Third Time’s a Felony
In November 2024 California voters approved Proposition 36 with roughly 70% support, turning a third repeat petty‑theft or hard‑drug possession offense into a felony. The law offers treatment instead of prison for third‑time drug offenders, but funding gaps mean only about 1% complete the program. San Francisco’s mayor has faced backlash for a crackdown that arrests users on a large scale, prompting critics to label the effort a return to mass incarceration. Despite tougher statutes, California’s prison population has fallen to a 30‑year low.
Ballroom Blitz
A gunman attempting to breach the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was stopped at the final security checkpoint, where a Secret Service agent was shot but his tactical vest stopped the bullet. While the shooter never reached President Donald Trump, analysts...
Seafarer Unfairness
Thousands of commercial sailors are trapped in the Persian Gulf after Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping lane. At least 20 vessels have been attacked, resulting in ten deaths and numerous injuries. Roughly 20,000 seafarers, including...
Is That Bullshit? Hip Check: Does the Body Keep the Score?
In this episode, host Mike debates the popular claim that "the body keeps the score," exploring its origins in Bessel van der Kolk’s trauma work and how it’s been interpreted in yoga culture, especially the idea that trauma is stored...
Jumping the Shark (Cables)
The historic TAT-8 transatlantic fiber‑optic cable, installed in 1988, is being dismantled, marking the end of an era for the original global internet backbone. At the same time, the U.S. Pentagon deployed Anthropic’s Claude AI model to support a strike...
Shock & Ayatollah
U.S. and Israeli forces conducted a daylight strike on Iran over the weekend, targeting multiple senior Iranian officials, including a reported attempt on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israeli intelligence said the operation seized a rare, high‑confidence window, prompting an...