From cookbooks to constitutional rights, On Second Thought is proud to present another five stories from our archive to motivate you this Monday. 1) Historian Jill Lepore Explores 'These Truths' Of United States History In November 2018, On Second Thought sat down with Harvard American history professor Jill Lepore to discuss her book These Truths: A History of the United States and the obligation to learn from the past for a brighter future. Focusing on promises made in the Constitution, Lepore discusses the state of institutions like freedom, voting, and social struggles almost 250 years after the country’s founding. 2) Chef Pano Karatassos On 'Modern Greek Cooking' Atlanta chef Pano Karatassos made waves in culinary circles after winning Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flay with his signature lamb pie. Chef Karatassos is the executive chef of Kyma in Atlanta and has tasked himself with bringing traditional Greek foods to the South. He sat down with us last October to talk Greek cuisine

In 2003, Brunswick prosecutors convicted Dennis Perry of killing a couple in their church back in 1985 — while another suspect had admitted to the murder on tape. Renewed interest in the case from the Georgia Innocence Project and a true crime podcast spurred Joshua Sharpe, criminal justice reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution , to revisit an early suspect’s alibi. Sharpe's research unveiled new DNA evidence, and prompted the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to reopen the case. Sharpe joins On Second Thought to talk us through what he learned in his nearly year of reporting on the 35 year-old case.

On Mar. 11, 1985, Harold and Thelma Swain were shot in the vestibule of a Baptist church in rural southeast Georgia during evening Bible study. Witnesses from the black congregation described a white man with shoulder-length hair who fled the scene. Despite years of investigation by both the local sheriff’s office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the case had gone cold by the end of the decade; even the leads generated by a 1988 episode of Unsolved Mysteries about the case proved false.

Mary Beth Keane’s 2019 novel Ask Again, Yes was an instant New York Times bestseller, and is now out on paperback. The book follows the families of two New York City police officers who live next door to each other in a suburb north of the city – and a tragedy that divides them and their children over four decades.

In the weeks since protests against police brutality began in Minneapolis, calls to reform, defund or abolish the police have been escalating. These demands aren’t new among activists; however, responses from local governments across the country committing to redirect police funds or even “dismantle” police departments have been unprecedented. We break down reasoning, history and motivations behind the push to change how policing operates nationwide.

In 2002, On Second Thought host Virginia Prescott recorded stories of residents from the Houston neighborhood where George Floyd grew up. Virginia reflected on the rich cultural legacy of the historically African American community. George Floyd was laid to rest in Pearland, Texas earlier this week. He was buried next to his mother, known as “Miss Cissy” in Houston’s Third Ward, where Floyd grew up. Beyoncé and Solange Knowles were also raised in the neighborhood. So was the actor Phylicia Rashad, the director and choreographer Debbie Allen, and musicians Samuel John “Lightnin’” Hopkins and Jason Moran.

For generations, “The Talk” has been a mainstay in African American families. At some point, Black children all get warnings from elders about how to avoid – and survive – police encounters. It’s a rite that cuts across region, socioeconomic status and profession – even for members of law enforcement.

John Lewis has served as U.S. Representative for Georgia’s 5th Congressional District since 1987, and is known for his passionate work both in the civil rights movements and on Capitol Hill. A new documentary called John Lewis: Good Trouble goes beyond the highlight reel of his storied life and reveals more personal elements of the man and the figure. On Second Thought hears from the film’s director and producer Dawn Porter and producer Erika Alexander about how the film connects his legacy of seeking justice from his youth to his role as a revered congressman today.

UPDATED The new school year is rapidly approaching, but many parents and educators still don't know exactly what the semester will look like. As President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos call for schools to open in-person, districts across the country are formulating a range of plans. Doctors have their own recommendations for what systems should do. It's a lot to keep track of, but NPR reporters are following the developments. Send us your questions, and we'll answer some on-air. A producer will be in touch before using your name or question on air. This form was closed on July 14th. Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Last Monday, the Trump administration announced changes to the student visa program that would require international students at universities to take at least one in-person class this fall. That means students have to physically be on campus or leave the U.S. The changes could jeopardize the status of hundreds of thousands of students, so we've called on Dwayne McCay for more perspective on this. He is the president of the Florida Institute of Technology, known as Florida Tech. International students make up about a third of the student body there, and he's with us now to tell us his thoughts about this. President McCay, welcome. Thank you for joining us. DWAYNE MCCAY: Oh, I'm very happy to, Michel. Thank you. MARTIN: Would you just mind telling us a bit more about your student body? We said about a third are international. You know, where do they come from? And what do they study? MCCAY: Well, you know, we're a technological

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Parents of younger school-age kids are also making some tough decisions after President Trump said last week that he would put pressure on governors and other officials to open schools in the fall. So with no clear guidance on how to reopen safely, school districts and families have been scrambling to figure things out for themselves. For students living with extended family like grandparents, the question of returning to school is even more fraught. Because of age or preexisting conditions, those family members are most vulnerable to the most serious effects of the virus. Some 2.4 million children in the United States live in a household headed by grandparents. Keith Lowhorne is a grandparent caregiver for his three grandchildren, ages 6, 5 and 3. He's taking care of them along with his wife, and they live just outside of Huntsville, Ala. And he is with us now. Hello, Mr. Lowhorne. Thanks so much for joining us. KEITH

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST: School - parents, students and teachers are wondering, what will it look like this year? Will doors actually open, or will students be back on their computers for classes or a mix of both? In North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper says he'll make an announcement this week about what his state's schools should do. Teachers like Tamika Walker Kelly are waiting. She teaches elementary school music in Fayetteville, and she's also the president of the North Carolina Association of Educators. She joins us now. Thanks for joining us. TAMIKA WALKER KELLY: Thank you for having me. MCCAMMON: I'd like to start with what you and other teachers in the state are hoping for. What do you want to see happen this fall? WALKER KELLY: So many educators around our state - and, I would say, nationwide - are really concerned about re-entering schools in a safe way. Our safety of our educators and our student is the No. 1 priority of many of us. And so we

A Distant Shore has just been released in an expanded version by Cherry Red Records, along with demos for songs that would eventually be released on Everything but the Girl's debut album. Tracey Thorn's classic 1982 indie album has long been a favorite of artists from Björk to Massive Attack, and is constantly rediscovered. In 2013 Thorn spoke about the album to the Guardian [archive link] and also wrote about the circumstances of its writing in her memoir Bedsit Disco Queen, excerpted here.

Hidden changes are warping the already broken ecosystem that determines how many citizens—particularly in America—construct their sense of reality. (slSubstack)

Y'all, I know there are folks who don't like Substack/NYT links but here we are and I thought this was worth posting in the aftermath of a disastrous election.

Strike-friendly games from the NYT tech guild "New York Times tech workers are still on strike after walking out one day before the presidential election. That means they're still asking people to skip their usual Crossword, Wordle, or Connections routines. But now, the union has released its own offerings for games lovers that could keep them from crossing the digital picket line." - Fast Company

In addition to games like Strikle and Strikeman, they're also sharing recipes like We've Got Beef With Management Stuffed Mushrooms and Solidarity Soup.

To glance at some of the political news this week, you'd think it was October. Clinton campaign Chairman John Podesta did Meet the Press over the weekend to talk about Russia hacking the DNC's emails. Hillary Clinton aide Brian Fallon took to Twitter on Tuesday to question the FBI's investigation into Clinton's emails. Donald Trump and Bill Clinton sniped at each other. But it's mid-December. The voters and electors alike have cast their votes. And while millions of Americans are doubtless more than happy to have Election Day well behind them, they can still plan on hearing still more about the election in the coming days or even weeks. There's good reason for some of the continuing concern over the election. The FBI and CIA alike say they are now confident Russia hacked the DNC's emails, that Putin was involved, and it was all in an attempt to influence the election in Trump's favor. That could have very real repercussions. President Obama told NPR's Steve Inskeep that Russia's

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFYXOgXqoe4 Elections aren't exactly cozy, even in the best of times. This one, though, felt worse for a lot of people. No matter where your allegiances lie, 2016 has been the emotional equivalent of a dumpster fire. But it wasn't all unbearable. Here and there, lighter moments emerged to provide comic relief — or even a small burst of joy. Here are 10 of them, in no particular order. 1. Bill Clinton at the DNC balloon drop When the balloons fell from the rafters on the final night of the Democratic National Convention, Hillary Clinton and her running mate Tim Kaine had a lot to feel triumphant about. The Democratic Party seemed to be uniting around Clinton as its candidate. But as the Philadelphia arena filled with red, white and blue globes, no one seemed to enjoy it quite as much as Bill Clinton, who looked up with childlike wonder. 2. Trump's "Hotline Bling" Back in November 2015, when Donald Trump was still in his campaign's relative infancy, he

Washington has a big problem to solve: Can it stop cyber mischief, trolls and disinformation from becoming as much a part of American elections as yard signs, straw hats and robocalls? National security officials warn that unless the United States takes strong steps to prevent or deter meddling, foreign nations — especially Russia — won't quit. "They're going to continue to do it," former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told a Senate subcommittee on Monday. "And why not? It proved successful." Moscow has sown chaos across the West, Clapper and others say, by injecting doubt into elections in the U.S. and Europe. The problem: The breadth and diversity of what makes up "interference" is also what makes it so difficult to combat — from hackers stealing and exposing embarrassing secrets to paid social media "trolls" to the creation of sensational or misleading stories camouflaged as news. "Anyone — not just Russians, anyone — can throw an idea against the Internet wall and

Facebook's concession that it sold $100,000 in ads to Russian-linked accounts last year may be "just the tip of the iceberg" of how social networks were used to interfere in the election, warned the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, who is leading the Senate's investigation into Russia's election attack, said Thursday he has long believed that Moscow used overt social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to intervene in the 2016 election, as well as other covert tools such as cyberattacks. "And you know, the first reaction from Facebook, of course, was, "Well, you're crazy, nothing's going on,'" Warner said at a national security conference in Washington, D.C. "Well, we find yesterday there actually was something going on. And I think all we saw yesterday in terms of their brief was the tip of the iceberg." Facebook acknowledged in a blog post on Wednesday that 470 accounts "affiliated with one another and likely operated out of Russia"

The CIA on Thursday was forced to walk back an assertion by Director Mike Pompeo, who incorrectly said U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian efforts to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election were unsuccessful. Asked at a security conference in Washington, D.C., on Thursday whether he could say with absolute certainty that the November vote was not skewed by Russia, Pompeo replied: "Yes. Intelligence community's assessment is that the Russian meddling that took place did not affect the outcome of the election." In a later clarification, the head of the CIA's office of public affairs, Dean Boyd, said: "The intelligence assessment with regard to Russian election meddling has not changed, and the Director did not intend to suggest that it had." U.S. intelligence concluded in a January assessment that "the senior-most officials" in Russia had authorized hacks into the Democratic National Committee and officials connected with the Clinton campaign. And then

Republicans had watched Donald Trump unleash powerful forces inside their party for more than a year. On Election Day last year, the question for many inside the GOP was how to deal with those forces once Trump had lost. Few had figured out what it would mean for the party if he won. Democrats were planning. There were lists of cabinet secretaries and the challenge of breaking the deadlock that set in between President Obama and the GOP Congress once President Hillary Clinton was in office. Few had figured out what it would mean for the party if she lost. Over the past year, Republicans have struggled to come together and govern effectively. Democrats have struggled to unite around a common cause, or move on from bitter infighting. But both parties may finally be figuring out how to exist in the Trump era. Republicans 'No if, ands or buts,' it's Trump's party New York Rep. Chris Collins made the smartest bet of his political career when he became the first House Republican to endorse

The duo Autechre added just over 20 hours of music to its catalog on November 4, with the simultaneous release of a dozen live recordings, made over the course of a little under a year, between late August 2023, in Melbourne, and early May 2024, in Lyon. As I’ve done in the past, I’m going […]

Major Beer Company Seeks music for advertising campaign 3 Slots $15k

The opp is for several different pieces of music as it will cover 3 major tv / film ads and several web-blog adverts and music to show off a new product. They have asked for intense and dramatic songs, positive songs, friendship songs, and holiday and travel themed songs. Once again they are choosing different songs for different territories so there are many slots they are looking for me to fill.

The videos and ads will be seen by over a million people across the globe.

All styles of music and genres will be considered as the company are looking top quality songs but also lyrical substance and they are also looking for top quality standout attention-grabbing, meaningful songs whether softer emotive ballads or harder more powerful driving tracks as the range covered by the company is huge.

THEY JUST NEED BE TOP SONGS!!

Please submit your best work, radio ready, mastered songs. You must own 100% copyright. Only songs with cleared samples. I will accept demos as I am also a music producer / studio owner so if the song is a 'no brainer' and has enough potential to fit the opp then I would consider re-cutting it for the client.

Grand Northern Sync has worked closely with companies such as: Apple, Honda, Reebok, Samsung, BBC, ABC, New Show Media, Massive Films, Rickety Shack films, Seat, H&M, Busch,

Payouts and rights: If selected you will keep 100% of your rights, royalties and payments dependent on the number of times the tracks are used. Payout is $25k dependent on usage and length of use.

If selected the songs will be passed to the company and they will have the final say, Grand Northern Sync will be on hand to help the artist all the way through the process with chosen artists (at no financial charge).

All songs submitted will be considered for all the other opps we have.

I am looking forward to hearing your music.

PLEASE DO NOT SEND US TRACKS TO OUR SOUNDCLOUD, EMAIL, LINKEDIN OR ANY SOCIAL MEDIA....Please?

- Alexander Johnston / Grand Northern Sync

We are seeking to expand our catalog with hot new Soul, Funk and R'n'B music. We are huge fans of The Heavy, Charles Bradley, Leon Bridges, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Michael Kiwanuka, Lee Fields... If you have anything similar, please send immediately. No knock-offs! No demos! Only professionally recorded, produced and mastered music will be accepted.

We are proud to have a unique business model and an artist-friendly agreement. The music released on Filter Label is instantly included in our catalog for licensing which is available to our network of contacts in the film, TV and advertising industry.

Songs by our talented artists can be heard in Legacies, Shameless, The OA, Exatlon, The Matrix Revisited, CSI: Las Vegas, Nikita, in commercials for Samsung, McDonald's, Nike, Philip Morris, Nestle Wagner, Alkaloid, Bank Millennium, in shows on MTV, CNN, National Geographic, NBC, NBA TV, Al Jazeera, Esquire, Channel 4 and almost every major TV network in the world.

- Emil Hadji Panzov - Founder / CEO - Filter Label

Seeking positive music for use in online video & advertising campaigns!

Music must be good vibes, positive and upbeat. All genres considered ie, Dance, Rock, Jazz, Electronica, Pop, R&B, Hip Hop, Classical, Orchestral, Ambient... etc.

Music must be high-quality, mixed and mastered. Instrumental tracks preferred, but great vocal tracks accepted too and if you can supply instrumentals even better!

All music will be listened to, reviewed and feedback given. Artists must own all rights to their music and there must be no copyright infringement.

Selected tracks will be licensed on a non-exclusive basis (so you maintain all rights to your music), simply go 50-50 on deals we get for you and you keep 100% of all publishing rights.

Clients are professional video production companies and advertising agencies that make high-quality online video content. Including JD Sports, The North Face, Asics, Addidas, Pringles, to name a few!

Artist's receive between £50-£1,000 per track depending on use, and there’s no limit the number of times a track can be licensed. So, if you have any positive music really love to hear from you!

Any questions please feel free to ask and look forward to working with you :)

All the best,
Giles

- Giles Gale - Music supervisor, sync & Licensing Manager - Resonant Music Licensing

Are we sure the electronic voting machines operated properly? I don't need a ton of proof but I want to understand if impartial experts can confirm this, or if Democrats do some sort of auditing to make sure it was all on the up and up?

I often have thoughts or ideas when I'm in the car, but I have no easy way to capture them. I have an iPhone, but I don't want to fiddle with it while I'm driving. I'm seeking an app (or possibly a standalone device) that I can safely use while driving. Is there some app that is voice-activated (i.e., without unlocking the phone) and will transcribe short memos? Ideally, I'd like those transcripts to be available in some cloud site, so I can access them via a web browser on my office computer or home computer.

I'd even consider buying a standalone recorder that I can activate just by pushing a button. I looked on Amazon, but I didn't really see anything that can make transcripts and upload them to a cloud site. Just the audio files might work, but it would be much better for me to have transcripts that I can easily access from a computer.

My husband's (trauma-based?) anxiety runs to paranoia, and he occasionally makes angry and hurtful accusations at me. None of the accusations are true and are not really based in reality. Could this get better? My husband has been seeing a therapist who specialises in narcissistic abuse since spring of this year, following a set of realisations about past relationships and then decisions to cut contact with his best friend, his parents, and finally his only sibling. He tells me his therapist has tentatively suggested he may have cPTSD. Before he started therapy, he would in effect try to use me as his therapist and I have listened to him talk for many, many hours. I am sad that he has so few people in his life now but consider that he is better placed than I am to decide on the kind of relationships he should have with his family and friends.

My husband has also experienced IBS-related agoraphobia for about 8 years rarely leaving the house, and is entirely dependent on me financially. He came out to me, and my friends and family as bisexual early in the year. He is not engaging in any medical care except for his weekly therapist appointment on Zoom. We have sex very infrequently (and this is a mismatch for him) but otherwise have a very affectionate and loving relationship. He has always been supportive of me and been proud of my accomplishments inside and outside work. Before these very occasional accusations started happening, I felt generally like the character in Alanis Morrissette's Head over Feet.

He clearly has symptoms of anxiety including physical symptoms such as feeling dizzy and sometimes expresses paranoid thoughts about eg tradespeople that come to the house. Very occasionally he is angry at me. Sometimes this will be with a raised voice, other times with what feels to me like quite cold-blooded venom, sometimes it will be preceded by an obvious short period of silent treatment. It is always a long, confusing monologue, with vague insinuations and an insistence that I know exactly what he is talking about. He frequently claims that people say things 'subtextually' and sometimes specifically that I have clearly communicated something related to his insinuations 'subtextually'. Although I have never felt at risk of violence, when this anger happens I feel very physically frightened. I tend to remain silent, and my thoughts are focused on escape and the risks of escalation. I find his train of thought very difficult to follow, it is not concrete or specific and I am sometimes in panic mode. I am often very literal and am not sure that I really know what he means when he talks about things being 'subtextual'. Eventually he will make a specific accusation, or I will say something and that will lead to an accusation.

The accusations so far have been
•I am withholding sex deliberately to manipulate him
•I lack empathy and am manipulative
•I treat him badly in general and would be unhappy if he was no longer agoraphobic
•I have been having casual relationships with other people since we met 12 years ago
•I have at some point had a 'secret relationship' with a particular female friend.

The accusations are both unexpected and untrue.

After I have denied the accusation, eventually the anger will blow out and dissipate. There might follow another confusing monologue about his state of mind and the trauma he has experienced. Usually, we will then have a decent conversation (either immediately or the next morning) in which he provides some reasoning behind his accusation. They are generally based on very convoluted trains of logic and some snippet of a real-life event or comment. He interprets his accusations and my denials as a way of providing reassurance that I am not going to cause trauma like 'everyone else' has. He has some real sympathy for my being upset by them, but I am not convinced he understands how much they distress me. He has told me that wants me to have more empathy for his trauma and accept that he does not mean the accusations personally.

I find each anger and accusation event frightening at the time and destabilising afterwards. They have happened four or five times in this calendar year. Although I love him very much, I think that if they kept continuing, I would eventually want to leave. I am holding out hope that by continuing to work with his therapist they will stop at some point. Am I being wildly unrealistic? I recognise that I have a strong reaction to any anger. Is there anything I could do to reduce the impact it has on me in the meantime?

I unsuccessfully tried to persuade him to go to therapy for a very long time, and in the end, it was a friend of mine who convinced him, so my chances of talking him into any specific actions are low. But if he were asking for advice, what advice would you give?

In terms of my own real-life support, I have my own therapist that I have been seeing weekly for the past two years, mainly to help me cope with my husband's ill health and related issues. I am honest with my therapist about what is happening. One of my close friends also knows what is happening and I have a supportive colleague who knows some things. I have access to more than enough money to leave him in the short-term if I needed to and divorce would be expensive but not absolutely impoverishing.

I'm feeling out of my depth and could really use some support. My 16-year-old daughter recently admitted to drinking alcohol, and I'm grateful she trusted me enough to share this. But now, I'm facing an even more complicated situation. Last night she came home late with red eyes. I was asleep, and my wife became suspicious of smoking weed. The next day asked me to speak with her. I had a private conversation with her, where I asked about alcohol and other substances. She denied it. I promised her that she could tell me anything, and I'd keep it confidential unless her safety was at risk or if I felt I couldn't help and needed to find someone who could. I assured her that if it ever came to that, I'd tell her first before involving anyone else.

With that reassurance, she admitted to drinking. I'm grateful she opened up, but now I'm worried this may not be the first time, and I'm feeling deeply concerned.

• Family History: My father's drinking led to emotional neglect and abuse when I was growing up. This makes me particularly hurt, sad, and fearful about my daughter's safety and the potential dangers of substance use.
•. Daughter's Challenges: She has attention issues and dyslexia, making school and focus a constant challenge. I worry that drinking or experimenting with substances could worsen these struggles.
• Parental Dynamics: I haven't shared any of this with my wife yet. My wife has a very strict, zero-tolerance stance on substance use and has even threatened to abandon our daughter if she ever used drugs or alcohol. To be clear that's just intended to keep her in line. I don't believe it would ever come to that —but I feel stuck and unsure of how to handle this delicate situation.
•.Social Concerns: My daughter's friends are important to her, and I don't want to damage her social life or push her away. At the same time, I need to find a way to set boundaries and keep her safe.

My Questions:
• How do I support my daughter, maintain her trust, and guide her toward safer choices without isolating her socially or damaging our relationship?
• How do I handle this situation with my wife while protecting my daughter's trust and managing the volatility of our family dynamics?
• How can I manage my own fears, given my past experiences with emotional abuse and my daughter's learning challenges?

Any advice, support, or shared experiences would mean the world to me. Thank you for listening.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, contact tracing is downright buzzy, and not always in a good way. Contact tracing is the public health practice of informing people when they've been exposed to a contagious disease. As it has become more widely employed across the U.S., it has also become mired in modern political polarization and conspiracy theories. Misinformation abounds, from tales that people who talk to contact tracers will be sent to nonexistent "FEMA camps" — a rumor so prevalent that health officials in Washington state had to put out a statement in May debunking it — to elaborate theories that the efforts are somehow part of a plot by global elites , such as the Clinton Foundation, Bill Gates or George Soros. At the very least, such misinformation could hinder efforts to contain the coronavirus, and at worst it has sparked threats against tracers, say some observers, including the Institute for Strategic Dialogue , a London-based organization that studies polarization.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Here is a very brief history of American testing in the pandemic. The United States started out drastically short of coronavirus tests. The few people who got them had to wait many days for results. Then the United States engaged private companies to make up the difference. Mobile testing centers appeared in parking lots in many cities. Millions of people were tested. But now, as NPR has reported, most states are short of the testing numbers they need, and people getting tested report delays in getting results. Admiral Brett Giroir is on the line. He is an assistant secretary of health, and he has been in charge of the federal testing response. Admiral, welcome to the program. BRETT GIROIR: Thank you. It's good to be here with you this morning, Steve. INSKEEP: I want to quote Mick Mulvaney, President Trump's former chief of staff, who wrote, quote, "it isn't popular to talk about in some Republican circles, but we still have a

AILSA CHANG, HOST: Two female firsts in the Supreme Court are retiring. We're talking about the marshal of the court and the reporter of decisions. In 2001, Marshal Pamela Talkin became the first woman to oversee security. Christine Luchok Fallon has been at the court for 31 years, the last nine as the reporter of decisions. NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg reports. NINA TOTENBERG, BYLINE: Pam Talkin had been at the Supreme Court in the top security job for less than two months when 9/11 hit. Her first task that morning was to evacuate the building. But Chief Justice Rehnquist was in a conference room conducting his annual meeting with the chief judges from around the country. Talkin sent in a note to no avail. Finally, she walked into the room to get everyone out of there. A month later, the anthrax attack cross-contaminated all the mail in the Capitol complex. And this time, the court had to do something it had never done since the Supreme Court building opened in 1935.

Public health experts generally agree that, in spite of improvements, the U.S. still falls short on the testing needed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The official who oversees the country's testing efforts, however, maintains the U.S. is doing well on testing now and will soon be able to expand testing greatly using newer, point-of-care tests that deliver quick results. In an interview with NPR's Morning Edition , Adm. Brett Giroir pointed out the U.S. is currently conducting more than 700,000 tests a day. He argued that some parts of the country are already conducting enough tests to contain outbreaks. "We know that in areas of the country right now that have appropriate mitigation, that the testing we have is sufficient. We know right now that the testing we have is dense enough that we can detect very sensitively where there's going to be a problem," the assistant secretary for health in the Department of Health and Human Services told NPR. A recent analysis for NPR by Harvard

When COVID-19 barreled into the U.S. this year the predominant public health advice for avoiding infection focused on physical isolation: No parties, concerts, or sports events. No congregating inside in bars or restaurants. No on-site family reunions. No play dates for kids. Just keep away from other people. Meanwhile, although social scientists supported that medical advice, they feared the required physical distancing would spark another epidemic — one of loneliness, which was already at a high level in the U.S. "You might expect this would make things much worse," says Julianne Holt-Lunstad , a neuroscientist and social psychologist at Brigham Young University. But several new studies suggest that huge increase in loneliness hasn't come to pass — at least, not yet. And the researchers studying the pandemic's emotional fallout say we humans may have ourselves to thank. "That sense of solidarity that people are feeling when they ... are collectively going through a challenge together

The first frost of the season probably isn’t too far away. Properly preparing the agricultural soil for next spring and summer is a matter of timing. Getting the cover crops in place is essential before a hard freeze occurs. The Washtenaw County Conservation District is working to make it convenient and effective for local farmers. Conservation technician Matt Dejonge explained it all in his conversation with WEMU's David Fair.

It's time to talk some trash! The 3rd annual Trash Talk Tour in Washtenaw County is right around the corner. Trash Talk Tour co-organizer and zerowaste.org executive director Samuel McMullen joined WEMU's David Fair with a special brand of "trash talk."

In 1994, Doug Batchelor took the reins at Amazing Facts International—and for the past three decades, God has blessed his bold yet down-to-earth leadership and preaching. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the ministry has grown exponentially and tens of thousands have been baptized globally.

Says Pastor Doug, “Over the past 30 years, I’ve seen God expand this ministry’s kaleidoscope of outreach in such amazing ways. We do so many different things in ministry now—it boggles my mind! We’re training people to share the gospel, printing truth-filled literature, producing TV and radio broadcasts, and conducting public evangelism. We are trying to do everything we can to help as many people as possible meet Jesus before He comes back.”

From “No” to “Yes”

Pastor Doug had never planned to lead an international media ministry. In fact, in 1993, he and his wife Karen turned down the first invitation to join Amazing Facts.

Just a year before, he had become the pastor of a church in Sacramento. Right away, God opened the doors for media evangelism, and the church began broadcasting its services on several local television stations. Attendance soon doubled, and the Batchelors were certain they should not leave. 

However, they did agree to pray about the call to Amazing Facts. “We were so blessed and inspired by Pastor Crews,” Karen remembers. “We did not feel capable of following in his footsteps.”

Then, in 1994, everything changed. Pastor Joe Crews, whose vision and leadership had grown Amazing Facts from a fledgling radio program into a full-fledged media ministry, had a heart attack. “Get Doug!” he said.

When the Amazing Facts board reached out again, the Batchelors accepted. Not long after Pastor Doug joined Amazing Facts, the church next to Amazing Facts’ headquarters in Maryland burned down, and the ministry needed to move. After much prayer, leadership voted to move the ministry to California. 

Thirty Years of Growth

God has blessed in incredible ways since Pastor Doug joined Amazing Facts. The ministry has grown from broadcasting on just a few television stations to over 100 in the United States alone. Worldwide broadcast reach exceeds two billion. Radio programming now airs on well over 400 stations. AFCOE training centers spread God’s light in Oceania, Indonesia, the Philippines, Africa, and Europe. 

[PQ-HERE]Along with his many regular speaking engagements, Pastor Doug has preached at least one major evangelistic series every year. His easy-to-understand and engaging sermons reach people from all walks of life. Recorded and prepped for television, these series have brought the light of truth to tens of thousands of seekers. Prophecy Odyssey and the Net ’99 series, which was held 25 years ago at the same location in Manhattan, have been broadcast live around the world.

Additionally, the development of the W.O.R.D. Center (World, Outreach, Revival, and Discipleship), Amazing Facts’ headquarters and church building in Granite Bay, California, has been a great help to the ministry. Begun as a church plant in 2007, the facilities were completed debt-free in 2021. The active church, for which Pastor Doug serves as senior pastor, partners with Amazing Facts in local outreach and hosts regular summits on various biblical topics. These series, such as The Glory of the Cross, are filmed in the media-equipped church and broadcast globally.

Worldwide Impact

The Batchelors have traveled extensively to spread the gospel since joining Amazing Facts. “I’ve preached in at least 30 countries since I’ve been here,” says Pastor Doug. “It’s such a wonderful thing to see people’s lives changed through the gospel.”

Adds Karen, “We’ve been blessed to travel to so many places and meet so many wonderful people. Our trip to Papua New Guinea several years ago was especially memorable. About 80,000 people gathered for Doug’s preaching. It was amazing to see their hunger for truth. They stood in the rain for hours to listen to God’s Word.”

That spiritual hunger is increasingly mirrored in people all around the world. One of our viewers, Yasmin, says, “I love listening to Pastor Doug preach! I was rebaptized thanks to watching your programs. You inspire me with the work you do. Our Lord is coming soon, and we must tell the world!”

Pastor Doug and Karen feel deeply responsible for sharing the gospel in the roles God has entrusted them. “Amazing Facts strives to be genuinely true to the Bible,” Karen reflects. “That encourages us to be faithful as His witnesses. It has been a very humbling experience for us.”

Pastor Doug puts it simply. “God must have been desperate to choose me.” 

Thank you, Pastor Doug and Karen Batchelor, for 30 years of faithful service to Amazing Facts. Your dedication and service have touched countless souls for the kingdom!

It's only the first day of August, but the weather in Portland is such that it already feeling like plural dog days have elapsed. And yet, through it all, a podcast episode drags itself through the sun-baked streets to appear, sweating and winded, on your doorstep. Come along with Jessamyn and I as we...chatter about MetaFilter? Basically what we normally do. This one's about an hour and 45.

Helpful Links

Podcast Feed
Subscribe with iTunes
Direct mp3 download

Misc
- the wikipedia article on 175 has, since recording, lost the specific nag it had when we were discussing it!
- jessamyn has been catsitting
- more like the hooey decimal system
- wellllll, Godot? We're WAAAAAAITTIiiiing!
- freedom to tinker
- you ever (Stevie) Wonder about the clavinet?
- it's a BEACH that makes you OLD
- jessamyn's maple dealer


Projects
- Quarantine Happy Hour concert archive by hades
- Recollections Of A Summer by dng
- The Sound of the Far Future by ignignokt


MetaFilter
- Patterns by They sucked his brains out!
- A unanimous vote for the right to repair. by mhoye
- Nikole Hannah-Jones and Ta-Nehisi Coates joining Howard University by Nelson
- Whammy Clavinet by Harald74
- His last purchases—beer, cigarettes, pot—occurred 18 years ago. by Grandysaur
- Happy birthday, Metafilter! by Melismata
- Shawty Got Low in Those Apple Bottom Memes by jonp72
- All mountains are old, but the Appalachians are incomprehensibly old by Karmakaze
- The world's first 1541 disk drive graphics demo by JHarris


Ask MetaFilter
- What to do in Vermont when traveling companion has mobility issues? by The Pluto Gangsta
- How does MetaFilter have such a high user engagement compared to others? by oracleia
- Nouns that you would never say "the" before? by ftm
- Library book with potentially valuable author's signature by clair-de-lune
- What song is this? by Trespassers William
- Songs with radio clips? by ftm
- Voices coming out of my iPad in the middle of the night by squink
- Why is my gas bill so high? by artificialard
- Friends' anxiety makes me angry/anxious by unicorn chaser
- Dating Failure by Aranquis
- How commonplace is crossing one's arms at Catholic communion? by Charity Garfein


MetaTalk
- Metatalktail Hour: Sneaky pet/kid stories by LobsterMitten
- MetaFilter's new Privacy Policy document by cortex
- A change in moderator coverage of the site by cortex
- 1. money 2. budget 3. ??? 4. profit!! by bendy
- Donated By "Anonymous" by cursed


MeFi Music
Featured in this episode:
- Car Music by gt2
- You Should Eat Your Yellow Vegetables by not_on_display
- Brazilian Brooks by CarrotAdventure
- Signal Tower by edlundart

We got a rootin' tootin' podcast here. Darn tootin'. Can you both rootin'- and darn'- something that's tootin' in the same paragraph like this? I don't know. I really don't know. I might be going to podcast jail. Before that happens, though, here's me and jessamyn chattering about MetaFilter, the nature of daylight, representation vs. allusion in crappy old Sierra erotic comedy adventures, MetaFilter, the concept of (for some reason) No Nut November, "Meta", and who knows what else because we're both still getting used to the time change. It runs exactly, precisely, to the second 90 minutes.

Helpful Links

Podcast Feed
Subscribe with iTunes
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Misc
- Jessamyn is a bee
- I got a tattoo and literally everyone guessed right
- remember, remember, the No Nut November, the Poe's Law'd Sienfeldian plot
- Jess recently enjoyed reading Finna
- I recently enjoyed rereading Dune, I don't have a link or anything, I just did is all
- also Sierpinski Triangles
- okay, on review I totally recognize that yodel breakdown in Focus' Hocus Pocus

Jobs
- Property project management and maintenance by Barbara Spitzer
- Drop off a document at the PA Secretary of State in Harrisburg by Sheydem-tants

Projects
- The Worst House On The Internet by missjenny (MeFi Post)
- Are You a Clickbait Genius? by malevolent
- Saturday Afternoon Ikea Trip Simulator by dng (MeFi Post)
- Mini-Project: Convert exported Metafilter comments to HTML, JSON, or MBOX by Kadin2048
- Mystic Paths - A new word board game! by meinvt

MetaFilter
- anyone who enjoys wild birds is a birder! birding is for everyone! by jessamyn
- Aspirational rhetorical loquaciousness by simmering octagon
- The United States Postal Service: "Non oficialis motto!" by not_on_display
- Uh oh by Cookiebastard
- Fractal vise by clawsoon
- Welp, there goes my evening ... by dancestoblue
- Off, dud, over, under, upon, hot, ono, oof, hi, lo, etc. by tss

Ask MetaFilter
- help me find more podcasts by jessamyn
- HBTY HBTY HBD* HBTY by QuakerMel
- How fast/reliable is TSA's lost and found? by LSK
- What's a good name for an office can crusher? by box
- Programming/computer science/IT terms that refer to obsolete tech? by potrzebie
- Burying ethernet cable (or wireless??) by wenestvedt
- I want to learn art by Brittanie
- Donated to take a campaign over its goal. Goal changed afterwards. wtf? by scruss
- Have Jazz Hands, Will Jazzercize by meese

MetaTalk
- MeFi Mall 2021 by hippybear
- MetaFilter Gift Swap 2021 Signups by curious nu
- MeFi Holiday Card Exchange by needlegrrl
- NaNoWriMo 2021 by womb of things to be and tomb of things that were
- Roll, Truck, Roll by lauranesson

It was a very busy turn of the month so we're wandering in pretty late with this episode. I talk a little bit about my recent decision to transition away from running MetaFilter (but we'll, inter alia, keep podcasting); Jessamyn and I talk about MeFi stuff as per usual; we establish that she started watching the wrong show and couldn't figure out why people liked it; and we chatter about at least three words we're not sure how to pronounce and establish, once more, that neither of us can read IPA. Runs our usual "about 90 minutes".

Helpful Links

Podcast Feed
Subscribe with iTunes
Direct mp3 download

Misc
- Jessamyn has been reading The Rabbi Small Mysteries
- I have been tweeting about Semantle and word2vec
- turns out it's psychosomatic, ADDICT, insane, not "attic", which does make more sense
- we didn't do an April Fools thing this year, but there was a nice thread chatting about 4/1 stuff past

Jobs
- Distinctive Collections Coordinators by mfoight
- Distinctive Collection Librarian / Archivist by mfoight
- Call for submissions for women's writing anthology by Flock of Cynthiabirds

Projects
- A VR Schizophrenia Simulator for Us All by Lillitatiana
- Anoited by ignignokt
- You think you're addicted to Spelling Bee? by AMyNameIs
- Hermit Crabs of Paradise Cove, Vanuatu by dobbs
- Brass sextet for 6 trumpets and epic digital signal processing by range
- Crafting: Ceramics and Metal Wire Trees by gemmy
- Guess the AI Jukebox artist by Rhaomi

MetaFilter
- "Get Free Gold Rush Land Today!" by jessamyn
- You are now subscribed to Random Ball Facts! by loquacious
- How to make writing easier to read for everyone by storybored
- Not what I usually associate with talking mushrooms by clawsoon
- Guess the Secret Word! by not_on_display
- Mission Accepted.....Mission Complete. by Fizz
- These boots were made for narrative photographic essaying by cortex
- "reform all the tawdry inefficiencies" by brainwane
- The Inevitability Of Bushveld by cortex

Ask MetaFilter
- You too can be "Jew for a Day!" by Drasher
- Funeral smalltalk by b33j
- How to find what was on p29 of a 1954 issue of Canadian Bride magazine by paduasoy
- This is the best __________ I know of.... by dobbs
- Looking for sounds that shout their gender by nosila
- How do you interpret Maimonides' levels of charity in a modern context? by dorothy hawk
- Outdoor art installations around the world? by cyndigo
- Have there been any art shows where the art didn't exist? by andoatnp
- Do cavemen have more fun? by Jubey
- It's a round...thingy? by cortex
- Have the things you find on the ground changed in the last 30 years? by bdc34
- Name this fragment of a tune by mpark
- Help me buy a great film! by JimN2TAW
- a comment by jessamyn

MetaTalk
First steps in some MetaFilter changes by cortex

Belated podcast for August, American summer is just like that. No idea what we talked about, but I know we had a good time.

Helpful Links

Podcast Feed
Subscribe with iTunes
Direct mp3 download

Jobs

Transfering faculty profiles (~150) into a new format by Shepherd
UX/UI Design Intern (Sep-Dec 2022) by jchan

Projects

Woefully Neglected by Devils Rancher
Nelson's Linkblog by Nelson
IUDs for All by thandal
Making a watermlon chair from green wood by twirlypen
Every Diner in Whatcom County, WA by cidrab
Latent Space Netsuke by gwint
AUTOEXEC.CAT by oulipian
I... HAVE... THE POWER ️ by Rhaomi
The Kubrick Times by malevolent

Metafilter

"with this sign for beautiful, there is no objection" by jessamyn
You really should watch a manhole entrance get replaced by majick
Nice threads by janell
"Have you ever wondered what happens to the things you leave behind?" by Kattullus
The word on the Bird by storybored
I AM IN SO INTO YOU by MollyRealized
There was good money to be made as a beatnik by wesleyac
Ten Million Power by ThePinkSuperhero
"What's it like to be a girl in a band?" by box

Ask Metafilter

My friends are struggling but I am also struggling. How to balance? by anonymous
When did cars stalling fall off as a movie/TV trope (and in...reality?) by cortex
Out of Sync by invincible summer
Your favorite stars-with-fans videos? by wenestvedt
How do I maintain a happy little kitchen? by pleasebekind
Tell me your one weird trick for loved one caretaking/advocacy by rednikki
Comedy Suggestions to Watch with my 70-year old Mother by pdxhiker
Does anyone else mishear the chorus in "Institutionalized"? by Boxenmacher

Metatalk

Metatalktail Hour: Life's Unwritten Rules by Taz

Miscellaneous

Ronni Solbert, Children's Book Illustrator, Dies at 96
Sign for MA Route 187
Wikipedia's entry on One Eighty Seven
The Untold Story of the Zip Code
zipmap.net
WHAT IS THIS?
Complexity 2022: Innovations in Weaving
Sleater-Kinney (Three Interlinked Wireframe Cubes)

cortex has a new job and was hard to track down and we had a few months of missing each other. We found some time on August 14th and tried to play catch-up. Runs about 97 minutes.

Helpful Links

Podcast Feed
Subscribe with iTunes
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not_on_display did the mixing on this one and I think it hopefully sounds better than last time?

Preroll
Heat pumps!
BestofMeFi on Facebook

Jobs
Flickr Commons and Jessamyn's new part-timey job
Federal Gov't Administrative Support Specialist by kinsey

Projects
We built a giant eagle pupper for Iceland's national day by Nothing
Have You Played? by adrianhon
adrianhon on peglin
Our Backyard by joannemerriam
Banned Book Book Club by bwerdmuller (MeFi Post by Paul Slade)
Jessamyn's tips for dealing with haters
FLW inspired Bird Feeder by Marky
Infinite LP records from the Boston Public Library via archive.org by metatuesday
Today in Tabs

Meta MeFi
Site Update by jessamyn
Happy birthday, Metafilter! by Melismata
MeFi24 in 2023 by jessamyn

MeFi
Jeopardy! contestants weigh 2nd shot at glory vs. crossing picket line by Etrigan
The Greatest Animated Series in the Surreal Sci-Fi Toilet Horror Genre by AlSweigart
Police Log: "Misdemeanors: blahblahblhablahb" by not_on_display
"For me, being an artist means being in community with others." by jessamyn
To be more specific, he's a surgeon. by Fizz
when you get your ass handed to you, just hand it right back by cortex
"A counterexample to established techno-utopian histories" by box
Design notes on the 2023 Wikipedia redesign by Etrigan
Writing to possible or impossible audiences by brainwane
WAH WAH WAH! [wah wah wah wah waaaaaaah] by cortex
a comment by unearthed
a comment by dephlogisticated
Redditors, in defense of Reddit, destroy Reddit by Rhaomi
a comment by sdrawkcab
What Should We Learn from Reddit? by Bottlecap
Room Temperature Superconductivity? by ZakDaddy
The Unreality of Pro Wrestling by Pachylad
"Don't rub it too high or someone will cry, and steal your homerun away" by The Pluto Gangsta
Iocaine Powder by clawsoon

AskMe
Memory Filter: what is the name of this design thinking author/blogger? by mecran01
Rhinos named Clara by johngoren
What does " T—S.T.D.—B" mean in a book? by whitewall
Best "I quit Twitter and my life is richer for it" story? by Jon44
Recommend me brilliant biographies about brilliant women by underclocked
I bought a dremel. Tell me everything! by cortex

MeTa
2023 MeFi Fundraising Month by loup

FanFare
The Afterparty
Peacemaker
Mrs. Davis
Silo
TV Shows Not Set in the US or England
Forged in Fore

More MeTa
A Memorial Day
shoesfullofdust passed away

Since hip-hop first got its start in 1973, two cities were the main players in driving its style and sound. On the East Coast there was New York, and on the West Coast there was L.A. Atlanta is now home to many of hip-hop’s current and former stars, making it the “third coast” in A3C’s “All Three Coasts” moniker. As the East Coast-West Coast rivalry came to a head in 1995, a duo from Atlanta named OutKast managed to win Best New Rap Group at the Source Awards. While the New York-heavy crowd booed, Andre 3000 grabbed the award and took the audience to task. “I’m tired of folks, you know what I’m saying. The close-minded folks. It’s like we got a demo tape and don’t nobody want to hear it. But it’s like this: The South got something to say, that’s all I got to say.” Hip-hop made its way in Atlanta before then, with artists like Kilo Ali, MC Shy-D and Raheem the Dream producing their own take on popular Miami bass music. And Arrested Development even won two Grammys in 1993 for their song

Atlanta may see a first: Tonight thousands of people may come to a candlelight vigil for a grocery store. "Murder Kroger" as it's known closes its door tomorrow, October 28 after serving Ponce de Leon Avenue for three decades. GPB's Stephen Fowler was live at "Murder Kroger" in the shadow of Ponce City Market. Rickey Bevington: So let's begin with why many Atlantans call this supermarket "Murder Kroger." Stephen Fowler: Murder Kroger. It's been the subject of articles, songs, and even its own Wikipedia page. In 1991 a woman was shot and killed in the parking lot. The AJC then called it "Scary Kroger," but eventually it morphed into "Murder" instead. In 2002 someone found a dead body in the parking lot. Most recently a man was shot outside the building in 2015 where he later died. So it's not exactly a death trap to go buy some sugar, but like Atlanta traffic and anything named Peachtree, the name stuck. A few years ago the murder Kroger got a makeover and officials tried to get the

For this edition of Atlanta Considered, I went to Chrome Yellow Trading Company on Edgewood Avenue during the A3C hip-hop festival and conference. A3C is one of the nation’s largest urban music events and stands for All Three Coasts, as Atlanta joins New York and Los Angeles as the pillars of hip-hop culture.

We may think about food all the time, but when is the last time you thought about what your food sounded like?

Tracy V. Wilson and Holly Frey host the popular podcast Stuff You Missed In History Class in the Atlanta offices at HowStuffWorks at Ponce City Market. They joined me during our live show from the rooftop of Ponce City Market to talk about what it’s like to produce a history podcast in a historic building – and also some of their personal connections with the Sears company, which built this building in 1926.

In 2016, at only 28-years-old, pianist John Burke has already accomplished the dream of a lifetime for many musicians -- to be nominated for a Grammy Award. It's for his newest album " Orogen ," a breathtaking journey through what he describes as the creation of mountains.

Several hundred climate scientists and public health professionals descended on the Carter Center in Atlanta today. It was for a climate and health conference organized by former Vice President Al Gore.

Atlanta’s first Major League Soccer team plays its inaugural game Sunday to a sold out crowd. Atlanta United hosts one of the league’s founding clubs, the well-established New York Red Bulls. It’ll be a tough contest for the fledgling Atlanta team. Yesterday, I drove out to Flowery Branch to see how they’re playing and feeling ahead of their first game. About three dozen soccer players are scrimmaging in small groups of six at their practice facility about an hour north of Atlanta. They run constantly, quickly passing a ball between themselves in square “fields” demarcated by small orange cones. Sharp-eyed coaches walk around blowing whistles and yelling feedback. The players and coaches communicate seamlessly in English and Spanish. "There’s a few coaches who speak English and Spanish as well so they just translate here and there." 19-year-old defender Miles Robinson is from Massachusetts, but says he’s used to an international work environment. The Atlantic Coast Conference’s 2016