The Daily Dive

A woman in Argentina known as the “Esperanza patient” has become only the second documented person whose own immune system possibly cured her of HIV. She is what’s known as a so-called elite controller of HIV. This happens in an estimated 1 in 200 people and their immune systems are able to suppress the virus from replicating to very low levels without using antiretroviral treatments. While still unknown how this occurs, it does provide hope for the 38 million people living with the virus. Benjamin Ryan, contributor to NBCNews.com, joins us for what to know about the “Esperanza patient.”

Next, where have all the public bathrooms gone? Going through the pandemic and seeing the closures of bars, restaurants and other public spaces, it laid bare how very few places there are for a person to relieve themselves. It was a trend that was definitely happening before the pandemic with many places being closed or just neglected which also gave public restrooms bad reputations. According to a “Public Toilet Index,” the U.S. only has eight toilets per 100,000 people overall. Elizabeth Yuko, contributor to Bloomberg CityLab, joins us for what to know about the lack of public bathrooms.

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Former congressman from El Paso and Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, has thrown his hat in the ring again… this time into the Texas governor’s race. He has an uphill battle in a solidly red state that hasn’t chosen a Democratic governor since 1991 and there is also a wild card factor if actor Matthew McConaughey chooses to run. David Siders, national political reporter at Politico, joins us O’Rourke’s announcement.

Next, President Biden and his administration have had a messaging problem when it comes to inflation, coronavirus and Afghanistan. It is causing Democrats to worry whether his is underestimating the scale of the challenges we face in the country. Constant re-branding of legislative priorities have also made it tough to gain traction all while approval ratings keep dropping. Tyler Pager, White House reporter at the Washington Post, joins us for what to know.

Finally, phone notifications are driving people crazy. The constant pings and chirps are causing distractions as our communication has become more fragmented. Work and personal messages are blurring together for a non-stop flow of distractions and when we lose out focus, it can take an average of 25 minutes to get back on track. Rachel Feintzeig, work and life columnist at the WSJ, joins us for how it can be hard to get anything done.

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Inflation is the latest issue that Biden and his administration need to get under control. Everything is more expensive right now and supply chain issues continue to affect the economy. While Democrats try to bring prices down, there is also more urgency to pass Biden's Build Back Better plan, with some notable holdouts like Sen. Joe Manchin who is concerned with how it could impact inflation. Ginger Gibson, deputy Washington digital editor at NBC News, joins us for this, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stepping into the spotlight, and Steve Bannon being indicted for contempt of Congress.

Next, every wonder why you feel like you might not fit into a particular political party? Americans are divided for sure, but it goes beyond a left or right thing. Even within each party there are deep divides. Pew Research sorted American ideologies into nine distinct categories, four that lean left, four that lean right, and stressed sideliners in the middle. And for those that do fit into the center, they often hold little common ground. Baxter Oliphant, senior researcher at the Pew Research Center, joins us for the wide spectrum of political beliefs.

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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.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since you love this podcast, we think you might like this one as well. Check out Essential Voices where in each episode, host Wilmer Valderrama will have intimate conversations with people on the frontlines of the food system, transportation, child-care and other workers who are so often overlooked. That conversation leads to a round-table discussion with activists and politically-active celebrities, discussing themes, issues and areas of needed change.

About this Episode

When the pandemic began, journalist Ashton Pittman began working at the Mississippi Free Press, a new nonprofit media outlet, not realizing what the future would hold. At a time when local, national, and global communities relied heavily on news outlets for an accurate portrayal of the Covid pandemic, Ashton’s work to provide fair and accurate journalism became essential. Not only reporting on Covid-19 but also on the Black Lives Matter protests in Mississippi, Ashton came face to face with combating misinformation and vaccine hesitancy, all the while uplifting stories of Mississipians in a media desert. Roundtable guests: Award-winning journalists Maria Hinojosa from Latino USA on NPR and Julio Ricardo Varela from Latino Rebels, both produced by the Futuro Media Group.

Listen and Subscribe to Essential Voices with Wilmer Valderrama on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts! https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-essential-voices-with-wil-84986899/

Learn more about the Mississippi Free Press: http://mississippifreepress.org/

Learn more about Maria and Julio’s podcast, In The Thick: https://www.inthethick.org

Learn more about Futuro Media: https://www.futuromediagroup.org

Learn more about Latino Rebels: https://www.latinorebels.com

Episode Transcript: https://app.trint.com/public/bb77b0f4-77a8-4888-bd34-0da794a592ae

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Prices were up 6.2% last month which is the largest rise in 30 years. Inflation is making everything more expensive and the era of cheap everything is over. Supply chain issues continue to be the main culprit for most of our post-pandemic woes, but inflation could wipe away wage gains and savings that many Americans are now having to spend. Kevin Dugan, reporter at NY Magazine, joins us for how everything is more expensive.

Next, Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and we are hearing that it will be more expensive than in years past and also that there might be a turkey shortage. The expensive part is true, but there won’t be a mass shortage of turkeys. Rather, it might be difficult to find the turkey you want. Last year, small birds were all the rage because of smaller family gatherings, this year is all about the mid-size birds. Emily Stewart, senior reporter at Vox, joins us for why you should start shopping now.

Finally, electric vehicle company Rivian Automotive just went public and is proving to be a very attractive stock netting about $12 billion on an $80 billion valuation. Rivian has had a slower and more deliberate approach to its rollout which will also be a good test of the meme stock craze that has lifted various companies’ value. Andrew Hawkins, transportation reporter at The Verge, joins us for more.

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Many are still reeling from the tragedy at the Astroworld Festival where eight people died and hundreds were injured. Many questions remain on how things escalated so quickly, but crowd surges like the one that night happen fast and often go unnoticed until it’s too late. Emergency plans for the event covered other things like active shooters, but nothing in the case of a crowd surge. Ahiza Garcia-Hodges, reporter at NBC News, joins us for more.

Next, we have been learning a lot about mRNA because of the Covid vaccines, but the next big thing for RNA could be fixing moldy food. The next generation of pesticides and fungicides could use RNA to target very specific insects and fungi. One particular type of fungus they hope to target is responsible for at least $10 billion in damage to crops every year. Matt Reynolds, senior writer at Wired, joins us for how RNA may be used next to help farmers.

Finally, the crypto market continues to be the Wild West. The combined value of all cryptocurrencies is over $3 trillion and that is driving interest and investors to snatch up newer cryptocurrencies and unfortunately, fall for scams. One example is “Squid coin” which capitalized on the popular Netflix show, but ended up being a “rug pull” scam. Thomas Urbain, markets and tech reporter at AFP, joins us for what to know.

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The brokerage app Robinhood is the latest company to have been hit with a data breach. In this case it is affecting about 7 million users and has been linked to a phone call where a hacker duped a customer support staffer for access. No money has been lost yet and most of the breach concerned names and email addresses, with about 300 people that had more details exposed. There is still concern as other scammers can do a lot with just names and emails. Annie Massa, investing reporter at Bloomberg News, joins us for more.

Next, we have seen walkouts and protests across the country at fast food restaurants and now we’ll take a look at a rebellion inside a McDonald’s in Bradford, Pa. Workers at this fast food chain were unhappy with wages and conditions and banded together to walkout. Frustrated with the lack of support from the franchise owner and even corporate offices the workers left and in a good twist all found better paying jobs. Online and elsewhere these workers received scathing criticism saying they were entitled, but they also got some support from others in the service industry. Greg Jaffe, national reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for how this walkout took place.

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A couple in California has filed a lawsuit against a fertility clinic that mixed up their embryos with another couple. Daphna and Alexander Cardinale carried the baby of another couple, gave birth to a baby girl and raised her for four months until the couples decided to swap babies. The other couple was implanted with the Cardinale’s embryo. Adam Wolf, attorney for the Cardinale family, joins us for what happened and the effort to never let this happen again.

Next, there is a new etiquette for post-pandemic office life. Many still have anxieties about being back and others are just rusty from being away for so long. Hugs and handshakes are out, be honest with those close talkers so they give you space, and it is OK to ask about vaccination status. Rachel Feintzeig, work and life columnist at the WSJ, joins us for how to avoid the awkward return.

Finally, there is such a thing as being too positive and it could be very annoying. Positivity given in the wrong way is called “toxic positivity” and it can come off as dismissive or condescending when you don’t listen and just offer up platitudes like “Cheer up!” and “Try to have a better attitude.” There is a better approach when someone just wants to vent to you. Elizabeth Bernstein, author of the Bonds column at the WSJ, joins us for more on toxic positivity.

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