Topic: Public Works

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a highly publicized swim in the Seine River to prove the water is safe for Olympic athletes following a $1.5 billion cleanup effort. The project involved massive infrastructure upgrades to prevent sewage from flowing into the river, which has been banned for swimming for over a century. While officials claim water quality has improved, concerns remain regarding potential health risks like pink eye for competitors.

Bernie Sanders and the Democratic Socialists of America are criticized for their goal of having "working people" run the economy and workplaces. The hosts question the definition of "working people," calling it a mythical term used as a code for socialist or communist ideologies. They argue that the phrase is a "fellow traveler" signal rather than a substantive policy description.

A new mobile application called "SnapCrap" allows San Francisco residents to report human and animal waste on city sidewalks more efficiently than the official 311 app. Public Works reports receiving 10,000 cleaning requests per month. The tech community is blamed for exacerbating the homelessness crisis while simultaneously attempting to solve its symptoms with software.

A proposed "sex doll brothel" in Houston was shut down by public works inspectors after the property manager claimed the business was misrepresented as an art gallery. The hosts debate the legality of the business, noting that using "rubber dolls" is not prostitution, while mocking the media's "vocal fry" reporting on the story.

San Francisco is launching a dedicated "Poop Patrol" team to proactively clean feces from city sidewalks. The six-man crew will target known "hot spots" where human and animal waste is a frequent complaint. This initiative is part of the city's broader Pit Stop program, which includes 22 public toilets, as officials struggle to maintain hygiene in the face of a growing homelessness crisis.

A California water report featuring Gary Hildebrand of the Public Works Department claimed 1.6 billion gallons of captured storm water could serve 40,000 people. The report is criticized for failing to specify a timeframe for this service, such as per day or per year, rendering the statistic meaningless to the public. The lack of mathematical rigor in mainstream infrastructure reporting is highlighted as a recurring issue.