The bipartisan effort to help the tax preparation industry, and why it matters to you.
Tax Day is behind us, but the Taxpayer First Act is not. The bipartisan proposal passed the House last week and is now under consideration in the Senate — and one of the provisions is exactly what the for-profit tax preparation industry has been pushing for.
Through an agreement with the IRS, companies like H&R Block and Intuit currently offer free tax filing services to taxpayers making less than $66,000 dollars a year. But only 1.6 percent of taxpayers actually use Free File, and critics say that the companies engage in aggressive up-selling through the portal. A provision in the Taxpayer First Act would bar the IRS from developing their own free system.
Dennis Ventry is a tax scholar at the University of California, Davis. He has written about the shortcomings of the Free File program, and explains to Bob why he thinks the IRS isn't doing enough to protect taxpayers who try to use it. He wrote an opinion piece last year titled "Free File providers scam taxpayers; Congress shouldn't be fooled" — which made him the target of a public records request from an industry group.
👓 On the Media | Wikipedia
On the Media (OTM) is an hour-long weekly radio program, hosted by Bob Garfield and Brooke Gladstone, covering journalism, technology, and First Amendment issues. It is produced by WNYC in New York City. OTM is first broadcast on Friday evening over WNYC's FM service, and syndicated nationwide to over 400 other public radio outlets. The program is available by audio stream, MP3 download, and podcast. OTM also publishes a weekly newsletter featuring news on current and past projects as well as relevant links from around the web.
📺 A Night at the Garden
Marshall Curry from A Night at the GardenIn 1939, 20,000 Americans rallied in New York’s Madison Square Garden to celebrate the rise of Nazism – an event largely forgotten from American history. A NIGHT AT THE GARDEN, made entirely from archival footage filmed that night, transports audiences to this chilling gathering and shines a light on the power of demagoguery and anti-Semitism in the United States.
A NIGHT AT THE GARDEN was directed and edited by Marshall Curry and was supported and released by Field of Vision. The film was nominated for a 2019 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short; it was also an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival and was part of a special screening and panel discussion at the New York Film Festival. It was released on 22 Alamo Theater screens across the country and at The IFC Center in NYC.
A painfully powerful short film.
Hat tip: On the Media
🎧 Look Back in Anger | On the Media | WNYC Studios
The Cohen testimony, a new Breaking News Consumer's Handbook, the risks of laundering our hot takes through history, and the story of an infamous Nazi rally.
When President Trump’s former personal lawyer testified in front of Congress this week, it was both captivating and oddly familiar. This week, On the Media looks at the tropes that ran through the hearings, and offers a guide to news consumers trying to understand the tangled threads of the Mueller investigation. Plus, a sideways glance at historical hot takes and a second look at an infamous Nazi rally in the heart of New York City.
1. Bob and Brooke on Michael Cohen's enthralling testimony this week. Listen.
2. Eric Umansky [@ericuman], co-host of Trump, Inc. from WNYC Studios and ProPublica, on how news consumers can best understand Mueller-related news. Listen.
3. Corey Robin [@CoreyRobin], political theorist, on the tendency for journalists to launder their hot takes through history. Listen.
4. Marshall Curry [@marshallcurry], documentary filmmaker, on his Oscar-nominated short, A Night At The Garden. Listen.
CORRECTION: In the opening segment, we describe U.S. Representative Jim Cooper, of Tennessee, as belonging to the wrong political party. Rep. Cooper is a Democrat.
🎧 The Myth That Fuels the Anti-Vaxx Agenda | On the Media | WNYC Studios
Our 2012 conversation with Seth Mnookin, author of The Panic Virus: A True Story of Medicine, Science and Fear.
This Tuesday, lawmakers in Washington heard from an 18-year-old who, against all odds, got his shots. Ethan Lindenberger, who fought with his own mother to get vaccinated, told senators, "for my mother, her love, affection, and care as a parent was used to push an agenda to create a false distress."
That "anti-vaxx" agenda, the dangerous legacy of a thoroughly debunked 1998 study in the British medical journal Lancet, was dealt yet another devastating — though not mortal — blow this week, courtesy of epidemiologists from Denmark’s Staten Serum Institute. Their new study, which included more than 650,000 children, found that the MMR vaccine did not raise the risk of developing autism.
And yet, even in the face of study after study, and even as websites like Pinterest have moved to stamp out the spread of anti-vaxx materials on their websites, the debunked vaccine-autism link and its impact on public health live on. In this 2012 interview, Brooke spoke with Seth Mnookin, author of The Panic Virus: A True Story of Medicine, Science and Fear, about why these myths persist.
No responsible journalist should be reporting on studies with N being so small. If they do, then they should be banned from any future science journalism.
🎧 Longing for Wakanda | On the Media | WNYC Studios
How the utopian kingdom at the center of Black Panther falls into a long history of black liberation struggles.
On Sunday night, Marvel’s Black Panther film won the Oscar for three of its six Academy Award nominations: Ludwig Göransson for Best Original Score, Ruth E. Carter for Best Costume Design and Hannah Beachler and Jay R. Hart for Best Production design — just a few of the artists who helped bring Wakanda, the Black Panther’s mythical homeland, to life.
A persistent site for utopian longing, Wakanda has once more captured the public imagination: endowed with unlimited access to the most precious natural resource in the world, unsullied by the ravages of colonialism, Wakanda has reignited conversations about what black liberation can and should look like. According to Johns Hopkins University history professor Nathan Connolly, this latest chapter is part of a much longer tradition of imagining and reimagining black utopias. Connolly speaks with Brooke about how Wakanda arises from a 500-year history — from Maroon communities to Haiti to the actual Black Panther movement — a journey that takes us from "dreams to art to life, and back again."
This segment originally aired on February 23rd, 2018.
🎧 Twitch and Shout | On the Media | WNYC Studios
Twitch is a video streaming platform where millions of people broadcast their lives in real-time. Like unedited, raw, reality TV.
Twitch.tv is a video streaming platform where millions of people broadcast their lives and video game action in real-time. It's like unedited, real, reality TV. This week, On the Media digs into why so many people want to share so much on Twitch, and what it tells us about the future of entertainment. First, a look at a couple of the biggest streamers of the platform, Ninja and Dr. Disrespect, who command devoted audiences and giant paychecks. Then, Bob dives into the inaugural season of the Overwatch League, the most expensive and highly produced pro gaming venture to date. Finally, Brooke speaks with Radiolab's Jad Abumrad about the life of a homeless streamer who's life was saved by Twitch.
1. Julia Alexander [@loudmouthjulia] and Allegra Frank [@LegsFrank], two writers with Polygon, on the pitfalls and para-social allure of Twitch. Listen.
2. Cecilia D'Anastasio [@cecianasta] a reporter with Kotaku, Saebyeolbe [@saebyeolbe] and Pine [@tf2pine], two pro gamers, and Farzam Kamel, a venture capitalist with Sterling VC, on the inaugural season of the Overwatch League. Listen.
3. Jad Abumrad [@JadAbumrad] of Radiolab and VP Gloves, a homeless Twitch streamer, on the murky ethics of Twitch's IRL (in real life) section. Listen.
This hour was originally broadcast on August 18th, 2018.
Even a year ago, this would have been pretty behind the times…
📺 “The Americans” What’s the Matter with Kansas? | Amazon Prime
Directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton. With Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Brandon J. Dirden, Costa Ronin. Philip and Elizabeth have qualms about a new assignment, while a specter from Philip's past creates unforeseen dangers. At the FBI, Stan makes a shocking play that could throw his career into turmoil.
Directed by Eric Stoltz. With Téa Leoni, Tim Daly, Keith Carradine, Patina Miller. As Elizabeth prepares to declare her candidacy for president, she must deal with fallout from a news article alleging she had an affair with President Dalton during her CIA days; Mike B. and Jay adjust in their roles as campaign staffers.
📺 “Restaurant: Impossible” Dying Diner | Food Network
Robert Irvine steps back in time at a struggling retro joint in Escondido, Calif., called Rosie's Cafe. The owner of the ugly, disorganized restaurant is a young woman who has the passion but lacks experience. Robert has two days and $10,000 to make major changes before the restaurant has to close its doors for good.
It makes me oddly happy that they’ve brought this show back!
📺 “Restaurant: Impossible” Ambush: Son Sneak Attack | Food Network
With Robert Irvine, Tom Bury, Taniya Nayak. The owners of "Lake Arrowhead Sports Grill" in Blue Jay, California, receive a surprise visit from Robert, which was arranged by their son, who's concerned that after five years the business is failing, along with his parents' marriage and his mother's health.
For a minute I thought this was the return of the show, but it’s an older episode from 2015.
👓 How to Automatically Link Twitter Usernames in WordPress | WPBeginner
A simple snippet that automatically link twitter usernames in WordPress by automatically replacing all @username tags with twitter profile links.
👓 Lenovo Thinkpad E490 first impressions | Roy Tanck
A couple of weeks ago, I got my new Thinkpad E490. It replaces two desktop PCs and my old laptop, so I needed a serious work horse. The most obvious choice within Lenovo’s line-up would be a T480, but I found those to be rather expensive. It’s follow-up model has just been announced, but the new T490 has fewer configuration options.