Climate Change, Military Recruiting, U$D in Europe, AZ Teachers

Rikki and Ravi start with the frightening numbers reflecting the pace of climate change around the globe, including deadly heatwaves and massive jumps in temperature. Cory then runs down the executive actions that Biden has left to combat these issues after legislation stalled again while Ravi compares and contrasts their significance and impact.

The hosts discuss the specifics of the new bill out of Arizona that allows teachers still enrolled in a bachelor’s program to teach classes and argue whether it’s a common sense measure. 

The hosts discuss the University of Austin’s “anti-woke” curriculum as compared to echo chamber campuses around the country and the state of higher education.

Ravi, Cory, and Rikki discuss the phenomenally low recruitment numbers affecting the military and what’s behind it, from a decrease in patriotism to a giant chunk of young people being ineligible. They then discuss Top Gun: Maverick and whether it can save America.

Ravi runs down the Electoral Count Act reform that’s gaining bipartisan support in Congress right now, and how it directly responds to January 6. 

Ravi uses the lens of American tourism in Europe to examine historic parity between the USD and the Euro. Then the hosts examine what it means to the economy, both domestic and global. 

Ravi pitches his surprisingly pragmatic radical idea.

WH x Climate [1:11]

Manchin balks at climate and tax pieces of Biden agenda bill but backs health care provisions (CNBC, 07/15)
The Increasing Death Toll in the U.S. From Extreme Heat (TIME, 07/20)
Europe’s Heat Wave Shatters British Records and Drives Wildfires (The New York Times, 07/19)
Heat wave kills more than 2,000 people in Spain and Portugal (Axios, 07/21)
Biden announces new climate change programs, but no emergency declaration (CNBC, 07/20)
Millions in U.S. and Europe face extreme heat as wildfires break out (CBS News, 07/19)
FACT SHEET: President Biden’s Executive Actions on Climate to Address Extreme Heat and Boost Offshore Wind (The White House, 07/20)
FACT SHEET: President Biden Sets 2030 Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Target Aimed at Creating Good-Paying Union Jobs and Securing U.S. Leadership on Clean Energy Technologies (The White House, 04/22)
Taking Stock 2022: US Greenhouse Gas Emissions Outlook in an Uncertain World (Rhodium Group, 07/14)

No Bachelor’s Degree for Teachers? [14:00]

Survey highlights ongoing teacher shortage for Arizona schools (Cronkite News, Arizona PBS, 02/15)
Arizona Needs Teachers. Does the Answer Lie Beyond Recruitment? (EdSurge, 07/14)
We don’t need no education: Now Arizona says teachers don’t require college degrees (Salon, 07/12)
Arizona teachers have the lowest wages in the nation, report finds (AZMirror, 02/15/2021)

Univ. of Austin [21:01]

Students reveal ‘forbidden lessons’ taught at anti-woke University of Austin (New York Post, 07/16)
Why We Need New Colleges (The New York Times, 11/10/2021)

Military Enlistment [27:19]

Every branch of the military is struggling to make its 2022 recruiting goals, officials say (NBC News, 06/27)
What to Make of America’s Military-Recruitment Problem (National Review, 07/04)
Top Gun: Maverick is the Right’s Latest Culture-War Crusade (Vanity Fair, 05/31)
The Looming National Security Crisis: Young Americans Unable to Serve in the Military (Heritage Foundation, 2/13/2018)
With Few Able and Fewer Willing, U.S. Military Can’t Find Recruits (The New York Times, 07/14)

Electoral Count Act Reform [37:25]

Bipartisan Senate Group Strikes Deal to Rewrite Electoral Count Act (The New York Times, 07/20)

American$$$ in Eurozone [39:30]

With a Strong Dollar Against a Weaker Euro, American Tourists Are Spending in Europe (The Wall Street Journal, 07/18)
Why the Euro Has Tumbled Near Parity to the US Dollar (The Washington Post, 07/13)
The Dollar Is Stronger. Who Wins? Who Loses? (The New York Times, 05/06)
Euro Slips Below Dollar as Europe’s Economic Fortunes Slump (The Wall Street Journal, 07/14)

Ravi’s Radical Idea [45:20]