US Corps Join Push to Vote, Give Employees Paid Time Off on Election Day (0:31)

Guests:  J.J. Huggins, PR and Communications for Patagonia; Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, Vice President for Development and Women & Democracy Fellow, New York University Law’s Brennan Center for Justice

If you’ve been on social media today, you’ve see a lot of messages about making sure you register to vote. The 4th Tuesday of September is National Register to Vote Day. And this year–more than in the past–companies from Facebook to Starbucks are making an active push to encourage voting by their customers and employees. More than a thousand companies have signed on with the Time to Vote coalition, pledging to give their employees paid time off to vote–and in some cases volunteer at polling locations–on Election Day.

 

TikTok in America and China’s Technology Ambitions (17:11)

Guest: Shane Tews, President of Logan Circle Strategies, Visiting Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute

TikTok was about to be banned from app stores in the US over the weekend, but a last-minute deal satisfied the Trump Administration’s concerns enough to put the ban on hold. 100 million Americans use TikTok to share silly lip sync and dance videos. President Trump is concerned that TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, which could give the Chinese government access to lots of data from those 100 million Americans.

 

Wildfire Smoke Harms Our Lungs and Makes COVID-19 Symptoms Worse (37:00)

Guest: Luke Montrose, Professor of Environmental Toxicology, Department of Community and Environmental Health, Boise State University

From Portland to San Diego–and in pockets throughout the Mountain West–communities are under air quality advisories because of wildfire smoke. In some areas closest to active fires, the air poses a severe threat to human health. There’s also evidence that exposure to wildfire smoke can increase a person’s chance of getting COVID-19 and make symptoms of the illness worse.

 

Movie Studios and Theater Chains Struggle to Cope With Lack of Customers (52:46)

Guest: Jeff Bock, Media Analyst, Exhibitor Relations in Los Angeles, CA

Christopher Nolan’s suspense thriller Tenet is the first significant film to risk releasing in theaters during the pandemic. And it’s not doing well. Part of the problem is that while two-thirds of movie theaters are open again, they’re still closed in New York and LA. Also, in places where theaters are open, people aren’t returning in large numbers. Where does Hollywood go from here?

 

Movies To Make You Hopeful About Millennials and GenZ (1:07:42)

Guest: Kirsten Hawkes, ParentPreviews.com

Young people have been taking a lot of heat for ignoring health precautions and fueling COVID-19 outbreaksin college towns. They’re also often dismissed as too naïve to understand the real world. Kirsten Hawkes of Parent Previews.com thinks Millennials and GenZ deserve more credit than that.

 

Writing Pandemic Books for Children (1:28:22)

Guest: Kelley Donner, Author and Illustrator, “The Day the Lines Changed”

The pandemic is a difficult topic for little kids to grasp. To remedy that, there’s a whole new branch of children’s literature: picture books about COVID-19. Here are just a few titles: Ron and Rona fight the Corona. Masked Ninja. If you can’t bear hug, air hug. They’re colorful and empowering for youngsters during these uncertain times.