Podcast Episodes

Romance Novels (Replay)

Episode 27

How did love stories about vampires, cowboys, and wealthy dukes become the highest-grossing fiction genre in the world? Zachary Crockett gets swept a…

1 year, 5 months ago

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57. Strippers

Episode 57

Performing at a strip club can be lucrative, but it requires financial and psychological savvy — and an eye for social trends. Zachary Crockett takes…

1 year, 5 months ago

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56. Snake Venom

Episode 56

Why does treating a venomous snake bite cost as much as a house? Zachary Crockett slithers over to North Carolina to find out.

 

SOURCES:Steve Anderson…

1 year, 5 months ago

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55. Direct-to-Consumer Mattresses

Episode 55

Online companies promised to bring transparency to the mattress-buying experience. Did that work out? Zachary Crockett takes a look under the sheets.…

1 year, 6 months ago

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54. Ghostwriters

Episode 54

Channeling the voices of celebrities can be a lucrative career — one that requires empathy and discretion as well as literary chops. Zachary Crockett…

1 year, 6 months ago

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53. Food Trucks

Episode 53

How did mobile kitchens become popular with hipster gourmands? And just how much money can a popular truck make from a lunch shift? Zachary Crocket d…

1 year, 6 months ago

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52. Little League

Episode 52

Youth baseball — long a widely accessible American pastime — has become overrun by $10,000-per-year, for-profit travel leagues. Zachary Crockett peer…

1 year, 6 months ago

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51. Wine Corks

Episode 51

Why do we use a specific kind of tree-bark tissue to seal up 70 percent of wine bottles? Zachary Crockett takes a sniff and gives the waiter a nod.

 

S…

1 year, 7 months ago

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50. Self-Checkout

Episode 50

Grocery stores have turned shoppers into cashiers. Zachary Crockett runs two bags of chips and a Gatorade over the scanner.

 

SOURCES:Sara Alloy, exper…

1 year, 7 months ago

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Carnival Games (Replay)

Episode 13

Does anyone ever win the giant teddy bear? Zachary Crockett steps right up.

 

SOURCES:Matthew Gryczan, retired journalist and engineer.Elliot Simmons, …

1 year, 7 months ago

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