The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 9.4 "MrBeast Is Ruining Youtube!" Creator League Scandal, 70,000 Stranded At Burning Man, & Today's News

Episode Date: September 4, 2023

Use code PHIL for $20 off your first SeatGeek order and code DEFRANCO for $10 off repeat buyers. https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/PHIL  Go Buy http://WakeandMakeCoffee.com 50% OFF select orders! This... batch won’t last long.END OF SUMMER SALE! Get it before it's gone @ http://beautifulbastard.com P.S. use code "WORKSUCKSIKNOW" at checkout for a lil surprise to kick off your long weekend. Catch up on our latest PDS: https://youtu.be/Fnd1bDbPUT8?si=vkvEziFnjHNHsHnJ Check out our daily newsletter! http://dailydip.co/pds  Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phillydefranco/?hl=en  –✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - Jacksepticeye Says MrBeast “Ruined” YouTube 05:49 - Creator League Faces Backlash for Hidden NFTs 08:03 - Thousands Stuck at Burning Man Amid Rain, Mud 11:52 - Sponsored by Seatgeek 13:04 - Proud Boys Leaders Sentenced  14:29 - NYPD Deploying Drones to Monitor Labor Day Parties 15:31 - Judge Strikes Down Texas Age Verification Law 16:05 - Shooting at White Sox Game Reportedly Happened After Woman Hid Gun in Belly Fat 17:08 - Pregnant Women Report High Rates of Mistreatment ——————————   Produced by: Cory Ray Edited by: James Girardier, Maxx Enright, Julie Goldberg, Christian Meeks Art Department: William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Brian Espinoza, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Star Pralle, Chris Tolve  ———————————— #DeFranco #MrBeast #BellaPoarch ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Today we're talking about the fight over whether MrBeast is ruining YouTube, along with claims that he duped other major creators into shilling off NFTs. But is that the real or whole story? Proud Boy leaders get in massive sentences over January 6th. Tens of thousands have been stranded at Burning Man. We're gonna talk about all that and so much more on today's brand new Philip DeFranco show, you daily dive into the news. But first, I'm so excited I can finally announce it,
Starting point is 00:00:20 I'm launching a small batch coffee company today. It's something that I've been working on for, uh, sorry. It's something I've been working on for a while now because that's what it takes to do it right, and also to be able to be better in such a saturated space. Especially because what so many people don't realize is they've been drinking shitty, improperly roasted bitter coffee. And y'all, I know that for a fact because I drank so much mediocre coffee over the last two years to finally be able to launch our three amazing core roasts. Guiding Light, Happy Medium, and dark matter, each with their own fantastic flavor profiles roasted to perfection low in acidity, so it goes super smooth by itself. And it's still also an amazing base for you creamer girlies. And it is made in small batches,
Starting point is 00:00:53 so we can guarantee the quality of every cup. In fact, I believe you're going to love it so much, I'm going to take a loss on this launch. You can try it today at 50% off. And y'all, if you are even remotely interested, order right now. Just to be completely transparent, since the average order size and our secret test launch were three bags, I'll likely only be able 50% off. And y'all, if you are even remotely interested, order right now. Just to be completely transparent, since the average order size on our secret test launch were three bags, I'll likely only be able to do 2,000 orders today. I really wanted to make sure we didn't over-roast, we didn't over-prepare,
Starting point is 00:01:11 and all of a sudden we end up with a bunch of beans sitting on the shelf losing their amazing flavors. And if you do get there too late, it'll prompt you to give like an email and a phone number so you can be the first to know when the next batch is ready. I also want to give the biggest of all thank yous to you beautiful bastards
Starting point is 00:01:23 who are a part of the Secret Soft Launch. Your opinions, your recommendations, your overwhelmingly positive reviews were so helpful. I also want to give the biggest of all thank yous to you beautiful bastards who are part of the secret soft launch your opinions your Recommendations your overwhelmingly positive reviews were so helpful and reading new reviews actually become one of my favorite things to do in the morning That's largely because it's like a thousand percent better than any ad copy that I could possibly write like re who wrote last week These are absolutely incredible Each of the roasts are beautifully done without the slightest taste of burnt beans dark matter is one of if not the best dark roast I've ever had happy medium is a delicious full-body taste that doesn't need to be overpowered by creamer or sugar.
Starting point is 00:01:48 And Guiding Light still has lovely coffee flavors, unlike any other light roast I've had. Wake & Make is my new favorite coffee company, and I'm totally hooked. What the fuck? I swear on my children, I did not write that. And that's just one of an avalanche of positive reviews we got during the testing period.
Starting point is 00:02:01 So go to wakeandmakecoffee.com. I got a link in the description. I got a QR code here. I got a little tappy thing you can do here. Go snag yourself a bag or three at up to 50% off. And remember, if we sell out too fast, you'll get prompted for an email and a phone number, so please submit that.
Starting point is 00:02:13 You'll be the first to know when the next batch is done and ready for you. But with all that said, we've got news to talk about, so let's just jump into it. Starting with, MrBeast is ruining YouTube. That is a claim that many on the internet are fighting over right now. Just starting our week off with some drama. And all of this stemming from a video where you have massive gaming
Starting point is 00:02:28 YouTuber Jacksepticeye taking a lie detector test. Yes. Now, in all honesty, Jack, why? Because it became more about views, money, and popularity than it did about having fun. You just don't think he had fun playing Squid Games? You don't think he had fun riding on yachts? Building wells in Africa? I don't know. If he had fun doing those videos, they'd be longer. We'd see the fun. And that clip went absolutely viral, igniting shock, support, backlash.
Starting point is 00:03:07 As far as shock, you had people saying things like, Jacksepticeye having beef with Mr. Beast was not on my 2023 bingo card. In fact, it was so surprising we even saw Mr. Beast himself responding to the situation and also blowing it up even more. With him writing, I ruined YouTube because I didn't buy a mansion and sports car and instead reinvested my money into making content focused on doing good and inspiring kids to help people. Quote, if he had fun, the videos would be longer.
Starting point is 00:03:26 What does that even mean? You think I'd give up every hour of my life for 14 years if I didn't have fun? This clip is insanely disrespectful in my opinion. And obviously there is so much I could say about his content, but I'll just take the punches and be the bigger man. And so with this, we saw a number of creators coming to Mr. B's defense.
Starting point is 00:03:41 That including podcaster and YouTuber, Ethan Klein, who said that Jack himself spent a chunk of his career power posting two Let's Plays per day. Right, probably something you do in an effort to make more money. And arguing that this, quote, revisionist history of a utopian YouTube when no one cared about views and everyone was having fun all the time is bullshit. And continuing, the only difference between now and then is that Jimmy has absolutely dominated the space in a way nobody ever has before, making content no one has ever made before. Actually, maybe the first time in YouTube history where the number one person is also making the best content. In closing, he's doing more for
Starting point is 00:04:07 the platform and legitimizing YouTubers than anyone before. Jack, if you aren't having fun on YouTube, I'd recommend looking inward. Others also chime in saying that it seems like Jack is jealous. People also pointing to a tweet Mr. Beast put out saying that he's filming almost every single day with no days off until the end of the year. He's dying mentally to get videos out. There, you also had people who agreed with Jack, using that to argue Mr. Beast isn't having fun with his content, or the argument that this pursuit in this way can actually be toxic.
Starting point is 00:04:30 And with that, there were a good number of people on Jack's side, some claiming Mr. Beast has a hero complex, saying that YouTube used to feel more personalized, but Mr. Beast is gamified into being more overly sensational and hyper-produced, though some arguing that Jack was actually just trying to make a more nuanced argument, that it wasn't so much about Mr. Beast as much as the copycats rising up trying to emulate his growth whilst also crushing all form of uniqueness and personality out of their YouTube
Starting point is 00:04:51 videos. But the argument that the problem isn't MrBeast but the culture of YouTube of just copycat. Which I mean to that point MrBeast himself in the past has even expressed annoyance with people just copying him. And then on top of that you also have people who are just annoyed that these comments resulted in a whole huge thing. With some saying the most annoying thing about Mr. Beast is that you can't even have a benign criticism of him without people coming down on you. You can't even be like, I find his content annoying so I don't watch. People react like you've committed actual blasphemy. Like I do think it's extreme to say anyone ruined YouTube, but all Jack is saying here is that he doesn't like these videos and they don't seem earnest to him. But here's the funniest or craziest or saddest thing about this.
Starting point is 00:05:22 While fandoms and communities were still fighting, it seems like both Jack and Mr. Beast hashed things out behind closed doors. With Jimmy Sins deleting his tweet, responding to Jack, also writing, we message, we're good now. With everything that we've just talked about, I gotta pass a question off to you. What are your thoughts here?
Starting point is 00:05:36 What camp do you land in? Because we talked about people having kind of like five or six different takes. Personally, I'm glad this looks like it's over. Because by all accounts from everything I've seen, they both seem like good guys. People who try to do good, people who have moved the platform forward. You know, I guess we'll have to it's over. Because by all accounts from everything I've seen, they both seem like good guys. People who try to do good, people who have moved the platform forward.
Starting point is 00:05:47 You know, I guess we'll have to wait to see how things play out. But that said, that wasn't the only reason that MrBeast was in the news today. Right, so the Creator League is this big competition put on by EFuse featuring eight creators who will lead teams and compete for prizes. And fans can get involved by purchasing $20 creator passes,
Starting point is 00:06:00 and those passes are a key part of the story. They're said to allow fans to compete, join a team's roster, vote in a team's polls, and more. Mr. Beast announces in the middle of the video that he posted over the weekend where he was, I mean, it's completely unrelated to the story, putting big stuff in a big shredder. When you purchase a Creator League pass, you're able to influence the league, compete at weekly tournaments, win prizes, and potentially even meet some of your favorite influencers. And if you sign up in the next seven days, you'll receive a free box of Feastable Bars. But notably, Mr. Beast wasn't on the roster of players.
Starting point is 00:06:26 You see big names like iShowSpeed, BellaPorge, MiniHacker, OTK, SeedogVA, but no Mr. Beast. And as is what happens when you put a promotion in a video that gets over 50 million views in 24 hours, there was a lot of attention on it, namely a lot of intrigue, but that then turned into backlash very quickly, with the biggest controversy
Starting point is 00:06:41 centering around the Creator Pass, which Forbes reported as actually an NFT. And so with that, many people, including some of the creators involved, were unaware of that. There, Forbes noting that the term NFT was not used in any press release and Mr. B's video on the website or anywhere that would usually feature that kind of information. The outlet saying that it only discovered this by looking at the refund policy. And since NFTs and blockchain tech are often met with criticism and backlash in this space, Forbes said that it felt disingenuous that it was hidden like that, especially since some of the creators involved
Starting point is 00:07:05 have actually spoken out against NFTs, which is why on that front, it wasn't surprising to see C-Dog VA ready to drop out of the project altogether, writing, I accepted to join the creator league, not fully understanding the tech behind it. Needless to say, with the current information available, I'm planning on withdrawing.
Starting point is 00:07:17 I was not told or made aware at any point that there was blockchain technology and was only made aware of that information when the event went live. I was given assurances that it had nothing to do with NFTs. Given my vocal hatred of such tech, I would never agree to join had I known that. It's an embarrassing fuck up on my part to agree to promote this to my audience. I'm sorry. And the co-founder of OTK also writing,
Starting point is 00:07:36 we were told there was no NFT slash crypto component, but looks like that may not be the case. Waiting for responses to our emails and phone calls like others. He also had Mr. Beast facing backlash for announcing the league in the passes in his video, people saying that he was misleadingly promoting NFTs. So there, it is worth noting, according to Forbes, Mr. Beast's involvement in the Creator League ends at that video announcement. Apparently, he's not actually involved in the tournament. He was just paid to announce it.
Starting point is 00:07:55 So it's unclear what he did or didn't know about that aspect. But as we wait to see what happens from here, what other information comes out, I got to pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts here? And then, wild orgies, cannibalism, and the Ebola virus. Nothing could really connect those three things together except the annual festival known as Burning Man. Though to be clear, the cannibalism and Ebola
Starting point is 00:08:13 are just rumors that have been spread on social media. The orgies, however, are basically a given. Right, because if you've never heard about it, Burning Man is a decades-old festival out in the middle of Nevada's Black Rock Desert. Having been known for hippies dressing up in costumes and camping out for a week in the huge dried up lake basin, where they make art pieces, sculptures, and of course, steaming hot love. Over the years, Who Goes has evolved, got a
Starting point is 00:08:32 lot of influencers, celebrities, uber wealthy. You know, the whole event culminating in the burning of a 40-foot effigy, hence the name Burning Man. And so unsurprisingly, given all the private jets, wealthy attendees used to fly in, single-use plastics littering the campsites, generators burning huge amounts of propane, some have also accused the event of literally burning the planet, which is why critics have long pointed out its consumerism, all the trash left behind, and the 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide emitted in 2019. The organizers have promised to go carbon negative by 2030. But many don't believe that, and this year we also saw climate protesters blocking the highway leading into the festival, that causing a huge traffic jam, and no more than an
Starting point is 00:09:04 hour passed before tribal rangers showed up up with one of them just plowing their vehicle straight through the roadblock. Then at one point you see a ranger draw a firearm on one of the unarmed protesters, though it's unclear whether it was a gun or a taser. Get down now! Get down! On the ground! All of you on the ground now! Get on the ground! Get on the ground! With the activists later claiming someone falsely called in that they had a gun and the tribal police now saying
Starting point is 00:09:33 the ranger's conduct is under review. But all of that, that isn't even the main story because on Friday, some six days into the event, a rainstorm decided to crash the party with it dumping two months worth of rain in just 24 hours and it turned the desert sand into a sloppy, slippery mud pit. And so as a result, you had the authorities prohibiting all entry and exit to the festival grounds. Though also, anyone who didn't have all-terrain tires
Starting point is 00:09:51 would have found it hard to leave anyway with the roads reduced to ankle-deep pools of sludge, which is also why you saw some ambitious drivers getting their Jeeps and RVs stuck in the mud. So you had event organizers telling attendees to just shelter in place to conserve food and water. But that also, as we've seen reports of people dealing with overfilled porta-potties, rationing food and water, and even dying. But the sheriff's office is saying that one person died during the rainstorm, though it didn't appear to be connected to the weather.
Starting point is 00:10:12 So where we're at is while organizers have said that driving may be feasible today, the idea of up to 70,000 people hauling it out of there all at once could be a nightmare. But even without those conditions, 12-hour-long traffic jams have been typical in the past. And that's because the site is extremely remote, with the nearest town housing just over 100 people in Reno, the nearest
Starting point is 00:10:27 city sitting 93 miles away. So on site, the situation can be brutal if you're not prepared, even during normal conditions. But the cost of getting such a beautiful flat location is the extreme temperatures that top 100 degrees during the daytime and drop 50 degrees at night. Plus, befitting its anarchist countercultural roots, radical self-reliance is explicitly one of Burning Man's core principles. Aside from the porta-potties, ice for sale, and on-site first responders, all of the attendees are expected to take responsibility for their own supplies, health, and safety. And with that, apparently some thought attempting to trek back to civilization on foot was worth the risk. With stories coming out about celebrities like Diplo and Chris Rock
Starting point is 00:10:57 saying they hitchhiked six miles through the mud, though lucky for them they were picked up by a fan and a pickup truck. Truck month is on at Chevrolet. Get 0% financing for up to 72 months on a 2025 Silverado 1500 Custom Blackout or Custom Trail Boss. With Custom Trail Bosses available, class-exclusive Duramax 3-liter diesel engine and Z71 off-road package with a 2-inch factory suspension lift,
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Starting point is 00:11:47 So, what should we talk about? No sugar added? Neutral. Refreshingly simple. Cold brew right now? I would just... Well, obviously, there are people who have been struggling. For tens of thousands of other people who are just still sticking it out in the mud, the party goes on, with many making mud sculptures, dancing, drinking, doing drugs, and yoga, overall seeming to try to make the best of a bad situation.
Starting point is 00:12:18 And in fact, some Burning Man vets saying the rainfall actually added to the experience because collaborating to survive in a harsh environment is what Burning Man's all about, with one woman saying it was so beautiful to see people helping each other out and sharing supplies and batteries and power and water and food and shelter. And now the postponed effigy burning is expected to happen tonight. But again, we'll have to wait and see what the conditions are actually like. But with all of that, I got to know, what are your thoughts and opinions on this situation? Because the reaction online varied greatly. Some were very empathetic. Others were like, fuck all those people.
Starting point is 00:12:46 Yeah, let me know where you stand and why. And also let me know if you've ever been or you went this year or you know someone who has. And then, y'all, happy September, which by the way means one thing. Football is upon us. And we've also still got concerts, baseball, theater, and way more.
Starting point is 00:13:00 Like there is an event happening for every mood, distraction, or taste in entertainment. And thanks to the sponsor of today's show, SeatGeek, the world's your oyster. And even better, you'll get $20 off just by using code Phil for tickets to treat yourself. You deserve it. And actually, for those of you
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Starting point is 00:13:57 And for you returning SeatGeek buyers, you will still get $10 off just by using code DEFRANCO. Just make sure you click the link in the description to download the app. And then, I've got a few quick news stories from over the weekend that are completely
Starting point is 00:14:07 unrelated to one another and vary in levels of seriousness that I'm about to give you. One, the leaders of the Proud Boys fucked around and found out. With them specifically fucking around on January 6th of 2021 over at the Capitol. One of them, Joe Biggs, seemingly having the time of his life. So we just stormed the Capitol, took the mother place back. That was so much fun. A leader of this violent attack on the US Capitol showing images of him with a bullhorn leading the mob towards the Capitol.
Starting point is 00:14:34 Joe Biggs ultimately made it onto the floor, was in the gallery of the US Senate. January 6th will be a day in infamy. But he has now found out that the government is taking that life, specifically 17 years of it. And that sentence coming down after he was convicted of seditious conspiracy and other charges back in May. And according to the BBC, in court, you had a tearful Biggs apologizing for his actions, saying that he was seduced by the crowd on the day of the riot,
Starting point is 00:14:56 saying his curiosity just got the better of him, that he's not a terrorist, that he doesn't have hate in his heart. Though notably, prosecutors described a much different situation, saying the former InfoWars correspondent employed his military expertise to direct and control large groups of men under his command to lead a revolt against the government. And with that, presenting evidence of text messages, social media posts, and videos. And in addition to Biggs, you also had another Proud Boys leader getting 10 years, one getting 15, and Ethan Nordean, who prosecutors have described as the undisputed leader on the ground during the insurrection, getting 18 years. And all of that, notably ahead of tomorrow, when former Proud Boys national leader Enrique Tarrio is expected to
Starting point is 00:15:28 receive his sentence for seditious conspiracy. Two, if you're watching this in New York and you're going to, or you're awkwardly not talking to people at, or you went to a backyard party or a barbecue, there might've been an uninvited guest there. And that's because reports came out saying the New York police are going to be using drones to monitor those parties this weekend. With Kaz Daughtry, the assistant NYPD commissioner, saying if a caller states there's a large crowd, a large party in a backyard, we're going to be utilizing our assets to go up and go check on the party. A plan that the AP reported immediately received backlash from both privacy and civil liberties advocates. And Daniel Schwarz, a privacy and technology strategist at
Starting point is 00:15:58 the New York Civil Liberties Union, saying it's a troubling announcement and it flies in the face of the post app. And saying deploying drones in this way is a sci-fi inspired scenario. Though in New York and other cities, this is not science fiction. This is becoming the new normal with data showing that while drones were only used four times all of last year, this year they've been used 124 times so far. And that makes sense as you have mayor Eric Adams also saying he wants to see the police embrace this more. And here's the thing. While there are a lot of scenarios where, you know, using a drone just makes sense, you have privacy advocates noting regulations have just not kept up. And they argue that if it doesn't catch up, it just opens the door to intrusive surveillance that would otherwise be illegal if it was conducted by a human police
Starting point is 00:16:31 officer. Three, a federal judge struck down a Texas law requiring age verification to view pornographic websites. Ruling that the bill, which was signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, violates free speech rights and is overbroad and vague. And while the state attorney general's office immediately filed an appeal, the judge explained his decision saying the law raises privacy concerns because the aid verification is using a traceable government-issued identification and the government has access to and is not required to delete the data. And explaining further, by verifying information through government identification, the law will allow the government to peer into the most intimate and personal aspects of people's lives.
Starting point is 00:16:59 And going even further to say, even though he thinks this law has a legitimate goal, he thinks other methods like blocking and filtering software would be better. And four, I'm so disappointed in myself for missing this story last week. You might have seen the news that two women were shot at a White Sox game. It was confusing. There was so much speculation. It just felt so bizarre. And then we got possibly one of the most unexpected, but maybe also most American updates to this story with ESPN's Peggy Kaczynski reporting, the shooting during a White Sox game was indeed an accidental discharge by one of the women grazed by the bullet. She reportedly snuck that gun in past metal detectors by hiding it in the folds of her belly fat. Which, what? Sounds too ridiculous to be true. And in fact, since that
Starting point is 00:17:36 was reported, an attorney for the woman said that's bullshit, saying she denies bringing a firearm into the stadium and further denies having anything to do with the discharge of a firearm at the stadium, saying we have reviewed photographic evidence and x-rays of our client's injuries with firearms and medical experts who confirm the gunshot wound our client sustained was not self-inflicted and was not the result of her accidentally discharging a firearm. CBS News also reported last week that Chicago police said, you know, this claim didn't come from us. Saying the investigation is still active and ongoing. But for now, we'll just have to wait to see what comes from that investigation. At the very least, we can be happy that the only
Starting point is 00:18:04 casualty of this shooting was the Vanilla Ice concert that happened after the game. And then a significant portion of pregnant women in the United States deal with verbal abuse, discrimination, and unanswered calls for help. That's what we just learned from a new survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With 20% of women reporting that they experienced mistreatment during pregnancy and delivery care. With the most common forms of mistreatment, including getting no response and requesting help, being shouted at or scolded, having their physical privacy violated, and having healthcare providers threatened to withhold treatment or force them to accept unwanted care. And that mistreatment varied wildly depending on a number
Starting point is 00:18:35 of factors, even based on things like insurance type. Right, 28% of respondents with no insurance and 26% with public insurance reporting poor treatment, which was a notable difference compared to just 16% of those with private insurance. Also, women of color reported higher rates of mistreatment, black women, 30%, Hispanic, 29%, multiracial, 27%. And actually, overall, women reported discrimination in their care at an even higher rate than general mistreatment, with 29% saying they were discriminated against
Starting point is 00:18:57 based on a number of factors like age, weight, income, and race. But once again, black, multiracial, and Hispanic women reporting significantly higher rates between 37 and 40%. You've got experts startled by these statistics. With Wanda Barfield, the director of the CDC's Division of Reproductive Health, releasing a statement and saying,
Starting point is 00:19:12 as a doctor, mother, and black woman, it is disheartening to hear how common mistreatment is and to see differences in mistreatment and discrimination during maternity care based on things like race and insurance coverage. We know that racism and discrimination can lead to delays in treatment and sometimes tragic and preventable deaths.
Starting point is 00:19:26 And Nastassia Harris, the founding executive director of the Perinatal Health Equity Initiative, also told CNN, our system is broken for all women, but black women bear the brunt of those inequities. And saying a lot of that has to do with racism, the intersection of sexism and misogyny, and how that actually impacts how black women
Starting point is 00:19:40 are seen and perceived in the health space. Also, in addition to reporting mistreatment and discrimination, there were also other setbacks in maternal care, including women's fears about advocating for their own health. With 45% rate, nearly half of these women saying that they held back from asking questions
Starting point is 00:19:52 or discussing concerns that they had, and saying they told themselves whatever they were experiencing must be normal, or their friends and family told them that it was normal. So many not wanting to make a big deal of something or feeling embarrassed to discuss those issues. Many also concerned their healthcare provider would think that they were being difficult by asking. Some also just saying
Starting point is 00:20:06 they didn't ask because the provider seemed rushed or because they weren't confident they knew what they were talking about. The thing is, it is so critical that women feel like they have the ability to ask these questions. Dr. Todd Ellerin, the director of infectious diseases at South Shore Hospital in Massachusetts, discussing this report with WCVB News in Boston and saying, Our chief of OBGYN here, Dr. Kim Devers, she's been here for over 15 years. She says that there's a famous saying that she says that delay or deny and pregnant women may die. So by putting off potential problems, pregnant women can put their pregnancy or even their own lives at risk. And on the other side, doctors can do the same if they don't respond to requests for
Starting point is 00:20:43 help. And all of this, especially concerning and important to talk about when you think about how high maternal mortality is in the United States. In fact, earlier this year, a separate CDC report found that maternal mortality rose significantly in 2021. We're talking about a 40% increase from the year prior. With that, the U.S. had a 32.9 maternal death rate per 100,000 births. That is 10 times higher than rates in other high-income countries like Australia, Austria, Israel, Japan, and Spain. And again, when we focus on this number, black women in the US suffer more,
Starting point is 00:21:08 their maternal mortality rate being 70 per 100,000. That's over twice as high as the rate for white women. And to just make bad news even worse, last year a report found that 80% of pregnancy-related deaths in the US are actually preventable. But also with this, it is worth noting that some experts have said that more research is needed to determine how much the mistreatment
Starting point is 00:21:24 reported in this newer CDC study plays into the maternal mortality rate. The CDC's Wanda Barfield saying that the report was unable to conclude a direct relation in addicts. This study doesn't really reflect that, and I think there's more that needs to be done in terms of better understanding these causes. But we do know from the study that women are reluctant to report their concerns. And we do know that as a result of not reporting concern, there may be an increased risk of pregnancy-related complications for both mom and baby. One of the most unfortunate things is this is just one of many problems we have related to pregnancy-related health care in the U.S. Because, I mean, some people don't even have reliable access to maternal care at all. With a non-profit group, March of Dimes, finding that 4.7 million women live in counties with limited maternity access. And in
Starting point is 00:21:58 fact, there's so many reports within the last year highlighting that maternity units all over the country, especially in rural areas, are shuttering. With different reports citing a variety of different reasons, including the effects of COVID, financial issues, staffing problems, and more. Though oftentimes it's a combination of some or all of them. I mean, many of these hospitals are actually experiencing declining birth rates. With one Illinois-based doctor telling the Wall Street Journal that there's just not enough babies to be had. And reportedly hospitals with fewer births just aren't as appealing to doctors and nurses. But for the soon-to-be moms who still live in those areas and they're about to have a baby, that leaves them in a scary reality. But in fact, Voxer is recently highlighting the story of a woman in Connecticut who lived just a few blocks away from Wyndham Community
Starting point is 00:22:29 Memorial Hospital. When she went into labor, you'd think, oh, well, she's in for an easy ride. But reportedly, when the ambulance alerted the hospital that they were on the way, the hospital told them not so fast, saying the maternity ward unit stopped giving care months ago, and so you have to go to a different place 30 minutes away. What ended up happening then is that on the way to that hospital, she ended up giving birth on the side of the road. Notably, she gave birth to a different place 30 minutes away. What ended up happening then is that on the way to that hospital, she ended up giving birth on the side of the road. Notably, she gave birth to a baby that needed intensive care that that new hospital couldn't handle,
Starting point is 00:22:49 so then they had to go another 30 minutes away. Luckily, in that situation, both mom and baby are fine now, but it's so scary and stressful to think about. And so, of course, like everything I talk about on this show, I'd love to know your thoughts and your feelings and your opinions on it, but also, if you've had an experience
Starting point is 00:23:01 with the U.S. healthcare system and having a baby, I'd love to hear from you. And that is where today's Daily Dive into the News is going to end. But I'll leave you with three final things. One, snag yourself a bag or three over at wakenmaycoffee.com for up to 50% off today. Two, for more news you need to know, I got you covered right here. You can click or tap or I got links in the description. And three, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love your faces and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.

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