(back)
Here's what I've been reading, watching, and listening to:
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary discusses the recent decision to approve updated Covid-19 vaccines for a smaller population. In an interview with host Ryan Knutson, Makary also discusses his thoughts on restoring confidence in public health policy and explains the agency’s new crackdown on pharmaceutical ads
Insightful conversation with the current FDA commissioner on its focus on using data to inform vaccine recommendations. There was one bit of the conversation in which he used anecdotal evidence of COVID vaccines harming children that I found to be irresponsible framing (ie, you shouldn’t be referencing anecdotes in this type of conversation if your operating basis is leveraging data for recommendations). However, I appreciate that he’s saying they don’t have the data yet and are investigating each claim made in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting (VAERS) database to validate reports with doctors and hospitals.
As ICE arrives in Chicago under the banner of crime reduction, Jon is joined by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to examine the Trump administration’s stated rationale for federal intervention in American cities. They explore what the administration is actually trying to accomplish in Illinois, and consider what effective approaches to reducing crime and immigration violations actually look like.
This was a good one. Proud to have JB Pritzker as the governor of Illinois. He’s worked hard to implement fiscal and budgetary reforms, invest in infrastructure, increase the minimum wage to $15, expand access to healthcare and education, and support women’s reproductive rights. We still have massive pension liabilities contributing to the state’s debt and dealing with inflation and cost-of-living pressures (true in all states). There are no quick fixes other than to continue working through it all.
1,100 hours of recorded meeting data from over 150 teams show that attendees of in-person meetings are more active and engaged in the discussion
Kind of a mind blowing problem (and to me the fact that it is a problem, which I guess I should not be surprised by)
“Short-circuiting the revolving door between the Fed and the executive branch is critical to reducing the incentives for officials to act in the short-term political interests of the president,” Miran wrote in that paper, adding that board members should be prohibited from serving in the executive branch for four years following the end of their Fed term.
“Your independence has already been seriously compromised by your statement — you are going to be technically an employee of the president of the United States but an independent member of the board of the Federal Reserve?” Senator Jack Reed said. “That’s ridiculous.”
…and is also incredibly smart
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A: Sort of. He has the power to do it for cause, but he will have a hard time demonstrating cause given there have been no charges or court proceedings against the fed governor for mortgage fraud (ie - he is firing her based on allegations). Is there a dumpster fire emoji, yet?