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Slate.com
Business and economics reporter for Slate.com; former associate editor at The Atlantic, he has written for a number of publications, including the Washington Post and National Law Journal
PROFILE
Jordan Weissmann
Guest
FROM Jordan Weissmann
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
How effective can financial activism be against guns? At least 20 companies have cut ties with the National Rifle Association -- including Delta, United, Hertz, and Metlife. They’re not offering discounts to NRA members anymore. Separately, there’s pressure on investors to drop gun manufacturers from their stock portfolios. Aside from making activists feel good, can these boycotts lead to real change?
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Police shootings and racial bias According to a new study, if you’re stopped by police, you’re no more likely to get shot if you’re black than if you’re white. The study’s author, Harvard economist Roland Fryer, told the New York Times, “It is the most surprising result of my career.” But there have been criticisms of his findings.
To the Point
President Obama Announces New Rules on Overtime Pay President Obama first announced new overtime rules in an op-ed in the Huffington Post. Yesterday, he took the message to the University of Wisconsin at LaCrosse. Jordan Weissman is business and economics reporter for Slate .
To the Point
IPhone Turns 5 Today, as we mark the fifth anniversary of the day the first iPhone went on sale, it's hard to remember that there were people who actually laughed at the new device. Jordan Weissmann, Associate Editor of the Atlantic magazine, looks back at ‘the little gadget that could,' the device that became one of the biggest game changers ever in the world of technology.
Which Way, L.A.?
Protesters Pepper Sprayed at Santa Monica College Last night at Santa Monica College — where this radio station is located -- about 100 protesters crowded a hallway outside a meeting of the Board of Trustees. Video of the incident has been posted on YouTube by the Corsair, Santa Monica College's newspaper. College President Chui Tsang says that when bystanders overran the door "there was one discharge of pepper spray by a [college] police officer… [and] a number of bystanders were affected." He also said that the incident is being investigated, but that the college will pay the medical bills even of those it feels were breaking the law. No arrests were made, but the protest itself raises the broader issue of declining funds for public education in California. NOTE: Two days after this discussion, the Santa Monica College trustees agreed to postpone the two-tier fee plan .
Which Way, L.A.?
The Impact of Football on Grades and Graduation Rates Today's the day for the TicketCity Bowl, the Gator Bowl, the Capital One Bowl, the Outback Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl and the Rose Bowl. What does it all mean for the schools involved and for higher education? This has been a season of scandal in college football. At Ohio State, the University of Miami and, most nightmarish of all, at Penn State. So "it's hard not to wonder: is college football really good for college?" asks Jordan Weissmann in the current Atlantic magazine.
Recommended
To the Point
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
To the Point
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
To the Point
Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.