI bots 4) Why software might make it through 5) Anthropic's legal plugin that set it off 6) Okay, so no AI bubble? 7) Anthropic's Super Bowl ad attacks OpenAI 8) OpenAI's response 9) OpenAI losing share to rival chatbots 10) What the hell is happening to Bitcoin? 11)
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Keza MacDonald, the video games editor at The Guardian and author of the new book “Super Nintendo: The Game-Changing Company That Unlocked the Power of Play,” chose to write her first book about Nintendo because it has been so central for so long to the culture of games. “It was the company that got me into video games,” she says. “I know that’s the same story that millions of other people have had as well." She speaks with host Gilbert Cruz about the iconic Japanese company as well as how the perception of gaming has changed over the decades.
CrowdScience listener Griffith in Ghana, isn’t JUST a CrowdScience listener. He’s also a listener to our sister show on the World Service, Unexpected Elements. But he’s noticed something funny.
In the weekly Unexpected Elements multiple-choice quiz, the answer is almost NEVER ‘a’. It’s nearly always ‘b’, or ‘c’. Why is this? When we set the quiz, why are we so reluctant to choose option ‘a’?
His question leads presenter Alex Lathbridge on a journey into the murky depths of our brain, where he discovers the cognitive biases which so often trip us up in games of chance, or probability. Your brain might be a marvellous machine when it comes to figuring out how to understand the world, but sometimes, in the name of efficiency, it takes clever little short-cuts to the answer.
This pragmatic approach to problem solving helps us manage an incredibly complicated world. But occasionally, especially when it comes to mathematics, chance, and probability, it leads us in the wrong direction. With the help of mathematician Kit Yates from the University of Bath in the UK, and some rather stale sweets, Alex will be finding out how to win at games of chance.
Alex also explores the world of gaming, and gambling. Games of chance in which our intuition sometimes lets us down, and makes us choose unwisely. Rachel Croson, Professor of Economics at the University of Minnesota, USA, talks us through how the human brain can work against us.
But can knowledge of those human pitfalls help us to win? Alex hears from Maria Konnikova, who turned her research on the psychology of poker into a successful gambling career. Can we really use maths to beat our brains, and learn how to win more often?
Presenter Alex Lathbridge
Producer Emily Knight
Editor Ben Motley
(Photo: Close up image of multiple choice question. Credit: BBC)
Trump casually posted a racist video and the White House essentially told Americans to calm down. Convicted felons are being treated better than rounded-up immigrants in detention centers. And the evangelicals' favorite president doesn't seem to understand the meaning of the word, prayer. Still, Republicans on The Hill are seeing the broad unpopularity of ICE's behavior in Minnesota and may be starting to distance themselves from the policies they funded. Plus, a simple measure beyond masks that could really rein in ICE, the extensive structural damage at the DOJ, trads keep rationalizing cruelty, and why is SCOTUS taking so long on the tariffs case? Also, Tim puts David in the squirm chair with a Kid Rock v. Bad Bunny lyrics quiz.
David French joins Tim Miller for the Super Bowl weekend pod.
Tickets are now on sale for our LIVE shows in Dallas on March 18 and in Austin on March 19. Plus, a small number of seats are still available for our second show in Minneapolis on February 18. https://www.thebulwark.com/p/bulwark-events
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson defends an executive order that requires Chicago police to help hold ICE agents accountable for alleged abuses. Marimar Martinez, a Chicago woman shot by Border Patrol, speaks out in an exclusive WBEZ-Sun-Times interview and on Capitol Hill. Meanwhile, Reshona Landfair, the Jane Doe in R. Kelly’s infamous tape, is out with a memoir, Who’s Watching Shorty?, where she tells her story and “reclaims her name.”
In the Loop goes behind the headlines of those and other state and local stories Better Government Association president David Greising, Axios Chicago reporter Monica Eng and Chicago Sun-Times reporter Violet Miller.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
Hey Smarties! There won’t be a livestream for “Economics on Tap” today. But don’t worry! “Economics on Tap” will return soon on Feb. 20. For now, we’re sharing a new episode from our friends over at “This Is Uncomfortable.” Enjoy!
“Work Drama” is the “This Is Uncomfortable” advice column, answering your questions about sticky work situations. This week, Reema tackles your questions about workplace tension, co-worker cliques, bosses behaving badly, and some bizarre office policies. And she’s joined by one of our favorite culture writers and podcasters, Sarah Hagi, who hosts “Scamfluencers.”
If you have any work drama going on, we want to hear about it! You can send it to us at uncomfortable@marketplace.org, leave a message at 347-RING-TIU, or fill out the form at the bottom of the page.
On this episode of The Federalist Radio Hour, Katy Faust, founder and president of children's rights organization Them Before Us, joins Federalist Senior Elections Correspondent Matt Kittle to discuss the devastating consequences the Supreme Court's Obergefell decision had on children and deliberate on the best way to recenter marriage and family to prioritize kids' rights.
Read more from Faust here: https://thefederalist.com/2026/01/29/obergefell-has-harmed-children-for-far-too-long/
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