NOW LIVE ON WhoWhatWhy
RadioWhoWhatWhy: Think You Know the First Amendment? Think Again.
by Jeff Schechtman
We take a random walk through what the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights are really all about with Burt Neuborne. Neuborne is the former national legal director of the ACLU and the founder of the Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU Law School.
WHO
Our Bad Friends, the Saudis
If you’ve been wondering why the US reflexively supports the one nation most responsible for spreading radical Wahhabism, fueling terrorism and, until the rise of ISIS, imposing the harshest interpretations of Sharia law… you are not alone. The American Conservative wonders what the US actually gains from blindly supporting the Kingdom or from the Saudi foray into war-torn Yemen. Up to now it’s been about oil and buttressing the dollar. But those are tired tropes, according to Kelley Vlahos.
Germany is the Tell-Tale Heart of America’s Drone War
A cooperative investigation by The Intercept and Der Spiegel has uncovered the “beating heart” at the center of America’s long-standing drone war—and it’s at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Once a key part of US Cold War strategy, it now provides a vital communications link between forward deployed Reaper and Predator drones and their far-off remote control pilots in the American Southwest.
Remote Control Humans Are Here
While the US has been remotely controlling its flying execution machines through an uplink in Germany, German researchers have been developing a way to remotely control people. It’s a “human cruise control” system that allows you to look down at your smartphone without walking into people or lamp-posts. The device triggers leg muscles with electrical impulses that turn roving “smartphone drones” either right or left to avoid an upcoming obstacle. Researchers see positive applications for exercise, the handicapped and tourism. But we all know that this is gonna be weaponized.
WHAT
The 119 Seconds that Immediately Added $2 billion to Disney Stock Value
When Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4 billion, they made a strategic investment in Star Wars—perhaps the most iconic film franchise in history. Smart move. Yesterday, a new trailer for the much-anticipated sequels to the original trilogy nearly broke the Internet… and caused a $2 billion spike in Disney’s stock value. Scheduled for a Christmas release, it’s clear that the market forces are strong with this one.
WHY
Dog Gazes Hijack the Brain’s Maternal Bonding System
When people say they feel a real connection with their dogs, they aren’t crazy or erroneously anthropomorphizing their schnauzer. Now their emotional feelings are backed up with hard scientific evidence. The brains of both dogs and people secrete oxytocin, a hormone linked to strengthening emotional bonds between mothers and babies. A new study shows that dogs and humans simultaneously secrete oxytocin when they look at each other, thus creating a bond. And it’s a phenomenon that doesn’t happen when wolves look at people, even when they’ve been raised by humans. Woof!
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