The Majority Report with Sam Seder - 2994 - SPENDING BILL IMPASSE; Digital Surveillance in Labor w/ Karen Levy

2994 - SPENDING BILL IMPASSE; Digital Surveillance in Labor w/ Karen Levy

12/22/22 • 53 min

2 Listeners

Emma hosts Karen Levy, Assistant Professor of Information Sciences at Cornell University, to discuss her recent book Data Driven: Truckers, Technology, and the New Workplace Surveillance. Emma first runs through updates on Zelesnkyy’s congressional address, Senate Republicans obstructing Biden’s funding bill, and Sean Hannity’s admission under oath that he didn’t buy much of the election-denying shenanigans on his OWN SHOW, also touching on Rep Kevin Brady’s speaking out against holding powerful people to account financially. Karen Levy then joins as she dives right into the supposed “trucker shortage” that the US is facing right now, exploring why there are, in fact, many truckers available, they’re just not getting paid enough to continue work in the industry, before stepping back to analyze the impact of four decades of deregulation of the industry, bringing about dropping wages, raising hours, and falling safety levels. Continuing this analysis, Professor Levy walks Emma through the precipitous decline of the role of unions and teamsters in an industry that was previously known for its labor forces, with the government still proclaiming the work as “essential” while refusing to meet the needs of the workers, from wages to infrastructure and more. Next, Emma and Karen discuss the little bit of trucking regulation that the government has actually stood behind, parsing through their surveillance requirements for digital tracking of truckers, walking through its failure to address the root issue it was supposed to address (worker safety) and how it provided an infrastructure for the corporations to ramp up their own surveillance measures, pushing biometric monitoring and predictive analytics that push their workers to abuse stimulants and push their bodies to the limits. Wrapping up, they tackle potential solutions that Professor Levy sees as possible and that actually target the issue at hand by detaching payment and protections from miles driven or hours worked.

And in the Fun Half: Emma talks with Hamish from Taho on cashews and veganism, and Dr. Phill hosts an anti-teacher-union hack to discuss why public school teachers are swindling the US out of billions (that they refuse to spend on themselves)! Then, she’s joined by Matt Binder and Brandon Sutton as they reflect on Sam Bankman-Fried and Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) showering each other in golden thank-yous, and Alex from New York calls in with a few matchups. They also tackle Andrew Callaghan’s killer confrontation with Don Lemon on the fear-mongering motive of the 24-hour news cycle, and Neil deGrasse-Tyson clamors to Elon Musk’s defense. Jay from North Carolina discusses term limits and making a more robust democracy, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Karen's book here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691175300/data-driven

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Check out Karen's book here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691175300/data-driven

Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join

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Join the Majority Report Discord! http://majoritydiscord.com/

Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/

Get the free Majority Report App!: http://majority.fm/app

Check out today’s sponsors:

Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter:

@SamSeder

@EmmaVigeland

@MattBinder

@MattLech

@BF1nn

@BradKAlsop

Check out Matt’s show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning

Subscribe to Discourse Blog, a newsletter and website for progressive essays and related fun partly run by AM Quickie writer Jack Crosbie. https://discourseblog.com/

Check out Ava Raiza's music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com/

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Previous Episode

2993 - The State of COVID Going Into The Holidays; SBF's Legal Woes Continue w/ Dr. MarkAlain Dery & Leo Schwartz

Sam and Emma host Dr. MarkAlain Dery, infectious disease specialist at AccessHealth Louisiana and host of the Noise Filter podcast, to discuss the current state of COVID-19 and RSV heading further into the winter season. Then, they are joined by Leo Schwartz, reporter at Fortune Magazine, to discuss the recent congressional committee hearings surrounding FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. First, Sam and Emma run through updates on the release of Trump’s tax returns, Zelensky’s appearance in DC, Wells Fargo’s multi-billion fraud fine, and the newest iteration of the Twitter Files, before diving into the Right’s response to the embarrassment, harassment, and destruction that can come from the disclosure of tax returns. Then, Dr. MarkAlain Dery joins as he dives right into the crisis of a re-emergence of the flu and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) coinciding with a renewed public bout with COVID, tackling whether the return of the various repertory and inflammatory viruses has to do with a lack of immunity due to COVID precautions, or if it’s simply a result of increased testing of these types of illness, before diving into the impact of inflammatory diseases in increasing risk of heart attack and stroke. Next, Dr. Dery walks through the evolving COVID policy in China, and the impact that can have on the international stage, before walking through the emerging new variants, vaccine boosting, and the various social comorbidities that we have seen in the US. Leo Schwartz then joins as he tackles what the hell Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX actually is, how they first expanded the crypto trading world before bending the rules of trade themselves, and wrap up the interview by parsing through the role of SBF and FTX in using Washington connections to help legitimize the role of crypto in US politics writ large.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma discuss COVID, Crypto, and Dore, much to a listener’s chagrin, Dave from Jamaica stops by the studio, and Joe Manchin reminds us that the true bipartisanship was the platitudes we made along the way. Tim Pool stumbles into hosting another anti-semite on his show as he tackles whether or not Kanye is turning Jews to god, also tracing Woke Patient Zero back to the Occupy Wallstreet wet market, and Mike Lindell is censored on his own network! Kowalski from Nebraska gives his agriculture updates, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out the Noise Filter podcast here: https://www.noisefiltershow.com/

Check out the slideshow Dr. Dery presented today here: https://www.noisefiltershow.com/slides

Check out Leo's work here: https://fortune.com/author/leo-schwartz/

Check out the Wildfire Project here: http://wildfireproject.org/

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Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter:

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Check out Matt’s show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning

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Next Episode

2995 - Casual Friday! (THE LAST OF 2022!)

It's the LAST Casual Friday of 2022! The MR Crew are doing a clips-and-calls show before the holidays, and are also joined by Matthew Film Guy (@langdonboom)to discuss the recent Sight & Sound poll! First, Sam, and Emma run through updates on the final report from the January 6th committee, NY Gov Hochul fitting perfectly into the Cuomo mold, Sam Bankman-Fried paying off his $250 million bond in fiat currency, and Congressman-elect George Santos’ crumbling resume, before diving into the $1.7 trillion spending bill making it through the Senate and House, revamping the GOP leadership debate (and perhaps bringing Steve Scalise into the fold). Then, they take calls with Jay from New Haven on CT’s solar energy policy, Aaron from Madison on fighting back against the Independent State Legislature Theory, and Amy from San Francisco on QAnon Anonymous' deep dive into Tusli Gabbard’s cult. Then, they’re joined by Matthew Film Guy as he dives right into the drama surrounding Sight & Sound’s recent “Greatest Films of All Time” poll where Citizen Kane and Vertigo were finally overtaken for the #1 spot by a WOMAN-DIRECTED movie “Jeanne Dielman, 23 Commerce Quay, 1080 Brussels.” They walk through the anti-woke backlash to this result, as Matthew dives into the difference between an active culture war and the democratization of a poll, with Sight & Sound expanding the number of voters beyond a couple of hundred for the first time in their history, before launching into the beauty and vision of Chantal Akerman’s boundary-pushing work, its long-term rise into mainstream discourse, and the importance of creating art with sensitive visions of life.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma watch AOC tackle the USPS deal and their shift toward Electric Vehicles being undermined by Louis DeJoy putting a scab facility at the center of the production, Drew from Portland Oregon calls in to discuss DeSantis’ alternate health agency and the impact it could have on the Right’s war on trans care, and John from San Antonio walks through the massive boom in union support that we’ve seen in 2022. They also dive deeper into Kathy Hochul’s nomination of a severely conservative judge to New York’s Chief Justice position, and Matt Taibbi’s response to critiques (such as Matt Taibbi from a year ago) of him doing PR for a billionaire. Revis from the Twin Cities reveals a Sam Seder cameo in the Magic Schoolbus, Candace Owens has some thoughts on the Confederate Flag, and Charlie from Washington explores how to push your state to become a safe space for trans folks escaping persecution, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Matthew's Letterboxd here: https://letterboxd.com/langdonboom/

Check out Matthew's film discussion group here: https://www.commonpointqueens.org/program/cultural-arts-and-jewish-heritage-classes/

Check out Matthew's eBay auction here! https://www.ebay.com/itm/115464749223

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