The Daily Dive

The city of Stockton in CA will soon embark on a bold basic income program that will test what people do with free money.  Some residents will be given $500 a month with no strings attached. Annie Lowrey, author of a new book about universal basic income called Give People Money joins us to talk about the idea of giving citizens money to keep them from falling below the poverty line and how it could change the way we work. It’s time to get ready for another one of the biggest shopping days of the year.  Get out of here Black Friday, move over Cyber Monday… It’s time for Amazon Prime day!  Get ready for lightning deals and don’t forget to ask Alexa from some secret deals. Personal tech columnist Jennifer Jolly joins us for tips on getting the best deals and avoiding the hype.  Finally, Marco della Cava, tech and culture writer for USA Today joins us to talk about a tech heist that that was thwarted by the FBI.  A former Apple engineer almost got away with their secret plans for self-driving cars.  Remember, you can’t fight Big Tech.

The execution of Scott Dozier has been halted… for now. He was set to be executed with a three drug cocktail using fentanyl that has never been used before. But in this case that wasn’t the issue… Drug maker Alvogen sued to block the use of a sedative they make called midazolam. Chris Kudialis, reporter for the Las Vegas Sun joins us to discuss why a judge sided with a drug company to stop the execution of Scott Dozier. Next, President Trump is in Brussells for a big NATO summit. Always one to stir the pot, the president called out Germany for going into business with Russia, and also demanded higher military spending by allies. Greg Hellman, defense reporter for Politico joins us to talk about how much money our NATO allies are spending on defense and also the next big meeting President Trump will have, a face to face with Putin. Finally, are you afraid of needles? Do you find yourself getting nervous when it’s time to take your medicine? Mike Feibus, health tech analyst, joins us to talk about some of the cool new alternatives startups are exploring to deliver treatments pain-free. One of them includes taking a pill that dissolves in your body and THEN gives you a shot!

Straight out of the “You never know what they’ll think of next” file… People are using Fitbits and Apple Watches to monitor their heart rate when binging on drugs.  Christina Farr, reporter for CNBC joins us to talk about concerns that doctors have and also the weird game of people sharing their own screenshots of their elevated heart rate on forums like Reddit and Twitter. The reunification of children and families is under way. A federal judge had issued a deadline for the government to reunite children under five with their parents and they are missing the deadline.  Trevor Hughes, reporter for USA Today joins us to discuss the difficulty of tracking all the kids and families and what happens to them after being reunited. Finally, all of the Wild Boars are safe.  The last of the 12 boys and their soccer coach who were trapped in Thailand have made it out of the cave safely.  My producer Miranda joins us for a wrap up of the story that caught the attention of people all over the world.  We will tell you how they were rescued, the first thing they ate when they got out, and any health problems they may still face.

The big announcement has been made! President Trump has made his second nomination to the Supreme Court in two years. Sam Baker reporter for Axios joins us to discuss who the new nominee is and all the money that will be poured into the confirmation battle. As the mid-term elections quickly approach, expect the battle for the next Supreme Court Justice to figure prominently. Next, the debate continues to swirl as to the effectiveness that e-cigs provide when someone is trying to cut down on smoking. A new study suggests that vaping often doesn’t help smokers quit. Betsy McKay, senior writer for the WSJ, joins us for more on why vaping isn’t helping you quit. Finally, start saying goodbye to the plastic straw. As more cities and companies are starting to ditch the single-use plastic straw, Starbucks has said they they will ban plastic straws by 2020. Kate Bratskeir, senior editor for Mic, fills us in on the phase out of straws and what is next for Starbucks.

Tonight is the big night! President Trump will announce his second nominee to be the next Supreme Court Justice. The announcement will be made in prime time and is expected to set off a big fight from Democrats. Ginger Gibson, political reporter for Reuters will join us for that and the fallout from Mike Pompeo’s trip to North Korea where he was accused of “gangster like” tactics in perusing the denuclearization. We have another problem in the US. Too much cheese! We have the largest stockpile of cheese in the 100 years since regulators have been keeping tabs. Heather Haddon, reporter for the WSJ joins us for the latest. As milk consumption drops, dairies turn more of it into cheese, and now tariffs from Mexico and China might make the problem worse. Finally, The Wild Boars are making a comeback. The rescue effort to escort the Thai soccer team from a flooded underground cave has begun with promising results. The first group of boys is out, and the race is on amid dropping oxygen levels and more rain. My producer Miranda joins us to detail how the boys are making it out of the cave safely.

EPA Chief Scott Pruitt has resigned after months of ethics controversies citing unrelenting attacks on himself and his family.  Pruitt has been the subject of more than a dozen investigations over spending taxpayer money on travel, excessive spending, and much more.  Lauren Meier, reporter for Axios joins us for that and also to lay out who the president’s frontrunners are to be the next Supreme Court Justice. More now than ever, our lives are centered around our phones… photos, contacts, sensitive information.  Keep track of those apps and try to never use a public Wi-Fi hotspot.  Marc Saltzman, tech columnist for USA Today joins us to talk about how to keep cyber thieves out of your smartphone. Finally, you see them all the time on social media, celebrities hawking the latest fitness fads.  Celebrities are swearing by lollipops that make you lose weight and teas that help rid the body of toxins.  We will speak with Josh Ocampo, reporter for Mic, to give us the lowdown on whether or not these products are worth your Instagram likes and more importantly your money.

What has happened to the great American summer job? America’s teens just aren’t working as much anymore. More teens are going to school over the summer, some are doing community service works, and others are just taking unpaid internships. Drew DeSilver, senior writer at the Pew Research Center joins us to talk about why the number of teens with summer jobs has dropped and what type of work they are getting in to. Next, we will talk about the new arms race that is threatening to explode in space. It was mid-June when President Trump announced that he wanted to create a Space Force. While some may have thought it was just another rambling by the president… it might be much more necessary that you think. Garrett Graff contributing editor to Wired joins us to discuss why we need someone looking out for us in space. It has a lot to do with GPS and China and Russia are major players.

It’s July 4th and it’s time for family, BBq’s, and fireworks.  But what if there were no fireworks?  Would you be interested in a drone show instead?  As Western states and towns are concerned about wildfire conditions, some are turing to elaborate drone shows such as the ones seen at the latest Winter Olympics.  Elizabeth Weise, tech reporter for USA Today joins us to talk about a new trend that may be taking place skipping the booms for drones. The 4th is also a time for grilling and burgers, but would you eat a burger made by a robot?  Would you be mad if that robot took your job? As more fast food restaurants are finding that they are short of workers, they are turning to technology to help fill the ranks.  Eric Morath, reporter for the WSJ joins us to talk about Flippy the burger cooking robot and more automation coming to your local quick serve restaurants. Finally, the story that has been gripping the world the past few days.  12 boys and their soccer coach have just been found after spending 10 days lost in a flooded cave in Thailand.  They are safe and in relatively good condition, but the hardest part is yet to come… how do we get them all out safely.  The options aren’t great.  My producer Miranda joins us for all the details.

Basketball superstar LeBron James is coming to Los Angeles!  King James has agreed to a 4 year deal worth $154 million dollars after taking a personal meeting with Lakers legend Magic Johnson. Dan Beyer, Managing editor at Fox Sports Radio, joins us to discuss the big move, what it means for the Lakers and the NBA. Next, rumors have been swirling for some time that President Trump’s long time personal attorney may flip and cooperate with federal authorities.  In an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, when questioned about his loyalty to Trump, he said he will not be a punching bag and will put family and country first.  Daniel Lippman from Politico, will joins us to break it all down. Finally, Doug MacMillan, reporter for the WSJ, joins us to talk about tech’s dirty secret. Google is letting app developers read through your Gmail.  It all comes down to those privacy policy notifications you refuse to read. Computers and algorithms are sifting through your email, but in some cases so are humans. We will let you know how it works and how to check if you agreed to let these app developers see your data.

This is going to be a big week for tariffs in the US.  Some of our allies and biggest trading partners have slapped the US with retaliatory tariffs on some of the biggest agricultural products we export such as beef, pork, and soybeans.  Ginger Gibson, political reporter for Reuters joins us for a breakdown of these tariffs, the news that North Korea may be deceiving us about denuclearization, and the ongoing anger over the president’s immigration policies. Next, we will get you all the details about the Capital Gazette shooting.  Who were the 5 victims that had their lives taken prematurely and why the shooter’s grudge over a negative article about him in the paper motivated him to carry out this attack? Brianna Sacks, Buzzfeed news reporter joins us for that and also why anyone who’s ever worked at a newspaper has a Jarrod Ramos story to tell. Finally, confusion over how the shooter was identified swirled in the hours after the attack.  Police used facial recognition technology to confirm his identity.  As more police departments use this tech in increasing ways, it was a win for the Anne Arundel police and for the technology.  Tech reporter for USA Today, Marco Della Cava joins us to discuss how the process works and why some civil liberty groups fear facial recognition technology.

Another mass shooting has occurred in the country.  This time it was aimed at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Maryland.  5 people were killed and others were injured.  The suspect stormed the offices of the newspaper with a shotgun and canisters of smoke grenades.  Brianna Sacks, reporter for Buzzfeed, joins us for the latest information available at the time of recording. Reports say that he was making threats to the paper over social media. The ever present tech disruptor Amazon is at it again.  First they buy online pharmacy company PillPack and beyond that they are also getting ready to build a grassroots delivery network that could sidestep UPS and the Postal Service.  They are looking for people to build their own small businesses with up to 40 delivery vehicles to help them speed up delivery times.  Mike Snider, tech reporter for USA Today joins us for the latest. Finally, comedies are becoming a grim business for Hollywood. Traditional comedies are struggling at the box office and you can thank superhero movies, Netflix and YouTube.  Ben Fritz, reporter for the Wall Street Journal, will join us to talk about how much is being spent on making the latest slew of comedies and why people don’t like laughing in theaters anymore.

Huge news for the Supreme Court and the Trump administration yesterday as Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced that he will retire effective July 31.  Often seen as the swing vote, losing Kennedy offers President Trump the chance to cement the conservative tilt at the Supreme Court. Lydia Wheeler, reporter for The Hill joins us to talk about the impact of this retirement and the intense confirmation battle the next nominee will face. In other huge political news, a newcomer has defeated the #4 Democrat in the House.  10 term incumbent Joe Crowley was defeated by 28 year old Alexandia Ocasio-Cortez in New York’s 14th district primary.  My producer Miranda will join the conversation to talk about how Ocasio-Cortez won despite being outspent 10-1 and what it means for the Democratic Party. Finally, on the immigration front, another bill has failed to get enough votes in the House to address the immigration problems in the country. As republicans now turn their attention to a more narrow bill addressing migrant family separations, a judge has ruled that the government can’t separate families at the border and must reunite those already separated. Bill Scher, contributing editor to Politico Magazine joins us for the latest.

Big news out of the Supreme Court as they upheld President Trump’s most recent iteration of his travel ban.  The justices, in a 5-4 decision said that despite language that the president has used in the past to describe the ban, it still falls within his power to control immigration policy. Sam Baker, reporter for Axios, will joins us to discuss the reasons behind the ruling and the larger picture for the Supreme Court with another rumored retirement that may be coming soon. Next, three years into their campaign to add diversity to the ranks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, we get a record number of invitees at over 900.  There are more women and minorities in the Academy’s membership, but what could it mean for the Oscars?  Glenn Whipp, film and TV reporter for the LA Times joins us to discuss the impact on the next big awards. Finally, Jeanette Settembre, reporter for Moneyish, joins us to talk about people ditching social media.  Privacy concerns have prompted 40% of people to scrap at least one social media account. People are not liking what companies are doing with your data and its making them rethink it social media is worth their time.

The fight over immigration and the President’s policies has created a huge divide that is no longer playing out just in Washington.  President Trump tweeted over the weekend that in order to end illegal immigration people need to be stopped at the border and turned away immediately depriving them of their due process. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was also subjected to the divide when she was asked to leave a Virginia restaurant simply because she defends the President’s policies. Daniel Lippman from Politico joins us for the latest. Iconic American brand Harley Davidson announced that because of tariffs imposed by the European Union they will be shifting some of their production overseas. Erica Pandey, reporter for Axios will join us to talk about how Harley Davidson is handling increased costs after being caught in the tariff cross fire. Finally, Marijuana hit a milestone yesterday.  The FDA has approved the first CBD drug derived from the plant. Peter Loftus with the Wall Street Journal will join us to talk about who the drug helps and also about changing federal regulations to remove its schedule 1 classification.

When voters head to the polls for the midterm elections they will be presented with a slew of candidates and propositions.  Many factors will need to be considered and one of the main issues is what politicians plan to do for the opioid crisis.  Ginger Gibson, political reporter for Reuters joins us to discuss her trip to Binghamton NY where she talked to voters about the politics of addiction and what really matters to them. AMC theaters just launched a service to rival Movie Pass.  This comes with news that Movie Pass will also be introducing surge pricing this summer.  Movie pass is losing tons of money, but still contends that it is right where it wants to be.  Journalist Rick Paulas will join us to talk about the controversial business model of Movie Pass, and more importantly… what are they doing with your data. Finally, Marriage is out of fashion, but jewelry company Tiffany is selling more engagement rings than ever after three years of decline.  Suzanne Kapner, reporter for the Wall Street Journal joins us to talk about how being more inclusive and targeting the ever elusive millennial has turned around their business.