The Daily Dive

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More Vaccine Mandates Are Hitting Workplaces, but Most Are Still on the Honor System Sep 15, 2021

Show notes

More vaccine mandates are coming to workplaces and offices including one from the Biden administration on companies with more than 100 employees. For now, many places are just operating on the honor system where health information is given voluntarily, but some employees feel nervous because they are not sure if everyone is following the rules. Ray Smith, lifestyle reporter at the WSJ, joins us for how businesses are handling mandates so far.

Next, a new study from the National Institute on Drug Abuse says that college students are smoking marijuana and using psychedelic drugs at record levels, but binge drinking less. How this relates to the pandemic is unclear, but tracks as larger parties and gatherings were mostly shut down last year. María Luisa Paúl, reporter at the Washington Post, joins us for more.

Finally, the latest Roomba vacuum is packed with new artificial intelligence and cameras that can detect dog poop, snap a picture and send it straight to your phone. The latest improvements can make it much more effective at cleaning your floors, but it does come at a cost of more or your personal data in the form of pictures and other details of your house. Dalvin Brown, innovations reporter at the Washington Post, joins us for how some of these new features concern privacy experts.

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First Trial in the Varsity Blues College Admissions Cheating Scandal Gets Under Way Sep 14, 2021

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The first trial in the Varsity Blues college-admissions cheating scandal has kicked off. While 57 individuals have been charged so far and 46 of them have plead guilty or will plead guilty, just a handful are going to court. In this trial we will see a former casino executive who paid $300,000 to get his daughter into USC and a private equity investor who paid over $1 million to get his kids into college. Melissa Korn, higher education reporter at the WSJ, joins us for opening arguments.

Next, New York City is now enforcing its vaccine requirement for restaurant employees and patrons who wish to eat indoors. Anyone aged 12 or older, must show proof of at least one shot to eat or drink indoors at restaurants, bars, nightclubs and more. Establishments will be fined $1,000 for a first violation. Heather Haddon, restaurants reporter at the WSJ, joins us for how businesses and customers are divided over this new enforcement.

Finally, the issue of homelessness continues to overtake many big cities across the country and homeless encampments are becoming a permanent part of the landscape. There are more encampments, they are popping up in new parts of cities, and are becoming communities where people live, rather than temporary situations. Petula Dvorak, columnist at The Washington Post, joins us for why this is changing how cities look.

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Deadline for Gavin Newsom Recall Vote Is Here. Will the Governor Keep His Post? Sep 13, 2021

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The deadline for the Gavin Newsom recall vote is Tuesday. Over seven million votes have been cast so far and the final push will see President Biden hitting California in support of Newsom. We also saw a last minute development as actress Rose McGowan alleged that Newsom's wife called her with a message from Harvey Weinstein's lawyer 6 months before her accusations went public asking what they could do to help the issue go away. McGowan is also throwing her support behind Larry Elder. Ginger Gibson, deputy Washington digital editor at NBC News, joins us for more.

Next, Texas schools are surveilling students' online activity and many times they are doing it without their knowledge or consent. Trying to watch out for signs of distress, violence, or self harm, schools are using technology from companies like Social Sentinel, Go Guardian and others to monitor social media posts, email and other online activity. Ari Sen, freelance investigative journalist at the Dallas Morning News, joins us for how Texas schools are keeping tabs on students.

Finally, we have heard for a while now that sitting for prolonged periods of time can be very harmful to your health contributing to high blood sugar, high cholesterol and messing with your metabolic health. To counter the ill effects of sitting too long, a new study says that moving for 3 minutes every 30 minutes can be very helpful. Even just walking 15 steps improved the blood sugar of workers in the study. Gretchen Reynolds, Phys Ed columnist at the NY Times, joins us for what to know.

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WEEKEND EDITION- Men Are Giving up on College, How TikTok Exposes Drug and Sex Videos to Minors Sep 12, 2021

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

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WEEKEND EDITION- Elizabeth Holmes’ Trial Begins, Gavin Newsom Recall Updates, SpaceX’s All Civilian Space Launch Sep 11, 2021

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

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How TikTok Exposes Drug and Sex Videos to Minors Sep 10, 2021

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The WSJ set up 31 TikTok accounts registered to teenagers to see what the algorithm would serve them up. What they saw after thousands of videos was a never ending stream content related to sex, drugs, and eating disorders. TikTok’s algorithm is engagement based, so spend any amount of time on a video or re-watch it, and get ready for a flood of similar content. The company uses 10,000 people and other algorithms to police content, but the app does not restrict certain videos based on age. Georgia Wells, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for how TikTok serves up videos to minors.

Next, the much anticipated trial of Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of blood testing company Theranos, kicked off this week with opening arguments. She has been accused of knowing that the company’s new tech and blood tests were unreliable, harming patients, and overstating the company’s performance. The prosecution is trying to portray here as a fraud who lied and cheated to get money, and the defense is trying to humanize Holmes and saying that Theranos failed as a business and that failure is not a crime. Ben Popken, senior business reporter at NBC News, joins us for the opening of this trial expected to last three months.

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Gavin Newsom Recall Election in the Final Days, Last Push in Fight for Political Life Sep 09, 2021

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The recall election for CA Gov. Gavin Newsom is in its final days and so far we have seen a healthy turnout for Democrats, lots of money being spent on ads, and big national figures supporting Newsom. Next Tuesday is the last day to cast a ballot and recall proponents are hoping for a big in-person election day push. Melanie Mason, national political correspondent at the LA Times, joins us for more.

Next, despite being vaccinated, many people are still worried about breakthrough Covid infections and curious how to navigate this phase of the pandemic. It really depends on a lot of factors including your overall health and the concentration of infections where you live. Another thing that can help you in managing your risk is more home testing. Tara Parker-Pope, health columnist at the NY Times, joins us for what to know.

Finally, Congress has a very busy month filled with deadlines and not much time. The Senate comes back on Monday and the House the following week. Work needs to be done on Biden’s infrastructure bill, spending packages need to be approved to avoid a government shutdown, and then there are issues to address over Afghanistan and the Texas abortion law. Jordain Carney, Senate reporter at The Hill, joins us for the long to-do list for Congress.

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Astronomers Are on the Hunt for Planet 9 and Why More Young Men Are Giving up on College Sep 08, 2021

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Ever since Pluto was lost as a planet back in 2006, astronomers have been in search for the elusive Plant 9. A recent study published last month is re-examining evidence for a possible 9th plant far beyond Neptune. The evidence lies in the clustering of icy asteroids and comet cores, something big with a lot of gravity is pulling on them. The next step is looking in the right place and the recent study also has a so-called “treasure map” that tells astronomers where to look. Mike Brown, Professor of Planetary Astronomy at Caltech and also part of the team that took Pluto’s classification away, joins us for the current hunt for Planet 9.

Next, the number of men that are enrolled at two and four-year colleges has fallen behind women by record levels and there seems to be no reversal in sight. Part of the problem is that that fewer men are applying, but there are also a host of other issues including the rising cost of education and the need to make money now. Some say the time and energy required is not worth the cost, others have a lack of guidance or feel lost on what to do next. Doug Belkin, higher education reporter at the WSJ, joins us for how more men are giving up on college.

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Next Big Space Mission for the Private Sector... All-Civilian Crew to Orbit Earth Sep 07, 2021

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September 15 will mark another ambitious spaceflight from the private sector as we see the first all-civilian mission to orbit the Earth. SpaceX’s next crewed mission will be called Inspiration4 and the crewmembers will orbit the Earth for three days, conduct science experiments, and fly higher than the International Space Station. Miriam Kramer, space reporter at Axios, joins us for a preview of the next big space mission.

Next, an interesting story about evolution and cannibalism. The invasive species of the Australian cane toad has very few predators and with that lack of a competing species, they are turning on each other. With limited resources, cane toad tadpoles have been seen eating toad hatchlings when they are new and vulnerable. In response, the hatchlings are even developing faster so they are tougher to eat. John Timmer, science editor at Ars Technica, joins us for cannibal cane toads.

Finally, a feel good story of how a marriage certificate from 1870 was reunited with its distant family members. Hidden behind a picture frame in a thrift store in North Carolina, the weathered document had little info to go on, but a local genealogist was able to crack the clues and find the great-granddaughter of the woman from the marriage certificate. Sydney Page, reporter at the Washington Post, joins us for how this document from the 1870’s made its way home.

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Texas Now Has the Most Restrictive Abortion Law in the Country Sep 06, 2021

Show notes

Texas now has the most restrictive abortion law in the country as the Supreme Court declined to block the law from being implemented. The law bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, about 6 weeks into pregnancy, before many women even realize they are pregnant. What’s more, the law lets individual citizens sue against abortion providers. Ginger Gibson, deputy Washington digital editor at NBC News, joins us for more on this law, how the U.S. plans to run diplomacy in Afghanistan and the Gavin Newsom recall is just over a week away.

Next, the recent flip flop from OnlyFans on whether they would ban sexually explicit content has led competitors to ramp up their efforts to steal content creators and subscribers. There is a huge financial opportunity to get in the game as users spent $2.3 billion in 2020 on the platform. OnlyFans might have changed the game for adult content forever and now other platforms are striking while they see weakness. Will Yakowicz, staff writer at Forbes, joins us for more.

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