Largely driven by the pandemic, drug overdoses and homicides, U.S. life expectancy fell by 1.5 years in 2020. This is the biggest decline since World War II. The group that fared the worst were Hispanic men who had a drop of 3.7 years. Life expectancy is an important number because it is a measure of a nation’s well-being and prosperity. Betsy McKay, senior writer at the WSJ, joins us for the big drop.

Next, the restaurant industry has been having a hard time coming back after the pandemic. Each month so far this year, about 5% of restaurant and hospitality workers have quit their jobs largely due to low pay, no benefits, and rude customers. There are currently 1.2 million jobs unfilled in the industry despite rising wages and signing bonuses. Alina Selyukh, business correspondent at NPR joins us for more.

Finally, another story about how desperate some businesses are to get more employees. In this crazy labor market, recruiters are the new telemarketers and job ads are the new spam. Companies are digging up resumes and calling people back that might have applied years ago. And they are increasingly using automated tools to reach as many people as possible. Te-Ping Chen, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for what some businesses are resorting to.

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