When NPR listeners think of reports from Italy or the Vatican, usually one name comes to mind: Sylvia Poggioli. She covered much more, of course, over the years - reporting across Europe and on the war in the Balkans.
But as Poggioli tells host Scott Detrow, for this week's Reporter's Notebook series, it was the Vatican, that in some ways, was her most challenging assignment.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
When NPR listeners think of reports from Italy or the Vatican, usually one name comes to mind: Sylvia Poggioli. She covered much more, of course, over the years - reporting across Europe and on the war in the Balkans.
But as Poggioli tells host Scott Detrow, for this week's Reporter's Notebook series, it was the Vatican, that in some ways, was her most challenging assignment.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Even in free markets, governments still make plays.
Chris Hughes is a co-founder of Facebook and an economist who specializes in the history of Fed policy. He is also the author of “MarketCrafters: The 100-Year Struggle to Shape the American Economy.” Hughes joined Ricky Mulvey to discuss:
- Modern examples of American “market craft.”
- How to fix the housing crisis.
- What we did and didn’t get from $2 trillion in COVID aid.
Host: Ricky Mulvey
Guest: Chris Hughes
Producer: Mary Long
Engineer: Rick Engdahl
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Quickie with Bob: Fusion Rockets; News Items: Falling Space Debris, What Makes People Flourish, Pig Heart Xenografts, Chiropractic Stroke, Breathable Algae Drug Delivery; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Faster Than Light Expansion, Autism Self-Diagnosis; Science or Fiction
India and Pakistan agree to a full and immediate ceasefire. It follows US-led talks. Plus, NPR learns that the Department of Agriculture is demanding states hand over the personal data of those receiving food stamps. Critics fear the information could be used to carry out deportations. Also, the Trump administration tightens its control over the independent agency regulating America's nuclear reactors.
Bitcoin developers are clashing over relaxing OP_RETURN limits. This technical debate about arbitrary data on Bitcoin has sparked divisions about what constitutes "spam" and revealed tensions between Bitcoin Core devs and those seeking a "purer" Bitcoin experience.
What started as a technical proposal has exploded into community division, with accusations of "destroying Bitcoin" flying around. The hosts break down what OP_RETURN is, why some devs want to increase its size limit, and why others view it as enabling "spam" on the blockchain. At its core, this fight reveals deeper tensions about who controls Bitcoin's future and what the network should be used for.
Notes:
- OP_RETURN limit currently set at 83 bytes
- Proposal would increase limit to ~1 megabyte
- 30-45% of Bitcoin transactions are "non-financial"
- Bitcoin Knots node usage has grown to 7-8%
- Out-of-band transactions bypass node relay
- Core devs facing diminished community trust
Timestamps:
00:00:00:00 Start
00:00:36:16 Why's everyone so mad?
00:02:04:14 Claim your bias
00:04:00:03 The backstory
00:08:27:09 Changing the OP_RETRUN limit
00:11:24:06 Post to relax the limit
00:15:39:23 Out of Band payment
00:17:39:06 Standard vs valid consensus
00:19:52:29 What is spam?
00:28:41:05 Arch Network
00:29:13:14 Cons of increasing the limit
00:32:34:25 That's too "woke" bro!
00:35:56:27 Knots
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We meet a man learning to read in his thirties, and inspiring others. He overcame embarrassment to share his journey on his TikTok, Oliver Speaks. Also: laughter yoga; rehoming chimps; and an 81-year-old female Ironman.