James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss Neil Postman’s “Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business,” the 1985 book that looks at how various mediums of communication used by societies influence the messages people receive in the society and details the way television, which presents all content as entertainment, handicaps our ability to engage in serious matters like self-governance.
James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana consider the rush to conspiracy theories following the assassination attempt of Donald Trump (1:34). The guys also discuss the death of privacy and whether companies should be allowed to keep archives of so much data about us after a second huge data breach from AT&T (27:55) and react to the record breaking heat being seen across the US (43:59).
At the Trump rally, it was evening sun, songs and blue sky. Then came bullets, screams and blood (AP News)
The Trump Shooting Conspiracies Outpaced Reality (The Atlantic)
Trump Shooting Conspiracies Are Coming From Every Direction (Wired)
After assassination attempt, Trump and Biden seek calm, unity (Reuters)
The Russian “Firehose of Falsehood” Propaganda Model (RAND)
AT&T says criminals stole phone records of ‘nearly all’ customers in new data breach (Tech Crunch)
Nearly all AT&T cell customers’ call and text records exposed in a massive breach (CNN)
AT&T’s Major Data Breach Sparks Another Class-Action Lawsuit (PC Mag)
Millions face extreme temperatures as heat dome covers US midwest and east (The Guardian)
Th
Trump Assassination Attempt Leads to Conspiracy Theory Bonanza; Also, AT&T Data Breaches Illustrate the Death of Privacy and Heat Domes Showing Our Desensitization
James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana weigh in on the age issue surrounding President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign and whether he is being selfish, or selfless, in refusing to drop out of the race (1:34). The guys also consider what is behind the effort to convince people the Civil War was about things other than slavery (25:24) and the problem many have expressed with Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, being drafted into the NBA despite his limited college track record (41:45).
To Serve His Country, President Biden Should Leave the Race (NY Times)
Debate proved neither Biden nor Trump is a good candidate. But one of them is far worse. (USA Today)
Biden faced a low bar in his first post-debate interview. It’s not certain he cleared it (AP News)
Nate Silver calls for Biden to resign after ‘incoherent’ comments in ABC interview (Yahoo! News)
Defiant Biden tells donors: ‘We’re done talking about the debate’ (Politico)
Was the Civil War About Slavery? – PragerU (YouTube)
Next time someone says the Civil War wasn’t about slavery, show them this (Vox)
Cornerstone Speech (American Battlefield Trust)
The famous 1861 ‘Cornerstone Speech’ that aimed for hard truths about the Confederate battle flag (Christian Science Monitor)
Why Bronny James getting a 4-year, $7.9M contract from the Lakers is no big deal (SBNation)
55th Overall Draft Picks in NBA (StatMuse)
Trash or Treasure? An Analysis of NBA Second Round Picks (Sports Analytics Group Berkeley)
Lakers Rumors: Bronny James Expected To Spend Majority Of Rookie Season In G League (Lakers Nation)
For Joe Biden the Presidential Candidate, Age is More Than Just a Number; Also, What’s Behind the Effort to Claim the Civil War was Not About Slavery and the Overreaction to Bronny James NBA Draft Position
James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss recent decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court which places us presidents above the law and reshape American society in important ways (1:36). The guys also react to recent criticism of a McKinsey study from 2015 which showed an association between companies with diverse leadership and profits (28:09) and the concern that some experts are expressing over falling birth rates around the world (50:11).
Takeaways from the Supreme Court’s historic decision granting Donald Trump immunity (CNN)
The Supreme Court Gives a Free Pass to Trump and Future Presidents (NY Times)
The Supreme Court’s disastrous Trump immunity decision, explained (Vox)
The Supreme Court gives the right a huge victory over expertise (WaPo)
Diversity Was Supposed to Make Us Rich. Not So Much. (WSJ)
Falling fertility rates pose major challenges for the global economy, report finds (CNBC)
Suddenly There Aren’t Enough Babies. The Whole World Is Alarmed. (WSJ)
The US Supreme Court Decides Against the Supremacy of the Law; Also, Why Diversity in Leadership Can Correlate to Increased Profits and the Concern of Falling Birth Rates
James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss the U.S. Surgeon General’s recent push to get warning labels on social media platforms and the chances that it has any legs (2:03). The guys also react to Louisiana’s new effort to require the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms despite similar efforts being deemed unconstitutional in the past (21:29) and remember Willie Mays and consider how future generations will remember the pre and post segregation eras of America’s pastime (36:45).
Tobacco-like warning label for social media sought by US surgeon general who asks Congress to act (AP)
How Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Failed Children on Safety, States Say (NY Times)
Louisiana will require the 10 Commandments displayed in every public school classroom (NPR)
Willie Mays Was the Greatest Baseball Player Who Ever Lived (The Ringer)
How Negro Leagues stats change MLB record books: Jackie Robinson and more notable names get updated numbers (CBS Sports)
Negro-League Players Don’t Belong in the MLB Record Books (The Atlantic)
“Wouldn’t wish it on anyone”: MLB icon Reggie Jackson details racism he faced (Axios)
Social Media Platforms May Already Be Too Powerful for Warning Labels to Matter; Also, Louisiana Starts Another Ten Commandments Fight and Willie Mays and the Legacy of Baseball Integration
James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana consider whether Tesla’s shareholders voting to reinstate a pay package presently worth over $40+ billion to Elon Musk is indicative of things are going right, or wrong at Tesla, and in our society in general (1:41). The guys also react to the story of the Texas republican who won a school board seat to fight indoctrination that she later found out didn’t exist (28:22) and take a look at new research that suggests that alcohol in any amount is bad for you (43:30).
Elon Musk’s multi-billion paycheck just got approved by stockholders. That could be a fraction of what’s coming (CNN)
How Elon Musk’s $44.9B Tesla pay package compares with the most generous plans for other U.S. CEOs (AP)
Elon Musk and the Decline of Tesla (The American Prospect)
Expert insight: Does Elon Musk deserve his $56 billion pay package? (Audacy)
Elon Musk cannot keep Tesla pay package worth more than $55 billion, judge rules
A GOP Texas school board member campaigned against schools indoctrinating kids. Then she read the curriculum. (Texas Tribune)
Is Tesla's Billion-dollar Pay Package For Elon Musk a Sign Of Success Or Trouble Ahead? Also, Texas School Board Fights and the Missing Indoctrination and the New Research that Says Alcohol is Not Good for You
James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss Yanis Varoufakis’s 2023 book “Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism,” a book that lays out the evolution of capitalism over the 20th century and how following the Great Financial Crisis, factors like the monetary policy of major central banks and the enclosure of the Internet and information technology has led to the decline of capitalism and markets the rise of a new economic system which looks a lot like feudalism.
Technofeudalism, By Yanis Varoufakis (Penguin Random House)
James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss how quickly followers of Donald Trump were to attack the pillars of the American system like courts and a jury following Trump’s conviction and the almost religious manner in which Trump defines reality for his followers (1:24). The guys also consider Jerry Seinfeld’s “agreed-upon hierarchy” comments and whether too much was being made of them (26:22) and how the extensive misogyny in rap music can affect one’s behavior and/or enjoyment of the music, particular as one ages (46:00).
Trump Was Convicted by a Jury, Not by His Political Enemies (Wall Street Journal)
Republicans are sticking by Trump, the felon — even in battleground states (Politico)
The Texas GOP Has Made Its Bed With Trump—Conviction Be Damned (Texas Monthly)
Trump supporters call for riots and violent retribution after verdict (Reuters)
Trump supporters try to dox jurors and post violent threats after his conviction (NBC News)
Trump allies signal they’re declaring war against Republican Senate candidate (The Independent)
Jerry Seinfeld Says He’s Nostalgic for “Agreed-Upon Hierarchy” and Misses “Dominant Masculinity” (Yahoo!)
Jerry Seinfeld on the Rules of Comedy—and Life | Honestly with Bari Weiss (YouTube)
Inside My Complicated Relationship With Rap Music (Esquire)
The Court of Law Remains an Obstacle in Donald Trump’s Effort to Bend Reality to His Will; Also, Debating Seinfeld’s Call Back to an “Agreed-Upon Hierarchy” and Whether Misogyny Enlivens Rap Music or Makes it Harder to Enjoy
James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana consider the extent to which Justice Samuel Alito’s flag flying controversy undermines the Supreme Court as an institution and whether that may be the point (1:16). The guys also discuss the NCAA’s history settlement that will result in revenue sharing with college sports players (16:00), react to the claim from one scientist that he can prove we live in a simulation (32:31), and consider whether humans are in fact addicted to addiction (43:42).
Dems Call for Alito to Recuse Himself From Jan. 6 Cases Over Upside-Down Flag (Rolling Stone)
A Christian Nationalist Battle Flag Flew at Justice Alito’s Vacation Home (Rolling Stone)
NCAA settlement a historic day for paying college athletes. What comes next? (ESPN)
A Scientist Says He Has the Evidence That We Live in a Simulation (Popular Mechanics)
Food, sex, drugs and more – are we addicted to addiction? (New Scientist) (Apple News Link)
Justice Alito’s Flag Display Turns Supreme Court Legitimacy Upside Down; Also, NCAA Revenue Sharing, Evidence We Live in a Simulation, and Finding Addiction Everywhere We Look
James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss illiberalism, which is the opposite of the liberalism ideal that forms the philosophical basis of the American constitutional setup, and some recent articles that suggest that home grown illiberalism has been a central feature and not a periodic diversion in American culture (1:31). The guys also take a look at recent studies on how fluoride consumption may be bad for fetuses (35:17) and the protests in New Caledonia over the mining of nickel for EVs and batteries (46:16).
The Deep, Tangled Roots of American Illiberalism (NY Times)
The Illiberalism at America’s Core (The New Republic)
Pregnant? Researchers want you to know something about fluoride (LA Times)
Behind New Caledonia’s Riots, a Fight Over Vast Reserves of Nickel (Wall Street Journal) (Apple News Link)
America’s Persistent Culture of Illiberalism and the Blind Eye Many Turn to It; Also, Fluoride in Tap Water a Danger to Fetuses & Protesting Imperialism in New Caledonia
