The Daily Dive

With the concerning Delta variant of Covid-19 and surging cases of infection, many public health officials think that tactics may need to change to increase vaccination rates. Vaccine mandates have been talked about, but the government and many businesses have not gone that way… yet. Many health experts think that could change once the FDA grants full approval to the current vaccines. Shannon Pettypiece, senior White House reporter at NBC News Digital, joins us for why mandates could be on their way.

Next, we have seen a rise in alcohol use disorder, but too often medical professionals are failing to treat it. There are some medications that can help treat alcoholism, but doctors often fail to prescribe them. There are also other tools that can simply help people reduce the amount of alcohol intake. Many doctors are not specifically trained to treat addiction and usually refer people to mental health experts or send patients to rehab. Anahad O’Connor, health reporter at the NY Times, joins us for how many alcoholics do not get treatment.

Finally, in the age of the pandemic workplace and hybrid working models, everything has become a meeting. We are now in the age of the never-ending check-in. Meetings have gotten shorter, but more frequent and it could be leading to meeting burnout. Going back to the office could lead to efficient, in-person check-ins, but a hybrid model could be a mess for that. Rachel Feintzeig, work and life columnist at the WSJ, joins us for more.

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Pandemic reality check… we are getting further away from the end than we should be. To be clear, it is nowhere near as bad as it was at the height of the pandemic, but once again numbers are trending in the wrong way. Infections are going up, hospitalizations and deaths are going up, and in some places like L.A. County, mask restrictions are being re-imposed. Joel Achenbach, science reporter at the Washington post, joins us for more.

Next, Jeff Bezos and his company Blue Origin are set to take off to the edge of space. While this is a similar mission to the one that Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic carried out, the four passengers of Blue Origin will be taking off in a rocket straight up into the air and fall back down in a capsule after floating in microgravity. Morgan Brennan, co-anchor of CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, joins us for the next entry into space tourism.

Finally, 18-year-old Kara Eaker is the first U.S. athlete to test positive for Covid-19 after arriving in Tokyo for the Olympic Games. She is an alternate for Team USA Gymnastics and has been taken to a hotel to quarantine until she tests negative. While vaccination rates are low in Japan, about 85% of the delegations are expected to be vaccinated. Tina Reed, healthcare editor and author of VITALS at Axios, joins us for this early test to Olympic Covid protocols.

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More pressure for a permanent solution has been put on President Biden and Democrats as a judge just ruled that the DACA program is illegal. Those currently in the program can stay in the U.S. and renew their status, but there will be no new applicants until the appeals process is complete. This is coming at a time when a record number of migrants are still crossing the border. Ginger Gibson, deputy Washington digital editor at NBC News, joins us for the latest on immigration, more news and falsehoods coming out of the Arizona audit, and Sen. Chuck Schumer pushes for a vote on infrastructure this week.

Next, forensic investigators have been using DNA in legal cases for a long time and as the technology has gotten better, they are using genetic material from smaller and more challenging samples. Enter software called TrueAllele, which can help narrow down genetic profiles even if DNA samples are muddied or too tiny. TrueAllele has been providing key evidence in thousands of violent crime cases, but the only problem is that no one knows exactly how it works. The process has been kept hidden as a trade secret until now. Justin Jouvenal, justice reporter at the Washington Post, joins us for a case in Virginia that could get a first look into how this software is transforming DNA evidence.

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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.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Expanded child tax credits have started to hit bank accounts of eligible families and for many, the monthly payments will be sent out automatically, but some families may need to sign up on an IRS portal. The Biden administration says that these expanded tax credits could reduce child poverty by as much as 50% and hopes to get a four-year extension for the program. Lauren Egan, White House reporter at NBC News, joins us for what to know, as anything with taxes is never that simple.

Next, former President Trump is not happy about recent excerpts from a trio of new books about his presidency. There will also be more books to come including a very anticipated release from former counselor Kellyanne Conway. Reports say that Trump sat down for at least 22 book interviews. Meredith McGraw, national political correspondent at Politico, joins us for how Trump is raging over books he did interviews for.

Finally, 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.

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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has released draft legislation aimed at decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level. Called the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, it would remove weed from the Controlled Substances Act and begin regulating and taxing it. It would still give states the power to set their own laws and would also expunge non-violent cannabis related arrests. Natalie Fertig, federal cannabis policy reporter at Politico, joins us for what to expect in the marijuana debate.

Next, drug overdose deaths have risen sharply in the country by 30% in 2020 with over 93,000 deaths. A large driver of those deaths were the result of the synthetic opioid fentanyl as it has been frequently mixed into other drugs. The pandemic also played a role in this as people who were receiving treatment or wanted it had difficulty accessing it early on. Isolation and other life disruptions also fueled the uptick. Betsy McKay, senior writer at the WSJ, joins us for the rise in overdose deaths.

Finally, public health officials are once again worried about superspreader events as we see lagging vaccination rates and rising Covid cases. With less mask wearing and social distancing, people are going out more and attending larger gatherings. Studies have shown that 10 percent of people infected with Covid could be responsible for 80 percent of the spread. Denise Chow, science reporter at NBC News, joins us for more.

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Checking in on the restaurant and hospitality industry, things have not gotten much better yet. Businesses are still struggling to attract employees who in some cases have moved on to other sectors. Pandemic layoffs pushed many hospitality employees to seek jobs with better pay, more perks, and different career opportunities and some are not going back to their old jobs. Heather Haddon, restaurants reporter at the WSJ, joins us for more.

Next, in November of 2019 a woman with a sore throat gave an Italian hospital a skin sample that would later test positive for Covid-19. This would make her one of the world’s first suspected cases, but there’s a problem for researchers looking into its origins and trying to establish a timeline… all her details have been lost and no one knows who she is. Drew Hinshaw, senior reporter at the WSJ, joins us for this mysterious case in Italy.

Finally, why does everything feel more expensive right now? The short answer is because it is! We are paying more for everything from used cars to groceries to lumber and chicken wings. Inflation is up, but economists think this is a temporary situation as post-pandemic production bottlenecks and imbalances continue to work themselves out. Emily Stewart, senior reporter at Vox, joins us for why everything is costing more. 

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The #FreeBritney movement is getting some supporters on Capitol Hill that couldn’t further from each other ideologically all pushing for reviews and more oversight on guardianships and conservatorships. Lawmakers from Elizabeth Warren to Ted Cruz are interested in shedding light on the system, but the federal government’s role in these programs is limited and is largely left to the states. Still, after Britney Spears’ testimony last month, there have been more calls for reform. Victoria Colliver, CA health care reporter at Politico, joins us for more.

Next, some master’s degree programs at elite school aren’t paying off. At Colombia and other top universities these programs are failing to generate enough income for graduates who are grappling with hundreds of thousands of dollars of federal loans. A recent analysis shows that graduates of the Columbia film program have the highest debt to earnings ratio among graduates of any major university master’s program in the country. Melissa Korn, higher education reporter at the WSJ, joins us for how graduate students are now accruing more debt than undergrads and are asking administrators for more in financial aid.

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Richard Branson and his team at Virgin Galactic successfully completed their trip to the edge of space 53 miles above the earth's surface. The aim of the mission was to kick-start a new space-tourism industry and showcase the safety and security of the technology. Ginger Gibson, deputy Washington digital editor at NBC News joins us for this new billionaire space race and a look at how President Biden's agenda is faring in Washington, from early successes, to what's up in the air, and what has completely stalled out.

Next, a story about a junior Microsoft engineer who figured out how to generate Xbox gift card codes and sell them for bitcoin in a scheme that netted him over $10 million. This engineer worked in a department that tested the online infrastructure by generating codes and making purchases. The purchases didn't go through as they were only tests, but the gift card codes had real money associated with them. While the scheme was simple and successful, he left a lot of breadcrumbs that investigators used to catch him. Austin Carr, technology reporter at Bloomberg News, joins us for this $10 million gift card cheat.

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