James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana consider whether nontraditional economic measures like the brothels spending or beer sales may be able to tell us more about where the economy is going than the stock market (01:02).  The guys also look at some new research into a small diet tweak that could match the health and weight loss benefits of intermittent fasting (33:06).

 

Sex Workers Already Predicted There's A Recession Coming — Here's How They Know (Huff Post)

 

Simple diet hack is more effective than intermittent fasting diet, study claims (BBC Science Focus)

Common artificial sweetener makes you three times hungrier than sugar (New Scientist)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss the ongoing measles outbreak in the southwest United States and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s apparent about face on the importance of the measles vaccine (01:22).  The guys also consider whether the rise in caffeine consumption, whether through energy drinks or coffee and tea products, and the deaths that seem to be arising out of that, is something that society needs to take a closer look at (29:21).

 

Health secretary RFK Jr. endorses the MMR vaccine — stoking fury among his supporters (NPR)

Trump begins mass layoffs at FDA, CDC, other US health agencies (Reuters)

Colorado sues HHS, RFK Jr. over funding cuts as measles case hits (Axios)

 

All That Caffeine You’re Drinking May Be Doing More Harm Than Good — Men’s Health (Apple News)

'Workout Queen,' 28, Who Loved ‘the Buzz’ from Caffeinated Energy Drinks Has Heart Attack, Suffers Fatal Brain Damage (People)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss a few things that stood out in Martin Gurri’s 2014 book “The Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium,” which looks at how digital technology has ushered into a new era of information access altered the power balance between the public and elite institutions in societies around the world.  The guys also consider the extent to which the perspective it offers still holds true over 10 years after its initial publication.

 

The Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium (Stripe Press)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana react to the numbers that suggest that young men are having a tough time holding down romantic relationships, at least relative to historic trends (01:16).  The guys also try to make sense of the rise in what look like apologist attitudes and conversations about Hitler and the Nazi’s we have seen recently coming from figures on the political right. (29:22).

 

Why are young men so hopeless at dating? (Vox)

Teens Are Forgoing a Classic Rite of Passage (The Atlantic)

 

Antisemitism Rears Its Head on the Right, Too (WSJ)

Yes, Musk repost misleadingly claimed 'Stalin, Mao and Hitler didn't murder millions of people' (Snopes)

Elon Musk’s daughter says father’s rally gesture was ‘definitely a Nazi salute’ (The Guardian)

This Has Got to Be the Most Hitler-Curious Administration in U.S. History (Slate)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana take a look at the growing consensus that appears to be forming that the Covid-19 virus originated from scientific research and was accidentally released from a lab in Wuhan, China (01:25).  The guys also break down the overwhelming evidence that firing employees deemed as low performing doesn’t work boost overall productivity in workplaces, particularly in light of talk now in corporate America and in government about cutting workers and growing efficiency (26:24).

 

German spy agency concluded COVID virus likely leaked from lab, papers say (Reuters)

 

The surprising truth about low performers (Business Insider)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana take a look at the ongoing global AI development race and consider in light of its recent development technologies like DeepSeek and Manus, whether China may be poised to overwhelm the US from a capability standpoint.

 

New Chinese AI agent draws DeepSeek comparison (Axios)

The west is already losing the AI arms race (The Guardian)

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio warns the U.S. won’t ‘be competitive in manufacturing with China in our lifetime’ (Yahoo! Finance)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana consider what it means that the US economy continues to become more and more reliant on spending by the top 10% of earners, and discuss how this is the exact opposite of how the US built to largest middle class in the history of the world in the 20th century (01:15).  The guys also take a look at the concept of news fatigue, and discuss why so many in our modern society feel overwhelmed by the news and what can be done about it (29:51).

 

The U.S. Economy Depends More Than Ever on Rich People (Wall Street Journal) (Apple News Link)

 

Why the News Feels Overwhelming—And How to Cope (Scientific American) (Apple News Link)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana react to some recent studies into how Ozempic and other GLP-1 type weight loss drugs may be changing not just people’s bodies but also our economy and boosting the GDP (01:21).  The guys also consider what the move by the Trump administration to replace Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff with Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine, someone who is unqualified for the position by the letter of the law says about the administration’s stated concern about diversity initiatives and the hiring of allegedly unqualified people (26:08).

 

Weight-loss drugs aren't just slimming waists. They're shifting the economy (WaPo)

Obesity drugs are among health breakthroughs forecast to boost GDP (Goldman Sachs)

Oprah Winfrey says taking Ozempic made her come to realisation about ‘thin people’ (The Independent)

 

Trump fires chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and two other military officers (AP News)

Pete Hegseth Snaps at Reporter Asking About ‘Underqualified’ Military Chief (Daily Beast)

Trump signs order to claim power over independent agencies (Politico)

Hegseth: Trump Will Install New Military Attorneys Who Won’t Be ‘Roadblocks to Anything’ (Rolling Stone)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss the Great Migration, the factors that drove it and how this mass redistribution of Black Americans already in the US played such a huge role in the evolution of the country we see it today (01:26).  The guys also consider whether pro sports all-star games like the NBA All Star Game and the NFL Pro Bowl have outlived their usefulness in today’s world where there is already so much exposure of the stars in the media (26:52).

 

The Great Migration (1910-1970) (National Archives)

The Long-Lasting Legacy of the Great Migration (Smithsonian Magazine)

Great Migrations: A People on The Move (PBS)

Great Migrations with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. | Full Episode 1 (YouTube)

 

NBA All-Star 2025: New format draws mixed reviews -- what's next? (ESPN)

Richard Jefferson blames ‘BS’ All-Star Game format on Hall of Famers who ‘decided to stop playing hard’ (Cavaliers Nation)

Why the NFL changed Pro Bowl to new flag football game format in 2023 (The Sporting News)

Kevin Durant derides NBA All-Star criticism: 'It's more fun to complain about the NBA than to actually watch it' (Yahoo! Sports)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana take a look at the Firehose of Falsehood propaganda model that was developed by Russia and discuss how over the last decade, it has influenced many forms of communication and become ubiquitous in social media feeds (01:15).  The guys also react to the controversy over the signing of the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” alongside the National Anthem at the Super Bowl brings out the tendency many Americans have to see the worst in each other (35:05).

 

The Russian "Firehose of Falsehood" Propaganda Model (Rand Corporation)

 

Why some are lashing out at the Super Bowl’s pregame ceremony (NBC News)

The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion (Penguin Random House)