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why is innovation and healthcare so hard? Is ESG just greenwashing? And of course, is business broken? Listen, wherever you get your podcasts.

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Critical thinking is a serious issue right now,

and the less science we have,

the more misinformation rushes in to fill the void.

The conservative crusade against supposedly woke science could make it harder to forecast extreme weather.

It's Thursday, December 18th, and this is here and now anytime from NPR and WBUR.

I'm Chris Bentley.

Today on the show, China is building up its military muscle, and the U.S. is figuring out what to do about it.

It's aggressively building up its nuclear weapons.

It's now got three functioning aircraft carriers.

It's got hypersonic missiles.

It's going gangbusters on building up its military.

Though I want to add, the military's got a lot of problems too with corruption.

China, Taiwan, Trump, Xi Jinping, and semiconductors will get to all that in about five minutes.

But first, one of the world's leading hubs for climate science and weather forecasting is on the chopping block.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado is home to hundreds of meteorologists

and scientists studying climate and weather.

But the White House Office of Management and Budget Director, Russ Vote, called it,

quote, one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country,

and he wants to break it up. That would be a major blow to research and practical applications

...