Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchIs the World Ready for a Guaranteed Basic Income? (Update)
Episode 242
A lot of jobs in the modern economy don’t pay a living wage, and some of those jobs may be wiped out by new technologies. So what’s to be done? We revisit an episode from 2016 for a potential solutio…
Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago
646. An Air Traffic Controller Walks Into a Radio Studio ...
Episode 646
What does it take to “play 3D chess at 250 miles an hour”? And how far will $12.5 billion of “Big, Beautiful” funding go toward modernizing the F.A.A.? (Part two of a two-part series.)
SOURCES:David …
Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago
645. Is the Air Traffic Control System Broken?
Episode 645
Flying in the U.S. is still exceptionally safe, but the system relies on outdated tech and is under tremendous strain. Six experts tell us how it got this way and how it can (maybe) be fixed. (Part o…
Published on 2 months ago
644. Has America Lost Its Appetite for the Common Good?
Episode 644
Patrick Deneen, a political philosopher at Notre Dame, says yes. He was a Democrat for years, and has now come to be seen as an “ideological guru” of the Trump administration. But that only tells hal…
Published on 2 months, 1 week ago
Extra: A Modern Whaler Speaks Up (Update)
Bjørn Andersen has killed hundreds of minke whales. He tells us how he does it, why he does it, and what he thinks would happen if whale-hunting ever stopped. (This bonus episode is a follow-up to ou…
Published on 2 months, 1 week ago
What Can Whales Teach Us About Clean Energy, Workplace Harmony, and Living the Good Life? (Update)
Episode 551
In the final episode of our whale series, we learn about fecal plumes, shipping noise, and why Moby-Dick is still worth reading. (Part 3 of "Everything You Never Knew About Whaling.")
SOURCES:Michele…
Published on 2 months, 2 weeks ago
Why Do People Still Hunt Whales? (Update)
Episode 550
For years, whale oil was used as lighting fuel, industrial lubricant, and the main ingredient in (yum!) margarine. Whale meat was also on a few menus. But today, demand for whale products is at a his…
Published on 2 months, 3 weeks ago
The First Great American Industry (Update)
Episode 549
Whaling was, in the words of one scholar, “early capitalism unleashed on the high seas.” How did the U.S. come to dominate the whale market? Why did whale hunting die out here — and continue to grow …
Published on 2 months, 4 weeks ago
Why Does Tipping Still Exist? (Update)
Episode 396
It’s a haphazard way of paying workers, and yet it keeps expanding. With federal tax policy shifting in a pro-tip direction, we revisit an episode from 2019 to find out why.
SOURCES:John List, econom…
Published on 3 months ago
643. Why Do Candles Still Exist?
Episode 643
They should have died out when the lightbulb was invented. Instead they’re a $10 billion industry. What does it mean that we still want tiny fires inside our homes?
SOURCES:Tim Cooper, professor emer…
Published on 3 months ago