What A Day - And WAD's Person Of The Year Is...

Episode Date: December 15, 2023

The Biden administration is pressuring Israel to scale back its war by the end of the year. And earlier this week, President Joe Biden warned that Israel’s “indiscriminate bombing” of Gaza was whittling away international support. But it seems like the language shift hasn’t yet caused a meaningful development in the area.European Union leaders decided on Thursday to open EU membership negotiations with Ukraine. This has been a longtime goal of Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky and is a boost at a time when he’s trying to bolster his country’s support from allies both in Europe and in America.And in headlines: the House passed a $886 billion defense policy bill, New York Republicans have figured out who should replace George Santos in his old job, and we crown WAD’s first-ever Person of the Year.Show Notes:This is the last WAD of 2023. We’ll return with new episodes on Wednesday, January 3rd.Sign a petition for a ceasefire on Jewish Voice for Peace's website – https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/resource/ceasefire/IfNotNow’s demand for a ceasefire – https://www.ifnotnowmovement.org/ceasefire-nowDonate to the Palestinian Youth Movement – https://goodbricks.org/campaign/palestinianyouthmovement.com/donate-2022What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

It's Friday, December 15th. I'm Priyanka Arabindi. I'm Traevelle Anderson, and this is What A Day, where none of you had better be taking out student loans for Musk University. Absolutely not. That is Elon Musk's university. He is reportedly trying to open up in Austin, Texas. Listen, you better off going to DeVry at this point, okay? You're better

off doing a lot of things, honestly. On today's show, the European Union opened the door to Ukraine as a member. Plus, we open up the envelope to reveal WAD's person of the year. Yes, but first, as we head into our holiday break, we want to update y'all on the latest regarding the war in Gaza, where despite reports that the United States is pressuring Israel to end the war by the end of the year, Prime Minister Netanyahu is digging his heels in. quote, I told our American friends, our heroic fighters have not fallen in vain. From the deep pain of their falling, we are more determined than ever to continue to fight until Hamas is eliminated, until absolute victory. Yeah, those are two very different sentiments. I mean, we spoke earlier on the show this week about the shift in language that we're starting to see with President Biden from the White House on this issue. How has that been impacting conversations?

Earlier this week, Biden said that Israel's, quote, indiscriminate bombing was whittling away whatever international support they had, which, as you mentioned, is very different than what he and the administration was saying during the earlier parts of this conflict. But it would seem like this shift that we're seeing now, both in terms of the administration was saying during the earlier parts of this conflict. But what seemed like this shift that we're seeing now, both in terms of the administration's articulation and in the broader court of public opinion, I'd add, hasn't yet caused a meaningful, positive development in the area. And I think that might be because the administration is still trying to have its cake and eat it too. They want to call out Israel for what is a lack of care for over 18,000 Gazans who've been killed thus far and the over 50,000 others who've been injured or the millions displaced from their

homes. But they're also still endorsing Israel's supposed right to defend itself against Hamas. And so, for example, in one breath, you have National Security Council spokesman John Kirby calling for, quote, lower intensity operations, but unable or unwilling to describe in any real terms what that actually means. Here he is in a press conference yesterday, responding to questions from a reporter, trying to get specifics about just that. I think that's best left to our discussions with the Israelis and for the Israeli defense forces to describe. This is something that they have said they're going to do and they'll do it in their due course. But again, I don't want to get into too much detail here from this particular

podium about that. And if they were to transition into those lower intensity operations in the coming weeks, would the U.S. reconsider its support for Israel? That's a great hypothetical. I'm not going to engage. Yeah, I understand the need, as he said before, you know, to be cautious about what is said publicly, what is said in the press, because this is a live military situation, many moving parts. But that feels a little bit different. That feels like he's really trying to toe a line here in what he's saying. Absolutely. And he was right, especially with this statement coming at the same time as Israel estimating that it could take, quote, more than several months for them to accomplish their goal of eliminating Hamas. And speaking of Hamas, their political

leader, which to be clear is very different than the military leader, he has said that they are, quote, open to any ideas or initiatives that could end the war. But he also noted that Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for 16 years, will remain a presence in the region even after the war does end. This, of course, is a defiant statement, especially as Israel and the U.S. see Hamas's mere existence as a problem. But really what all of this means as we go into Christmas and Hanukkah and Kwanzaa celebrations over these next few weeks of the holiday season is that the violence in Gaza will continue. Even though the United States would like Israel to be more precise and surgical in their operations,

all as a means of protecting civilians, we actually haven't seen that happen yet, right? And so if you are listening and you want to know how you can join the millions of people demanding a ceasefire or you want to otherwise get involved, we're going to put a couple links in our show notes for you to check out. Thank you for that update, Travelle. Now

switching gears to another topic that has been top of mind for us throughout this entire year, that has been Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. We have some new developments with regards to Ukraine. Yesterday, European Union leaders decided to open EU membership negotiations with Ukraine. This has been a longtime goal of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and is certainly a boost at a time when they're trying to bolster support from their allies, both in Europe and here in America. Yeah. Can you tell us about the significance of Ukraine joining the EU? Being a part of the EU means a lot of things.

It means mobility for people. It means economic growth. It means security. And the opening of these negotiations sends a very clear message to Russia and Vladimir Putin that both Ukraine and Moldova, who they also opened negotiations with, are not up for the taking. The process to actually join the EU typically takes around a decade long, so it's not something we should expect to happen overnight here. Countries typically have to make reforms and restructure

their governments to become up to par with the EU's rules and standards. But to their credit, Ukraine has already started working towards a lot of these changes because this has been a longtime goal of theirs. There is one particular hurdle in their way, however, and that is opposition from Hungary. Hungary is another member of the EU. Their prime minister, Viktor Orban, is an ally of Vladimir Putin's. And he has previously said that he would block efforts by Ukraine to join the EU, that he didn't feel that they were ready. But that didn't actually happen yesterday, though he still says that he opposes Ukraine's membership in the bloc. In the vote to open the negotiations, he actually abstained. So for now, this will move forward. Okay, so all of that is what's happening with Ukraine in relation

to Europe. Let's circle back to what's happening with Ukraine here at home. Yes, lots happening. So as we know, President Joe Biden has been very committed to supporting Ukraine. He has called on Congress to approve $50 billion in new funding for Ukraine as they fight in this war against Russia, as well as $14 billion in funding for Israel as they wage their war against Hamas. But the same cannot be said about all of the members of Congress. Earlier this week, Zelensky visited the White House and the Capitol to ask for more funding, but he was not immediately successful. As we've reported, Republicans have tried to stipulate that any new funding for Ukraine be connected to more money for

border security, which is one of their main priorities. The House actually left yesterday for their holiday recess, all but ensuring that no new funding will be improved before the new year. But the Senate is actually sticking around until Monday to vote on military aid for Ukraine and Israel. They have delayed their holiday break by a couple days. Lucky us. We will see what comes of that.

All right. And then over in Russia, I know Putin is starting to close out the year with some choice words about the war. Oh, yes. What is he rambling on about now? So Putin resumed his annual end of the year news conference yesterday in Russia. Over the course of four hours, he reiterated that his objectives in this invasion of Ukraine remain unchanged. He wants to, quote unquote, demilitarize and denazify the country. It was word salad when he said that when he started the war two years ago, it continues to be a very wilted word salad at this point. But he was confident throughout this whole conference. He also pointed to Zelensky's

visit to the U.S. earlier this week to say that he believes that Western support for Ukraine is running out, which, you know, would be a blessing to Russia at this point. Russia has struggled immensely throughout this conflict. According to U.S. intelligence, they have lost 87 percent of the total number of active duty troops that they had before they launched this invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago. That is just a staggering amount of human loss that they have suffered. And they've also lost tons of equipment and supplies. But that doesn't appear to be phasing Putin, at least not publicly. The counteroffensive launched by Ukraine slowed over the fall. And according to U.S. intelligence, Ukraine isn't expected to make any major gains in the next few months. So securing

additional funding and support at this point in time really could be make or break for Ukraine as they stare down a depleted but not at all dejected Russia. Obviously, we will continue following this. Hopefully, we will have some better news for you in the new year. But that is the latest for now. Let's get to some headlines. Headlines. The House yesterday passed an $886 billion defense policy bill. The legislation, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, is now headed to President Biden, who is expected to sign it into law.

So what exactly is in the legislation, you ask? Well, among other things, it authorizes a 5.2% pay raise for members of the military, the biggest pay bump for service members in more than two decades. It also expands military partnerships in Europe and the Indo-Pacific, and it extends the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative through fiscal 2027. But what's also notable is what was left out and what House Republicans wanted to remain in the defense bill. The bill does not have restrictions to gender-affirming health care for transgender service members. It also does not block the Pentagon's policies on abortion, which allow service members to be reimbursed for travel costs when they need to go out of state for an abortion. But Republicans unfortunately did have some wins as part of the compromise, like a salary cap and hiring freeze on diversity, equity, and inclusion training positions, a restriction on the teaching of critical race theory in military schools. I

promise you they weren't teaching critical race theory in military schools anyway, and a ban on unapproved flags on military bases, including the pride flag, which is wild to me. I'm fine to let them have the fake win of no more critical race theory in military schools. Great. Take that and run with it. Tell that to everyone. Whatever. Go off. After interviewing about 20 candidates, New York Republicans have finally figured out who should replace cameo superstar George Santos in his old job. They tapped Mozzie Melissa Pillop as their nominee for representing the state's third congressional district, which will be determined in the special election on February 13th. She will be running against the New York Democratic nominee Tom Swasey.

Pillop is an Ethiopian-born legislator in Nassau County, New York. When she was a kid, she fled to Israel and also served as a paratrooper in the Israeli Defense Forces. And according to Politico, while she is currently serving as a Republican, she's actually a registered Democrat. But Pillop has little political experience that would usually signal a competitive candidate. In 2021, she ran on the issue of fighting anti-Semitism, but the rest of her actual policy views are actually unknown. She hasn't taken any public stances on major issues that have shaped House measures such as gun laws, abortion, and criminal charges against former President Donald Trump. It appears that this seat is really a wild card.

Yeah, and it appears as if the Republicans will continue trying to exploit this moment of anti-Semitism and related conversations to Israel in hopes of reclaiming this seat. So we will see how that turns out. Yeah, we already saw what happened when someone with absolutely no business being in Congress had this seat. I don't know if the constituents want to see that again. Maybe they do, but I would bet that they don't. Yeah. Now for an update on a story we covered back in November.

Earlier this year, three companies that make applesauce pouches for kids recalled their products because some of them tested positive for lead. Now the FDA says that the pouches may have been contaminated on purpose. That's according to FDA Deputy Commissioner Jim Jones, not the rapper. Not the rapper. At least we think he hasn't had a career change. He and his fellow officials have been investigating the three affected brands of applesauce, Weiss, Wanna Banana, and Schnucks ever since their products caused several children to fall ill with lead poisoning. And in an exclusive interview with Politico, Jones said, quote, all of the signals we're getting lead to an intentional act on the part of someone in the supply chain. He went on to explain that all three brands have been traced back to one manufacturing facility in Ecuador.

The FDA, the CDC and Ecuadorian officials are still investigating the issue. The largest credit union in the U.S. has the widest disparity in mortgage approval rates between white and black borrowers of any major lender. That is according to a report from CNN. The Navy Federal Credit Union, which lends to military service members and veterans, approved more than 75% of white borrowers who applied for a new conventional home purchase mortgage in 2022. But black borrowers who applied for the same type of loan, less than 50% of them got approved. That same analysis also found that Navy Federal approved a higher percentage of applications from white borrowers making less than $62,000 a year than it did from black borrowers making $140,000 or more. Zooming out, the gap in

homeownership rates between black and white families is bigger today than it was before the civil rights era. This is important in the broader conversation about systemic racism in the U.S., especially since homeownership is still the principal way that most families build wealth. This is really just staggering to take in. And finally, scientists have found the primary culprit to severe morning sickness. Researchers confirmed that the nausea and vomiting that often happens during pregnancy is mainly caused by one single hormone called GDF-15. That's according to a new study published this week in the journal Nature.

And its findings could lead to better treatment options for people who experience morning sickness. So it is a big deal, especially as more than two-thirds of pregnant folks experience these symptoms during the first trimester of pregnancy, and about two percent experience an extreme condition that causes persistent vomiting and nausea and can lead to malnutrition, dehydration, and weight loss. Researchers now know that the severity of symptoms is informed by the amount of GDF-15 in a person's blood during pregnancy,

exposure to it beforehand, as well as sensitivity to the hormone. And the findings suggest that lowering or blocking the hormone could help prevent the sickness. Researchers also say that prior exposure to low doses of the hormone before pregnancy could also be another way to reduce the symptoms. In a news release, geneticist Dr. Marlena Fazo at the University of Southern California and co-author of the paper

said in part, quote, we're a step closer to developing effective treatments to stop other mothers from going through what I and many other women have experienced. Really amazing. Wow. We love this. Some happy news. Happy news to close out the day. And we needed it. Absolutely. We did. And those are the headlines. We'll be back after some ads to reveal who Watt's first ever person of the year is. It's Friday, WOD Squad, and the time has come to crown WOD's first ever person of the year. So excited. We asked you, our listeners in our Discord channel, to vote for the person you think had a big impact on 2023. And y'all turned it out at the polls.

We love to see it. Yes, we do. The results are in and here to announce the winner is our very own producer, Raven Yamamoto. Raven, welcome back to the show. Thank you. I know y'all have missed me and I'm here running on half a charge lemonade, ready to go. Hell yeah.

That is the appropriate way to pregame a podcast appearance. I love it. All right, Raven, tell us who the winner is. All right, look. It was a crowded race with several great nominees, but only one person rose to the top, democratically elected by our very own WOD squad in the Discord, winning by a landslide.

Ooh. WOD's Person of the Year award for 2023 goes to the late Adi Barkin. I can't think of a more deserving person. This is a really good one. To help folks remember, though, Adi was a progressive lawyer who passed away earlier this year due to complications with ALS. He was 39 years old. He was most known for being a champion of universal health care. And his life changed when he was diagnosed with ALS back in 2016, shortly after the birth of his first child. He eventually lost the ability to walk and speak, but that never stopped him from sharing his story, testifying before congressional lawmakers,

and fighting for a future where health care is treated as a human right. Here's a clip of him from his documentary, Not Going Quietly, when he was on the campaign trail in 2018. At the end of my life, when I look back, I want to be proud of what I have done. I am willing to give my last breath to save our democracy. And I'm here to ask you, what are you willing to give? Such a good clip. It's so moving to hear him speak in his life that was far too short.

He spent so much time and so much effort doing so much good. It really is amazing. Touching so many lives. You asked our listeners to share a few words about why they voted for Adi. What did some of our friends of the pod have to say? Yeah, so one of our friends in Discord, Monique, was actually a constituent of Jeff Flake, who, if you know, was the then-senator that Adi confronted in a 2017 viral video, urging him to vote no on a bill that would slash billions of dollars for Medicare funding. You can be an American hero. Monique has bipolar disorder, and she was terrified that she was going to lose her health care after Trump got elected in 2016, rightfully so.

And she said, quote, there was so little in me that thought I could do anything to stop it. And then I saw Adi confront my senator on a plane and it gave me a breath of hope and a way to direct my anger and fear. She went on to say, quote, he was relentless until the very end and his legacy is in the lives he saved through his work. My life among them. That's so beautiful. I also want to read another response that really moved me from our friend Sam in the Discord. This one actually really made me like sob, honestly. His mother suffered a stroke earlier this year and she survived, but it mostly confined her to a wheelchair or a bed because she lost a lot of her motor functions. Sam wrote to us, quote, she can't speak anymore aside from a handful of single words and

on good days, yes and no. By now, she can comprehend the things I tell her, and she's frustrated, being locked in as a passive observer, unable to express herself. I told my mom about Adi Barkin, about the interviews on the pods, about his activism, about a loving family that is there for you in your most trying times,

and about how we can all inspire the world around us, even without climbing a mountain or a career path, even in a wheelchair, even if you can't speak easily or fluently or maybe at all. Wow. Like, I'm tearing up again, like, just reading it. Yeah. And I thought it was so beautiful for him to even share that with us. Yeah, I think of really what Adi represented for so many people was possibility, right? That you didn't have to be limited by how you were moving through the world.

I also know that another member of the WOD squad, our fellow co-host Josie Duffy Rice, actually knew Audie. That's right. Josie actually worked with Audie at her first job out of law school. Ten years ago together, they were building this group called Local Progress, a network of local progressive elected officials, very on brand for both of them. And here's what Josie had to say about who he was as a person. He truly was, and I'm not exaggerating, one of the most brilliant people I've ever met in my life. Even before he got ALS, he was just laser focused on making the world better for struggling people. Yeah, truly from the beginning to the end, he was really committed to helping people. That is so beyond evident and amazing to see how his work spoke to and reached so many people in our audience, so many people from so many walks of life in so many areas. It really

is incredible. I think it's really beautiful that these are all people who have so many amazing things to say about what he did for them, despite never having met him probably, or even like just seen him in person. Just, it was so much more about like his story and his willingness to use his last days. I think when he didn't have to, he absolutely didn't have to, but he did like,

he truly was like the best of us. And I just think it's amazing that we get to spend some time like honoring him and giving him his flowers today. Absolutely. Thank you so much, Raven for putting all of this together. Really special to hear from our audience. Really special to have a person of the year.

Can't think of a more fitting first person of the year for WAD to have. And a huge thank you to everyone in our Discord who voted and participated, especially, you know, Monique and Sam, people like you who shared such personal stories about why Adi, you know, meant so much to them. And Raven, once again, thank so much to them. And Raven,

once again, thank you for keeping democracy alive and well, hosting this very important election. It's huge. You got the people ready for what they need to do in 2024. We couldn't be more appreciative. Yes. I know. I already can't wait to do it next year. This election was free and fair, but also fabulous. And I think we really killed it here. I will go. I'll leave. I'll see myself out. I got to go check my pulse.

But thank you guys. Thank you so much, Raven. Incredible as always. If you liked participating in that election, you're going to love what we have for you in 2024. What we have for you. What the country has for you. What our country has for you. Just if you enjoyed participating, just try it again. Why not? Why not? Two more things before we go. Don't miss Pod Save America's special Pundies episode dropping next Thursday. In this episode,

John, John, Tommy, and Dan award the worst political takes of 2023, including their own. There are some bad ones out there. So I wasn't talking about theirs. There are some bad ones, not theirs, out there. But I'm excited to see what turns up. Find out if you agree

only on Pod Save America. Also, this is our last WOD of 2023. We are taking our holiday break to roast all the chestnuts and toast all the bubbly. We will be back in your feeds with a new episode on Wednesday, January 3rd. That is all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, thank Adi, and tell your friends to listen. And if you are into reading and not just the course catalog of Musk

university, like me, what a day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at cricket.com slash subscribe. I'm Trey, Bill Anderson. I'm Priyanka Arabindi. And we'll see you in 2024.

Hopefully a better year. Honestly, we need it. Crossing my fingers. We say it every year and it just is like everyone gets progressively worse and worse and it's like alright

I would like to say this is the bottom and we can only go up don't prove me wrong I don't want to be proved wrong dun dun dun dun what a day

is a production of Crooked Media it's recorded and mixed by Bill Lance. Our show's producer is Itzy Quintanilla. Raven Yamamoto and Natalie Bettendorf are our associate producers. And our showrunner is Leo Duran. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka.