The Daily Dive

President Trump addressed the nation Wednesday after Iran launched a retaliatory attack on an airbase where some U.S. troops were based and announced that there were no casualties and Iran appears to be “standing down.” Instead of any new military escalation, Trump announced new sanctions on Iran. And while a broader conflict seems to have been de-escalated, there is still concern of attacks through proxies, cyber-attacks, and what Iran will do with their nuclear program. Dave Lawler, world editor at Axios, joins us for the fallout of the Iranian strike.

Next, we take a look at some of the newest tech coming out of CES 2020. Sony has developed a concept car and the idea of ambient technology and AI took off. AI is being put everything and everything we use from our devices to our toilets will be connected and learn more about you. Samsung even unveiled its project called Neon, which it is saying are “artificial humans” - AI that you can talk and interact with and looks like a real person. There are also a bunch of other gadgets and fun things at the show. Stan Horaczek, technology editor at Popular Science, joins us for what he experienced at CES 2020.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new study is revealing the high cost of having a baby in America. The average new mother with insurance will pay more than $4,500 for her labor and delivery. According to the authors of the study, the real reason for the increase seems to be the rise in high deductibles with women paying a greater share of their childbirth expenses as a result. Olga Khazan, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins us for how even if you have insurance, it is costing more to start a family.

Next, a news kind of online service is aiming to help match people who need a co-parent. Someone that wants to have a child, but not necessarily the romance that comes with it, although feelings do sometimes develop. Julie Jargon, family and tech columnist at the WSJ, joins us for how people are using technology to find platonic parenting partners without the love and marriage.

Finally, the Democratic presidential primary is starting to take a dark turn. Candidates are campaigning in Iowa and starting to focus on issues like a possible conflict with Iran and wildfires in Australia impacting climate change. And all these issues are causing an indecisiveness in Iowa voters’ minds as to who is best positioned to win in a general election. David Siders, national political correspondent at Politico, joins us with more.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The trial of Harvey Weinstein has begun in New York. The trial is expected to last about 2 months and will be a high profile media spectacle as many will be interested to see if the fallen entertainment mogul can escape punishment. And just as the trial began in NY, new charges of sexual assault were leveled against him in Los Angeles. Eriq Gardner, senior editor at the Hollywood Reporter, joins us for a look at the Weinstein trial.

Next, there is concern and curiosity in eastern Colorado. Reports have surfaced of mysterious drones flying in formation in the night sky hundreds of feet in the air over the Eastern Plains. Local officials don’t know who is operating them and several government agencies have denied any involvement, but the FAA is investigating. Sam Tabachnik, reporter for the Denver Post, joins us for what we know.

Finally, with so many people coming in and out of LAX, there are a ton of crazy things that TSA and Customs teams come across such as dead bodies and snakes in Pringles cans. Brandon Presser, reporter at Bloomberg News joins us for what he learned after working at LAX. Yes, there is a private terminal for those that can afford it and he’ll also tell us where they put your stuff after it’s been confiscated.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tensions with Iran continue to escalate after the U.S. ordered a drone strike killing Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Now Iran has signaled that they will no longer abide by the Iran Nuclear deal and the Iraqi parliament has passed a resolution calling on the U.S. to expel troops from the country. Both sides have vowed to retaliate if anyone makes a move with the United States targeting 52 Iranian sites, and Iran pointing to 35 U.S. targets. Ginger Gibson, political reporter for Reuters, joins us for more on this and why you don’t have to worry about a draft if World War 3 starts.

Next, to lighten up the mood, we will speak to Elahe Izadi, pop culture writer for the Washington Post, about the 20 defining comedy sketches of the past 20 years. While these sketches might not have been the “best” or even the “funniest,” Elahe identifies some of the top comedy sketches that that held a prominent place within our culture. There are a few criteria in place to help narrow down the list, but it all starts with a little more cowbell!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a compilation of the best stories of the week.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a compilation of the best stories of the week.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You might have heard of the placebo effect, but what about its evil twin the nocebo effect? It’s when a person experiences negative symptoms from an inert pill or treatment, sometimes even from verbal suggestions. Studies are currently being done to better understand placebo and nocebo effects. Shayla Love, science writer at Vice, joins us to discuss how it all works.

Next, it’s called Munchausen by Internet, the condition of faking illness online. It’s a form of factitious disorder, a mental disorder where people fake illness or actually make themselves sick to get sympathy and attention. But one place online that experiences this at higher rates is in the cancer community. People in online cancer support groups are routinely outed as healthy. It seems almost impossible to think that someone could lie about such a serious illness, but it happens a lot, and those that offered their love, sympathy, and support often feel betrayed. Roisin Lanigan, contributor to The Atlantic, joins us for why the internet has a cancer-faking problem.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scammers are always looking for new ways to cheat you out of your money. And one scam in particular that is ramping up are gift card scams. People are posing as grandchildren, government officials, and tech-support agents and ask for payments through store gift cards. Gifts cards are the choice of scammers because purchases can be made immediately and anonymously. Julie Jargon, family and tech columnist at the WSJ, joins us with a story of how one family learned the hard way.

Next, cannabis restaurants are coming to California and if all goes well, this could be a model you start seeing in other states. The now open Lowell Farms Cannabis Café is pairing a farm to table meal with “flower service” so you can pair your meal with the perfect weed strain. Even though the state has legalized recreational marijuana, running a cannabis restaurant is nothing like running a typical restaurant and there are a lot more regulations to follow. Maura Judkis, reporter for the Washington Post, joins us for some of the creative ways this will all work.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

First, we speak to Joanna Stern from the WSJ, who asked a certified ethical hacker to get into as many of her webcams as he could. He was easily able to get into her system, snap shots of her and even spy on her child through a Wi-Fi connected baby monitor. Joanna joins us for some tips on how to protect yourself, and the big realization, we are often our own worst enemies.

Next, a company call Digital Recognition Network has built a private, nationwide surveillance database that could potentially track the movements of car owners over long periods of time. This network is built on the backs of repo men equipped with cameras that scan the license plates of every car they drive by and then add it to a searchable database accessible to private investigators, repo agents, and insurance companies. Joseph Cox, senior writer at the Vice’s Motherboard, joins us to talk about DRN and how well it works, Vice tracked someone using this surveillance tool.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Americans are spending more money on faster internet speeds on the promise of faster load times and higher quality streaming, but is it really worth it? Recent tests by the WSJ show that a typical household doesn’t use most of their bandwidth while streaming and only get marginal gains from upgrading your speed. Shalini Ramachandran, reporter for the WSJ joins us for why upgrading your bandwidth might not be the best choice.

Next, as the impeachment inquiry got underway this year, it all started with a whistleblower complaint against the president. And as President Trump continues to cast doubt on all the allegations, we are awaiting a Senate trial in the new year. Whistleblowing has been around since the beginning of the country and has always been a tool to prevent the abuse of power by those who hold it. Allison Stanger, author of Whistleblowers: Honesty in American from Washington to Trump, joins us to discuss what prompted the first whistleblower protection law to be enacted and how protecting them is more important than ever.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.