The Daily Dive

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How Pornhub Changed the World of Pornography Sep 15, 2022

Show notes

Although Pornhub wasn’t the first tube site, it still remains on top 15 years after its launch. The site was a good partner to studios and creators and helped to promote their content. It changed the way people entered and worked in the industry and even laid the groundwork for other sites such as OnlyFans. Anna Iovine, reporter at Mashable, joins Oscar Ramirez for how Pornhub changed the world.

Next, social media influencers are being given free or discounted beauty procedures in exchange for promotional posts and some of them are starting to regret it. Surgeons, clinics and med spas cannot advertise through official channels on platforms like TikTok, but they are able to make deals with influencers to make posts advertising their products. For the influencers themselves, they say that some of these procedures can be addictive, beginning with lip fillers and botox, and then moving on to facial surgeries, all to look good for their social media followers. Kat Tenbarge, tech and culture reporter at NBC News, joins Oscar Ramirez for more.

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Educators Experiment With New Ways of Grading Students Sep 14, 2022

Show notes

Educators are experimenting with new new ways of grading that don’t rely on the traditional A-F grading system which many say is inequitable. These experiments often focus on the work students do, allowing for them to redo tests and papers, and letting students own their learning by giving themselves deadlines. Valerie Strauss, education reporter at The Washington Post, joins Oscar Ramirez for the hunt for a fairer grading system.

Next, is a story of a man named Vaughn Smith. Vaughn cleans carpets for a living and is also a hyperpolyglot, someone who can speak 11 languages or more. However, Vaughn is special, and by his count he can speak around 37 languages. It turns out, that Vaughn’s brain looks different and functions differently than a monolingual person’s. Jessica Contrera, reporter at The Washington Post, joins Oscar Ramirez for more about Vaughn, what drove him to learn so much, and how his brain really works.

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New Workers Cause Slow and Inefficient Service Sep 13, 2022

Show notes

As the US economy has recouped around 22 million jobs that were lost during the pandemic, many of these workers are new and inexperienced. These workers shuffled around between industries and are thrown into the fray without as much training as they need. This inexperience has caused service to be slow and inefficient with some of the most effected industries being restaurants, airlines, and even hospital systems. Lauren Weber, reporter at the Wall Street Journal, joins Oscar Ramirez for more.

Next, we may have seen the end of the coupon. As inflation remains high and costs of goods seem to skyrocket, many are looking for deals. However, circulation of paper and digital coupons is down and redemption rates have plummeted. It seems that people just don’t have the time to sort through them anymore. And with the rise of smartphones and online shopping, customers are incentivized to get their deals through other means. Lydia DePillis, economy reporter at the NY Times, joins Oscar Ramirez to explain where all of the coupons have gone.

Finally, how many friends do you actually need? Although some have said we can hold around 150 meaningful relationships at one time, research says that the magic number of close friends is about 3-5. And these close relationships take time, with it taking around 200 hours to become close with someone. Allie Volpe, senior reporter at Vox, joins Oscar Ramirez for more.

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Half of US Workers Report They Are Quiet Quitting Sep 12, 2022

Show notes

A new Gallup poll shows that half of US workers say they are quiet quitting, a phenomenon in which employees do the bare minimum at work. The key term here is employee engagement which measures involvement at work and enthusiasm employees have about work. Since 2021, employee engagement has fallen as workers feel unfulfilled with their jobs and are now being asked to return to the office. Ray Smith, reporter on the Careers Team at the Wall Street Journal, joins Oscar Ramirez for more on quiet quitting.

Next, did you know there is a secret world of private gigs? These have always been around, but now music stars are getting paid millions to play private weddings and parties. The key here, is secrecy. Attendees usually sign NDAs to protect all parties involved from criticism of inequality of wealth and how much is being paid for these acts. Experts say that this trend will continue, moving beyond acts hired for nostalgia to pop stars. David Browne, senior writer at Rolling Stone, joins Oscar Ramirez for more.

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WEEKEND EDITION- Startups Push Adderall on TikTok, Street Psychiatry in Los Angeles Sep 11, 2022

Show notes

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

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WEEKEND EDITION- 4 Kinds of Employees Most Likely to Be Laid off in Economic Downturn, Schools Fight Learning Losses After Pandemic, Quiet Quitting Backlash Sep 10, 2022

Show notes

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

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States Spend Billions to Combat Learning Loss From Pandemic Sep 09, 2022

Show notes

Schools are back but they are still dealing with the setbacks and learning loss all due to the pandemic. Recently we saw Department of Education data showing 9-year-olds are behind in reading and math, the sharpest decline we’ve seen since 1990. The learning loss was generally worse in districts that kept classes remote longer. To combat this, states are spending billions on tutoring, expanded summer school, and more individual attention for students. Scott Calvert, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for more on what schools are doing and how they are tracking progress.

Next, we’ll tell you about LA’s first street psychiatrist trying to tackle mental health in the homeless population where it is desperately needed. Dr. Shayan Rab leads the Homeless Outreach and Mobile Engagement (HOME) team and approaches homeless individuals with the hopes of getting them long-term treatment and off the street. Since this street-based treatment is not done in a traditional setting, Dr. Rab and his team must get creative and resourceful in how they provide help and even fill prescriptions. Doug Smith, senior writer at the LA Times, joins us for how street psychiatry is trying to pull some out of homelessness.

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The Most-Regretted and Lowest-Paid College Majors Sep 08, 2022

Show notes

A lot of people out there have some regrets about their education. Just about 2 in 5 American graduates regret the major they took with almost half of humanities and arts majors regretting their choice. After the Great Recession, the country took a big shift to STEM majors and generally those students were happy with their decision. Andrew Van Dam, Department of Data columnist at The Washington Post, joins us for the most regretted and lowest paying college majors.

Next, as the uneven economic news leads to fears of a recession, people are worried about their job security as companies look to cut costs. The four kinds of employees most likely to get laid off in a downturn are new hires, high earners, millennials, and recruiters and coders. Aki Ito, senior correspondent at Insider, joins us for how those who benefitted from the Great Resignation are most at risk.

Finally, as overall pandemic worries continue to fade, one of the biggest curiosities continues to be log Covid, what causes it and who is the most susceptible? A new study says that psychological factors such as depression, anxiety, and loneliness, could be better predictors than physical ailments. To be clear, it is not a causal relationship, but there is an association. Siwen Wang, research fellow at Harvard and lead author of this study, joins us for what to know.

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Judge Rules to Appoint a Special Master to Review Trump Mar-A-Lago Documents Sep 07, 2022

Show notes

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Monday granted former President Trump’s requested to appoint a special master to review documents seized during the raid at Mar-a-Lago. With her decision, Cannon, who is a Trump appointee, has also waded into the messy politics of the whole situation as many quickly criticized the ruling. Zoe Tillman, senior reporter at Bloomberg News, joins us for what to know about the special master and its impact.

Next, we’ll tell you about all the backlash to quiet quitting. It started as a movement among office workers to just do the bare minimum and draw more work/life boundaries, but bosses and work coaches say there really isn’t a reason to coast on the job. Detractors say it can cause more laziness and even hurt the performance of other employees. Kathryn Dill, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for why people are hating on quiet quitting.

Finally, you may have seen them strolling on a sidewalk near you, but delivery robots may not be ready for prime time just yet. A pilot program in 4 cities looking at the impact of these delivery bots determined that in a lot of cases it was the failure of local infrastructure that proved difficult for them to succeed. They worked in more controlled environments but might not be ready for more critical tasks such as delivering medication. Joann Muller, transportation correspondent at Axios, joins us for more.

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Almost 70% Of Los Angeles Teachers Have Considered Quitting Sep 06, 2022

Show notes

Teachers in California have been struggling to make ends meet and, in some cases, they are having to take on side gigs to be able to afford to live in the areas where they teach. A recent survey showed that almost 70% of teachers in the LA area have considered quitting, 28% of them had a second job. Nationally there are about 300,000 fewer workers in public education in June of this year compared to February 2020. Michael Sainato, reporter at the Guardian, joins us for how more on teachers thinking about leaving the profession.

Next, telehealth companies got a big push during the pandemic when rules were waived that required people to see an in-person health provider to be prescribed controlled substances. Now telehealth apps are spending millions to advertise on TikTok saying they can get a person a diagnosis of ADHD and a prescription for Adderall in as little as 30 minutes. Content creators are also posting about living life with ADHD leading to billions of views and many to think they might also have the condition. Then they are targeted with ads. Sara Morrison, senior reporter at Recode, joins us for how startups are pushing Adderall on TikTok.

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