Make Me Smart

Talks for a now-overdue coronavirus aid package collapsed going into the weekend, with President Trump weighing what he can do with executive orders. Meanwhile, the country has passed 200,000 “excess deaths.” We know we’ve had some bummer episodes this week, but we do bring this one back with a heartfelt appreciation of Phil Collins’ masterpiece, “In the Air Tonight.”

Thanks to everyone who joined us for the livestream! Subscribe to our YouTube channel so you don’t miss the next one. You’ll find links to that and everything else we talked about on our episode page at makemesmart.org.

Whether you’ve lost someone, lost a job, gotten sick or are just feeling lonely, this pandemic is taking a toll on all of us. Today, we discuss two pieces in The New York Times about the physical and mental complications of the COVID-19 crisis. But it’s not all bad — we’ll also go deep into Amazon’s “A League of Their Own” series.

Microsoft is in talks to acquire TikTok — owned by Beijing-based ByteDance — amid much handwringing over the data the app collects. And while TikTok’s fate may ultimately be decided by the obscure Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, it seemed worth asking: Why is it so important to keep data collection domestic? There are certainly plenty of American apps collecting information on their users, too. We’ll talk about that and more on this week’s Whadda Ya Wanna Know Wednesday. Plus: contact tracing, supply shockwaves and alpacas.

A widening wealth gap isn’t good for democracy. Yet inequality has been on the rise for decades in the United States. So what does that tell us about the state of the republic? On today’s show, Atlantic staff writer George Packer walks us through some historical examples of when stark inequities led to revolution and reform — and boils down everything from the New Deal to collard greens.

Kimberly Adams is co-hosting the show this week with Molly Wood. We kicked off our Monday episode with a little perspective on the U.S. Postal Service. Plus, we try and unpack what exactly has been going on with TikTok over the past few days. For smiles, we’ll have an update on your favorite uncles and some cute alpacas.

James Murdoch, scion of News Corp. founder Rupert Murdoch, resigned from the company’s board of directors today, citing “disagreements over certain editorial content.” We’ll spend a little time today talking about what that means for Murdoch’s older brother, Lachlan, and the family’s media empire. Plus, somehow “Make Me Smile” keeps getting sadder. TGIF.

As always, you’ll find links to everything we talked about on the episode page at makemesmart.org. You’ll also find a link to subscribe to our YouTube channel, so you never miss a live taping.

After failing to agree on and pass a new pandemic relief bill, the U.S. Senate appears to have officially recognized July 2020 as National Blueberry Month. That sounds a least a little productive … until you remember July ends Saturday, and so does the extra $600 weekly unemployment benefit millions of Americans rely on. You know it was a tough day when even “Make Me Smile” makes us cry.

We’re tackling a deeply important question on this Whadda Ya Wanna Know Wednesday: What’s everyone snacking on in quarantine? Let’s compare notes. Plus, we’ll answer some other listener questions about the coronavirus relief bill and how weirdly hard it is to unload your extra coins.

For a list of everything we talked about today, check out the episode page at makemesmart.org.

The convergence of nationwide protests over police violence and a global pandemic have placed renewed scrutiny on the role of companies like Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple in our democracy. On Wednesday, chief executives from those companies will face lawmakers — virtually — for a much-anticipated hearing on their power and influence in this election year. We had New Yorker staff writer Andrew Marantz on the show to talk about it. He covers tech and social media for the magazine, and he wrote the book “Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation.”

The convergence of nationwide protests over police violence and a global pandemic have placed renewed scrutiny on the role of companies like Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple in our democracy. On Wednesday, chief executives from those companies will face lawmakers — virtually — for a much-anticipated hearing on their power and influence in this election year. We had New Yorker staff writer Andrew Marantz on the show to talk about it. He covers tech and social media for the magazine, and he wrote the book “Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation.”