“Mean Girls” — a movie based on a musical based on a 2004 movie — comes out today. It’s not the first or the last time Hollywood has recycled a beloved plot and characters for a “new” audience. What makes movie remakes so grool? (Great plus cool, duh.) Also in this episode: tackling the question of the NFL’s future and young voters in Taiwan are focused on inflation and fear of war with China.

The last consumer price index came out today. In short? Prices ticked up a bit more than expected. We’ll dig into two major line items: the cost of shelter (and why it’s a lagging indicator when it comes to the CPI) and grocery prices — for that, we’ll hear from shoppers themselves. Also in this episode, restaurants may be the new frontier for dynamic pricing, and farmers lacking child care options could get some help from the next farm bill.

Nearly 20% of office spaces across the U.S. are vacant, new data shows. Many companies solidified their back-to-office policies in the past year, so why are buildings emptier than ever? And in Shanghai, retail vacancies remain higher than pre-pandemic levels — yet small-business owners are struggling to find affordable storefronts to lease. Also in this episode: The Biden administration passed a new rule that could classify millions more gig workers as employees, and economists aren’t concerned about the U.S. trade deficit.

It’s a new year, and that means experts — and nonexperts — have lots of guesses about what 2024 may hold. In this episode, we’ll talk about some of those predictions. Will inflation hit to 3%? Will consumer credit keep ticking up? Will gas prices drop below $3 a gallon? Signs point to yes. Plus, Houston has been nationally recognized for its successful Housing First approach to homelessness. But keeping up those programs will mean more funding, especially as housing costs rise.

In/out lists are, like, so “in” right now. On social media, they’re a way to forecast what trends people will and won’t be fans of in the new year. So for this episode, we asked economists to predict what will be in and out for the 2024 economy. Plus, some sweet stories: an ice cream entrepreneur settles into a long-needed production facility, and Google Chrome begins phasing out third-party cookies. (But that doesn’t mean no more targeted ads.)

Nearly four years since the pandemic began, the labor market seems to be returning to pre-COVID trends. But just because the numbers look similar doesn’t mean the landscape of work hasn’t evolved. In this episode, how and where Americans work now. Plus, mobile shopping surpassed other online shopping modes this holiday season, firms might have shifted the timing of layoffs to protect their brands and Microsoft updated its desktop keyboard for the first time in 30 years.

Nearly half of all Americans have a family member who’s spent time in jail or prison — the economic effects of which are far-reaching. In this episode, we’ll hear from sociologist Reuben Jonathan Miller, who studies what he calls the “afterlife” of incarceration, about how we can better support formerly incarcerated individuals and why he’s focusing on those charged with violent crimes. Plus, it’s getting harder to identify ghost jobs, and “little change” is good news for the job market.

2023 was full of uncertainty. What will 2024 bring? We asked some experts how the year could go, economically speaking. Spoiler alert: There wasn’t much consensus. In this episode, how geopolitical tension may affect financial markets in the new year. Plus, artificial intelligence tools give people with disabilities new avenues for communication, manufacturers weigh borrowing decisions ahead of potential rate cuts and a decline in temporary employment spells good news for the labor market.

Almost 10 million Americans just got a raise. More than 20 states are ringing in the new year with a higher minimum wage than they left 2023 with. In this episode, who will benefit most and how far we still have to go for a living wage to be the norm. Plus, the Permian Basin region attracts resource-rich oil investors, and landlords report rent payments to credit bureaus with mixed consequences for tenants.