The Daily Dive

The Russian invasion of Ukraine continues as we see President Biden announce even stricter sanctions imposed on Russian banks and oligarchs hoping to deter Putin from his mission. But things have progressed too much with reports of Ukrainian deaths, Russia capturing nuclear site Chernobyl, and worries of how far this can go. We are even seeing reports of anti-war protests in Russia. Julia Manchester, national political reporter at the Hill, joins us for the latest sanctions, the impact they might have, and the politics surrounding the invasion.

Next, we will tell you about the Nocturnals. The ultra-introverts that prefer to go about their lives at night relishing in the solitude and quiet. The people that seek out this lifestyle by choice go against what many psychologists think is an important part of human interaction and also against their own natural circadian rhythms. But some feel that the inconveniences of operating at night or even the possible health effects are acceptable trade-offs because it makes them happier and truer to themselves. Faith Hill, associate editor at The Atlantic, joins us for more.

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Russia continues to make moves for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine with reports that troops are ready to go. In the meantime the U.S. is considering tougher sanctions and even going a step further with export control methods that could keep Russia from obtaining U.S. and foreign made tech. This would degrade industrial production in Russia by keeping things like commercial electronics, semiconductors, and aircraft parts out of their hands. Alexandra Alper, White House reporter at Reuters, joins us for more.

Next, new research shows that everything we see could be from 15 seconds in the past. Our eyes and brains create an illusion of stability so we don’t feel dizzy or nauseated. Instead of analyzing every single visual snapshot, we perceive an average of what we saw in the past 15 seconds. Caroline Delbert, contributing editor at Popular Mechanics, joins us for what this new research says.

Finally, a feel good story about community coming together to help without even asking why. Claire Rowan’s 16 year-old son Will, depends on a specific powdered infant formula as his only source of food. The problem happened when the FDA recalled that formula. That led to Rowan scrambling to find a replacement and posting to online groups where the community took it upon themselves to help track down more. Sydney Page, reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for how everyone came together to help.

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President Biden has said that we are seeing the “beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine” as Putin has moved troops into two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine. In response to that, President Biden announced a round of sanctions against Russian banks and oligarchs to keep them from conducting financial transactions with the West. Mariana Alfaro, reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for what to know about the sanctions and how it could affect gas prices here in the U.S.

Next, in this unrelenting U.S. housing market, renting a home could be harder than buying a home. With a high demand and continuing low supply we have seen rental prices for single-family homes rise 7.8% last year. With people being priced out of owning a home, many resort to renting, only to find the same problems… a rental listing pops up, and an immediate flood of applications for that property. Allison McNeely, personal finance reporter at Bloomberg News, joins us for more.

Finally, get ready to start hearing the term megadrought more often when talking about the American Southwest. A new study shows that the past two decades have been the driest in 1,200 years. The study also illustrates the role that temperature plays, more so than precipitation, when it comes to fueling these megadroughts. Henry Fountain, climate reporter at the NY Times, joins us for how we could be in store for this for possibly another ten years.

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Everyone wants a service dog and the demand for these helpful pups has led to the rise of an industry with almost no regulation and it can be pricey. Organizations can charge anywhere from $15,000 to $40,000 for a fully trained service dog depending on the type of ailments they are supposed to help with. Trainers for their part do incur a lot of costs for boarding, training and feeding and must also account for some 60% of dogs that don't make it through the training process. Some families in desperate need of these services opt for buying their own dog and then getting them trained which could be a gamble. Markian Hawryluk, senior Colorado correspondent for Kaiser Health News, joins us for the 'Wild West' market of service dogs.

Next, like many industries, the pandemic has taken the plant-based food industry on a rollercoaster ride. Early on, regular meat prices rose by about 40% which led to sales of plant-based meat as an alternative rise by 65%. However, by the end of last year sales were down leading many to think that maybe the novelty had worn off and the industry had peaked. The reality is that there is still a lot more to come, whether it be in the form of more fast food launches or other products beyond meat alternatives such as chicken, seafood, and bacon. Kenny Torella, reporter at Vox, joins us for the pandemic highs and lows of the plant-based food industry.

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The center for many of the discussions surrounding covid policy, race and gender is your local school board. School districts are having to navigate constantly changing health guidelines and other hot button issues while they face threats of violence often from anonymous harassers. One school board member in Virginia named Brenda Sheridan was the target of many letters and voicemails in which she and her children received threats of death. School board members are asking for increased security during meetings and police are having a difficult time tracking down the anonymous threats. Gabriella Borter, U.S. national correspondent at Reuters, joins us for more.

Next, many metaverse early adopters are finding themselves accident prone as they play with VR headsets. It can make for some funny videos on social media, but the injuries can be very real. One teen fell and fractured his kneecap within hours of opening his new headset, others have broken vases and even injured innocent bystanders. There is even a Reddit group called VRtoER where people share stories and videos of their mishaps. Salvador Rodriguez, tech reporter at the WSJ, joins us for how you still need to be careful even in virtual spaces.

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

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

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The threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine still looms with officials saying it could happen within several days. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, appearing at the United Nations, laid out what a Russian invasion could look like saying that missiles and bombs could drop across Ukraine, communications would be jammed, and cyber-attacks could shut down key institutions. Officials said that Russia could be trying to set up a pretext such as a violent event that would justify an invasion. Nahal Toosi, senior foreign affairs correspondent at Politico, joins us for more.

Next, gunshot detection devices that are used in cities across the U.S. are getting criticism for their high cost and whether they are effective at reducing crime. One such company is called ShotSpotter who has contracts with about 120 police agencies who pay $65,000 to $90,000 a year for each square mile of service. The other angle to this is that ShotSpotter helps police departments apply for federal grants so they can afford the technology. Jon Schuppe, reporter at NBC News Digital, joins us for how ShotSpotter is winning police contracts and fighting criticism.

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In good medical news, a woman in New York City appears to have been cured of HIV. The woman also had a form of leukemia which made her a candidate for a transplant of stem cells that carry a rare genetic mutation that blocks HIV. She received those stem cells in the form of umbilical-cord blood from a newborn. While scientists are encouraged by this development, treating HIV with transplants is still risky and costly and really only an option for those that need them for treatment for other diseases like cancer. Betsy McKay, senior writer at the WSJ, joins us for more.

Next, we are learning more about a massive human smuggling ring that was led by U.S. Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton. This story dates back to 2019 where Marines were recruited to pick up immigrants near the border and drive them inland to be released. They made perfect smugglers because no one would suspect them and wave them passed various checkpoints. It was obviously all about money and soldiers could make anywhere from $500-$750 per immigrant that they picked up. In the end, many of the Marines involved in the plot were let go on technicalities. Emily Green, reporter for Vice News, joins us for how it all went down.

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DoorDash is bumping up its fees on the restaurant side of things. Specifically when it comes to McDonald’s, the delivery platform will charge higher commissions when orders are taking longer to fill and if drivers are kept waiting. It is all an effort to improve efficiency and cut losses. We all know that getting food delivered is more expensive, but we are also learning that you are being charged more for the food itself than if you ordered it in-store. Heather Haddon, restaurants reporter at the WSJ, joins us for more.

Next, Tesla is currently running a beta test of its “Full self-driving” mode on certain models and looking at footage posted by beta testers, it is not going as smooth as Tesla might have hoped. No injuries or major accidents have been recorded, but what we see is a system that is still hesitant in certain situations, struggle to control the system, and a near miss with a pedestrian. Faiz Siddiqui, tech reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for a look at how this mode handles in real-world situations.

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