The Daily Dive

The latest way immigration smugglers are trying to recruit more help is by advertising on social media apps such as TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat.  Posts are promising hundreds or thousands of dollars for a few hours of driving.  The problem is, the recruits often don’t know what they are in for until they are close, picking up migrants by the border and driving them inland.  Alicia Caldwell, immigration reporter at the WSJ, joins us for what to know.

Next, scientists have been very excited after detecting what could be one of the most powerful explosions of its kind ever seen in space.  Space telescopes picked up a bright Gamma Ray Burst 2.4 billion light-years away that could have been triggered by a star exploding in a supernova and possibly creating a black hole.  Miriam Kramer, space reporter at Axios, joins us for all the latest space news.

Finally, marijuana use is becoming the new normal for young adults.  As more states continue to legalize cannabis and the stigma surrounding it wears off, more Americans are lighting up.  A big part of the growth is coming from young women as more companies are offering products geared toward them.  This November, 5 more states have marijuana on the ballot.  Daniel de Visé, reporter at The Hill, joins us for more.

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Title: Prepping for the Apocalyse from Story of the Week 

Description: Here's a preview of a new podcast we're enjoying, Story of the Week with journalist Joel Stein. On Story of the Week, Joel chooses an article that fascinates him, convinces the writer to tell him about it, and then interrupts a good conversation by talking about himself. Sometimes the story will be the one everyone is talking about, like the New Yorker article on smoking hallucinogenic toads. Other times we’ll find a story you might have missed, like the one in the Verge about the rock groupie turned hacker who had huge corporations at her mercy. These are stories you’ll tell your friends about. Stories that stick with you long after you forget whatever headline you just doom-scrolled through. Listen to Story of the Week at https://podcasts.pushkin.fm/sotw?sid=dive.

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On Monday, hearing aids became available for people to purchase over the counter without the need to see a doctor first.  The FDA cleared the sale of these and is seen as a win for those with hearing loss, but before you go out and buy one, make sure to do your research.  There will be a lot of different models at different price points, and you’ll need to choose the best option for you.  Nina Keck, senior reporter at Vermont Public, joins us for what to know.

Next, this year we have seen close to a record number of poultry die because of the bird flu.  More than 47 million have died due to cullings or infection as farmers are battling a different form of the virus which will keep infection threats elevated into 2023.  As more birds die, it’s affecting poultry prices heading right into the holiday season coupled with record high inflation.  Tom Polansek, reporter at Reuters, joins us for how the bird flu is hitting the U.S.

Finally, are you susceptible to getting a lot of mosquito bites?  It might be because of how you smell.  Researchers at Rockefeller University have found that people who have a higher level of carboxylic acid on their skin could be up to 100 times more attractive to female mosquitoes.  As microorganisms interact with the acid it produces odors that smell like cheese or smelly feet and mosquitoes love it.  Teddy Amenabar, reporter at the Washington Post, joins us for why you might be a mosquito magnet.

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As housing affordability continues to be a problem across many parts of the country, could an algorithm be responsible for apartment rents going up?  The software called YieldStar suggests daily prices for open units using data analytics.  In some cases, the software suggests double digit price increases.  It even goes as far as to suggest that landlords could get more revenue with a lower occupancy rate, but with increased rents.  How much is this software being used?  In one Seattle neighborhood, 70% of apartments were overseen by 10 property managers, all who used the pricing software.  Heather Vogell, reporter at ProPublica, joins us for how this algorithm impacts rising rents.

Next, production was shut down on Bill Murray’s latest project earlier this year when it was alleged that he sexually harassed a member of the production staff.  We now know that Murray got on top of the woman and kissed her through their masks, she settled in the amount of about $100,000.  Bill Murray has a great reputation with his fans, but since those allegations surfaced, fellow actors and co-workers have come forward with their own negative stories about him.  Matt Wilstein, senior writer at the Daily Beast and host of The Last Laugh Podcast, joins us for what to know.

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

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There’s a new Hollywood drug on the scene, but it’s not a party drug, it’s a frug that is used to treat diabetes.  People are looking to Ozempic and similar drugs used to treat Type 2 as a quick fix for weight loss.  These drugs have an ingredient called semaglutide which stimulates insulin production, but also targets areas of the brain that regulate appetite.  Sara Ashley O’Brien, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for how doctors are urging caution as it is gaining in popularity.

Next, scientists have transplanted clumps of cells that resemble the brain into rats with the hopes that it could help study autism, epilepsy, and schizophrenia.  The experiments involve a new technique that takes skin cells and changes them into stem cells.  These cells where then implanted into the rat brains and they quickly formed connections.  Mark Johnson, science reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for how it works and the ethical concerns behind it.

Finally, the housing market has cooled, and crazy bidding wars are over.  For those still trying to sell their homes, they are remodeling properties to avoid cutting prices, but not all projects have equal pay off.  To get the most bang for your buck, you’ll want to refinish hard-wood flooring, install new wood flooring, or give the home an insulation upgrade.  Veronica Dagher, personal finance reporter at the WSJ, joins us for the repairs that will help sell your home.

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

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After tons of anger and outcry from the entire city of Los Angeles, former City Council President Nury Martinez has resigned her city council seat.  This comes after leaked audio surfaced in which you can hear Martinez and two other councilmembers make crude and racist remarks.  The scandal has outraged residents who shut down council meetings demanding more resignations.  In the wake of the leaked audio, the CA attorney general has also said they will investigate the L.A. redistricting process and then there is the mystery yet to be solved of who recorded and leaked the audio.  Gustavo Arellano, columnist at the LA Times, joins us for how it's all playing out.

Next, the inflation rate cooled slightly to 8.2% but is still battering Americans with record high prices.  18 months after President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan, the consensus is that it helped the economy recover quickly from the pandemic lows, but also contributed to the inflation we face today.  On the high end, estimates say that about half, 4% of current inflation can be attributed to the rescue plan.  High product demand and other factors also contributed, but within days of signing the plan, some prices began to rise.  David Lynch, global economics reporter at the Washington Post, joins us for what to know.

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This year’s rankings of universities around the world has fewer U.S. universities ranking in the top 100 and China stepping up with more high impact research.  A higher percentage of China’s research is being cited globally and is focused on materials science, chemistry, and engineering while the U.S. is focusing on clinical medicine and physics.  Doug Belkin, higher education reporter at the WSJ, joins us for how China’s universities are on the rise.

Next, Mark Zuckerberg has unveiled Meta’s new virtual reality headset called the Quest Pro saying it’s the next major step for VR and a milestone to building the Metaverse.  The only problem is that it’s going to cost you.  The new headset is about $1,500, which puts it out of reach for casual users and most gamers.  Shirin Ghaffary, tech reporter at Recode by Vox, joins us for what to know.

Finally, robotic engineers have been taking cues from the insect world to create machines that could aid in search and rescue ops, sniff out gas leaks and more.  As sensors and battery tech keeps getting better and smaller, they are outfitting Madagascar hissing cockroaches with 3D-printed sensors or creating fully robotic machines inspired by how insects move and fly.  Pranshu Verma, tech reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for the cyborg cockroaches.

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The effort to create a more secure and powerful internet, one that could potentially be unbackable lies in quantum research going on at the University of Chicago, more specifically in a basement closet at the lab there.  In this closet they are firing off quantum particles into a fiber-optic network with the hopes of eventually connecting a network of supercomputers.  Jeanne Whalen, reporter at the Washington Post, joins us for how the technology works and what the future of the internet could look like.

Next, as the labor market continues to be tight and employers still face a shortage of workers, many are turning to so-called second chance hiring… recruiting employees with a criminal record.  It has long been a challenge for people who have been convicted of crimes to get jobs and face an employment rate of over 27% from the last numbers we have.  Allison Prang, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for how more companies are looking to hire from this untapped talent pool.

Finally, while most people feel comfortable with communicating through text, the new method that is catching on is sending voice messages.  It serves as a happy medium between a call which can be too urgent and a text.  The problem is that not everyone is on board with these audio messages yet and there is some etiquette to follow when sending them.  Magdalene Taylor, contributor to the WSJ, joins us for the year of the voice message.

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