Transcript

5.18.25 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Good morning, everybody, and welcome to the reading of the
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Washington Post for this Monday, May eighteenth. As you know,
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RADIOI is a reading service intended for people who are
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blind or have other disabilities to make it difficult to
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read printed material. Your reader for today's Rod Brotherton. Now,
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let's start with the headlines. Democrats want working class voters.
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They disagree on how to woo them. Government made prescription drugs,
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twenty thousand dollars for first time home buyers, capped childcare costs.
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These are among the proposals that a cohort of left
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leaning congressional Democrats argue will help their party in winning
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back working class voters in the midterm elections and set
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the stage for success in the twenty twenty eight presidential election.
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The suite of affordability proposals from the Congressional Progressive Caucus
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is the group opening bit and a debate within the
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party on what Democrats should offer frustrated voters with the
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current economic picture. House Minority Leader hai Keem Jeffries, the
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Democrat of New York, has directed the Chambers Democratic Policy
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Committee to host listening sessions with members, with voters and
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with advocacy groups to inform a party wide agenda expected
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to be released this summer. The Progressive wings plan is
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competing with proposals from moderate Democrats, who are prioritizing efforts
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aimed at reducing regulatory barriers, an increasing competition, and healthcare, agriculture, housing,
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and energy. The Progressives also contend that campaigning on reversing
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President Trump's policies, including tariffs and medicaid cuts, will not
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be enough to win voters. The Democratic Party needs to
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show that we're just not anti Trump, that we also
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have an actual pro working class agenda, said Representative Greg Caesar,
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Democratic Texas, the chair of the Progressive Caucus. A long
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time Democratic strategy to appeal to moderate Republicans and independents
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and suburbs alienated the working class and branded Democrats the
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party of the status quo, Szar said. He argued that
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the party should now be targeting big corporations and billionaires
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that are making your life worse. That's really important, he said.
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We're willing to name names. Democrats sole searching began immediately
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after twenty four election, when Trump swept all seven battleground
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states and Democrats failed to retake the House and keep
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the Senate as County swung right. Long standing split between
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the party's centrist and the progressive left once again flared up.
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Senator Bernie Sanders, the Independent from Vermont, and others in
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the progressive wing of the party argued the laws reflected
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how the party had abandoned working class people. Party leaders
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and Biden Harris campaign staff largely rejected that analysis, but
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the debate has been reignited with the approaching midterm elections.
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Over the past two decades, white voters without a college
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degree have increasingly shifted to the Republican Party, which is
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also gained with low income voters. Polls indicate that congressional Democrats,
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like Republicans, had dismal approval ratings. Republicans, once a double
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digit advantage on the economy, has slipped his guy's gas
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prices of spite. Democrats universally agree their victory in November
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relies on highlighting what they would do to make life
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more affordable for Americans. They also align on targeting corruption
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and price gouging, and which costs they should focus on, housing, utilities, groceries, childcare, healthcare,
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but they disagree on the best approach to get there.
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Progressives are pitching ten proposals, as they argue, would immediately
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improve low and middle income americans lives. The bills would
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put one trillion dollars of spending toward new housing stock,
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create federal standards for utility rates, target grocery stores and
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oil companies for increased prices, guarantee two weeks paid time off,
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increase over time wages, ban ai surveillance pricing, which sets
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customers prices based on their personal profile of choices. Progress
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to say that all of their policies have bipartisan support,
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citing polling data from left leaning tag Data for Progress.
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The list includes ideas from some members who aren't in
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the Progressive Caucus but are leaning into economic populism. I
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think that's the way forward for the Dems, said Representative
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Chris Deluzio, Democratic Pennsylvania. The New Democrat Coalition, a group
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of one and fifteen moderate House Democrats, released their own
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affordability agenda in February quary that focuses on promoting competition,
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growing the economy, and reducing regulatory barriers. Their proposals give
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everyone the shot to get ahead, said the group's share
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We're presented a Brad Schneider, a Democrat from Illinois Moderates
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plan includes proposals that they say address some of the
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root causes of high prices. They want to make it
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easier for small farms to grow in silver goods, boost
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healthcare transparency, give Medicare more power and negotiate drug prices,
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Increase the minimum wage, guide bureaucratic hurdles to build more housing,
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implement national paid family leave, and accelerate energy permitting. Voters
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want realistic solutions to make their lives better. Schneider said
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it's easy to promise voters castles and the clouds. They
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might be beautiful castles and beautiful clouds, but they aren't sustainable.
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He said, what we need to do is roll up
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our sleeves and build from the ground up a foundation
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that provides a future for every American family to achieve
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their dream. The Blue Dog Coalition, smaller group of centrist Democrats,
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has also endorsed bills to reduce the federal budget, speed
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energy permitting, and restore Affordable Care Act tax credits that
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expired last year. So far, the leaders in the Democratic
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Party have highlighted the contours of how they want to
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tackle high cost living by four, focusing on undoing Trump
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policies House Democratic leadership and the party's campaign arm, the
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House Congressional Campaign Committee. It pledged that Democrats would roll
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back the administration's teuffs, restore the ACA tax credits, reverse
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some of the GOP policies implemented in the Republican Tax
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Spending Bill, so SU's as social safety net cuts. A
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high level approach can work as long as candidates pitch
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things that voters believe will make a tangible difference. At
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Jesse Ferguson, strategist who previously worked for the Democratic Congressional
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Campaign Committee, Democrats keep showing up to a kitchen table
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conversation and bringing a whiteboard full of die policy diagrams.
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Ferguson said, people don't want the white board. I want
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to know what you've actually sat at the table that
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are going to do something to make the cost not
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keep going up to fill the fridge. The party's left
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wing fears that promising to roll back Trump administration policies
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hammer affordability won't be enough to woo working class voters.
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We need to show voters what we're fighting for, including
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detailed plans lower child care and utility cost, said Elizabeth Warren,
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a Democrat, from Massachusetts. These by being specific, we put
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some reality behind it. Anybody can stand up and wave
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their hands and claim that they're going to lower costs.
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Ryan Poindexeter, an iron worker and Democratic congressional candidate running
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to unseen incumbent Republican Representative Max L. Millery in Ohio's
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seventh district. He knows the Progressive plan because he thought
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the idea got to the source of the things that
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make people suffer. But Representative Greg Landsman, the Democrat of
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Ohio and a member of the New Democratic Coalition who
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is running for re election in one of the most
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competitive House districts in the country. It is his own
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plan that he contends strikes the balance voters in his
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swing district are looking for, including more competition a fair
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tax code. This is a country that's very progressive in
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my opinion, but also very libertarian. They want to make
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the decision next. AI license plate cameras tore this town
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apart and led to a state of emergency. Troy, New York.
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The civic uproar began quietly when a mom walking her
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newborn spotted a strange black contraption at the end of
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her block. A camera topped with a solar panel, Dedrisshe
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researched the camera and learned that it wasn't an artificial
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intelligence assisted license plate, the type that have caused privacy
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concerns across the country in recent months, leading to laws
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limiting their use in more than a dozen states. She
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emailed her neighbors, sparking fierce debate in this town of
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fifty two thousand overlooking the Hudson River. Residents call for
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the devices to be taken off the streets, and the
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Republican mayor, who supports the cameras, clashed with the Democratic
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city council, which tried to halt funding for them. Last month,
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Mayor Carmela Mantello, flanked by officers in blue, accused the
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city council of defunding the police declared a state of
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emergency to keep cameras running, a designation usually reserved for
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floods and blizzards. I will not put our city in
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jeopardy and take these cameras away, she said. The cameras
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at the heart of the debate are run by flock Say,
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a technology company that has built a network of automatic
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license plate readers more than six thousand communities across the country.
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In recent years. Flock's system uses AI enabled cameras to
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snap photos of every vehicle that passes, creating a digital fingerprint.
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Includes data as personal as bumper stickers or gun racks.
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Flock cameras are beloved by police officers because they can
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use the company's national database to track vehicle movement, to
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recover drugs and stolen automobiles, and to solve even more
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serious crimes. A company spokesman said in a statement that
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the devices support communities across the country addressing crime and
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locating missing people. At Flock, we believe safety and privacy
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should go hand in hand, which is why our technology
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is built around transparency, accountability, and local control. Chris Castaldo,
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flocks safety chief Information Security officers, sent in a statement,
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our platform includes safeguards like audit trails to help insure
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accountability at every step. Yet, the company's rapid expansion has
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given rise to citizen concerns about intrusive surveillance worries that
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have intensified amid reports of federal immigration enforcement officials use
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the system to target immigrants. A national mapping project for
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the license plate readers d Flock estimates that there are
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more than ninety thousand in use in the United States,
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and that over sixty communities have canceled or rejected contracts
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of Flock and other companies. Get The Flock out is
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the mantra. The cameras are not just unpopular in blue states.
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In tiny Bandera, Texas, the city council voted determinate a
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contract with Flock after the public raise concerns and someone
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vandalized one of the cameras, a move one local news
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outlet dubbed extra judicial wild West cowboy justice. Here in Troy,
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City Council President Sue Steele said police installed twenty six
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cameras without council approval or residence input. Move that's put
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people on edge. The council is reviewing why no one
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other than the police department signed off on the initial contract.
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Anything over thirty five thousand dollars typically requires council approval.
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The council is sued the mayor over the emergency declaration
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is now considering a law that would limit the camera's use.
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I think it was done secretly, and when you're not transparent,
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that angers people steal, said Touches on the Nerve of
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nineteen eighty four and Big Brother Watching You Shay, who
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lives in Troy, was initially perplexed when she noticed the
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cameras at an intersection about a block from her canal
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side home. She'd heard about flock cameras, but had never
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seen one, and it quickly became clear that was the
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device she did n't counted on her walk. She and
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her partner joked about splattering the camera with a paint
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filled water balloon or taking it down with a sling shot.
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Block Safety is one of the largest companies in the
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rapidly expanding field of AI powered license plate readers, marketing
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the system to police, private companies, and homeowner associations as
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twenty four hours of Alan's tools. Opponents say the cameras
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are a cheap and effective tool to aid police, and
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they dismiths arguments by the American Civil Liberties Union and
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others that the surveillance violates Fourth Amendment rights. Blocke noted
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in its statement that courts have ruled that there is
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no reasonable expectation of privacy in public roadways, but the
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cameras also enable law enforcement to monitor public spaces with
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a little accountability and track drivers whereabouts, potentially revealing personal
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movements such as attending an alcoholics anonymous meeting, or visiting
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an immigration lawyer, said Andrew Guthrie Ferguson, a law professor
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George Washington University and author of the book Your Data
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Will Be Used Against You policing in the age of
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self surveillance, This inscapable network of surveillance gives police a
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new power that they didn't have. Ferguson said. Some communities
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have discontinued or rejected contracts of Flock Safety over concerns
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about data security and privacy, and fears that the technology
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could be used to target immigrants. Last year, Flock canceled
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pilot programs Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs
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Enforcement Investigative Arm to combat fentanyl and human trafficking. However,
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privacy experts said federal immigration officers are still able to
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access FLOCKS database through local law enforcement partners. In a
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study last fall, the University of Washington Center for Human
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Rights showed that several agencies that the state shared FLOCK
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data with in the US Board Patrol last year. The
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Ohio community of Shaker Heights this month limited searches on
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its FLOCK camera systems after activist uncovered documents showing that
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law enforcement had conducted more than two hundred immigrations, and
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there had been other high profile incidents of misuse, such
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as the Kansas police chief was forced to resign after
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he used flocked camera data to stalk his ex girlfriend.
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Say is a thirty nine year old industrial designer and
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moved to Troy from the San Francisco Bay Area during
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the pandemic, part of a wave of transplants who have
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driven the city's transformation from a fading industrial town to
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a vibrant hub for tech companies and other businesses. She
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said she's not a super political activist type person, but
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in February she sent an email to neighbors and friends
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with a subject, flock cameras in Troy, Please share there
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are multiple ways that our personhood is being taken from
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us by tech companies. She said, I know you can't
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do something about it a lot of times, but this
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is a time when we can do something about it.
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A group of activists coalesced to write letters, testify, and
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show up outside city hauled a chant It's surveillance not safety.
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Much of their ire has been directed at Mantello, a
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Troy native whose father was a police detective and who
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has been as enthusiastic, if blustery booster of her hometown
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during her first term. Steele said that until Shay and
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the others drew attention to it, city council is not
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aware of Troy's more than two dozen Flock cameras, which
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had been up for years, first installed as a pilot
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project in twenty twenty one and then later expanded. Troy's
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Deputy police Chief, Stephen Barker, said the department signed up
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for the program after a spate of drive by shootings
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and followed the normal procedure for procurement of the contract,
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now one hundred and fifty six thousand dollars for two years.
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The cameras are used in almost every investigation our detective
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bureau pursues, Barker said, noting that they provide information saw
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major crimes, including two homicides. The data is deleted after
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thirty days, and the police paused the town's participation in
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the national database in March after an outcry. She look
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a Stupord, a council member who works in cybersecurity, said
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she has questions about Flock's methods of securing data. She
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said the company hasn't provided any compliance reports or documentation
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to the council showing how it is protecting data after
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repeated requests, and the police have released only partial audits
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of the material. I am absolutely concerned with the security
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of flocks still, she said. More than one and fifty
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people showed up to a city council meeting on March
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nineteenth to protest the cameras, crowding into the tiny chamber
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and spilling down the hall. The mood was raucous. Steele
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repeatedly pounded her gavel at protesters who shouted your line.
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At one point, when Mantello tried to speak, the council
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directed city staff to pause payments to Flock, prompting Mantello
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to declare the state of emergency to pay the company
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the seventy eight thousand dollars old to keep the cameras on.
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She accused the council of overstepping its legislative authority. We
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are not going to jeopardize public safety here in the city,
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she said in an interview. This month, the council released
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a proposal for a new law that would limit the
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use of cameras, requiring most data to be deleted after
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two days. The mayor is already called it danger misguided
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in a gift to criminals. It could take weeks to approve,
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and meanwhile the city remains under a state of emergency.
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On Tuesday, the council sued the mayor, demanding that she
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vacated her illegal action. City of Troy is now under
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a perpetual state of emergency over flock, which is ridiculous,
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Steel said. At one recent council meeting, Shay and other
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activists also urged the mayor to rescind the emergency declaration,
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suggesting that Mantello is making Troy seem like a dangerous place.
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One carried a mock flock camera a sign that said
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I'm surveillance, not safety. Another read a list of past
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emergency declarations Mantello had made during her time as mayor,
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including for the demolition of a decripit hot dog restaurant. Mantella,
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who has defended the declarations, stood in the back with
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her aids, smiling and seemingly unbothered by the criticism. It
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just feels like such a dramatic escalation of events, said
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from the lectun when it was her turn to speak.
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I don't think the mayor and the police department really
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understand how these cameras work, and they have not provided
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any concrete data as to why they are deserving of
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emergency funding. After she was finished, she started up to
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the mayor and whispered, I really mean it. I think
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we should meet. Sure, Sure, Sure, Mantella said, still smiling,
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despite the activists please, However, the Mayor's position has not changed.
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The state of emergency will remaining for, she said, and
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she added, the cameras are never coming down. Next. Trump
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backed prayer festival on the National Mall draws thousands. We
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Welcome Jesus. A crowd of thousands transformed a block of
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the National Mall into an evangelical style worship service Sunday,
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and an event backed by President Trump and funded with
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millions of taxpayer dollars supposedly. In an eight hour lineup,
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speakers included two top government officials and framed America as
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a country founded to be explicitly Christian and in danger
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of its population turns from their version of that religious faith. Sitting, standing, dancing,
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and praising with their hands raised toward a blazing sun.
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Tends appeared riveting as speakers took the stage during the
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red rededicate two point fifty a national jubilee of prayer, praise,
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and thanksgiving, and he said they were thrilled to see
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an event the tithe nation and its government so overtly
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to Christianity. We welcome Jesus to this place, worship leader
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Andy Franks said at the start of the event, built
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from a stage with ivory colored pillars that evoked the
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neo classical architecture of the capital's federal buildings, Secretary of
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State Marco Rubio, speaking by video, said, civilizations before Christianity
25:26
saw histories as a will to nowhere. That our faith,
25:31
Christianity has always been the soul of our nation. Trump,
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who's not known for quoting the Bible, at a passage
25:39
from Scripture in which God promises to heal the ancient Israelites,
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they agree to pray and humble themselves before God. Until
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Trump's second term in office, it had been virtually unheard
25:52
of in modern times for US government officials to publicly
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tie the nation to a specific set of religious beliefs.
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Trump's cabinet members have changed that norm on Sunday. Aside
26:05
from a couple of small groups of protesters outside the event,
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attendees at the jubilee seem unfazed by or grateful for
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the government impromature of their faith system. It's about time
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and sorely needed, said Richard Nutochelley, eighty seven, real estate
26:23
agent from New Fairfield, Connecticut, traveled to DC with four
26:27
friends from his Bible study group. The Constitution, he said,
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doesn't work without a moral and Christian population. There's Colado
26:39
sixty eight at Fort North Fort Lauderdale, Florida, wearing a
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T shirt that read Jesus as My Savior and Trump
26:46
is my President. So he came to the event to
26:49
rededicate our country to Jesus. Vice President J. D. Vance,
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Director of National Intelligence Tulsey Gabbard, Defence Secretary Pete Hegsath
27:00
also delivered remarks via video to the crowd, many of
27:03
whom are clad in red, white and blue. House speaker
27:07
Mike Johnson, the Republican of Louisiana, gave lengthy remarks in person.
27:12
Almost all of the clergy and faith leaders who spoke
27:15
were politically conservative Evangelical Protestants. Johnson preaching about how America
27:22
faces a new set of challenges in a new area,
27:25
vaguely claiming that sinister ideologies so confusion and discord among
27:30
our people. We've witnessed a tax on our history, on
27:35
our heroes, and the cherished moral and spiritual identity of
27:40
this great nation. Johnson said, these voices insisted the young
27:44
and impressionable that our story, the American story, is one
27:51
of oppression and hypocrisy and failure, and that this story
27:55
can only be understood through the lens of our sins. Father,
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we reject that those protestings stood outside the events gates
28:07
with signs objecting to the melding of church and state.
28:12
I don't want to live in a country that tells
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me how I have to worship my God, said Karen Irwin, fifty,
28:17
of New York City. It's a lot of Christian nationalism.
28:22
This is the antithesis of being an American and being
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a Christian. Michelle Peterson, forty four, who had been standing
28:31
outside for more than eight hours by the afternoon, held
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sign that said America is not a Christian nation, among
28:40
other things. She said she was deeply concerned that tax
28:42
dollars are funding the jubilee. Organizers said they're focused on
28:47
the Christian faith of many of the leaders who wrote
28:49
the United States Foundational Documents. They also noted that Trump
28:54
recognized some of the country's diversity by calling on Jewish
28:58
Americans observe a national sabbath from sundown Friday to Saturday night.
29:05
Speakers recounted the American Revolution through a Christian framing, with
29:09
Hegsis describing George Washington as his depleted army Campton Valley Forge.
29:16
They had all the bleak knights, the laws spare, lack
29:21
of proper support. George Washington performed a profound act. He prayed,
29:29
heg sas said, Let us pray as he did. Let
29:34
us pray without ceasing. Let us pray for our nation
29:40
on bended knee. The sons of famed evangelical pastors Billy Graham,
29:46
Jerry Folwell, and Pat Robertson also spoke, evoking an earlier
29:51
generation of the religious right. The biggest contemporary pop culture
29:56
figures were podcaster Sadie Robertson huff To the granddaughter of Duck.
30:02
Dynasty star Phil Robertson, and Jonathan Roomy starred the television
30:07
drama The Chosen, which is about Jesus. Senator Tim Scott,
30:13
Republican of South Carolina, a top Trump ally in Congress,
30:17
asked the audience how many of you love Jesus. He
30:21
spoke of several moments in American history, including the Civil
30:24
War and War II, when he said Americans looked to
30:29
God for guidance, for peace, and for strength. Our rights
30:33
don't come from the governments, God said, no, our rights
30:37
come from God. Some scholars of US religious history and
30:42
critics of the Trump administration said Sunday's event whitewash is
30:46
a much more complex and diverse founding story. They also
30:51
noted that US founders chose to keep religion to arms
30:54
link from government in the Constitution. Matthew Sutton, historian who
31:01
recently published Chosen Land, How Christianity Made America and Americans
31:06
Remade Christianity, said Trump's use of Scripture was Trump at
31:11
his best and the most blasphemous. He takes a verse
31:16
cherished by evangelicals and offers even some more contexts for it.
31:21
E stept instead of Solomon as the king, Trump here
31:25
is the king instead of the Hebrew Temple, hits Trump's
31:29
projects from the East Wing to the art. She said.
31:33
The text even comes with a warning to defy the
31:37
king or the president is to divide God. George tell
31:42
Us the fourth twenty seven was part of a group
31:45
of missionaries who traveled in several vans from Michigan. He
31:50
said the purpose of Sunday's event was to rededicate our
31:53
country back to God, and every Christian should be involved.
31:58
The non denominational, charismatic evangelical workshop style reflected the fluidity
32:04
of American Christianity as a cultural and political force. Multiple
32:11
people interviewed described their faith as more about good versus
32:15
evil than any specific Christian denomination. Some said they meld
32:20
Christianity with other ideas, such as Native American spirituality or astrology.
32:27
Several attendees described Trump as flawed but clearly a tool
32:31
of God contending with a supposed deep state and other
32:34
hidden forces. I'm not religious, I'm not even sure i'd
32:40
call myself christians at Deborah McManus, sixty one, who works
32:45
in a packaging department in Iowa. But she said we're
32:49
at a point where we're fighting powers that want us
32:54
to fall in our country to be turned over to globalists.
33:00
Since Trump came to office, she said, God is giving
33:03
us a second chance. We're in a purity of grace.
33:08
Newt Toicelli, the attendee from Connecticut, was asked if he
33:12
thought the event was inclusive of non Christian Americans. If
33:16
they're offered, well, if they're offended, it's their problem, he said,
33:20
We're not forcing them to do anything. We're offering salvation.
33:26
Rabbi Mayor Slovichik, one of the few speakers, was not
33:30
an evangelical prost and opened his remark by saying it
33:33
was a privilege to pray with all of you. Then
33:36
he spoke of Irving Berlin, the Russian born Jew who
33:41
fled religious persecution for the United States, where he composed
33:45
God Bless America. The song, Slovaceivik said, is a reminder,
33:51
as hatred of Jews makes itself manifest again, that anti
33:56
Semitism is utterly un American people described a variety of
34:03
reasons for coming to the event, to bring awareness to
34:06
what they see as harassment of our disfavor toward conservative Christians,
34:12
to pray for the country, to repent for its sins,
34:16
or fortify they call the Christian roots of the country.
34:20
Several expressed Islamophobic statements under a distinction between Muslims and
34:26
people who are Christians or Jewish, those who serve the
34:31
God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are being targeted by
34:35
those who serve the God of Esau, said Leralyn river Wind,
34:40
former ambassador of the Georgia tribe of the Eastern Cherokee.
34:45
She came from Tennessee with her husband, a war chief
34:49
of the Arawak Taneo tribe of Puerto Rico. They describe
34:54
their own faith as a mix of native beliefs and
34:56
Judeo Christianity. While they see the government as flawed, they said,
35:01
they felt it was important to come and pray for
35:03
the country. The government sponsorship of the event is essential,
35:09
as is speaking of a specific faith, they said. And
35:14
our next story. People who are optimistic tend to have
35:19
healthier hearts, study fines. For decades, heart health advice has
35:26
focused on a few key pillars. Eat healthily, exercise, don't smoke,
35:32
and manage cholesterol, blood pressure, and stress. But there's a
35:36
growing body of research that suggests that there may be
35:41
a less obvious factor that can influence cardiovascular health optimism.
35:49
Several studies have linked having a sunnier outlook on life
35:53
to a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, premature death.
35:58
In twenty twenty one, the American heartes is asociation, or
36:01
at least a scientific statement on the mind heart body connection,
36:06
explaining that psychological well being is an important factor cardiovascular health.
36:13
The good news is that even if you're not a
36:15
natural optimist, there are things you can do to reap
36:18
the benefits of optimistic thinking to help protect your heart.
36:23
In a new study, researchers found that positive psychology interventions,
36:28
including gratitude, gratitude exercises, optimism training, and mindfulness based practices
36:37
are associated with consistent improvements in cardiovascular risk factors and
36:42
health behaviors. Positive psychological interventions are structured strategies designed to
36:50
help help people build emotional resilience, So said Rosalba Hernandez,
36:58
an associate professor of social work at the University of
37:00
Illinois Urbana Champaigne, who live the study. It's not about
37:05
ignoring stress or forcing people to be happy all the time.
37:09
It's about building emotional resources. Hernandez and her team analyzed
37:15
the findings of eighteen randomized controlled trials of positive psychological
37:21
intervention and adults at risk of or already living with
37:25
cardiovascular disease. The interventions are intended to teach people specific
37:31
skills identifying positive life events and appreciating them, committing active kindness, mindfulness, meditation,
37:42
and recognizing personal strengths. Skills are practiced home through assignments
37:48
and exercises over several weeks, typically in addition to weekly
37:53
group sessions. Across the trials, participants showed measurable improvements in
37:59
blood pressure and inflammatory markers after eight twelve weeks. For instance,
38:06
some interventions reduced systolic blood pressure by four to eight points,
38:12
which Hernandez said is significantly clinically significant. A central finding
38:18
of the study, which was published this month in the
38:21
Journal of Cardiology Clinics, is that consistency is key. Programs
38:28
that combined daily practice with weekly structured sessions yielded the
38:33
strongest results. Those that taught multiple skills outperformed those that
38:39
only focused on one. While these practices are not meant
38:44
to replace medication, exercise, or a healthy diet, Hernandez said
38:48
they can compliment them. Positive emotion really does have an impact,
38:55
both directly and indirectly, Hernandez said. Between mental outlook and
39:02
heart health works in both biological and behavioral ways. According
39:07
to Alan Rozansky, behavioral cardiologist and professor of medicine at
39:13
the Icon School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and New York.
39:17
Razansky was not involved in the study, but has led
39:21
his own research on the heart mind connection. When people
39:26
persistently experience stress, emotional strain, or pessimism, the body responds,
39:32
he said, stress hormone surge, insulin resistance can rise, and
39:39
inflammation increases. These things can cause a negative spiral and
39:44
health which compounds over time. Razanski said the opposite appears
39:50
to be true as well, that optimism may help dial
39:56
down the same negative biological responses. With optimism and pessimism,
40:03
you see differences in inflammation, cortisol levels, and insulin resistance,
40:09
said Rozanski, who had a twenty nineteen study that looked
40:12
at how optimism relates to cardiovascular events and mortality due
40:17
to any cause. In the study, Rosanski in colleagues analyzed
40:23
data for more than two hundred and twenty nine thousand
40:27
people and found that those with higher risks of higher
40:32
levels of optimism had a thirty five percent lower risk
40:36
of a cardiovascular event and a fourteen percent lower risk
40:41
of death by any cause. Rosansky's team defined optimism as
40:47
the tendency to think that good things will happen in
40:51
the future. Optimism really has a profound effect Rasansky said
41:00
biological outcomes, optimism may lead to improved health behaviors as well.
41:06
Optimistic people tend to exercise more frequently, eat better, and
41:12
engage in healthier lifestyles overall. According to research by Julia Boehm,
41:18
a professor of psychology at Chapman University, if we're feeling
41:24
more optimistic about our future, then we probably think the
41:28
things we do today are going to have an impact
41:31
on the way our future turns out, said Boom, who
41:34
was not part of the new study. Some people view
41:38
pessimism as a protection mechanism against disappointment, but researchers say
41:45
that the mindset is typically a learned behavior and can
41:48
harm heart health. You can take pessimists and learn how
41:53
to reframe their negative thoughts, Razanski said. It's a process
41:58
of learning how to notice your negative thoughts in the
42:00
first place. While some people are naturally wired to be
42:05
more pessimistic than others, Razanski said optimism can be developed,
42:11
something Rasansky said he's witnessed repeatedly in his career. With practice,
42:18
people can shift their outlook to be markedly more positive.
42:22
Work on building little optimism before big optimism. He said,
42:27
there are many roads becoming more optimistic and goal is
42:32
just to start with one of them. Structured programs like
42:37
those mentioned in Hernandez's study have shown clear benefits heated,
42:43
but the treak is sticking with them. We have lots
42:47
of tools and pathways to flourish. Rasansky said. The magic
42:50
sauce of change is consistency. The researchers do not endorse
42:57
toxic positivity, but rather to tools to help people handle
43:01
stress and feel more hopeful about life. Here are a
43:07
few evidence based habits than researchers sake cand promote optimism
43:12
over time. One keep a gratitude journal a few times
43:19
a week. Write down three things that went well that day.
43:23
They don't need to be major events. Hernandez said, small
43:27
moments counts, such as a delicious meal, a refreshing walk,
43:34
or meaningful conversation. Over time, the practice can retrain your
43:39
brain to focus more on the good in your life.
43:43
You can learn how to be a more grateful person,
43:46
and eventually it becomes part of your background furniture. Razanski said.
43:52
Two slow down, step away from a constant stimulation for
43:58
a few minutes each day. That you mean a walk
44:01
in nature, time without your phone, or simply enjoying a
44:07
moment of silence. This promotes relaxation. It gives you the
44:12
time and space to take note of how you're feeling.
44:17
Then meditate mindfulness. Meditation was one of the most examined
44:24
practices in Hernandez's review. Programs encouraged participants to meditate between
44:30
twenty and forty five minutes a day, but even very
44:34
short sessions can reduce stress. Take a few minutes each
44:39
day or mindful breathing or reflection, Hernandez said. Then think
44:46
about your best self. A common exercise and optimism literature,
44:52
Boem said, is called imagining your best possible self. It
44:57
involves thinking about how you might live your best life
45:01
in the coming months or years, and the steps it
45:04
would take to get you there. This exercise should focus
45:09
on realistic outcomes, not grand or improbable visions that could
45:14
set you up for disappointment. Then set small goals. Start
45:20
with something concrete, such as a daily walk for trying
45:24
a new recipe once a week. Those small, realistic goals
45:28
and commitments can go a long way in building optimism.
45:33
That's how we make progress and achieve things in our lives,
45:37
Boem said. And then move just as optimism consper someone
45:44
to exercise more. Rozanski said, exercise itself can make people
45:50
more optimistic. You can't separate the mental from the physicals,
45:55
she said. What's still unknown well researchers emphasize that although
46:02
the findings on positive psychology and heart health are encouraging,
46:06
several important questions remained unanswered. The trials in hernandez study
46:12
lasted up to twelve weeks, making it difficult to know
46:16
whether the cardiovascular benefits of positive psychology interventions would hold
46:21
up long term, where the people would need to constantly
46:25
practice skills to maintain the benefits. I suspect people will
46:31
continue engaging in the activities to continue seeing benefits and effects.
46:35
Mom said most of the existing research on optimism and
46:41
heart health is focused on people who already have heart
46:44
disease or elevated risk factors, raising questions about whether starting
46:49
these practices earlier could be preventive. It's a very different
46:54
question to be asking can we improve outcomes for people
46:58
who have already been diagnosed with disease versus can we
47:03
prevent people from getting the diagnosis in the first place.
47:06
Boom Set Hernandez also noted that more research is needed
47:11
in diverse in real world settings. Still, all three researchers
47:17
agree the evidence so far is promising and orth considering
47:23
in a medical culture that has traditionally focused on treating
47:26
illness more than cultivating wellness. What we haven't done enough
47:32
of is emphasizing the positive factors it can lead to
47:36
better health. For Zansky said, we now have considerable data
47:42
that we know how to help people flourish more in
47:46
their lives and next. Ukrainian drones hit Moscow and surrounding areas,
47:55
killing three. Three people were killed overnight Saturday and at
48:00
least a dozen were injured in a wide scale drone
48:04
strike on Moscow and the surrounding region. Russian authority said
48:11
it was the largest and deadliest attack on the Russian
48:15
capital region since President Putin ordered the full scale invasion
48:18
of Ukraine in February of twenty two, and it showed
48:22
Kiev's increasing ability to carry out long range strikes and
48:27
penetrate air defenses. Moscow mayor ser J Sobayan said Sunday
48:34
that more than one hundred and twenty drones were intercepted
48:37
near the capitol over twenty four hours, and Russia's Defense
48:41
ministry said five hundred and fifty six Ukrainian drones were
48:44
shot down over Russia overnight. Completely fair are our responses
48:51
to the Russian prolongation of the war and strikes in
48:55
our cities and communities. This time Ukrainian long range sanctions
49:01
have reached the Moscow area, and we clearly tell the
49:05
Russians their state must end the war, Ukrainian President Vladimir
49:11
Zelenski wrote Sunday on telegram. The deaths and the increasing
49:18
vulnerability of the Moscow region, including in the areas where
49:22
the capitol residents have their country homes and weaken cabins,
49:27
were likely to increase pressure on Putin, who was confronting
49:31
rising public frustration over the war, now in its fifth year.
49:38
One woman was killed and another was trapped under the
49:40
rubble after a drone hit a house in Kimki, a
49:44
suburb north of the capitol. The governor of the Moscow
49:48
region said that and Andrey Voldbyov, the governor, said air
49:54
defense forces began repelling the attacks at three am. A
49:59
man and a woman were killed in the village of
50:02
Bolgrelki in the Maschiski district, also north of the capitol,
50:07
where a drone had a house under construction. Local authority
50:10
set four people were injured where a drone hit an
50:14
apartment building and six homes in Didovsk town, northwest of Moscow.
50:22
Last week, after a brief ceasefire, Russia hammered Kiev with
50:26
airstrikes and at least twenty four people were killed where
50:31
an apartment complex was hilt in the Ukrainian capitol. On Saturday,
50:37
Russian attacks in Ukraine, Karsan and Zapparizia regions killed two
50:41
people and injured twenty three Ukrainian official set. At Moscow's
50:47
Sharymkinkyl International Airport, more than two hundred flights had been
50:52
later canceled by Sunday, according to the online. Departure's board
50:57
eroflot said some incoming flights were being directed to other airports.
51:02
At Vunkovo International Airport, also in Moscow, nearly one underd
51:08
flights were later canceled. Cermenkio's press service stated that drone
51:13
debris had fallen at a safe distance from passenger areas
51:18
and that no injuries were reported. And next, is France
51:24
really poorer than Mississippi? I'm not a lass in Paris
51:30
right now. I can certainly imagine myself in a Parisian
51:34
cafe enjoying some steak, freets and a glass of wine
51:38
while taking in the gorgeous streetscape. It's hard to imagine
51:43
soaking up all that ambience and thinking, yeah, this place
51:47
is definitely poorer than Mississippi. No, seriously, that's what Gross
51:52
domestic product statistics suggests. Four France had a per capita
51:59
GDP of f forty six thousand, one hundred and three dollars.
52:03
Mississippis was fifty five, eight hundred and seventy six dollars.
52:09
As recently as ten years ago, the French GDP was
52:13
ahead thirty seven twenty four versus thirty six thousand and
52:17
one eighty four. But since then, the US GDP and
52:21
productivity have grown significantly faster than Western Europe's. This fact
52:27
has caused much social media friction between smug Americans and
52:31
defensive Europeans, allied with progressive Americans who argue that you
52:37
can't measure what makes their life better. One can certainly
52:43
quibble over the Mississippi comparison. The differences arguably disappear when
52:49
adjusting for local prices for needs such as groceries, but
52:53
even without those adjustments, the United States seems to be
52:56
doing significantly better. This fret's European policymakers worry they might
53:03
be falling behind economists who debate whether and how much
53:09
this is happening. If you want to understand the more
53:14
serious version of the Europe America debate, you should read
53:17
a recent essay economist Paul Krugman wrote while traveling in Europe,
53:23
saying that he sees little evidence of a relative de client.
53:28
You should also read the response that my old economics
53:31
professor Lewis Garciano wrote with Peter Garciano, urging us to
53:36
believe the strategists over our lying eyes. Ultimately, I side
53:41
with the Garcianos, with what Krupman calls the walking around
53:46
tests gives me pause. I believe America is richer than
53:51
France and that the disparity is growing, But then why
53:56
can't other people see it? The answer Krudeman offers is
54:01
that it's a mirage. Europe has chosen forms of consumption
54:05
that don't show up in the US, such as taking
54:08
more vacation than Americans. Side US growth and productivity, and
54:12
GDP doesn't necessarily translate cleanly into a higher standard of living.
54:18
The growth deferential is driven largely by our booming tech industry,
54:23
where most people don't work. Moreover, that boom benefits everyone,
54:28
not just Americans. An iPhone is the same in Memphis
54:32
or Munich, so when Americans get better at designing them,
54:35
we all enjoy the benefit, while Europeans also get to
54:40
enjoy at least four weeks of vacation under government mandates.
54:44
The Garcianos offer compelling responses, including noting that highly productive
54:49
export industries can pay a hefty premium to attract the
54:52
best workers stay competitive. All the hair salons, hospitals, and
54:57
high schools where consumption is low local productivity is flat
55:02
might also have to raise the wages they offer employees,
55:07
so some people even outside the tech sector can share
55:10
the prosperity, and the tech sector is also creates a
55:14
strategic advantage for future growth. Iight ad for those who
55:19
doubt the Americans are earning more after accounting for things
55:22
such as Europe's low cost universal health care, that there's
55:26
a reasonably good measure of actual individual consumption. It's cunningly
55:32
known as the actual individual consumption. This measure includes what
55:36
governments and nonprofits spend on providing things such as education,
55:40
and healthcare researchers. If the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
55:45
Development looked at AIC in twenty twenty three, adjusted for
55:50
local price differences, and pegged Americans AIC at one hundred
55:54
and fifty percent of the OECD average in France is
55:59
around media. We can reconcile that disparity to the walking
56:04
around test by noting that Europe has a long history
56:08
in many centuries or the fancy buildings, quaint villages, and
56:13
fine works of art. America has a shorter history and
56:17
therefore much less accumulated grandeur, but much more open land
56:22
upon which we have built cheap and far flung modern buildings,
56:26
served by humdrum highways rather than picturesque public transit. The
56:32
European endowment of beautiful architecture feels much richer than American
56:36
acreage when you're well walking around. That effect is magnified
56:41
by the lower crime and public disorder in Europe. But
56:45
when you drive out to where the highway and modern
56:47
houses are, you often find European places just as mundane
56:50
as American exerbs, and considerably even more cramped. French homes
56:56
average slightly under one thousand, seventy six square feet, while
57:01
the average American home is around eighteen hundred square feet
57:05
and has energy intensive amenities that most European homes lack,
57:08
such as air conditioning and tumble dryers. Pro sag developments
57:13
optimized for space and comfort rather than beauty might not
57:16
scream wealth, but it's pretty luxurious. Ride out a heat
57:21
wave and a two thousand square foot home chilled sixty
57:25
eight degrees. Another implication is that europe living standards increasingly
57:30
rest on American innovation. If we spend more time in
57:33
cafes and less in the office, their lives would lead
57:37
less abundant, especially when considering other subsidies such as American
57:41
security guarantees that have allowed Europe to stint on national
57:44
defense are the fact that the lucrative US market finances
57:49
a disproportionate share of global pharmaceutical innervation. Though in conclusion,
57:55
even if you thank Krugman has a better of the argument,
57:58
the question you have to ask it's whether or not
58:01
America should adopt the superior European way of life. It's
58:06
what would happen to Europe if we did. And this
58:09
concludes the reading of the Washington Post to Day, Monday,
58:13
May eighteenth, Your reader for to day has been Rod Brotherton.
58:16
As always, thank you for listening and now be stay
58:21
tuned for continued programming right here on Radio I