Weds Blogcast: Denver Mayor Mike Johnston; the 1st Chinese computer; Poison

Just One Thing: A young hero in Texas

During Texas floods, Camp Mystic counselor had 16 girls and a headlamp - The Washington Post

If you want to donate to help families who lost so much, here's a list of verified GoFundMe fundraisers: How You Can Help: Donate to Texas Flood Relief Fundraisers

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One More (Silly) Thing: it's National Hot Dog Day!

NATIONAL HOT DOG DAY | Third Wednesday In July - National Day Calendar

What do you put on your hot dogs? (Yes, I put ketchup on mine!!!)

Almost A Quarter Of The Population Uses This Unhinged Hot Dog Topping

Who makes the best hot dog? (How about one answer for supermarket hot dogs and one answer for restaurant/hot dog stand hot dogs?)

How do you like your hot dog cooked?

Send me an email with answers to any or all of these! ross (at) iheartmedia (dot) com

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Today's Guests

Mike Johnston is the mayor of Denver. I like Mike though we probably only agree about half the time. I've been looking forward to this conversation and hope you find it informative.

Some topics:

Denver Council may block $800M bond package unless MayorJohnston revises it fast - Axios Denver

Prior article: Denver's $800M bond package for infrastructure projects takes shape - Axios Denver

I appreciate Mike's willingness to buck the gov't workers' union: Mayor Mike Johnston seeks to retain best talent | Government | denvergazette.com

Public safety; crime rates: Report: Denver violent crime rates see a big drop in the first quarter of 2025

Governing style: Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has moved fast. A look at his record.

Homelessness: City officials, homeless advocates disagree over Denver’s homeless count | Rocky Mountain PBS

Denver will lease 38 rooms in a Colfax motel for its Roads to Recovery program

Conflict with the federal gov't: Denver sues Trump administration over federal funding, again | News | denvergazette.com

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Tom Mullaney is professor of history and of East Asian languages at Stanford, and he has one of the most awesomely nerdy areas of interest and research that I've seen in a long time: Chinese typewriters and early Chinese computers (not necessarily electronic)

Thomas Mullaney | Department of History

We'll talk about the recent discovery of this incredible device: MingKwai prototype, the ‘origin of Chinese computing,’ finds a home at Stanford | Stanford Report

Tom's book on this subject: The Chinese Typewriter

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Other Stuff

What a ridiculous way to die after such a long life: World's oldest marathon runner Fauja Singh dies at 114 after hit-and-run | Fox News

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I won't spend long on this on the show but it's very much worth your time to read. The "energy transition" simply does not exist on a global scale: What The Media Still Won’t Tell You About The Energy Transition

But on a local scale, such as in the EU, it does...a bit: Solar is EU’s biggest power source for the first time ever | Ember

The chart in that article showing solar compared to other sources is unintentionally hilarious. It shows that during winter, solar produces as little as biofuel so the EU is almost entirely reliant on other forms of energy. Hardly seems like an actual "transition".

And even if a transition were a good idea (and it isn't), trying to force it when you're simply not ready has terrible consequences: Netherlands RATIONS electricity as country struggles to cope with turning away from gas as part of green policies - as expert warns Britain is also 'in trouble' | Daily Mail Online

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Maybe this is why I don't like hearing myself (which you might think odd for a radio host, but it's true): Why Your Voice Sounds Different to You Than to Others - Interesting Facts

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Whenever there’s a way to game a system, someone will do so: Scientists hide messages in papers to game AI peer review (may require subscription)

Scientists reportedly hiding AI text prompts in academic papers to receive positive peer reviews | Artificial intelligence (AI) | The Guardian

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Thought experiment: what might the reaction to this be from medical schools? Medical students could feel burn from Trump's new law

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Trump has to be careful when he calls out people for committing crimes or to be brought to justice. Same re Comey and Brennan. 

Trump accuses Schiff of mortgage fraud in blistering attack on longtime foe | Fox News

I don't mean "be careful" as some sort of squishy concern about being unfair but rather that a federal court could easily rule that as the head of the executive branch, Trump's commentary about wanting someone to be brought to justice represents impermissible interference/pressure in the investigative process or prosecutorial decision-making.

This is different in that it involves the military but I suspect there a potential analog for other federal prosecutions: Obama exerted 'unlawful command influence' in speaking on military sexual assault, judge says - POLITICO

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This Epstein thing isn't going away even though Trump wants it to:

For Some Republicans, Trump’s Shift on Epstein Is Just the Latest Breach - The New York Times (may require subscription)

The Trump-Epstein question that put the White House "in a tizzy"

Pam Bondi dodges questions on Epstein amid Justice Department turmoil | AP News

House Speaker Johnson joins growing number of Republicans pressing Trump administration for more transparency on Epstein case | CNN Politics

Rep. Thomas Massie launched a longshot attempt to force a vote on releasing Epstein files - Live Updates - POLITICO

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I'm absolutely in support of the "statement": The President Wants to Fix Higher Ed. Here’s How.

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Interesting thoughts by a college senior about economics teaching in universities: Classical Liberalism and the Academy - FEE

She references this great note by Thomas Sowell: The survival of the left

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This seems a little crazy: US sends third-country deportees under secrecy to the small African kingdom of Eswatini (By the way, I've been there but when it was still Swaziland.)

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Well, yes, this is what happens: Three new gray wolf packs have established in Colorado

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Today's videos

This is one of those things that makes me wonder if it's AI...and hoping it's real

I swear this is true: Just watching the first couple minutes scared me, and he hadn't even jumped yet