Power Play

Prices for goods from furniture to meat have been steadily rising for months. It’s the most obvious symptom of inflation, which is when money buys less than it used to. But there’s no need to panic: This is far from the first time inflation came for consumers’ purchasing power. The question is, how do you make it stop?

Sponsored by EY.

How can you create a growth strategy where everyone wins? Learn more in EY’s latest report: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/consulting/how-can-you-create-a-growth-strategy-where-everyone-wins 

EY Future Consumer Index: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/future-consumer-index

Episode art by Eric Helgas, styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi

Transcript: https://qz.com/2171027

Shipping snafus have hit everything from Pelotons to paper towels, and they're coming for perfume. From Chanel No. 5's secret recipe to the modern proliferation of DIY scents, this global industry has supply chains as delicate as the scents captured in its tiny bottles. How does perfume adapt to a changing world?

Sponsored by EY. Discover how EY can help you unlock new opportunities to reframe your future: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/reframe-your-future

Episode art by Eric Helgas, styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi

Transcript: https://qz.com/2167846

Though scientists have known about dyslexia for well over a century, education systems still struggle to teach students with the condition. In the English-speaking world, it’s become a great unequalizer, pushing those with means into lucrative careers, and those without to the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. But as technology mediates and alters how we read, it could level the economic playing field for people with dyslexia.

Sponsored by EY.

EY Work Reimagined webcast: How to prepare for renaissance and recommitment: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/webcasts/2022/05/work-reimagined-how-to-prepare-for-renaissance-and-recommitment 

EY 2022 Work Reimagined Survey: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/workforce/work-reimagined-survey

Episode art by Eric Helgas, styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi

Transcript: https://qz.com/2166242

2.1—that’s how many children every woman “needs to have.” Any fewer, and a country’s population will eventually stop growing, age, and shrink, which could inhibit its economic growth and drain government coffers. But it’s easier said than done: China has been well below replacement rate for some time; India is just hitting that number. What happens to the world when 2.1 stops being a guarantee?

Sponsored by EY

EY Work Reimagined webcast: How to prepare for renaissance and recommitment: https://bit.ly/3MZdDLR 

EY 2022 Work Reimagined Survey: https://bit.ly/3P7QzMI

Episode art by Eric Helgas, styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi

Transcript: https://qz.com/2162845

Pasta's path to pantries all over the world is inextricably tied to Italy, the country that used technology and mass production to turn a homemade food into a commercial product. Even as pasta-makers market an idealized version of the Italian lifestyle to the world and to Italians themselves, some of the things that make pasta the taste of home might be due for a rethink.

Sponsored by EY.

Discover how EY can help you unlock new opportunities to reframe your future.

Episode art by Eric Helgas, styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi

Transcript: https://qz.com/2160804

As individuals, we know it’s not great to have too much debt. But at the macro level, that narrative falls apart. In fact, most governments need some debt to take care of their people, especially in the wake of a crisis like a pandemic. How a country invests in itself—and how its leaders talk about that investment—says a lot about how it sees its future.

Sponsored by EY

Is your technology moving fast enough to realize your ambitions? Learn more in the latest EY Tech Horizon Survey.

Episode art by Eric Helgas, styled by Alex Citrin-Safadi

Transcript: https://qz.com/2158771

Between lab-grown meat and veganism going mainstream, we're in an age of abundance for alternative protein options. But one hasn’t been getting as much attention as the others: Edible insects, popular in places like Ghana and Mexico, are nutritious, plentiful, and much less damaging to the environment than, say, a steak. What would it take to put insects in more kitchens around the world?

Sponsored by EY.

Learn more about sustainable supply chain research from EY. Is your ESG data unlocking long-term value?

Episode art by Eric Helgas, styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi

Transcript: https://qz.com/2156082

Trust us, the economy has never been more fascinating.

After the release of a great film, it seems natural to us now that they'd want to make another. But this was not always the case. Now that Hollywood seems to almost compulsively turn successful films into franchises, reboots, and cinematic universes, are there good reasons to keep making sequels?

Sponsored by Alumni Ventures

Photo by Eric Helgas, styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi

Transcript: https://qz.com/2144841

Athletes at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics had prosthetics perfectly designed to help them run, jump, or swim as the events required. Now the technology behind those prosthetics is coming to everyday people who need it—and, possibly, to people who don’t. Augmenting able bodies for super-human functions: What could go wrong?

Sponsored by Alumni Ventures

Photo by Eric Helgas; styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi

Transcript: https://qz.com/2141719