The Daily Dive

High inflation persists as President Biden points to the pandemic and the war in Ukraine as top causes for high prices.  Each month we get updated numbers on the Consumer Price Index, but how is that number calculated?  477 government workers spend their days going to grocery stores and other businesses to track the costs of over 100,000 goods and services each month.  Rachel Wolfe, consumer trends reporter at the WSJ, joins us for how we calculate inflation.

Next, what is the largest source of stolen guns in country?  Stolen guns from cars.  From 2019-2020, 180 cities saw a rise in gun thefts from vehicles.  This new trend is very concerning and simply a crime of opportunity.  Thieves are rolling through neighborhoods and pulling on door handles looking for open cars and laws vary from state to state on how guns should be secured in unattended vehicles.  Melissa Chan, reporter at NBC News, joins us for this disturbing trend.

Finally, a new report confirms that most working parents are burned out.  Research from Ohio State University says that 66% of working parents meet the criteria for parental burnout, meaning they feel they have nothing left to give.  This study was conducted at the height of the pandemic, but researchers think high rates of burnout are here to stay.  Catherine Pearson, reporter at the NY Times, joins us for more.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Researchers are constantly working on new vaccine delivery methods for Covid and are hoping that nasal vaccines could be better at preventing transmission and infection.  Several candidates are in the works and in early clinical trials but the hope is that it could work better by taking hold in mucus membranes where the virus enters the body.  Karen Weintraub, health reporter at USA Today, joins us for how you next booster could be taken up the nose.

Next, many people took advantage of programs that paused federal student loan payments and interest and saved money or put it into other financial priorities.  But there were also some that remained diligent and continued to make payments as they could.  The result for them was being able to pay off completely or a huge chunk of their federal loans.  For those that did pay them off, now it’s about building new savings since this debt is now gone.  Julia Carpenter, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for more.

Finally, less than six months ago, Netflix launched a website called Tudum that was supposed to build more fandom for their properties.  Billed as place to offer news about shows, in-depth interviews, and exclusives, they site has had to lay off employees already.  Current and former employees say that it suffered from lack of direction and strategy.  Mia Sato, reporter at The Verge, joins us for what happened at Tudum.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the war in Ukraine rages on, we saw another high-profile U.S. visitor go to the country to show support.  First Lady Jill Biden met with her counterpart Olena Zelenska, Ukraine’s first lady.  The met at a school and showed support for mothers across the war-torn country.  Ginger Gibson, deputy Washington digital editor at NBC News, joins us for this and a look at the fallout since the leak of the draft opinion of the Supreme Court.  Justice Clarence Thomas has said the court can’t be bullied and that young people now show no respect for the law.

Next, we’ll tell you about a man named Vaughn Smith who cleans carpets for a living. Vaughn is also a hyperpolyglot. A hyperpolyglot is someone who can speak 11 languages or more, but Vaughn is special, by his count her can speak closer to 37 languages. To see what makes his brain tick, he decided to undergo an MRI at MIT and found that his brain does not function like that of a monolingual person. Jessica Contrera, reporter at The Washington Post, joins for more about Vaughn and what drove him to learn so much, a deep need for understanding others. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a compilation of some of the most compelling stories of the week.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a compilation of some of the most compelling stories of the week.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UFOs continue to be in the news as classified briefings have begun on Capitol Hill, but some lawmakers are frustrated saying that intelligence agencies are not taking it seriously enough.  Lawmakers see these sightings as national security issues and want more analysts and surveillance systems dedicated to finding the origins of these aircrafts instead of just more reports of sightings.  Bryan Bender, senior national correspondent at Politico, joins us for what we know about these briefings.

Next, the war in Ukraine continues as Russia keeps intensifying its attacks on multiple fronts.  On the cyber front however, Russia has not been able to make the impact it had hoped.  Ukraine has managed to stay online with the help of Elon Musk’s Starlink terminals, crowdsourced intelligence collection, and even deployed facial recognition programs to identify captured or killed Russian soldiers.  Justin Ling, contributor to Wired, joins us for the ongoing digital battle.

Finally, a check in on the gig economy as we are in this next phase of the pandemic.  A rebound in travel has led Uber to post revenue at a 136% increase from pandemic lows making $6.9 billion in the first quarter.  Still, drivers are having a tough time with high gas prices.  On the other side of things, companies like Instacart are having a tough time finding their footing as people are ordering less groceries to be delivered.  Kellen Browning, tech reporter at the NY Times, joins us for more.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The big story of the week is the draft opinion by the Supreme Court that was leaked on Monday.  The draft may still undergo some changes, but everything points to the overturning of Roe v. Wade and with it, the constitutional right to an abortion.  So how did we get here?  Lawsuits over the years haven’t explicitly challenged that ruling, rather they have asked the Court to uphold restrictions that make is more difficult and expensive for clinics to provide abortions.  If overturned, there are 22 states with laws on the books that could outright ban or ban abortions in the very early stages of pregnancy.  Ian Millhiser, senior correspondent at Vox, joins us for what to expect.

Next, the leak of this draft opinion has been a rare breach that many say has never happened before.  There have been calls for the leaker to be identified and criminally charged, but legal experts say that is unlikely.  The draft opinions are not classified materials and if the person who did leak it had legitimate access to the document, then there is little that could be done.  Also in question is how much the Justice Department could become involved in an investigation.  Matt Zapotosky, national security correspondent at The Washington Post, joins us for more.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The education culture war is raging with discussions on everything from how we teach history, gender and sexuality and race.  We are seeing textbooks being banned and laws being implemented restricting certain conversations in school settings.  While some of these discussions have been loud and very contentious, a new poll says that for most parents, its more background noise.   Majorities of parents, across party lines say that many of these issues are being taught in a way that does align with their personal values.  Anya Kamenetz, education correspondent at NPR, joins us for how leading into the midterms, a very vocal minority is driving the discussion around education.

Next, it was one of the main tools that helped us transition to a work from home model during the pandemic, Zoom and other video conferencing apps.  They helped us connect and collaborate when we could not do so in person.  But a new study shows that compared to meeting in-person, creativity did take a bit of a hit.  Because we are so focused on the video screen during these meetings, we lose sight of our environments and move less, both of which stimulate creativity.  Erica Pandey, business reporter at Axios, joins us for the toll that video conferencing took on workplace creativity.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Police records are showing that across the country, women are being stalked with Apple AirTags. When released the devices were touted as a way to help users keep track of missing items like your keys, wallet or car, but police reports are showing that some women were getting notifications that their phones were tracked by an AirTag they didn’t own. In some of those cases they could identify a man in their lives, usually an ex-partner, they suspected were trying to track them. Samantha Cole, tech reporter at Motherboard, joins us for how some are using them as stalking tools.

Next, the military has long had a special relationship with the Jeep, specifically the WWII Jeep. In 1940 the Army was taking bids for a new military vehicle and settled on a design by the Willys-Overland company that would be produced by Ford. How it got its name? The common belief is that it comes from the abbreviation of “G.P.” which was a common term of any military vehicle. The Jeep even drove up the Capitol steps. Miranda Summers Lowe, contributor to Task and Purpose, joins us for how the Jeep became America’s favorite military vehicle.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite some positive signs in the economy, record high inflation, rising interest rates, and the GDP shrinking 1.4% has led many to worry about a possible recession coming our way.  While it doesn’t seem like we are there quite yet, economists are mixed in their views of what to expect.  This is also reflected in ongoing, sagging poll numbers for President Biden.  He still has very low marks on the economy and voters say they trust Republicans more to fix it which doesn’t bode well for the midterms.  Ginger Gibson, deputy Washington digital editor at NBC News, joins us this and Nancy Pelosi goes to Ukraine to show support.

Next, Gen Z doesn’t seem like they want to work and they are broadcasting it over social media.  Many have said that they don’t have a dream job because they “don’t dream of labor.”  The past few years of the pandemic have changed many attitudes when it comes to the work/life balance and young people entering the workforce at this time don’t want to get bogged down in toiling away with nothing to show for it.  They have gained reputations as job hoppers and aren’t afraid to air grievances on social media with hashtags like #QuitTok.  Terry Nguyen, reporter at Vox, joins us for more.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.