Make Me Smart

One in three Americans now live in a state with legal recreational marijuana, and that wasn’t the only big drug story on Election Day. Oregon voted to decriminalize possession of hard drugs and legalized medical use of magic mushrooms. On today’s show, Beau Kilmer, director of Rand Corp.’s Drug Policy Research Center, will make us smart about the country’s growing patchwork of legalization and how it could reshape the drug economy.

Here’s everything we talked about today (if these links don’t work, check out the episode page on makemesmart.org):

“This Election, a Divided America Stands United on One Topic” from The New York Times

“1 in 3 Americans now lives in a state where recreational marijuana is legal” from Politico

“Zuckerberg, Dorsey Tout Progress in Combating Political Misinformation” from the Wall Street Journal

This Twitter account that shows the top-ten best-performing Facebook posts of the day

“No, This Election Did Not Go ‘Smoothly‘” from Slate

With the promise of another coronavirus vaccine from Moderna, in addition to last week’s blockbuster news from Pfizer, we were inspired to go back and do the numbers: Once there’s a vaccine for COVID-19, who’s actually going to take it? The answer is … not ideal. Also on the docket for today: high-stakes content moderation, low-stakes voter fraud and, yes, Dolly Parton’s own efforts to fund a coronavirus vaccine.

Here’s a list of everything we talked about today (if these links don’t work for you, check out our episode page at makemesmart.org):

“Facebook Has A Rule To Stop Calls To Arms. Moderators Didn’t Enforce It Ahead Of The Kenosha Shootings.” from BuzzFeed News

“Why Obama fears for our democracy” from The Atlantic

“Second coronavirus vaccine, from Moderna, shows promise” from Marketplace

“U.S. Public Now Divided Over Whether To Get COVID-19 Vaccine” from Pew Research Center

“Voter fraud alleged in New Zealand bird of the year contest” from The Washington Post

“Renowned philanthropist Dolly Parton donates a million to COVID-19 vaccine effort” from PinkNews

We’re trying out a new game on the show today, where Kai Ryssdal and Molly Wood say whether they’re “half full” or “half empty” on a bunch of stuff in the news. It’s our first try at this, so let us know what you think! Before that, we’ll talk about Nancy Pelosi’s leadership, Charles Koch’s new self-reflection and why Elon Musk is “a boob.” TGIF!

Here’s a list of everything we talked about today (if these links don’t work, check out our episode page at makemesmart.org):

“Pelosi & House Dems, GOP Slammed for Indoor Freshmen Dinner” from Mediaite

“Charles Koch Says His Partisanship Was a Mistake” from The Wall Street Journal

Kai’s full interview with Koch from 2015

“Mr. McNamara’s War” from The New York Times

“Elon Musk says he’s tested positive and negative for COVID-19” from The Verge

And the topics we talked about in our new game, “half full or half empty”:

“Will a ‘skinny’ coronavirus relief package help those who need it most?” from Marketplace

“How the election certification process works, and why it matters” from Marketplace

“Flying soon? That middle seat might be occupied” from Marketplace

“In this time of comfort-at-home fashion, Crocs are having a moment” from Marketplace

Thanks to everyone to tuned into our livestream this evening! Subscribe here so you don’t miss the next one.

It’s hard to fit a mask over that big beard, but never fear. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and, by extension, our show would like to reassure children that they shouldn’t worry about Santa Claus breaking the COVID-bubble for this socially distant holiday season — he’s got a special dispensation for international travel, one night only. We have Kimberly Adams back on the show today to talk about that and some more depressing coronavirus news, like case counts and potential new lockdowns. Maybe your kids can just listen to the last few minutes?

Here’s everything we talked about today:

“Zuckerberg says Bannon has not violated enough policies for suspension” from Reuters

“Biden Covid advisor says U.S. lockdown of 4 to 6 weeks could control pandemic and revive economy” from CNBC

APM Research Lab’s “The Color of Coronavirus” project

“Trump is now sabotaging the transition. Democrats have a way to fight back.” from The Washington Post

“Cybersecurity officials say the election was ‘the most secure in American history.’” from The New York Times

“Italy’s PM reassures kids that Santa won’t be locked down” from Agence France-Presse

The 2000 election isn’t a particularly great analogue to the Trump campaign’s legal challenges here in 2020, but it can help us better understand presidential transitions — because George W. Bush had the shortest one ever. We discussed the transfer of power on yesterday’s show, and a listener asked about it, so today we’re going to get into some presidential history. Plus: your questions about campaign finance, conservative social media and California’s new rules for gig workers, all on this super-sized Whadda Ya Wanna Know Wednesday.

Here’s a list of everything we talked about today (if these links don’t work, try our episode page at makemesmart.org):

“Campaign spending could continue long after Election Day” from “Marketplace Morning Report”

“2020 election to cost $14 billion, blowing away spending records” from Open Secrets, the Center for Responsive Politics website

“A Twitter for conservatives? Parler surges amid election misinformation crackdown” from NBC News

“Foreign election interference is finding plenty of places online to spread” from “Marketplace Tech”

“Fact-Checked on Facebook and Twitter, Conservatives Switch Their Apps” from The New York Times

“Why it’s ‘critical’ for presidential transition to move forward” from PBS NewsHour

“What’s ascertainment? The green light to launch transition” from the Associated Press

“What Uber, Lyft Prop 22 win could mean for the future of all freelance work” from NBC News

You’d be forgiven for feeling like this election has been going on forever. Early voting started over a month ago in some states. The media couldn’t project a winner until three days ago, and it’s not over yet. There’s the Georgia runoffs, the Trump campaign’s lawsuits and basless allegations of voter fraud, plus the searching about what the polls got wrong. Today Kimberly Adams joins us to sort through all this. We’ll discuss her key takeaways from the election, what it means for the economy, which storylines need a little more nuance and who’s making money off it all.

Here’s a list of everything we talked about today (if these links don’t work, try our episode page on makemesmart.org:

Adams’ latest for us: “Change in the White House means changing plans for some businesses”

“No, This Election Did Not Go ‘Smoothly‘” from Slate

“False claims that Biden ‘lost’ Pennsylvania surge, and tech companies struggle to keep up.” from The New York Times

“A little-known Trump appointee is in charge of handing transition resources to Biden — and she isn’t budging” from The Washington Post

This campaign spending dashboard

“A Peculiar Way to Pick a President” from The New York Times’ podcast “The Daily”

A lot of people are talking about President Donald Trump’s baseless allegations of election fraud today, and for good reason, but he made another move that’s worth your attention. The president fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper via tweet, and there could be more personnel changes on the way at the FBI and CIA. Today, we’ll talk about these moves and what they mean for national security at the end of the Trump administration. Plus: new mask mandates, new revelations about Alexander Hamilton and a video that made us all cry.

Here’s a list of everything we talked about today. If these links don’t work for you, you can also find them on our episode page at makemesmart.org:

“Trump Fires Mark Esper, Defense Secretary Who Opposed Use of Troops on U.S. Streets” from The New York Times

“Pritzker Again Hints at Possibility of Another Stay-at-Home Order” from NBC5 Chicago

“Utah Gov. Gary Herbert declares state of emergency, mandates masks to fight COVID” from ABC News

“Here’s who’s on President-elect Biden’s newly formed Transition Covid-19 Advisory Board” from CNN

“Alexander Hamilton, Enslaver? New Research Says Yes” from The New York Times

“Former Ballerina with Alzheimer’s Recreates Her Swan Lake Choreography” from Kottke

“TD Bank says it will not finance oil and gas activities in the Arctic” from Reuters

Look, we’re gonna have some fun today. We’re gonna have happy hour and talk about Philadelphia and Stephen Colbert. But we have to do some soul-searching first. Because no matter what results come in tonight, the policies of the Trump administration, and the chaos and uncertainty it sowed, are not an aberration. Happy Friday?

Here’s a list of everything we talked about today (if these links don’t work for you, you can find them all on our episode page at makemesmart.org):

-“Trump Proved That Authoritarians Can Get Elected in America” from The Atlantic

–This thread from NBC News’ Ben Collins

-“Stephen Colbert briefly breaks down, says Trump’s baseless claims of fraud ‘cast a dark shadow on our most sacred right’” from the Washington Post

-“Commentators call on Republicans to surround Philly. Philly social media responds: You’ve obviously never met us” from the Philadelphia Inquirer

–And this video.

Thanks to everyone who joined us live on YouTube for happy hour today! Subscribe so you don’t miss the next one.

We taped today’s show while waiting for President Donald Trump’s first non-tweet remarks since election night, not to mention results from key states. To fill the time, let’s talk a bit about voter turnout, both in this election and across history. Plus, a bit about misinformation and why that dubious Hunter Biden story wasn’t the “October surprise” that Hillary Clinton’s emails were back in 2016.

Here’s a list of everything we talked about today. If you can’t open these links, check out the episode page on makemesmart.org.

“The 2020 Election Set a Record for Voter Turnout. But Why Is It Normal for So Many Americans to Sit Out Elections?” from Time

“Who can afford to vote?” from our podcast “This Is Uncomfortable”

“Misinformation 2020: What the Data Tells Us About Election-Related Falsehoods” from Defense One

“On Election Day, Facebook and Twitter Did Better by Making Their Products Worse” from The New York Times

This performance of Beyoncé’s “Freedom”

Making Election Day a holiday would surely benefit democracy, but what about the economy? A listener wants to know, so for this Whadda Ya Wanna Know Wednesday, we’re looking at the cost to businesses when Election Day stretches to Election Week and beyond. Plus: questions about jobs data, tax filing in the pandemic and all the money thrown away on Senate races this year.

Here’s a list of everything we talked about today (if you can’t click the links, check out our episode page at makemesmart.org):

“The case for making Election Day an official holiday” from the Marketplace Morning Report

Pew data on Election Day as a holiday

“Election Day likely cost billions in lost productivity” from Marketplace

“GOP retains Senate seats despite record-breaking Democratic fundraising” from Axios

“GOP House candidates overcome fundraising deficits in toss-up races” from Open Secrets

“Working from home? You might owe income tax to two states” from CNN