The Daily Valet. - 12/6/19, Friday
✔️ How Safe Is Your Ride Share?
Friday, December 6th Edition
I use Apple Music, not Spotify, and now feel like I’m missing out on a “2019 Wrapped.”
Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf
Today’s Big Story
How Safe Is Your Uber Ride?
The company’s first safety report details sexual assaults, murders and fatal crashes through its platform
Uber said that it had reports of 3,045 sexual assaults during its rides in the United States in 2018, with nine people murdered and 58 killed in crashes. The details were published in a report released by the company.
Nonconsensual touching was the most prevalent type of sexual assault that occurred during or in conjunction with Uber trips, with 1,560 reported last year. There were 515 incidents of rape or attempted rape.
According to the New York Times, the number of reports represented a fraction—just 0.0002 percent—of Uber’s 1.3 billion rides in the United States last year. Of course, Uber’s numbers may be much lower than reality: sexual assault is chronically underreported.
After years of notoriously fighting against fingerprint-based background checks for drivers, Uber said they’ve since increased screening and background checks—something that resulted in more than one million prospective drivers being weeded out over the reporting period.
Numerous organizations that work to support sexual assault victims applauded Uber’s report for raising awareness of the issue and encouraging more survivors to report acts of violence.
And how does Uber stack up against rival Lyft or standard taxis? The numbers for taxi violence are notoriously hard to come by and vary by city. And Lyft has pledged to release a transparency report of its own soon. I guess all we can do is see this as progress toward a better, safer future.
↦ How Big is Uber? As of 2019, the platform has nearly four million drivers and 75 million riders worldwide.
Democrats Ask for Impeachment
The president “abused his power for his own personal political benefit,” says Pelosi
We pretty much knew it was coming, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced on Thursday that the House of Representatives would officially begin drafting impeachment articles against President Trump, pushing ahead with a rapid timetable that could set the stage for a vote before Christmas to charge him with high crimes and misdemeanors.
The New York Times reports Pelosi said it had become clear over two months of investigation that the president violated his oath of office by pressing a foreign power for help in the 2020 election.
This sets up a constitutional clash that Trump now says he embraces and is eager to frame on his terms when it moves from the House to an expected trial in the Senate next month. Two-thirds of senators would be needed to remove the president from office.
↦ What's Next? According to the Wall Street Journal, the Judiciary Committee plans to hold a hearing on Monday to receive presentations from Republican and Democratic counsels for the Intelligence Committee.
Budweiser’s Going to Brew Beer in Space
It’s actually a NASA experiment
SpaceX launched its 19th cargo shipment to the International Space Station on Thursday. According to the Associated Press, the three-ton shipment includes “mighty mice” for a muscle study, a robot sensitive to astronauts’ emotions and a miniature version of a brewery’s malt house.
Say what? Beer ... because astronauts want local micro-craft brews with a view? No. It's actually a malting experiment led by Budweiser's parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev.
They're testing the malting process (turning raw grain into malt to be used in brewing and food production) in the microgravity of space. Beyond brewing beer, Anheuser-Busch and NASA hope to understand how to better use the barley malt in making bread in space.
↦ FYI: The space station currently is home to three Americans, two Russians and one Italian.
“Never Work for Your Dream Brand”
The work equivalent of never meeting your heroes
It's the stuff of nightmares for any office worker: you form a private Slack channel to vent about work. Then the boss finds out and reads the messages ... and you're all fired.
That's exactly what happened to former employees of the luggage startup Away, according to a new investigation by The Verge, which cites 14 current and former employees who describe a "cutthroat culture" in the office where public shaming was "like having your pants pulled down in front of the company."
That's bad enough, but the real danger seemed to be the never-ending flow of customer support issues Away was dealing with as it forced employees to work 16+ hour days with essentially no days off (and little support or guidance).
I just have to say, I love my Away suitcase. But even the story mentions how there's often a disconnect between the mythos of these modern, direct-to-consumer brands. Behind the fun and ease of the polish is a team tolling away. Let's just hope that they've got the support they need.
↦ Go Deeper: Read the account and learn some lessons about what NOT to do.
Other Things We’re Talking About Today
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Weekend Pairing
Reprisal + a Sidecar cocktail
As the holiday season kicks off, TV networks and streaming platforms all seem to be releasing festive, cheerful content. And while I'm sure there's plenty of cheesy movies to stream on Hulu this time of year, one of their newest offerings is decidedly dark.
Premiering today, Reprisal is an old school-noir style drama that tells the story of a determined femme fatale (played by Abigail Spencer). After being left for dead by her own brother, she changes her identity and assembles a team to track down the "gang of gearheads" who attacked her. It's as dark and twisted as you might imagine for a show by the same producers of The Handmaid’s Tale and Fargo. But it's splashy and stylish too. Think of it as a swankier version of Sons of Anarchy that will appeal to any Kill Bill fans.
↦ Your Pairing:What better to pair with a show full of gearheads than a classic Sidecar cocktail? Liquor.com has a recipe from LA's Hyde Sunset Kitchen + Cocktails for a Honey Sidecar, which adds a little more depth to easy-to-make citrus and cognac tipple.
What We’re Buying
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Morning Motto
Set your goal, then exceed it.
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