The only podcast not to be sacrificed to the inscrutable moon gods during the eclipse makes its triumphant return to feeds all over the world with talk of the transcendent experience of napping through your spouse’s childbirth experience, road trips to whole other countries, and our usual complaints about the news and culture of the week. Listen, if you must! Has something we said, or failed to say, made you FEEL something? You can tell us all about it on our Substack, leave a comment on the show’s page on our website, or you can send us an email here. Enjoy!

Show Rundown
Open — Google sunsets another perfectly serviceable product, and The Biffler on the awesome and awful experience of human childbirth
20:50 — Road trip recap! Hershey, Corning, and Niagara Falls
1:07:38 — WGAS NewsBag! Congress passes citizen surveillance law; Ohtani gambling scandal; OJ Simpson is dead; women’s basketball chat
1:36:43 — Did CBS News’ Senior National News Correspondent Mark Strassmann Get Off a Good One?
1:41:33 — The Billboard Hot 100 Game
1:54:40 — Wrap-up! Monkey Man; Civil War; Conan O’Brien on Hot Ones; Homicide: New York; Wonka

Relevant Linkage

The Biffler on women’s college basketball, black maternal mortality, and other stuff I’d rather not explain.

AP: Why do so many Black women die in pregnancy? One reason: Doctors don't take them seriously

Uncoupled from the race conversation, maternal mortality in the US saw a spike that was likely attributable not to actual worse outcomes, but to a change in reporting.

BBC: Israel-Gaza: Inside IDF's detailed briefing on aid convoy attack