Pastime Favorites

Vox’s German Lopez explains why he feels optimistic about the end of the pandemic even though 500,000 Americans have died, the virus is mutating, and it’s going to take a long time to vaccinate the world.Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So many of us have been getting through this year by watching movies at home by ourselves, or with friends on Zoom, inventing new ways to grieve and to hope, to keep ourselves laughing, all through the simple act of watching stories unfold on our screens. Movies have the power to unearth the many layers of our identities; to help us answer the question: Who am I? And that is what we trace, by way of a few beloved movies including The Color Purple, The Fly, and Blockers, in this episode.Danez Smith — is a Black, queer, HIV-positive writer and performer from St. Paul, Minnesota. They are the author of Homie and Don’t Call Us Dead, which was a finalist for the National Book Award.Tony Banout — is the Senior Vice President of Interfaith Youth Core. He holds a PhD from the University of Chicago, where he studied at the Divinity School and was a Martin Marty Center and Provost fellow.Shea Serrano —  is an author, journalist, and former teacher whose work has been featured in The Ringer and Grantland. He’s the author of The Rap Year Book, Basketball (and Other Things), and Movies (and Other Things).Emily VanDerWerff — is a writer and the Critic at Large for Vox.Virgie Tovar — is an author, activist, and one of the nation's leading experts and lecturers on weight-based discrimination and body image. She is the author of You Have the Right to Remain Fat and The Self-Love Revolution, and hosts the podcast Rebel Eaters Club.Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org....moreCopy Link

Man City make it 19 wins in a row with victory over Monchengladbach. Next up, 4th placed West Ham. Has Pep Guardiola solved football? And is Joao Cancelo a contender for player of the year?Thomas Tuchel continues his unbeaten start as Chelsea manager after beating Atletico. What does Joao Felix make of all of this?Villa revisit Leeds at Elland Road, as do we. Dyche and Mourinho go shopping. Plus we talk Pele, Kasami and the state of non-league. RUNNING ORDER:  • PART 1a: Cancelo culture (01m 30s)• PART 1b: Atletico 0-1 Chelsea (04m 00s) • PART 1c: Monchengladbach 0-2 Man City (14m 00s)• PART 2: Palace burgle Brighton & Leeds sweep Saints aside (19m 00s)• PART 3a: Man City v West Ham preview (29m 00s)• PART 3b: Chelsea v Man Utd preview (33m 30s)• PART 4: Leeds v Villa, Kasami & the rest of the weekend’s Premier League action (38m 00s)• PART 5: The odds with Lee Price from Paddy Power (50m 30s)• PART 6: Pele and the National League (52m 30s)  SIGN UP TO THE ATHLETIC AND GET 30% OFF:• theathletic.com/totally GET IN TOUCH:• follow us on Instagram• find us on Facebook• send us a tweet: @TheTotallyShow PARISH NOTICES:• we’re sponsored by Paddy Power - home of the Money Back Special READ STUFF ON OUR WEBSITE:• check out thetotallyfootballshow.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...moreCopy Link

An update on the future of The Test Kitchen series and PJ Vogt and Sruthi Pinnamaneni's departure.

The Centers for Disease Control has launched a website to help Americans find locations of COVID-19 vaccines in an effort to increase the pace of vaccinations. Also, the Biden administration is set to release a U.S. intelligence assessment on the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi operatives. And, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy faced heavy criticism in a House committee hearing about ongoing mail delays at the U.S. Postal Service.

Five years ago, Judge Merrick B. Garland became a high-profile casualty of Washington’s political dysfunction. President Barack Obama selected him to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, but Senate Republicans blocked his nomination. In the process, Mr. Garland became known for the job he didn’t get.Now, after being nominated by the Biden administration to become the next attorney general, Mr. Garland is finding professional qualifications under scrutiny once again. In light of the attack on the Capitol, we explore how his career leading investigations into domestic terrorism prepared him for his Senate confirmation hearing.Guest: Mark Leibovich, the chief national correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, who spoke with Judge Merrick B. Garland.Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: In his confirmation hearing this week, Mr. Garland said the United States now faced “a more dangerous period” from domestic extremists than at the time of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.Here’s why Mr. Garland described his experience leading the Justice Department’s investigation into the 1995 bombing as “the most important thing I have ever done in my life.”For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. ...moreCopy Link

The actor who, as Borat, drew our attention to racism, misogyny and autocratic propaganda calls out the social media companies who profit off these trends.You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more information for all episodes at nytimes.com/sway, and you can find Kara on Twitter @karaswisher.

Part 2: How do you try to return to normal after a mass shooting? The Capital Gazette moves into a tiny, temporary office, and staff members confront the challenges of producing a daily paper while dealing with fear and guilt.

Music manager and entrepreneur Troy Carter spoke to Guy last June, as the pandemic was worsening and the country was shaken by racial unrest. Troy spoke about the profound impact of these events on him personally, as well as on the music industry. These conversations are excerpts from our How I Built Resilience series, where Guy talks online with founders and entrepreneurs about how they're navigating turbulent times.

We are again joined by Professor Finkelstein, discussing his decades-long relationship with Professor Chomsky, the accusations of holocaust denialism and of course, Alan Dershowitz. Finkelstein vs. Dershowitz on Democracy Now: youtube.com/watch?v=GzqTWpPI5Qw Noah Kulwin on Patreon: patreon.com/nkultra

Sasha Sloan is a singer and songwriter based in Nashville. She put out her debut album, Only Child, last year. Before that, she’d written songs for artists like Katy Perry, John Legend, and Charli XCX, and she’s been a featured guest vocalist on songs by electronic artists Odesza and Kygo. Sasha made her album with her boyfriend, producer Henry Allen, aka King Henry, whose other production credits include songs by Beyoncé and Diplo. In this episode, Sasha, along with Henry, tells the story of making her song "Until It Happens to You." For more, visit songexploder.net/sasha-sloan....moreCopy Link

Since its introduction in 2003, the McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It” jingle has become one of the most recognizable melodies in the world. This is the story of how a catchy five-note jingle conquered the planet, from its humble beginnings at a German ad agency, to being sung by globally famous pop stars. Featuring interviews with "I'm Lovin' It" composers Tom Batoy and Franco Tortora of Mona Davis Beat.Follow the show on Twitter, Facebook, & Reddit.Subscribe to our Youtube channel here.Become a monthly contributor at 20k.org/donate.If you know what this week's mystery sound is, tell us at mystery.20k.org.Get a 4-week trial, free postage, and a digital scale at Stamps.com. Just click the microphone at the top right corner and type the promo code 20k.Hiring? Sign up at Indeed.com/Hertz and get a $75 credit to sponsor your first job post for better visibility, more applications and quicker hiring times.Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/imlovinit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...moreCopy Link

In this episode of Unchained, Charles Cascarilla, CEO and cofounder of Paxos, explains how the 2008 financial crisis led him to crypto, what financial plumbing has to do with GameStop, and how Paxos is leveraging blockchain technology to change financial services. In this episode Charles discusses: his work experience prior to Paxos and how the financial crisis in 2008 opened his eyes to Bitcoin and blockchain (01:07) what it was like to work in Bitcoin during the early days compared to now (4:02a) why Paxos decided to focus on building solutions for institutions rather than targeting the retail market like Coinbase (11:38) the relationship between Paxos and PayPal + why PayPal customers can’t send crypto directly to their wallets or crypto addresses yet (19:37) how Microstrategy and Tesla are bringing Bitcoin mainstream (25:31) what really happened with GameStop and Robinhood and why financial plumbing matters (30:34) how the Paxos Settlement Service is bringing greater transparency to financial markets by using blockchain technology (39:02) what other assets he thinks will be tokenized (50:32) stablecoin regulation and why this might be as good as it gets for Tether (58:36) why Paxos chose to pursue a New York State trust company charter instead of a BitLicense (1:06:15) what changes he would make to crypto regulation for 2021 and beyond (1:09:28) what’s next for Paxos (1:15:12)   Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://bit.ly/3jzkTAD Download the Crypto.com app here: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/laurashinpodcasttesla Square: https://square.com/go/unchained   Episode links:  Charles Cascarilla Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlescascarilla/  Coindesk Profile: https://www.coindesk.com/charles-cascarilla-most-influential-2020 Previous interview with Laura: https://unchainedpodcast.com/chad-cascarilla-on-paxoss-partnership-with-paypal/ Presentation at Microstrategy’s Bitcoin for Corporation’s conference: https://www.microstrategy.com/en/bitcoin/videos/paxos Blog post on the GameStop saga: https://www.paxos.com/what-lehman-brothers-gamestop-and-the-next-financial-crisis-have-in-common/ Interview with Frank Chaparro: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/61823/the-scoop-paxos-cascarilla-coronavirus    Paxos Twitter: https://twitter.com/PaxosGlobal + https://twitter.com/PaxosStandard  Paxos Settlement Service: https://www.paxos.com/securities/ + https://www.reuters.com/article/us-crypto-currencies-paxos/paxos-to-launch-settlement-of-u-s-listed-equities-after-secs-no-action-letter-idUSKBN1X727M Series C Fundraising: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/88133/142-million-series-c-paxos-crypto-stablecoins  Wall Street Journal write-up: https://www.wsj.com/articles/blockchain-makes-inroads-into-the-stock-markets-1-trillion-plumbing-system-11573131600 Plans to tokenize precious metals: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/15413/paxos-plans-to-put-precious-metals-on-the-blockchain   Other Links Paypal’s crypto-focused business unit: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/93668/paypal-crypto-business-unit-earnings-2021 Paypal’s Q4 earnings: https://www.coindesk.com/paypal-2020-results-outstanding-finish-to-a-record-year  Stablecoin rankings: https://stablecoinstats.com/ Tether whitepaper: https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TetherWhitePaper.pdf BitLicense: https://www.dfs.ny.gov/apps_and_licensing/virtual_currency_businesses/regulation_history...moreCopy Link

A government contractor deals with everyday frustrations in a small town. "Alluvial Deposits" appears in Percival Everett's collection DAMNED IF I DO. Check out other titles from Graywolf Press, including WILD SWIMS and BRING ME THE HEAD OF QUENTIN TARANTINO, at graywolfpress.org. Content advisory: racial slur, hateful languageSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This bonus episode revisits and remixes the virtual launch events for Paris Review issues 233 and 234, summer and fall  2020—no Zoom room required! First, Eloghosa Osunde reads the opening of her story “Good Boy”; next, Aracelis Girmay reads Lucille Clifton’s “Poem to My Yellow Coat”; then Lydia Davis shares  her short piece “The Left Hand”; translator Patricio Ferrari recites “Crater of the Beginning” by Portuguese poet Antonio Osorio; Jamel Brinkley reads an excerpt from his story “Witness”; Rabih Alameddine reads from his story “The July War”; Emma Hine presents her poem “Cassandra”; and the episode concludes with Girmay’s awe-filled recollection of her visit to Clifton’s archive, plus her rendition of Clifton’s poem “Bouquet.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....moreCopy Link

As Joe Biden took the oath of office this January, Guatemalan security forces at the Honduran border thwarted thousands of U.S.-bound migrants. While decades-long American imperialism has facilitated displacement throughout the region, the U.S. is increasingly outsourcing its deadly immigration policy. This week on Intercepted: The Biden administration announced it will begin to process the 25,000 asylum seekers stuck in squalid border town camps as part of Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy. But immigration advocates fear President Biden will not reverse the bipartisan trend of his predecessors to further militarize the southern border and expand the reaches of immigration enforcement — policies that have led to more migrant deaths and detention in recent decades. Despite Biden’s executive actions to reverse the Muslim ban, initiate migrant family reunification, and fortify DACA, his administration has indicated that it will continue to support Mexican and Guatemalan armed enforcement of their borders on behalf of the U.S.TThe activist and writer Harsha Walia joins Intercepted to discuss the Democratic Party’s fundamental role in shaping the long arc of U.S. border policy and why the practice of “prevention through deterrence” will continue to incur more suffering and preventable deaths. She also presents an abolitionist view of a world without borders. Walia’s most recent book is “Border and Rule: Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism.” 
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It’s 1987, and the Chippendales dancers are packing nightclubs across America with their sold-out male exotic dance shows. As crowds of women scream for the mullets, the spandex, and the tans … a shocking event about to change the course of the brand and its booming business forever. This is a sneak peek of Episode 1 of Welcome to Your Fantasy. To hear full episodes, every week, follow and listen for free at spoti.fi/WelcomeToYourFantasy.

Hisham Matar joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “One Minus One,” by Colm Tóibín, which appeared in a 2007 issue of the magazine. Matar’s most recent book, the memoir “A Month in Siena,” came out last year.