News & Brews

News & Brews

By News & BrewsNews
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News & Brews episodes

  • Special Episode: Ruh Roe
    Mike gives us a solo episode unpacking the one issue on all our minds - the recent leaked draft decision on Roe v. Wade from SCOTUS. He dives into what "due process" really means for the future of Roe v. Wade and a brief history of abortion-related laws in the US. No brews this week, just lots of spicy news.
    Strict Scrutiny breakdown of the draft Dobbs decision: https://crooked.com/podcast/what-the-scotus-leak-could-mean-for-abortion/
    Washington Post annotations to the decision: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2022/dobbs-alito-draft-annotated/
    Thread from UCLA Law's Adam Winkler about the implications of Alito's line of argument: https://twitter.com/adamwinkler/status/1521513885949329408
    10 min
  • Florida Cancels Mickey Mouse

    Our main story brings us to Texas and Florida, where GOP governors with their eyes on 2024 are overreaching right past the midterms. In the first round, we'll talk about good news for France, bad news for CNN+, and the ultimate Rorschach Test of news as Elon Musk gets closer to buying Twitter.

    Mike’s drinking: Founders All Day IPA

    Erol’s drinking: Guava Goddess Synergy Raw Kombucha

    Show Notes: 

    Migrants thank Greg Abbott for the free bus ride to DC: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/26/us/politics/abbott-immigration-texas-dc-biden.html?referringSource=articleShare
    Abbot and immigration in Texas: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/26/us/politics/abbott-immigration-texas-dc-biden.html?referringSource=articleShare

    Spicy nuggets: 

    Erol: is about the damn housing market.
    Mike: Russia's FSB was trying to plant SIM cards as "evidence" for the false flag terrorist plot they "uncovered." Instead, they got The SIMS video games: https://twitter.com/igorsushko/status/1518810883018829824?s=20&t=_6k1HHkLWkVuwOCSyDzmog

    51 min
  • Traveling Fouls with Lauren Wolfe

    With Erol out this week, Mike is joined by consumer advocate, world traveler, and former staffer to the German parliament Lauren Wolfe of the nonprofit Travelers United. Mike and Lauren take a rhetorical walk through mask mandates on their last legs, the invading Russian forces trying to find their footing in Ukraine, and China stumbling hard as it tries to get a leg up on the ongoing Covid outbreak. For our main story, Lauren takes us through some news she has been making recently: a lawsuit Travelers United is bringing to make the internet and travel destinations safer for consumers.

    Mike's drinking: Aslin Beer Company That’s Facts New Zealand Pilsner

    Lauren's drinking: Icaro Mint Yerba Mate

    Show Notes: 

    Washington Post story from Taylor Lorenz about the lawsuit Lauren and Travelers United are pursuing: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/04/13/travel-influencer-lawsuit-cassie-de-pocol/

    Did Elon Musk get denied entry into one of Berlin's hottest clubs? https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3vjpb/elon-musk-berghain-refuses-entry

    Spicy Nuggets:

    Lauren: Julia on HBO: https://www.hbomax.com/series/urn:hbo:series:GYip0jQfJ7MPDDQEAAAAD

    Mike: Capitol evacuated because of...military appreciation night at the Nats game? https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/dc/police-say-no-threat-after-us-capitol-is-evacuated/65-a9a5fc5f-8b15-4e43-9b03-582333fa83ac

    1 hr 11 min
  • M. Night Shyam-Elon’s Plot Twists

    Now that we're done binging Bridgerton, we can refocus on the courtship drama of Elon Musk and Twitter. Will they be on-again or off-again by the time you listen?From there, things get progressively more worrisome. The French elections could mean the rise of an authoritarian Putin apologist, Covid is trying to make a comeback, in our main story we look at the world's collective shrug as the IPCC screams into the void.

    Erol’s drinking: Right Proper Brewing Company Fear No Art IPA

    Mike’s drinking: Victory Brewing Company Sour Monkey Sour Tripel

    Show Links:

    Pivot podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pivot/id1073226719?i=1000556639691
    The 2,914 page IPCC report: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/
    Good Morning Britain segment with Miranda Whelehan of the Just Stop Oil coalition: https://twitter.com/alexandrakuri/status/1513427638928482305?s=20&t=jcOpskhEzqRHoJ3PSyancQ
    Climate policy AS economic policy: https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-us-should-treat-climate-policy-as-economic-policy/

    Spicy Nuggets:

    Erol: "Genocide" https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/12/politics/biden-iowa-genocide/index.html
    Mike: The Russian warship Moskva finally goes and fucks itself, with the help of Ukrainian missiles: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10717065/Go-f-Russian-warship-BLOWN-Cruiser-Moskva-hit-Ukrainian-missile.html

    59 min
  • Twitter’s Extreme Free Speech Makeover

    Elon Musk just became Twitter's largest shareholder and newest board member. We'll all tweet happily ever after, probably. In the first round, we've got lots of news from Congress this week: KBJ has a clear path to the bench, while Madison Cawthorn finds out what it takes in today's GOP to get...benched. And we'll check in on Ukraine, where the atrocities are mounting, force availability is in question, but the international community is providing an ample supply of strongly-worded statements.

    Mike's drinking: Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale

    Erol's drinking: Writers' Tears, Walsh Whiskey, Carlow, Ireland

    Show Links: 

    Pitch perfect flyers showed up on Capitol Hill after Madison Cawthorn’s weird interview: https://twitter.com/thegoodliars/status/1511029632669208584?s=21&t=4AJroEL3cCfPMKUB1bttbA

    Wait but Why series of articles on Elon Musk: https://waitbutwhy.com/2017/03/elon-musk-post-series.html

    Spicy nuggets:

    Larry Summers on Ezra Klein’s podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ezra-klein-show/id1548604447?i=1000555567714
    Casimir Pulaski, hero of the Revolutionary War, was most likely intersex: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/07/science/casimir-pulaski-intersex.html
    Erol's tribute to his Nene: https://medium.com/p/5bc05cd2b836

    Erol’s migration event: https://www.csis.org/events/world-migration-report-2022-deciphering-global-trends-and-complexities

    1 hr 1 min
  • Slapping a Tax on Billionaires

    Mike is back! He comes back after only a month off to a 1980s dystopia where Russia is attempting to reconstitute its empire, billionaires are complaining about taxes and pesky laws, and the Oscars are interesting again.

    Show Links: 

    • Steph Curry and Shaq's "The Queen of Basketball": https://vimeo.com/580833148
    • Peter Coy's tax explainer: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/28/opinion/billionaire-tax-biden.html
    • Bob Gourley's Russia Ukraine 2022 Twitter list: https://twitter.com/i/lists/1483456727219683332

      • Spicy Nuggets

      Erol: DC's "Bike Man" https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/03/26/dc-trucker-convoy-protest-bike/
      Mike: Like the Ever Given, but right here in the Chesapeake Bay! https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2022/03/29/ever-forward-cargo-ship-remains-firm-in-first-refloat-attempt/

      Erol is drinking: Chimay Première Ale

      Mike is drinking: Newcastle Brown Ale

      1 hr 3 min
    • No Money Mo Problems with Kristen Cordell & Sara Reckless

      Erol’s friends Kristen and Sara join the podcast this week to unpack conflict dynamics, shaky economics, and alternative reality spicy nuggets. Come for supply chain shocks, oily baskets of goods, and Russian academy lifetime achievement awards… Stay for a rousing call to action.

      Show Links:

      Fiona Hill on the Ezra Klein Show https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/11/podcasts/the-daily/fiona-hill-ukraine-russia-ezra-klein.html
      Russia waged a cheap war in Syria. Here’s what those tactics might look like in Ukraine. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/11/ukraine-civilians-siege-bombing-infrastructure/

      Spicy Nuggets:

      Kristen: Reality+ https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393635805
      Sara: “Mark with a C”
      Erol: South Korean Election Graphics https://twitter.com/TheAPJournalist/status/1501588231715901440

      Erol's drinking: Power Moves from Aslin

      Kristen's drinking: Fennel tea
      Sara's drinking: High quality H2O

      1 hr 10 min
    • Coitus, Quietus, & Exodus, LLC with Dr. Jennifer Sciubba

      This week Erol and guest co-host Dr. Jennifer Sciubba wonder whether President Biden can be right and wrong at the same time and why the science says we’re basically getting little right and everything wrong on adapting to climate change. In the main story, Jen talks about her new book “8 Billion and Counting: How Sex, Death, and Migration Shape Our World”... during which we find out that basically everything we thought we knew about demographics is... just plain wrong.

      Erol's drinking: Manor Hill Brewing Splendeavor Farmhouse Ale

      Jen's drinking: Trader Joe's Sauvignon Republic

      Show Links:

      Dr. Sciubba’s book: “8 Billion and Counting: How Sex, Death, and Migration Shape Our World” https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324002703
      AlkaSeltzer for the Ocean: https://www.wsj.com/articles/harnessing-the-ocean-to-combat-climate-change-11646582410
      Population, Climate, and Conflict: New Data Point to Greater Challenges Ahead: https://www.csis.org/analysis/population-climate-and-conflict-new-data-point-greater-challenges-ahead

      Spicy Nuggets:

      Jen: In Sri Lanka, Organic Farming Went Catastrophically Wrong https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/05/sri-lanka-organic-farming-crisis/
      Erol: It Only Tuesday https://www.theonion.com/it-only-tuesday-1819569397

      53 min
    • Ebola, Covid & Putin: Various Viruses with Erin Polich

      Mike is out this week which means Erol gets to invite a friend on to talk about lots of things that can kill you. Erin Polich guest hosts for a tribute to Paul Farmer and a deadly conversation on Ebola, jet skis in Juba, masks against Covid-19 (this is a joke), accidentally crossing international borders, and yes, Vladimir Putin (this is not a joke).

      Erin's drinking: Distraction Brewing Hoppily Distracted

      Erol's drinking: Manor Hill Brewing Grain Reaper

      Spicy Nuggets: 

      Erin: https://mymodernmet.com/simon-beck-snow-land-art/

      Erol: https://twitter.com/ianbremmer/status/1497005877555077124

      1 hr
    • Ma(Canada)GA Hated the Halftime Show

      The Super Bowl Halftime Show was objectively perfect, according to our in-show poll of Xennial and Millennial podcast hosts. What's not so perfect? The actual (allegedly!) racist ways the NFL is running its business. Also: truckers menacing people and commerce in Canada, Russia menacing Ukraine, and the Megadrought menacing the Southwestern US. Finally: a surprise spicy nugget... make sure and listen to the end!

      Erol's drinking: Leffe Blonde

      Mike's drinking: Wicked Weed Pernicious IPA

      Show Links:

      Olaf Scholz and Putin across the big table: https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-crisis-we-dont-want-war-in-europe-putin-says-in-talks-with-scholz/a-60785295
      Che Guevara's ghost: https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/03/10/world/10xp-canada-explainer-new2/merlin_20[…]d-4a94-aa58-9d6bb294a3f8-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp
      Megadrought: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-022-01290-z

      Spicy Nuggets:

      Mike: (listen for instructions before watching) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdsUKphmB3Y&t=181s
      Erol: Surprise announcement(!)

      55 min

    About News & Brews

    From the publisher's feed

    It's like happy hour with your nerdy friends. Every Wednesday, Mike and Erol dive deep into the most consequential news stories of the week. Listen as they mix weighty insights with light hearts, lukewarm takes with cold hard facts, dry wit with frothy brews. No ID required.