EP 889 A True Crime Case Which Shows the Hold the Genre Has on Americans
In 2019, the quiet suburb of New Canaan, Connecticut was shocked by the disappearance of Jennifer Dulos, a mother of five who vanished one morning after dropping her kids off to school. In 2020, her husband Fotis Dulos–with whom she was locked in a contentious divorce–and Fotis’s lover, Michelle Troconis, were charged with Jennifer’s murder, despite the fact that to this day Jennifer Dulos’s body has never been found. There has been a fascination with the events and facts in the Dulos case and it has spread across a growing empire of true crime media–articles, books, podcasts, TV shows and on social media. The fact that this story is part of the growing interest in the ‘missing white women syndrome’ in a town of great affluence and that the husband killed himself rather than going to prison, adds to the fascination with the case. Rich Cohen puts us in the center of what happened in his new book, “Murder in the Dollhouse: The Jennifer Dulos Story,” as he successfully attempts to paint a complete picture of the victim. We also discuss the reasons for the wild success of true crime reporting across so many genres.
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America is a leader in scientific pursuits. This fact that is underpinned by much evidence. While the United States represents only 4 percent of the world’s population it accounts for over half of science Nobel Prizes awarded since 2000, hosts seven of the Times Higher Education Top 10 science universities, and has introduced to the world firms like Alphabet (Google), Meta and Pfizer that have parlayed federally funded discoveries into billion-dollar enterprises. Yet, many of the scientific achievements and advances have come at the hands of scientists who have flocked to the United States, because of its world class universities and government support of cutting edge scientific and technological research. All of that is now in jeopardy as the Trump Administration is at war with leading universities, threatening to deny the funding that makes breakthroughs possible, while also sending chilling messages to those students who come from other places that they may be denied entry into the country. Other countries are taking notice and offering these same students. attractive packages to do their work in Europe, Asia or Australia, for example. To discuss this serious issue is Marc Zimmer, a professor of chemistry at Connecticut College.
The type of extensive evil that went on under Adolf Hitler back in the 1930’s and 40’s requires an apparatus that enlists ‘average’ Germans of the era doing their jobs. No one man could have done it alone. Bringing this story forward, in authoritarian regimes around the globe there are people looking away at the inhumanity of their actions, becoming unthinking about its moral consequences, in pursuit of career advancement and other common things. Our guest, Elizabeth Minnich, a student of and teaching assistant to Hannah Arendt, the great political theorist, has followed on to Arendt’s work in her new book called “The Evil of Banality: On the Life and Death Importance of Thinking.” Arendt witnessed the Adolf Eichmann trial for Nazi war crimes and was struck by this seemingly normal, ordinary man-charged with unthinkable crimes-calmly arguing that he was simply “following orders” and “doing his job.” It goes on today, every day, in totalitarian regimes around the globe. How does banality become evil? And what about those in our own country who watch backsliding on commitments to civil liberties and go along? Provocative questions today on the podcast.
Ten states in this country have container deposit legislation, popularly called “bottle bills”. The first one was passed in Oregon decades ago. Container deposit legislation requires a refundable deposit on certain types of recyclable beverage containers in order to boost recycling rates. First these measures were seen as an antidote to litter and an environmentally sound move. As some states, like mine in Connecticut, have increased the rate from a nickel to a dime for returning those cans and bottles, not only has it raised the rate of returns sharply, but it has become a cottage industry for some living on the margins. And yet the process itself of taking the cans and bottles to a recycling center or having to put them through a reverse vending machine yourself is often cumbersome and messy. Enter CLYNK. It is a pioneering technology company that is working to revolutionize the bottle and can redemption process with its innovative “Bag Drop” system. Founded in 2005, CLYNK’s patented platform is catching on. Matt Prindiville, CEO of CLYNK, joins us to discuss the history of this recycling program, impediments to making it more ubiquitous across the United States and CLYNK’s role in making it more successful and a better user experience.
Do you ever go to your primary care physician and are seen on time? In a modern-looking facility? Without the doctor having his or her hand on the door to signal a need to get to the next patient? In our sophisticated society, do you think we can get it right in combining cutting-edge technology in combination with the warmth of human connection to keep people coming back for more and sending their friends and families? And never do we need that tandem to work better on our behalf than in the field of health care delivery. And, yet, as we have touched on in previous podcasts the fee for service demands of most medical practices result in whiplash visits and unsatisfactory interactions. Drawing lessons from the industry-leading business practices, One Medical is a brand working to transform the customer experience in healthcare. Leading business consultant and best-selling author, Joseph Michelli, joins us once again to discuss how this company goes about the business of primary care medicine in an updated way in his new book “All Business Is Personal: One Medical’s Human Centered-Technology Powered Approach to Customer Engagement.” Amazon recognized the unique approach developed by Dr. Tom Lee in San Francisco and bought the company a few years back for $4 billion. We’ll explore the differences on this podcast.
Just as big box retail stores have given way to more boutique and on-line retail environments, grocery shoppers are drawn these days to stores with a curated selection of essentials at lower prices. Stores like the brother rivals of Aldi’s and Trader Joe’s are examples. Do we really need 10 choices of olive oil? Too much choice can be overwhelming. Our guest, Phil Lempert, the Supermarket Guru, also tells us that omnichannel shopping is becoming the norm, as we transition, post-pandemic, to a seamless experience of shopping on-line and picking up at the stores, allowing us to go inside only for the things, like meat and vegetables, which we may want to customize based on many factors. And the engaging Mr. Lempert walks with us through a number of items that have been in the news–Americans are purchasing less salty and sweet snacks and healthier alternatives to soda are on the rise, thus paving the way for the healthier future that the current Administration has been touting. There’s no one better to go down the grocery aisles with than out guest.
Gallup ranks homelessness as one of Americans’ top three concerns. As it dovetails with the affordable housing crisis in this country, more and more people recognize how they, themselves, are a paycheck away from instability as it relates to having a roof over their heads. The homelessness we are experiencing today finds its roots in policies in the 1980’s which shred many safety nets. Given long waiting lines for federal low-income housing only about a quarter of those eligible for assistance actually receive help. Public housing itself has been starved of funding and demonized in the public discourse. And since the housing bubble burst in 2009, the shortage of housing has seen private equity players moving into the housing market and driving up prices. No one understands these issues better than Maria Foscarinis, the author of “And Housing for All: The Fight to End Homelessness in America” and the founder of the National Homelessness Law Center, which she led for nearly 32 years. As growing numbers of people find themselves in desperate circumstances living in anything other than permanent housing, we have begun criminalizing the practice of having no shelter. It is not a hopeful time for a growing number of Americans.
Whether your focus is on tariffs, the independence of the Federal Reserve or the reconciliation law and its tax and debt implications, the first six months of the second Trump Administration will have far-reaching effects on the American economy. Perhaps, it’s most important to watch the bond market reaction to the falling value of the dollar in relation to other currencies to forecast whether America’s dominance as the world’s economic engine is stalling. Given all that has transpired since his last visit, we decided to invite economist Michael Hicks back to put this whirlwind of activity in focus–to the extent anyone call follow the many mixed economic signals coming from this White House. Hicks is the George and Frances Ball Distinguished Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University in Indiana. His critiques are sharp and insightful, as you will hear on this podcast.
How does America end up with a Secretary of Health and Human Services who is at such great odds with physicians in America on the essential safety and efficacy of vaccines? Leading medical organizations are now suing Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. over his agency’s COVID-19 recommendations regarding vaccines for children and those who are pregnant. And while that is the latest pushback, Dr. Jake Scott, a clinical Professor of Infectious Diseases at Stanford University, has been quite vocal about the falsehoods and patent nonsense that the HHS Secretary spews on the subject of vaccines. He curates an open database of hundreds of controlled vaccine trials. Among his numerous concerns are falsehoods about the number of shots children are required to have (state by state), the safety of the widely used vaccines, and the claims of conflict of interest which resulted in the dissolving of members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. He comments on a range of issues in this sphere, including the measles outbreak we are seeing currently and what it portends for the health of America’s children.
We may be the only podcast to continue the conversation about our responses to COVID, but that’s fine with me. It’s that important because we will be there again and yet we’ve barely touched the surface in doing a serious examination of our public policy responses. The COVID pandemic quickly led to the greatest mobilization of emergency powers in human history. By early April 2020 half the world’s population-3.9 billion people-were living under quarantine. People were told not to leave their houses; businesses were shuttered, employees laid off and schools closed for months or even years. In their book “In COVID’s Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us”, Frances Lee and our guest, Stephen Macedo, ask and dissect important questions: why did we ignore pre-COVID plans for managing a pandemic? Were the voices of reasonable dissent treated fairly? Did we weigh the costs and benefits of different policy options? It’s an important conversation and if we’re the only ones still having it, so be it.