Make Me Smart With Kai And Molly

For Black workers in this economy, the last couple of years have brought gains in employment and wages. In April, the Black unemployment rate fell to a historically low 4.7%, and the racial wage gap has shrunk slightly over the last five years. But in terms of the economy as a whole, stark disparities still exist for Black Americans. “I’ve looked at the unemployment rates for the last 60 years,” said Algernon Austin, director for race and economic justice at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. “It’s important to remember that a historically low Black unemployment rate still tends to be a high unemployment rate if you’re a white person.” On this post-Juneteenth episode, Austin explains recent gains by Black workers, why the Federal Reserve can’t fix high Black unemployment alone, and how sputtering diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in U.S. companies could impact the Black workforce. Plus, why racial justice movements have always been economic stor

The Carrie Bradshaw lifestyle is unreachable for most recent college grads in today’s New York City, thanks to high housing costs. We’ll get into the lengths some younger newcomers are willing to go to make it work and dig into a related problem: a potential commercial real estate crisis. Plus, how should cities deal with cannabis smoke? Then we’ll play a round of This or That! Here’s everything we talked about today: “NYC’s Rent Surge Defied by New Grads Pursuing a TikTok Lifestyle” from Bloomberg “Defaults on commercial real estate loans are rising” from Marketplace “Workers want to stay remote, prompting an office real estate crisis” from The Washington Post “Opinion | How should D.C. deal with pot smoke? from The Washington Post “D.C. resident wins case to stop neighbor smoking marijuana” from Axios The next $50,000 in donations to Marketplace are being matched by longtime fan Dr.

Leaked documents lay out how the conservative American College of Pediatricians (not to be confused with the American Academy of Pediatrics) has influenced policy affecting the LGTBQ community. We’ll get into how this splinter group gained national attention and the problems it poses for medical misinformation. Also, we’ll discuss the aftermath of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott busing migrants to cities like Los Angeles. And a new Rubik’s Cube world record to smile about, followed by a Rubik’s Cube anecdote from Kai Ryssdal. Here’s everything we talked about today: “Documents show how conservative doctors influenced abortion, trans rights” from The Washington Post “Texas sends busload of 42 migrants to Los Angeles” from The Los Angeles Times “Talking With Kirsten Neuschäfer, the First Woman to Sail and Win the Golden Globe” from The New York Times “Max Park Sets World Record for Rubik’s Cube Solution̶

This week, thousands of Reddit’s most popular communities went offline to protest the company’s move to start collecting fees for access to its API or application programming interface. One listener called in to ask what all the fuss is about. We’ll get into it and answer more of your questions about how we keep track of consumer debt and the relationship between the underground economy and GDP. Here’s everything we talked about today: “Why are Reddit communities going private?” from Marketplace “Reddit goes dark” from Platformer “A developer says Reddit could charge him $20 million a year to keep his app working” from The Verge “Reddit Wants to Get Paid for Helping to Teach Big A.I. Systems” from The New York Times “Twitter will make you pay to DM people who don’t follow you” from Mashable “Federal Reserve Board – Consumer Credit from The Federal Reserve R

Today we’re sharing an excerpt from our live show at Town Hall Seattle featuring our special guest, writer and comedian Lindy West. The Seattleite talked with us about Former President Donald Trump’s indictment, the Hollywood writers’ strike, being broke and what it means to be fat positive in the Ozempic era. Plus, she shares some smart facts about snakes, whales and the Canada goose. Here’s everything we talked about: “Lindy West Is Not a Star” from The Stranger “Butt News #24: Never Been Kissed” from Lindy West’s newsletter “Key Takeaways From the Trump Indictment” from The New York Times “Opinion | I Quit Twitter and It Feels Great” from The New York Times “Why writers are having a hard time earning a living in the streaming economy” from NPR Video: “It’s Adorable When A Snake Drinks Water!” from Nature Quest “Planet Money makes an episode using

China dominates the market for electric vehicle batteries, but it didn’t have to be that way. We’ll talk about a story of wasted potential: how a failed U.S. startup made headway on lithium battery tech a bit too early and got caught in the throes of American capitalism. Also, a declassified report shows how the U.S. government has been skirting the need for warrants by buying data about Americans. Plus, if you’ve noticed companies have been quieter about social and environmental issues, it’s not in your head. Mentions of diversity, equity and inclusion and other social initiatives in companies’ earnings calls have fallen recently. We’ll talk about why that is. Here’s everything we talked about today: “The US Is Openly Stockpiling Dirt on All Its Citizens” from Wired “Companies Quiet Diversity and Sustainability Talk Amid Culture War Boycotts” from The Wall Street Journal “I-95 Collapse in Philadelphia to Upend Tra

This special edition of Make Me Smart’s weekly happy hour is coming to you live from the stage at Seattle’s Town Hall. We’ll get to all of your “Economics on Tap” favorites: a little news, some drinks, plus an extended round of our Friday game Half Full/Half Empty! Today’s episode includes some adult language. Here’s everything we talked about today: “More Startups Throw in the Towel, Unable to Raise Money for Their Ideas” from The Wall Street Journal “Democrats Push for Debt-Ceiling Overhaul Bill After Default Scare” from The Wall Street Journal “Netflix (NFLX) Added Subscribers After Password Crackdown, Research Firm Says” from Bloomberg “Trump loses two lawyers just hours after 2nd indictment” from Politico “What All the Single Ladies (and Men) Say About the Economy” from The New York Times “What’s behind the SEC lawsuits against Coinbase and Bina

Hey Smarties! We’re taping today’s episode of Make Me Smart live from Seattle. We’ll have the show in your feeds soon. But for now, enjoy a rerun of one of our favorite episodes of the year so far. With all the rage tweets about gas stoves, it may be hard to believe, but climate change wasn’t always so polarizing. Studies show that public opinion on the topic started to splinter in the 1990s, when governments and corporations had to reckon with the threat of a warming planet. “Prior to 1997, it was a conversation among a bunch of scientists, but once the Kyoto treaty came, it became an issue that affected powerful political and economic interests,” said Andrew Hoffman, professor of sustainable enterprise at the University of Michigan and author of “How Culture Shapes the Climate Change Debate.” On the show today: Hoffman explains how climate change became a partisan issue, the financial and economic interests that got us to where we are today, and what might get us back to some comm

Hey Smarties! We get a lot of questions about the stock market, and today we’re sharing an episode from “Financially Inclined,” Marketplace’s new podcast for teens, that might answer some of them. Host Yanely Espinal gets into how the stock market works, the difference between stocks and bonds and what to consider when opening a retirement account. If you’re a newbie investor or want to talk more about this with the young people in your life, this episode will make you smart! This podcast is presented in partnership with Greenlight: the money app for teens — with investing. For a limited time, our listeners can earn $10 when they sign up today for a Greenlight account at http://ww.greenlight.com/inclined.  

Ahead of their upcoming monthly meeting, Federal Reserve officials have hinted at possibly holding interest rates steady. And they’ve been using a few terms to describe the move — a “skip,” a “pause” and a “hold.” One listener called in to ask: What’s the difference? We’ll get into it and answer more of your questions, like why monetary policy tools are so blunt and the possibility of a common currency for BRICS countries. Plus, why your favorite radio program asks for money. Here’s everything we talked about today: “Fed Officials Consider Skipping a Hike in June — But Don’t Call It a Pause” from Bloomberg “Why May’s Jobs Data Complicates Inflation Picture for the Fed” from The New York Times “How BRICS Became a Real Club and Why Others Want In” from The Washington Post “BRICS Ministers to Challenge US With More Members, Common Currency” from Bloomberg “What should the White House do to combat i