--:-- [Upbeat music fades out]
--:-- Georgia Howe: The NFL is back, and FanDuel's got everything you need to play your game. From same-game parlays to live betting. Right now, new customers bet $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if you win. 21-plus in president select states. 18-plus in Kentucky and Wyoming. Must be first online real money waging. $5 deposit required. Bonus issued is non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See full terms at FanDuel.com slash sportsbook. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
--:-- [Music transitions to a news theme]
--:-- Georgia Howe: A case out of Minnesota highlights the controversy over the treatment of children by gender clinics. A gender clinic declared a nine-year-old boy transgender and in need of medical intervention. His father disagrees and is preparing to take the clinic to court. We'll look at the details of the case.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Saturday, August 7th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Actress Scarlett Johansson stunned the entertainment world last week when she filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Disney, the studio behind her latest Marvel film, Black Widow. What is Johansson claiming and how could her suit affect audiences? And a technology company backed by Elon Musk has announced what will be a major step forward in the field of brain to machine technology. We'll look at this potentially game-changing innovation and its broader implications.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- [Music transitions to a new segment]
--:-- Georgia Howe: The Daily Wire recently interviewed the father who intends to sue the Minnesota clinic. Here to discuss the father's case, as well as what it could mean for the growing pediatric gender clinic industry, is Daily Wire editor and reporter John Brown.
--:-- John Brown: Hey John, good to have you on the show. Good to be here.
--:-- John Bickley: So you were contacted by Brenton Nets, and now you've done a deep dive on this story. Give us the rundown on what's happening.
--:-- John Brown: Sure. Brenton Nets and his attorney are laying the groundwork for potential civil action against Centricare Health in Minnesota and their gender medicine clinic in St. Cloud. According to medical records Nets provided to the Daily Wire, the clinic's gender therapist, who identifies as a non-binary male, diagnosed Nets' autistic son with gender dysphoria in 2018.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right.
--:-- John Brown: Within months, the therapist was already discussing reversible and irreversible treatments after claiming the boy identified as a transgender lesbian. Again, this all started when he was only eight.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So where was Nets when all this was starting?
--:-- John Brown: Nets told me his son's mother was taking their son to the gender clinic without his consent. He said he found out accidentally because his name was attached to his son's medical records.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right.
--:-- John Brown: He alleges the gender clinic did not respect his parental rights until he got a lawyer. And after a long legal battle, he was able to get a court order in 2020 to stop further treatment.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And how did you first find out about this story?
--:-- John Brown: I first heard of him when he appeared in the recent documentary titled Transmission. The film went in-depth about the lucrative youth gender clinics that have multiplied in the past decade. In 2007, there was just one, but now there are more than 40 across dozens of states, so this issue isn't going away.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The number of these clinics has really grown.
--:-- John Brown: Yeah. What is Nets hoping the lawsuit is going to accomplish? His attorney Robert Robey told me that it will be challenging to assemble a case against the clinic that proves damages. But he said if they succeed it could set a precedent regarding this largely unregulated industry especially when two parents disagree.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In your reporting on this, you noted what you described as the redefinition of abuse in this case. Can you explain that for us?
--:-- John Brown: Sure. In my review of the case, it was striking how the gender therapist counseling Nets' son redefined abuse. The Daily Wire found a presentation the therapist gave in 2016, which said abuse involves, quote, invalidating one's masculine or feminine and identity, invalidating or denial of access to one's preferred sources of affection, invalidating or denial of access to one's preferred sexual preference.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The presentation also seemed to go after religious parents when it defined spiritual abuse as, quote, experiences that distort, retard, or otherwise interfere with spiritual development, such as, quote, when a caregiver replaces a child's higher power, or, quote, when caregivers are addicted to religion.
--:-- John Brown: So how do they define that kind of thing, you know, a child's higher power or addicted to religion?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, that's a good question. I reached out to Centricare and offered them the opportunity to clarify, but they declined to comment unless I disclosed Nets' name and gave them more information about my article.
--:-- John Brown: Interesting. Many are also pointing out the broader implications of redefining language. One of the key points of the transmission documentary I mentioned is how those who question the prevailing narrative on this issue risk being pushed out of the public conversation.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This is especially true as more states ban so-called conversion therapy on minors. Which has grown to include not just sexual orientation, but also gender identity.
--:-- John Brown: Real quick, when we say conversion therapy here, we mean therapy that counsels a boy to feel more like a biological male.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right.
--:-- John Brown: Therapists in these states who affirm the biological sex of a trans-identifying minor risk losing their state licenses.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Wow. So it seems that terms are being redefined in ways that shut out those who dissent from this ideology and even present them as the real abusers.
--:-- John Brown: As Nets described it, they are covering all the exits for those who want to escape it.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Those who are interested can find out more about your investigative piece on dailywire.com.
--:-- John Brown: John, thanks for coming on.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Absolutely. Daily Wire editor and reporter John Brown.
--:-- [Music transitions to a new segment]
--:-- Georgia Howe: Up next, Scarlett Johansson takes aim at Disney in what may become a groundbreaking lawsuit. Watch Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas tell his story in Created Equal, a documentary that follows his journey from the segregated South to the highest court in the land, and the contentious confirmation battle he fought to get there. Streaming now for Daily Wire members at dailywire.com.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Actress Scarlett Johansson stunned the entertainment world last week when she filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Disney, the studio behind her latest Marvel film, Black Widow. Now there are rumors other stars are considering legal claims against Disney. Here to explain why this is more than the typical Hollywood gossip story is Daily Wire entertainment reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: Thanks for coming on, Megan. Happy to be here as always, John.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Okay, so to nail down the details first, why is Johansson suing Disney?
--:-- Megan Basham: Okay, so it all comes down to this new hybrid release model where studios premiere big tentpole movies in both theaters and on their streaming platforms at the same time. Right. Now that's something we've talked about before.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So ostensibly, studios say they're doing this because of the pandemic. But the reality is they're also using the disruption COVID has provided to test out some new ways to draw subscribers to streaming platforms.
--:-- Megan Basham: So in this case, we're talking about Disney+. Now, Johansson's Black Widow contract stipulated that a percentage of her compensation would be based on the movie's box office earnings. That's something we call a back-end deal.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And she says Marvel executives promised her that the film would have a theatrical-only rollout.
--:-- Megan Basham: So basically it would release the same way we all remember movies coming out in the good old days of 2019, meaning they would just hit cineplexes for three or four months and then finally make their way to video services.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This was in her contract?
--:-- Megan Basham: Correct. Yes, this was in her contract. And she has emails to back it up as well.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, when Disney simultaneously premiered it on their streaming platform, Johansson says they undercut her earnings. She also pointed out that Disney's top executives scored big bonuses thanks to hitting their subscriber targets. But, of course, she says that came at her expense.
--:-- Megan Basham: How did Disney react?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Not well at all. To be quite frank, Disney went nuclear. First, they revealed Johansson's base salary, something that's never done, and it was $20 million, if you're wondering.
--:-- Megan Basham: And they released a statement that didn't just deny Johansson's claim. It accused her of being selfish. They said, and I'm quoting here, that Johansson's lawsuit is sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Oh my gosh, okay. Right, exactly. And for a variety of reasons, I really don't think it was a smart move.
--:-- Megan Basham: You know, suddenly Hollywood feminist groups like Time's Up and Women in Film, well, they've started speaking up on Johansson's behalf and they're calling Disney's statement a gendered attack.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Essentially what they're saying is, when men fight for what they're worth, we call them assertive, but when women do it, we call them greedy.
--:-- Megan Basham: So now what you see are inside sources telling any trade paper that will listen that the creative types, think about your actors, your directors, they're very much behind Johansson. They don't like the hybrid model and they really don't like seeing one of their own treated this way by the executive suite.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Whoa, so a lot's involved here.
--:-- Megan Basham: You wrote a story this week that there are rumors now that Emma Stone is considering legal action too, is that right?
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's correct, yes. So Emma Stone apparently had a similar back-end deal for Cruella. And incidentally, by the way, so did Emily Blunt for Jungle Cruise.
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, now there are some credible sources saying that Stone is basically considering suing Disney on the same grounds.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So it's possible that Johansson's example could break open a flood of lawsuits.
--:-- Megan Basham: Will any of this have an effect on average moviegoers?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, you know, that's the important point to me, right? What is this big clash of titans going to mean to all of us regular plebs out here?
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, if Johansson's successful in winning concessions from Disney, and there's a pretty good chance she'll at least score a settlement, then studios could stop offering big releases on streaming right out of the gate the way they are now.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So at least when it comes to the big tentpole movies, that option could soon be a relic of, you know, the COVID era. So you'd have to go back to actually putting on pants and going outside if you want to see the next big Marvel movie.
--:-- Megan Basham: Thanks for talking with us, Megan.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks so much for having me, John.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: A technology company backed by Elon Musk just announced a big step forward in the field of brain-to-machine technology. Here to tell us more is Daily Wire's Ian Howarth.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Good morning, Georgia. Good morning.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So I feel like every Saturday, we end up talking about 80s sci-fi. What's the latest here?
--:-- Ian Howarth: Yeah, well, the latest is that a tech company called Neuralink, founded by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, announced that it is going to start developing brain implants for humans. And these implants would effectively give humans the ability to control computer interfaces with their mind rather than a keyboard or mouse.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Cool. So in August 2020, Elon Musk first demonstrated the successful use of this technology on pigs, and they just raised $205 million in venture capital to fund what they calling the N1 Link. This will be Neuralink's first human product and will look to help people who are paralyzed access the digital world without using their hands.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Oh that really cool. So how does this work?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, according to the company, they use what they call micron scale threads which are so small they can only be implanted in the brain using robotic surgery. These threads contain electrodes, which are then connected to an implant.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And have they been successful so far?
--:-- Georgia Howe: They haven't tried this with humans yet.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Oh, okay. But they did successfully demonstrate the technology with a macaque monkey who played a game of mind pong. Mind pong?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, without any physical controller, the monkey played the game pong by visualizing the motions of the paddle, and the device carried out the moves on the game itself.
--:-- Ian Howarth: 1024 electrodes implanted in areas of the brain related to movement allowed the monkey to control the game.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm impressed that a monkey could play pong to begin with.
--:-- Ian Howarth: So I assume it has more applications though beyond video games.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yes, Neuralink have said that they want to produce a line of products which allow people to communicate more easily via text or speech synthesis, to follow their curiosity on the web, or to express their creativity through photography, art, or writing apps.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And the fact that the FDA recently approved brain interface devices means that this era of research could extend beyond theoretical.
--:-- Georgia Howe: They also seem to understand that people are obviously going to have reservations, to say the least, when it comes to this kind of technology.
--:-- Ian Howarth: After all, how many movies have we seen when technology in your brain was a good thing?
--:-- Georgia Howe: All right. In their FAQ page, Neuralink did say that their long-term mission is to create brain-to-machine interfaces that are sufficiently safe and powerful that healthy individuals would want to have them.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Um, you first, I guess.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I know, I'll get in line.
--:-- Ian Howarth: You can see how it goes. Yeah. All right. Thanks for the update, Ian.
--:-- Georgia Howe: My pleasure. Have a great weekend.
--:-- [Music transitions to a new segment]
--:-- Georgia Howe: Other big developments that we're tracking this week. A growing number of major U.S. companies are now requiring employees to be fully vaccinated to come to work. Companies imposing vaccine mandates for in-house employees include Twitter, Facebook, Google, and Uber.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Daily Wire sports reporter Joe Morgan is here to give us a weekend sports update.
--:-- Joe Morgan: The 2020 Tokyo Olympics are coming to an end in what has been a successful Olympiad for the American teams. On Friday, track and field star Alison Felix became the most decorated female in the sport, taking home bronze in the 400 meters. It is Felix's 10th Olympic medal.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In international Olympic news, two Belarusian team Olympic coaches have been stripped of their credentials and asked to leave the Olympic village by the IOC.
--:-- Joe Morgan: The news comes after Belarusian sprinter Kristina Timonowskaya was forcibly taken to a Tokyo airport after being removed from the Belarus team for criticizing her coaches.
--:-- Georgia Howe: After posting a video stating that she was taken against her will, Timonowskaya was protected by Japanese authorities and is now in Warsaw after being granted a humanitarian visa by Poland.
--:-- Joe Morgan: In football news, the NFL is officially back. A full slate of preseason games kicks off next week with the Washington football team and the New England Patriots kicking off on Thursday night.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you liked this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening. And give us a five-star review.
--:-- Joe Morgan: That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We'll be back Monday with the news you need to know.
--:-- Joe Morgan: If you like this podcast, subscribe to our morning wire newsletter available exclusively to Daily Wire members. Get the morning wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at dailywire.com slash subscribe. Use code morning wire to try a reader's past membership and get your first month for only 99 cents.
