With hantavirus the talk of the town, the gang examines whether it's actually at risk of becoming a new COVID-like pandemic — spoiler: it's not — as well as the hype cycle around this sort of terrifying news that drives clicks. They also dive into the latest developments in Trump's quest for a White House ballroom, as $1 billion Secret Service funding requests begin to raise eyebrows.

Chapters

00:00:00 - Intro

00:16:08 - New Pandemic?!

00:42:27 - Billion Dollar Ballroom

01:05:32 - Emails

01:27:29 - Wrap-up

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The gang discusses the closure of Spirit Airlines, which shuttered over the weekend following several bankruptcies, a failed merger with JetBlue, spiking oil prices, and a general frustration from flyers for decades. Which one of these factors played the largest role in the death of Spirit? They discuss. Meanwhile, the Pentagon is continuing to shrink its footprint in Europe, with another 5,000 troops set to leave Germany behind. Is it time for Europe's defense to be more Europe-centric, or is this the US once again abandoning allies under Trump?

Chapters

00:00:00 - Intro

00:17:26 - Spirit Airlines

00:47:43 - US-Germany Pullout

01:05:21 - Emails

01:34:54 - Wrap-up

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Hot off a controversial appearance in the New York Times opinion page, the gang discusses the concept of "microlooting." Spurred on by comments made by podcasters Nadja Spiegelman and Jia Tolentino, as well as political streamer Hasan Piker, the crew wonders whether there's any case in which "microlooting" can be justified, or if it's actually just hurting leftist causes. Then they turn to the SPLC's recent indictment over accusations that paying informants within targeted hate groups actually counts as funding these hate groups — and, in doing so, constitutes fraud. Compelling case, or obvious reach?

Chapters

00:00:00 - Intro

00:23:53 - Microlooting

00:48:27 - SPLC Indicted

01:07:32 - Emails

01:12:09 - Wrap-up

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.