Make Me Smart

American corporations were already borrowing a lot before the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, with the economy all but ground to a halt and money even cheaper, they took on even more debt. On today’s show, we’ll talk about what that means, along with another unexpected dimension of this economy reopening: National Parks packed to the … hills.

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Five of them, actually! We have to eat a little crow here. We’ve been saying for days, months, years that Congress can’t agree on anything much less regulate tech giants like Google, Apple and Facebook. But today lawmakers introduced five bills aimed at reining in Big Tech, and they’re bipartisan. We’ll talk about them, and the likelihood of anything passing, over drinks for today’s Economics on Tap. Plus: Pulitzers, lithium mines and another round of our favorite game, Half Full/Half Empty.

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The deal was too good to be true, because it was: A few years ago, MoviePass started offering users unlimited movie tickets for $10 per month. It was an unworkable, growth-focused business model even more extreme than most startups subsidizing post-recession online life, and MoviePass knew it. A Federal Trade Commission investigation found all sorts of shady tactics the company used to keep its most movie-addicted viewers from getting tickets. We’ll talk about it, plus electric trucks, game show history and a new ocean (??) on this not-so-hollowed-out Thursday.

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For more on millennial lifestyle subsidies, space travel and the trade war with China, check out our newsletter! It comes out every Friday morning. Subscribe and read the latest issue here.

We spent a lot of time on yesterday’s show talking about ransomware attacks against companies, institutions and critical infrastructure. They’re on the rise, but one listener wants to know: what about individuals? Should we be worried about an attack? On today’s show, we’ll tell you not to reuse your password and other helpful answers. Plus, more listener questions about tariffs, vaccine lotteries and day drinking.

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Do you have a question for Whatta Ya Wanna Know Wednesday? Email us at [email protected] or send in a voice memo! Here’s how to do it.

There was a successful ransomware attack every eight minutes last year, according to one cybersecurity firm. This year’s high-profile attacks — the ones we know about, that is — have disrupted critical infrastructure and had knock-on effects on consumers. On today’s show, we’ll talk with Robert Latiff, author of “Future War,” about the worst-case scenario, why the U.S. is particularly vulnerable and what the federal government needs to do before it’s too late.

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Finally: We need your voice memos! Tell us what you think of the show or ask a question for Kai Ryssdal and Molly Wood to answer! Here’s how to do it.

After putting up the money for his own space company, Blue Origin, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced today he’ll be on board its first manned mission. His brother will too. We’ll talk about it, plus more headlines from the future: cryptocurrency ransom, new treatments for Alzheimer’s and a prophetic Prince album.

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You probably saw the big news from Facebook’s Oversight Board today, upholding former President Donald Trump’s suspension from the platform for two more years at least. But Mark Zuckerberg has more than Trump to deal with today, including antitrust probes from overseas. The company is still begging Congress for regulation which, we gotta say, is pretty rich. Plus, life at AMC after its meme stonk run and another round of our favorite game Half Full/Half Empty.

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It’s the first week of summer — culturally, if not meteorologically. Changing of the seasons is a great time to start anew on some things, like redistributing vaccines for example; and to stop doing other things, like Facebook’s policy carve outs for politicians or the NFL’s shocking “race-norming” practice. We’ll talk about all of it, plus a whale vomit jackpot.

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Finally: We need your voice memos! Tell us what you think of the show or ask a question for Kai Ryssdal and Molly Wood to answer! Here’s how to do it.

A few years ago, it might have been an intriguing idea: All the smart speakers, cameras and so on in your home networking with nearby smart home devices in your neighborhood, forming a mesh network so they all work better. But this is 2021 and Amazon is turning on the feature by default. You’d be right to have some questions. Ahead of Amazon Sidewalk’s launch this month, we’ll tell you about the privacy implications and how to opt out. Plus, more listener questions about destroyed currency and cargo ship jail.

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You might remember our episode on the tax gap, the billions unpaid by some of the richest Americans. Better enforcement of the existing tax law could yield big returns, but that’s just for individuals. Corporations pay taxes too — that is, when they aren’t parking their money in overseas tax havens. To stave off a “race to the bottom” and fund its infrastructure plan, the Biden administration is pushing for a global corporate tax minimum of around 15%. On today’s show, Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center senior fellow Thornton Matheson talks us through who benefits from the tax trends of the past 30 years, which countries are on board with Joe Biden’s proposed 15% minimum and the chances of it actually happening.