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The junkyard economist
On today's episode, we ride through the streets of San Francisco with a long-time junkman, Jon Rolston.
Jon has spent the last two decades clearing o…
1 year, 10 months ago
Anatomy of a layoff
By one estimate, 40 percent of American workers get laid off at least once in their careers. And when that happens, companies will often say, "It's n…
1 year, 10 months ago
The hack that almost broke the internet
Last month, the world narrowly avoided a cyberattack of stunning ambition. The targets were some of the most important computers on the planet. Compu…
1 year, 10 months ago
Why Gold? (Classic)
In the past few months, the price of gold has gone way up – even hitting a new high last month at just over $2,400 per troy ounce.
Gold has long had …
1 year, 11 months ago
Zombie mortgages are coming back to life
Karen McDonough of Quincy, Mass., was enjoying her tea one morning in the dining room when she saw something odd outside her window: a group of peopl…
1 year, 11 months ago
Inside video game economics (Two Indicators)
Why do video game workers offer labor at a discount? How can you design a video game for blind and sighted players? Does that design have lessons for…
1 year, 11 months ago
The birth of the modern consumer movement
Today on the show, the story of the modern consumer movement in the U.S. and the person who inspired it: Ralph Nader. How Ralph Nader's battle in the…
1 year, 11 months ago
Hire Power (Update)
(Note: This episode originally ran in 2021.)
Millions of American workers in all sorts of industries have signed some form of noncompete agreement. Th…
1 year, 11 months ago
The case of the stolen masks
About thirty years ago, Yagya Kumar Pradhan woke up to the news that the temple he and his clan used had been broken into. The temple had been ransac…
1 year, 11 months ago
How unions are stopped before they start (Update)
(Note: This episode originally ran in 2023.)
Union membership in the U.S. has been declining for decades. But, in 2022, support for unions among Ameri…
1 year, 11 months ago