The Daily Dive

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Firsthand Account: What It Was Like Being in the Capitol as It's Raided by Trump Supporters Jan 08, 2021

Show notes

Congress has affirmed the Electoral College votes for Joe Biden and he will become president on January 20th. But how we got there was a mess. Mobs of supporters of President Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol and broke into the House and Senate chambers. It was a failure of security where members of Congress had to be evacuated and taken to undisclosed locations. Ginger Gibson, deputy Washington digital editor at NBC News, was in the Capitol while it was raided and shares her experience with us. We will also discuss the fallout: many are calling for President Trump to be removed after initially encouraging his supporters and continuing to dispute the election.

Next, throughout the pandemic, many have had issues with claiming unemployment benefits, some waiting months for payments. But there has also been scammers cashing in on fraud in the system to the tune of $32 billion. Many of the scammers are coming out of Nigeria, but they can’t do it alone and use a “mule” network to get it done. Many of the victims are also people who are employed, but have had their identities stolen. Nick Penzenstadler, reporter at USA Today, joins us for how scammers are cashing in on unemployment. You can read Nick's full story here.

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How Democrats Took Control of the Senate and Protesters Storm Capitol Jan 07, 2021

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It’s official, Democrats have taken control of the Senate. Both Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff won their Senate runoff races in Georgia splitting the chamber 50/50, giving Vice President-elect Kamala Harris the tie breaking vote. For Warnock, he has achieved many historic firsts including becoming the first Black Democrat Senator from Georgia. Maya King, politics reporter at Politico, joins us for how Warnock won.

Next, with a new strain of coronavirus spreading through the U.K. and very strict lockdowns, Britain is taking a different approach to vaccinating its people. Instead of following the two shot protocol of the Pfizer vaccine taken about 3 weeks apart, officials have said they will try to give more people their first dose of the shot and delay the second shot by as much as three months. Helen Branswell, senior writer at STAT News, joins us for this modified rollout.

Finally, the death toll from the coronavirus in the U.S. continues to rise, but sometimes it is hard to register the magnitude of losses. Some perspective is often needed to understand what has been lost. For instance, on average, each person in the U.S. who has died from COVID-19 has lost about 13 years of their lives. Joe Pinsker, staff writer at the Atlantic, joins us for some numbers that make the impact of the pandemic sink in.

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California Vaccine Rollout Slow, Only 35% of Doses Administered Jan 06, 2021

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The rollout of the vaccines so far in the U.S. has been moving at a slower pace than expected. In California, where the state is experiencing huge coronavirus numbers and shortages of equipment and oxygen, only 35% of doses that have arrived have been administered. Colleen Shalby, reporter at the LA Times, joins us for why the rollout hasn’t gone as expected and what Gov. Newsom is planning to speed things up.

Next, more than 1 million Americans are still waiting for unemployment aid. Deep backlogs are contributing to some not getting financial aid, but also to blame are extensive fraud prevention checks, old computer systems, and applications getting flagged for extra scrutiny. Any claim set aside for a manual review can take months to resolve. Heather Long, economic correspondent at the Washington Post, joins us for more.

Finally, the pandemic has taken a toll on relationships in many ways, but interestingly, both marriages and divorces are down. Many had to cancel or postpone weddings due to lockdowns, and on the other side, some are avoiding divorce for practical reasons and economic uncertainty. Ben Steverman, reporter at Bloomberg News, joins us for why these rates may be falling and whether they might tick back up after the pandemic is over.

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Trump Calls Georgia's Secretary of State in Last Minute Pressure Push to Overturn Election Jan 05, 2021

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Georgia is the center of the political world right now as the Senate runoff elections continue and control of the Senate will be determined. Over the weekend, President Trump also called Georgia's Secretary of State to pressure him into recalculating the vote in his favor asking him to find 11,780 votes. Natalie Jennings, Editor of The Fix at the Washington Post, joins us for what happened in this hour-long phone call.

Next, the new variant of the coronavirus that was found in the U.K. has now made its way into the U.S. The mutated virus is more transmissible, but not more severe and has been found Colorado, California, Florida and most recently, New York. People infected with the new variant are thought to have greater concentrations of the virus in their noses and throats. Apoorva Mandavilli, reporter at the NY Times, joins us for how Covid is spreading faster.

Finally, Wednesday will be an eventful day as some Republicans will object to the certification of Electoral College votes and many MAGA supporters will turn out to protest in Washington D.C. While the certification will most likely go through, activists and Trump supporters will still turn out to put pressure on Republican lawmakers. Tina Nguyen, White House reporter at Politico, joins us for what to expect on January 6th.

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How the Apple Store of Pot, "MedMen," Collapsed Jan 04, 2021

Show notes

The marijuana dispensary MedMen had a very promising beginning looking to be the Apple Store of pot. It was one of the first mainstream brands that drew many to invest in marijuana, but things soon began to unravel. There was a class-action lawsuit from employees alleging labor law violations, and other lawsuits alleging manipulating stock prices, bank fraud and more. Adam Bierman had to resign as CEO and the stock value dropped significantly. Ben Schrekinger, national political correspondent at Politico, joins us for how the Apple of Pot collapsed.

Next, we will talk about the strange world of cheerleading music. After the success of the Netflix Docuseries “Cheer,” more people were taking a look into the world of cheerleading and one thing that stands out is the music accompanying the high flying routines. Gone are the days of simple rhyming chants, modern cheer squads are performing to club-like tracks full of EDM drops, pump-up raps, and laser beam samples. Cheer music still has to abide by copyright laws and music licensing and it has spurred a whole new industry that makes original music for top cheer teams. Duncan Cooper, music journalist and former editor of the Fader, joins us for the world of cheer music.

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WEEKEND EDITION – Evidence Suggests Children are not COVID-19 Super Spreaders, Nursing Home Deaths at Life Care Center during Pandemic Jan 03, 2021

Show notes

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

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WEEKEND EDITION – Vitamin C Hype During the Pandemic, Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 with Indoor Ventilation, Dogs Trained to Smell Coronavirus Jan 02, 2021

Show notes

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

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Better Ventilation in Schools and Offices Will Be Key to Prevent Coronavirus as We Get Back to Normal Jan 01, 2021

Show notes

One of the main keys to preventing COVID-19 indoors is proper ventilation. Health scientists have started to issue recommendations to schools and businesses that want to reopen on how often indoor air needs to be replaced, as well as fans, filters, and other equipment that needs to be replaced. For schools, think open windows with fans, air purifiers, and upgraded HVAC systems. Cailtin McCabe, reporter for the WSJ, joins us for how good ventilation can help keep coronavirus particles at bay.

Next, there is no COVID baby boom that some suspected there might be. In fact, Americans aren’t making babies, and that could be bad for the long term economy. Some estimates say there could be 300-500,000 fewer babies born next year which leads to fewer consumers, workers, and taxpayers. Peter Coy, economics editor at Bloomberg BusinessWeek, joins us for the American baby bust.

Finally, the culture war over face coverings continues and it is a growing problem for retail and service workers across the country who are yelled at and sometimes assaulted for asking patrons to wear masks. They have become the primary enforcers for social distancing guidelines inside restaurants and shops even as some think wearing a mask infringes on their rights. Emily Davies, reporter at the Washington Post, joins us for how anti-maskers put business on edge.

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Teaching Man's Best Friend to Sniff Out Coronavirus Dec 31, 2020

Show notes

At the Penn Vet Working Dog Center, canine studies are being done to see if man's best friend can sniff out coronavirus. So far, they are doing a pretty good job of it! Nine dogs are currently enrolled in the study with the hopes that one day they might be able to pick out infected individuals, including those that are asymptomatic, in nursing homes, businesses and airports. Dogs have already been proven to be able to detect explosives and some diseases such as hidden cancers, diabetes, and bacterial and viral infections. Frances Stead Sellers, senior writer at the Washington Post, joins us for more.

Next, the reopening of schools was a huge topic this past year and it might not be the best course of action to treat schools like COVID hot zones. Thankfully, children are, by and large, spared most of the effects of the virus. They are only half as likely to get infected as adults and while they can transmit the disease, they seldom cause outbreaks. In the meantime, as schools in other countries have already opened, we can look to them to see what has worked and what has not. Some of the most appropriate safety measures could include testing and contact tracing, improved ventilation in classes, and keeping students with a single group of peers throughout each day. David Zweig, contributor to Wired, joins us for more.

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With the Novel Coronavirus Also Came a Novel Frugality Dec 30, 2020

Show notes

One of the most interesting aspects of the coronavirus pandemic is how our everyday lives have changed. One such thing is a move away from a culture of waste. People are re-growing scallions and growing herbs at home, they are washing and reusing Ziploc bags and more. But while being this frugal in the past was mostly rooted in saving money, this time around it’s a little different. There is a fear of scarcity and also an effort to avoid unnecessary movement. Meredith Haggerty, editor at Vox, joins us for the novel frugality.

Next, there has been a huge effort by daycare workers to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and it's paying off. A study of more than 57,000 childcare providers found that those who continued working through the pandemic weren't more likely to catch coronavirus than those that were out of work. Extra precautions such as cleaning surfaces daily, extra hand washing for kids, and keeping them in smaller and separate groups helped limit the spread. Kate Baggaley, contributor to Popular Science, joins us for more.

Finally, thousands of U.S. troops will be taking part in a COVID-19 early detection study with the aim of understanding what it means to be asymptomatic and also catching illnesses before they get worse. Soldiers will wear bio-measuring devices that monitor small changes in blood oxygen levels, heartbeat, or respiratory patterns. Nancy Youssef, national security correspondent at the WSJ, joins us for more.

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