Make Me Smart

The White House isn’t messing around. Now that the COVID-19 vaccines have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the Joe Biden administration has ordered two-thirds of the American workforce to get the jab. We’ll discuss the latest round of vaccine mandates. Plus, an update on the abortion ban in Texas and the buy now, pay later boom — what can possibly go wrong? Finally, we fill our hollowed-out shells with Blue’s Clues and some fun facts about rats!

Here’s everything we talked about today:

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Our show needs your voice! Tell us what you think of the show or ask a question for our hosts to answer! Send a voice memo or give us a call at 508-82-SMART (508-827-6278).

We often hear Social Security is running out of money, but what does that actually mean?

On today’s show, we answer a listener’s question about the future of Social Security. TLDR, recipients won’t stop getting Social Security checks, but their payments might shrink. Plus, we’ll explain why semiconductors are so hard to make, what’s the deal with returnless refunds, and hollowed-out shell Thursday vs. hollowed-out shell of a Thursday.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

Read the transcript here.

Our show needs your voice! Tell us what you think of the show or ask a question for our hosts to answer! Send a voice memo or give us a call at 508-82-SMART (508-827-6278).

It might not be talked about much, but reproductive rights are an economic issue.

There’s a growing body of research suggesting a link between access to abortion and women’s economic stability.

“We have evidence that for women who delayed becoming mothers, because they had access to abortion, those women were much more likely to attend college, to graduate college, to obtain occupations that are kind of professional in nature. And they had higher wages by as much as about 10%. And they were about half as likely to live in poverty as adults,” said Caitlin Myers, an economics professor at Middlebury College who studies the effects of reproductive policies.

Myers also pointed to evidence that women who encounter obstacles to obtaining an abortion and are ultimately unable to have one are much more likely to face bankruptcy proceedings, see their credit status decline and suffer financial distress.

In the aftermath of Texas’ abortion ban, we’ll discuss reproductive rights as an issue of economic justice and why those rights are rarely seen through an economic lens.

In the news fix, we discuss Afghanistan’s new government and what it might mean for the country’s economy. Later, a listener shares his favorite Ikea hack, and the fart joke that keeps on giving.

When you’re done listening, tell your Echo device to “make me smart” for our daily explainers. This week, we’re explaining China’s massive tutoring business, how Hollywood stars get paid and hard seltzer. You can hear them all here. And don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter! You can find the latest issue here.

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The destruction left by Hurricane Ida has sharpened the focus on infrastructure and climate resilience in the United States. We discuss the importance of the Senate-approved infrastructure bill in speeding up the fight against climate change. We also talk about the emerging corporate responses to the Texas abortion law and some worrying statistics in the latest jobs report. And finally, join us for another round of our Friday game, Half Full/Half Empty!

Here’s everything we talked about on the show today:

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We know everyone is talking about Texas’s new restrictive abortion law. We’re saving our in-depth conversation about that for Tuesday, when we’ll dive into the economic story behind reproductive rights. Today, we’re talking about other stories that have our shells feeling pretty hollowed out, including the flooding from Hurricane Ida. Can this be a George Floyd moment for climate change? Plus, a bunch of billionaires are paying up. And a plethora of make-you-smile moments — from a swimming rat living his best life in flood waters to ABBA!

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Join us on YouTube Fridays at 3:30 p.m. Pacific/6:30 p.m. Eastern for our live happy hour episode! Subscribe to our channel and sign up for notifications so you don’t miss it.

Soon, all Americans will be eligible to get a COVID-19 booster shot. One of our listeners is wondering whether getting her booster means taking one from somebody in a developing country. We’ll explain why the vaccine supply chain makes that unlikely. Plus, we’ll check in on Kai’s January 2021 prediction about the 10-year Treasury note and answer a couple of questions about recycling and meal kits.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

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Our show needs your voice! Tell us what you think of the show or ask a question for our hosts to answer! Send a voice memo or give us a call at 508-82-SMART (508-827-6278).

By now you’ve heard the phrase creator economy. It includes everyone from TikTok stars to Twitch streamers and adult-content creators on sites like OnlyFans.

According to one report, more than 50 million people around the world consider themselves creators, and it’s become the fastest-growing type of small business.

“The influencer marketing industry is projected to be over a $20 billion business in the next couple years,” said Taylor Lorenz, who covers tech culture and online creators for the New York Times. She’s also the author of the forthcoming book “Extremely Online: The Rise of the Online Creator and Creation of a New American Dream.” 

“For so long, it was really, really, really hard to build tech products for influencers or creators … because tech executives and tech investors really thought of it as a niche market, right? Now, obviously, there’s so many creators, the pandemic kind of pushed everyone online and the industry is, you know, reaches a sort of a maturation point where it makes a lot of money. And so you see the Silicon Valley investors kind of rushing in.”

Today, we’re doing the numbers on the creator economy and discuss how it’s not only changing the business world, but also changing how people think about democracy, misinformation, the anti-vaccination movement and, ultimately, whom people trust.

In the news fix, we’ll commiserate over airline customer service wait times, and is Kai a psychic? His “Jeopardy!” prediction comes true. Plus, we’ll hear from a listener who is the boss of multitasking, and another one calls in with a life update.

When you’re done listening, tell your Echo device to “make me smart” for our daily explainers. This week, we’re explaining libraries, vaccines and Dolly Parton. You can hear all our explainers here. And don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter! You can find the latest issue here.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

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It’s been a somber news day. Hurricane Ida hit New Orleans on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. This time, the city’s $14.5 billion system of levees seemed to have held up, but the storm knocked out power for 1 million people. We’ll talk about what this extreme weather tells us about climate adaptation. Plus, it’s the end of an era in Afghanistan as the last American troops pull out of Kabul and we’ll share a few stories you might’ve missed over the weekend. Finally, an Al Roker clap back you didn’t know you needed.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

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Our show needs your voice! Tell us what you think of the show or ask a question for our hosts to answer! Send a voice memo or give us a call at 508-82-SMART (508-827-6278).

He sells electric cars. He wants to go to Mars. Now he wants to sell … electricity? Yup, Elon Musk wants Tesla to get into the energy business in Texas. We’ll discuss what it all means and how Tesla is making money these days. Plus, a bananas story about misinformation on the internet. And the hosts take a stand on the latest round of our favorite game, Half Full/Half Empty.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

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Our show needs your voice! Tell us what you think of the show or ask a question for our hosts to answer! Send a voice memo or give us a call at 508-82-SMART (508-827-6278).

Today, we blame our hollowed-out-ness on the patriarchy! First, one of the leaders of the Time’s Up organization, which is supposed to support women, resigned after helping former New York governor Andrew Cuomo with his sexual harassment scandal. But that’s not all. Over at “Jeopardy!” Mike Richards is getting to keep his executive producer job despite the backlash over his treatment of women. We’ll dig into both stories and talk about what it all means for women in the workplace. Plus, why isn’t California’s gubernatorial recall election getting more attention? And a heartfelt farewell made of sheep bring us to the happy place.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

Read the transcript here.

Join us on YouTube Fridays at 3:30 p.m. Pacific/6:30 p.m. Eastern for our live happy hour episode! Subscribe to our channel and sign up for notifications so you don’t miss it.