0:08 – Dean Baker (@DeanBaker13), senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, talks about president-elect Joe Biden’s economic appointments and the likelihood of more pandemic economic assistance from Congress. Baker says Biden’s picks, including Cecilia Rouse, Janet Yellen, Jared Bernstein, Heather Boushey, and Adewale Adeyemo, are generally to the left of President Obama’s, despite some having ties to the financial sector. Twelve million in the U.S. are set to lose their unemployment benefits on December 26 barring action from the Senate.
0:34 – Survivors of the coronavirus are coming together, dubbing themselves “long-haulers,” to share information about their long-term symptoms, access care and find support for their prolonged illness. We talk with Diana Berrent, founder of Survivor Corps. Berrent experienced one of the first positive Covid-19 cases in the New York area.
1:08 – A new study, in pre-print and not yet peer reviewed, says states lifting eviction moratoria accelerated Covid-19 transmissions and deaths, causing at least 433,000 additional cases and over 10,000 fatalities. We talk with two of its authors: Kathryn Leifheit is an epidemiologist and postdoctoral fellow at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, and Gabriel Schwartz is an epidemiologist and a postdoctoral fellow at UCSF.
1:33 – A new audit from the California Department of Finance says the CA Geologic Energy Management Division issued hundreds of improper oil and gas permits last year, skipping the review process. Governor Gavin Newsom has issued at least 62 fracking permits in California since the state’s moratorium was lifted. Janet Wilson (@janetwilson66) is senior environment reporter at The Desert Sun and part of ProPublica’s State Reporting Network. Read her article here: California oil regulators issued hundreds of improper permits, audit finds
1:45 – Fossil fuel companies are funding advocacy groups that purport to represent Black, Latino and indigenous people in California — that’s according to reporting by Sammy Roth (@Sammy_Roth) of the Los Angeles Times. Roth also writes a weekly newsletter about climate change and the environment called Boiling Point, which you can find here. His latest story is: The fossil fuel industry wants you to believe it’s good for people of color.