The Daily Dive

NFTs are all the rage in the art market right now with about $2.4 billion worth of NFTs being traded in the second quarter alone. But with all this money comes scammers and hackers taking advantage of people by selling fake art, stealing credit card numbers, and even spreading viruses that can drain crypto wallets of all their funds. Kelly Crow, art reporter at the WSJ, joins us for why you should be wary of NFT scams.

Next, Facebook knows that Instagram can be a problem for teen girls. According to their own internal research, 32% of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse. While there are many social media platforms out there, some of these problems are worse on Instagram. TikTok is focused on video and performance, Snapchat keeps the focus on the face with filters, but Instagram centers on the body and lifestyle making the social comparisons worse. Georgia Wells, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for Facebook has consistently played down the apps negative effects, despite research showing it has been a problem.

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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.

Professional dog trainers are having to deal with an increase in misbehaving pandemic puppies. Because of quarantines and shutdowns many first time dog owners didn’t properly train or socialize their pups which led them to be overly reactive or have separation anxiety. The big worry for these trainers is that if people can’t get dogs under control, they may be surrendered. Bailey Berg, contributor to Vice News, joins us for more.

Next, how many times have you gone to McDonald’s for a nice frozen treat only to be told that the ice cream machine is broken? One couple attempted to get to the bottom of why the Taylor ice cream machines that McDonald’s uses are always breaking and found that there is a secret repair menu that most workers don’t know how to access which forces them to contact the manufacturer for maintenance. This couple eventually created a way to hack the machines, only to have Taylor and McDonald’s stop them. Andy Greenberg, senior writer at Wired, joins us for the fight over hacking McDonald’s ice cream machines.

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We have been seeing a decline in those identifying as religious for some time now and in the absence of religious belief many have channeled that into political belief. What is America supposed to mean or what does it mean to be un-American? Politics has become the new religion and ideological intensity has risen driving a divide in the country. Shadi Hamid, contributing writer at The Atlantic, joins us for more.

Next, another story of students taking on mountains of debt only to have the high paying jobs they were promised out of reach. Law school, which was once seen as a great path to a well-paying job is the latest to be scrutinized as students often take out six figure federal loans. Recent graduates of the University of Miami School of Law borrowed a median of 163,000 and two years later, half of them were earning 59,000 or less, making it difficult to pay down their loans. Just 15% of recent grads were able to begin repaying their student loans after two years. Andrea Fuller, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for more.

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It's a seller's market out there and in some cases they are flexing their muscles to squeeze the most out of selling their homes. There have been some unusual demands such as taking all of the kitchen cabinets, mid-range appliances, and even toilets. Sometimes it's for sentimental reasons, but sometimes it's just because they can. Buyers, worn out from bidding wars, just accept the terms. Ronda Kaysen, NYT columnist and co-author of Right at Home, joins us for more.

Next, be careful when you see your favorite influencers and personalities promoting cryptocurrency. With all the hype around crypto right now, many are promoting “alt-coins” or “meme-coins” and unfortunately they are often tied to what are known as pump and dump schemes. Influencers pump up the altcoins in their networks, the value rises for a very short period of time, major investors dump the coins when it hits their peak, and everyone else is left with these crypto coins worth nothing. Matt Binder, reporter at Mashable, joins us for the shady world of influencers promoting cryptocurrency.

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About 60 miles north of Los Angeles, Lockheed Martin has a super-secret aircraft and weapons facility called Skunk Works. The U-2 spy plane and F-117 Nighthawk were both developed there and Lockheed is currently jockeying for a role in the Air Force’s next fighter jet program. Skunk Works has just opened a new state-of-the art factory and invited journalists to tour it, albeit in a very secretive manner with much of the travel around the campus through underground tunnels. Lee Hudson, defense reporter at Politico, joins us for a peek inside this very secretive facility.

Next, the WSJ set up 31 TikTok accounts registered to teenagers to see what the algorithm would serve them up. What they saw after thousands of videos was a never ending stream content related to sex, drugs, and eating disorders. TikTok’s algorithm is engagement based, so spend any amount of time on a video or re-watch it, and get ready for a flood of similar content. The company uses 10,000 people and other algorithms to police content, but the app does not restrict certain videos based on age. Georgia Wells, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for how TikTok serves up videos to minors.

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A new treatment known as optogenetic therapy has given a blind man some of his vision back. Light- activated proteins were inserted into eye nerve cells and paired with specials goggles that emit flashes of amber-hued light. This combination allowed the man with a degenerative eye disease to see and count objects, when he could previously just detect some light. Tina Hesman Saey, senior writer at Science News, joins us for more.

Next, ghost kitchens or virtual restaurants have taken over America’s restaurants. The new world is search optimized and data-driven. Often these restaurants have no storefront and no place to dine-in. Instead, they can be found on food delivery apps like Uber Eats and GrubHub. Some experts say that these virtual restaurants will be a $1 trillion industry in the next ten years. At a time when restaurants are struggling due to the pandemic, this expansion can be a lifeline for many. Adam Chandler, contributor to Marker, joins us for the rise of ghost kitchens.

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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.