Call It Like I See It

Looking at the senseless murder of Tyree Nichols, James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss whether anything can be taken from the relative speed in which the process of holding the responsible officers accountable has begun and consider what can be taken away from the fact that both the victim and the offending officers in this case were Black (02:02).  The guys also discuss an interesting article by James Clear, author of the New York Times bestselling book Atomic Habits, which goes into why facts do not usually change people’s minds (31:11).

After Tyre Nichols Death, Officials’ Moves Reflect a Shift in Handling Police Violence (NY Times)

A timeline of the investigations into Tyre Nichols’ death after a traffic stop and arrest by Memphis police (CNN)

Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds (JamesClear.com)

Historian Jonathan D. Cohen has recently been making the rounds asking some important questions about whether operating a lottery is a proper thing for governments to do, and James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana take a look at Cohen’s rationale for questioning lotteries and discuss why so many in the land of free enterprise have seemingly accepted the idea of having the state-run lotteries as an alternative to taxation (01:11).  The guys also discuss a recent piece in the Atlantic which makes the case that the overwhelming pessimism Americans seem to have on the future of the country is misguided (28:33).

A single winning ticket for Friday’s $1.35 billion Mega Millions jackpot drawing was sold in Maine (CNN)

What We’ve Lost Playing the Lottery (The New Yorker)

Here's who really wins and loses in American lotteries (NPR)

What the Lottery Reveals About the American Dream (Apple News)

Despite Everything You Think You Know, America Is on the Right Track (The Atlantic)

With presidents being caught with confidential documents that they should no longer have now apparently being a trend, James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana compare how President Biden and former President Trump responded to their respective document controversy, consider what is triggering the media in these controversies, and discuss how this is what rule of law looks like (01:20).  The guys also react to the recent job numbers which indicate that the labor market is relatively strong despite conditions like high inflation and rising interest rates (37:12).

Biden’s Classified Documents: A Timeline of What We Know So Far (Time)

Five unanswered questions about Biden’s classified documents (The Hill)

Recession? “Nobody Told the Labor Market” (South Florida Business & Wealth)

Powell defends Fed taking 'measures that are not popular' to rein in inflation (Yahoo! Finance)

Inflation is easing, even if it may not feel that way (NPR)

Seeing the attack on the presidential palace, Supreme Court, and Congress in Brazil by supporters of their former President Bolsenaro James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss how this attack mirrored the 2021 insurrection in the U.S. and consider whether seeing this happen twice now signals a trend (01:41).  The guys also weigh in on the addition of financial and information literacy courses being mandated by states and the benefits and concerns with expanding education beyond basic subjects (34:02).

Bolsonaro backers ransack Brazil presidential palace, Congress, Supreme Court (Reuters)

Brazil protests: Lula vows to punish ‘neo-fascists’ after Bolsonaro supporters storm congress (The Guardian)

How Trump's allies stoked Brazil Congress attack (BBC)

Steve Bannon's Connection to Brazil Insurrection by Bolsonaro Supporters (Newsweek)

Michigan officially becomes 14th state to mandate personal finance education before high school graduation (CNBC)

New Jersey becomes first state to mandate K-12 students learn information literacy (Politico)

Students in Michigan and Florida are required to take financial literacy course to graduate high school (Sandra Rose)

‘Positively dystopian’: judge blocks key parts of Florida’s ‘Stop-Woke’ law (The Guardian)

Michelle Ferrari’s “The Eugenics Crusade,” which originally aired in 2018 on PBS, tells the story of the rise and fall of eugenics in American scientific, social and political spheres, and.  James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss what stood out most in the film and how many themes in the story echo what we still see today.

The Eugenics Crusade (PBS)

The Eugenics Crusade (Amazon Prime)

The Eugenics Crusade (Apple TV)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana react to the Taliban’s recent move to ban college education for women in Afghanistan and consider whether the US bears any responsibility for this development (01:35).  The guys also weigh in on the ongoing debate over whether time from a scientific standpoint is an illusion (22:07) and discuss the merits of a Dry January (34:00).

'The Taliban took our last hope': College education is banned for women in Afghanistan (NPR)

Researchers say time is an illusion. So why are we all obsessed with it? (NPR)

Physicist Says the Laws of Physics Don't Actually Exist (The Byte)

Dry January: 10 Benefits of Taking a 30-Day Break From Alcohol (Men's Journal)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana weigh in on the idea that the tech revolution has resulted in leaders in business or public life means no longer feeling the need to behave in a respectable manner (01:26).  The guys also react to the recently announced fusion power breakthrough and consider whether the achievement is being over hyped (42:07).

The Rise and Fall of Respectability (Wall Street Journal)(Apple Link)

Anonymous criticism helped make America great (WaPo)

Social Media and Histrionic Personality Disorder (Psychology Today)

The Curious Case of Bryan Colangelo and the Secret Twitter Account (The Ringer)

Respectability politics (Wikipedia)

Nuclear fusion breakthrough: Scientists generate more power than used to create reaction (CNBC)

Despite the hype, we shouldn’t bank on nuclear fusion to save the world from climate catastrophe (The Guardian)

When Will Nuclear Fusion Put Oil And Gas Out Of Business (Forbes)

Neil deGrasse Tyson shares why fusion discovery could change the future of energy (YouTube)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana take a look back at the 2022 midterm election now that things have pretty much shaken and consider why the results from a big picture standpoint were both divergent from historical norms and unexpected in light of many contemporaneous indicators.  (01:34).  The guys also discuss the mentality underlying Indonesia’s ban of sex outside of marriage and break down how this kind of approach managing societies is more common in historic and modern societies than it may seem (36:31).

The midterms didn't produce a wave. Here's what that's meant historically (NPR)

House of Representatives Results: GOP wins the majority (CNN)

The US House Was Biased Toward Democrats in 2022: Why Republicans Are Developing a Geography Problem (Decision Desk HQ)

The Midterms Are About Rigged Maps and Republican Judges (Slate)

Indonesia bans sex outside marriage as parliament passes sweeping new criminal code (CNN)

Official says Iran shutting down morality police after 2 months of protests (CBS News)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana take a look at the issues surrounding, and the anger resulting from, the move by President Joe Biden, the self proclaimed “most pro union president,” to use a nearly 100 year old law to undercut railway unions in order to avert a national rail strike as the holidays approach.  (01:42).  The guys also react to some recent comments made by Michelle Obama about marriage, including what comes along with making one work, and consider why some seemed thrown off by some of her insight (39:09).

Senate votes to avert national rail strike by forcing agreement between unions, employers (ABC News)

How an arcane 96-year-old law stopped the rail strike (CNN)

Walsh helped avoid a rail strike, but now must mend Biden administration relations with angry unions (MSN - Boston Globe)

After forcing rail deal, Biden works to smooth over labor relations (WaPo)

Contagion Nation 2020: United States Still the Only Wealthy Nation without Paid Sick Leave (CEPR)

What other countries offer workers that the US just doesn't (Today)

Michelle Obama Said There Is "Discomfort" In Marriage And Threw The Internet Into A Frenzy (Yahoo)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss the uncharacteristic protests going on in China, how China’s past illustrates the substantial risk of public demonstrations like this, these stakes, and how the Chinese government appears to have backed itself into a corner with its zero-covid policy (01:30).  The guys also to consider how people can spontaneously remember things we would rather not remember and how this can temporarily bring back the bad feelings from those memories (34:22).

Protests erupt across China in unprecedented challenge to Xi Jinping’s zero-Covid policy (CNN)

Rare protests against China’s ‘zero covid’ policy erupt across country (WaPo)

Fauci on Covid lab leak theory: ‘I have a completely open mind’ (Politico)

Apple has a huge problem with an iPhone factory in China (CNN Business)

Why do I remember embarrassing things I’ve said or done in the past and feel ashamed all over again? (The Conversation)