Actuality

By MarketplaceBusiness Careers

Actuality episodes

June 30, 2016 Male Contraception
They said it couldn't be done: The "male pill." Actuality asks why men haven't seen a new reversible contraceptive in centuries—and if we need one. We found out why Big Pharma gave up on a male pill, and meet people who want to make it happen anyway.Correction: In this episode we refer to "The Pill" by Jonathan Eig. The correct title of Eig’s book is "The Birth of the Pill."
21 min
June 16, 2016 UnAmerican Football
They said it couldn't be done: Soccer makes it in America. Actuality can't turn on the TV without seeing a soccer game — what gives? We talk with U.S. players Crystal Dunn and Matt Besler to figure out how global football became a media cash cow in America.
22 min
June 01, 2016 Cannabiz
They said it couldn't be done: Ending the American war on marijuana. This week, Actuality tells the ugly truth about cannabis prohibition and peeks at the green shoots of the nascent legal weed industry — but can the architects of a new market avoid the mistakes of the past?
23 min
May 19, 2016 Museums: Wherefore contemporary art thou?
They said it couldn't be done: New art in old museums. Actuality visits an auction house to see a billion dollars of art sold in just a week and learn how this bubbling private market is changing staid public art museums in surprising ways.
17 min
May 04, 2016 A machine to save the world
They said it couldn't be done: Nuclear fusion. We visit scientists building a clean power plant that's hotter than the sun — but can they ever deliver? Then: the strange world of cold fusion, the people who hate it and the billionaires betting on it.
21 min
April 20, 2016 Batman v Hollywood
They said it couldn't be done: Making superheroes into movie stars. Forty years ago, Hollywood told 27-year-old Michael Uslan a Batman movie would never succeed. More than a dozen big-budget superhero movies will hit the big screen in the next few years. Holy impossibility, Batman!
25 min
April 07, 2016 Space Internet
They said it couldn't be done: Internet in space. The dream of a totally connected world is still out of reach. Companies like OneWeb and SpaceX think a global swarm of satellites is the answer. The idea failed before — does it stand a chance today?
20 min
March 23, 2016 Robot Tastemakers
They said it couldn't be done: Teaching robots good taste. "Actuality" visits Spotify, where algorithms tell 75 million users what to listen to. Then, Tim and Sabri talk with a world-touring musician and a critic to see if this trend will save the arts — or doom them."Actuality" is brought to you by Marketplace and Quartz. It explores the inner workings of the new global economy, combining the best of our economic smarts. Subscribe to the bi-weekly podcast on iTunes or your favorite audio app.
25 min
January 14, 2016 Smuggler’s Morgue
This week, Actuality visits a lab at the front line of the fight against a peculiar crime — animal trafficking. The global black market for snakes, sea cucumbers, ivory and the like is hot, but the world is starting to crack down. Plus, whale euthanasia.Subscribe to the Actuality podcast
19 min
December 18, 2015 Actuality’s Holiday Extravaganza!
This week, Actuality just happens to stop by your house with a helping of holiday cheer, a glass of eggnog and some special guests armed with well-informed cocktail chatter about five of our favorite stories in 2015. Plus, these sweet potatoes are FIRE.
43 min

About Actuality

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Actuality explores the inner workings of the new global economy. Brought to you by Marketplace® and Quartz, it’s a podcast that combines the best of our economic smarts. Hosts Sabri Ben-Achour and Tim…