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We're revisiting some of our favorite deep dives with industry experts from past episodes.

A global transition to clean energy is underway.  What technologies will be essential to this zero emission future?

Well, Battery costs have decreased significantly - Lithium battery costs have fallen by a STAGGERING 98% in 3 decades! All the growth and investments in renewable electricity are starting to add up, and now the battery industry is moving at a breathtaking pace.

We speak to Nicholas Yiu and Yen Yeh, two of the most credible voices within the climate tech space.

Recently, Nick and Yen, through their organizations  Intercalation and BatteryBits (Volta Foundation) have published the 2021 Battery Report, which is an accessible overview of the latest battery research, policy and business landscape.

It's a phenomenal piece of work from our brilliant guests, and we at Things Have Changed, highly recommend it.

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1. New Podcast Ideas
2. Like & Dislike about the show

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Since the start of the pandemic, there has been one app that has taken over Social Media. Tiktok is the most downloaded app in the App store & despite being the new kid on the block, the Chinese company is breaking records that the incumbents could only dream of.

From launch to a billion users, Tiktok only took half the time that Facebook did to get there. It’s insane!

The company has proven that it can grab attention like no other social media company - But can it also win the advertising dollars that make Facebook and Instagram the 100 billion dollar behemoths they are today?

3 Ways Tiktok is Changing the Business Model in America: 

• Advertising: inviting brands to work with creators to make potentially viral content, such as skateboarders swigging Ocean Spray juice to the sound of Fleetwood Mac.
• E-Commerce: TikTok now enables viewers to buy goods directly by tapping a shopping tab on a video. 
  • It has teamed up with Shopify, an e-commerce platform, to bring more merchants to the site
  • Social Commerce (Way bigger in China - Douyin kills this game)
  • Ticketmaster and Tiktok partner
• Creator Economy Growth: Tiktok’s seven highest-paid stars earned a total of $55.5M from work on and off the platform last year (Triple the sum it counted in 2020). This boosts incentives to create fresh content!

Today, on Things Have Changed - we’re going to explore how TikTok has become the TV for Gen Z and as a result eating the rest of social media.

Stay Tuned!

Important Links:

• Kids Spending More on Tiktok than YouTube
• TikTok Grabs More Ad Dollars, as Marketers Look to Attract Gen Z and Millennials
• Personal Finance is a Hit on Tiktok
• Tiktoks Rapid Growth Shows the Potency of Video
• Tiktok Isn’t Silly It’s Serious
• Social Media Briefing - The Economist (All-Conquering Quaver)
• Tiktok Bursts the Zuckerbubble
• Tiktok Overtaking Facebook in Influencer Marketing Spend this Year, Youtube by 2024

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With a historically tight labor market, why are some tech companies laying people off?

With Inflation not slowing down and the economy showing signs of a possible recession, companies are preparing for the worst. Layoffs are sweeping across American businesses, specifically in growth companies in tech in 2022.

Shopify, Netflix, Peloton, Tiktok, Robinhood, and Coinbase are only some of the companies that are starting to lay off their employees.

But with our most recent episode, we just learned that there was still A LOT of tightness in the labor market - citing labor shortages - so why would these companies lay anyone off?

Well, in this episode of Things Have Changed Podcast, we’re going to explore why tech companies are feeling the burn.

Important Links:

• Millions of Americans Regret the Great Resignation
• Big Tech Won the Pandemic
• Tech’s Red-Hot Hiring Spree Shows Signs of Cooling
• Is Big Techs Red Hot Jobs Market about to Cool?
• Bird is laying off 23% of staff
• Netflix lays off 300 more people — almost 3% of its staff
• US Layoffs, Hiring Freezes Are Tip of Labor Market Slowdown
• JPMorgan Initiates Mass Layoffs and Reorganizing, 1,000 Employees Possibly Affected
• Rivian Plans Hundreds of Job Cuts Following Surge in Staffing
• Amazon has 100,000 less workers
• Amazon increased layoffs
• Nasdaq historic Wipeout - a Tech Story

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Airlines globally have cancelled hundreds of flights, citing labor shortages. They blame COVID-19, uncertainty, and the tight labor market for leading causes for flight cancellations and delays.

The result has been long queues at airports, lost luggage, long layovers, and loads of disappointment.

It’s gotten so BAD that Heathrow airport, historically Europe’s BUSIEST airport, is now telling airlines to STOP SELLING SUMMER tickets

There are multiple reasons fueling the disruptions from bad weather to the economic impact of the war in Ukraine, but labor shortages have been cited as a common reason.

So what is this tight labor market, how is it affecting different industries and how is it fueling straight up chaos in airports globally. 

Some Helpful Links:

• US Jobless Claims Were Little Changed Near a 5-Month High
• The potential dark side of a white hot labor market
• ‘Not Giving Up’: Job Data Show Just How Tight US Labor Really Is
• How to Manage the Great Resignation
• The Feds Flawed Plan to Avoid a Recession
• US Layoffs Hiring Freezes Are Tip for Market Slowdown
• Labor Crunch Spurs Revenue Losses, Canceled Projects in Canada
• Why the Rich World is Facing a Hiring Problem
• Are Labor Markets in the Rich World too Tight?
• Evidence for the Great Resignation is on Thin Ground

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Hey THC Listeners! Jed and Shikher will be taking a super short summer break to build the next pipeline of guests for Things Have Changed. Stay tuned on our coverage of the labor market on July 25th!

As always here at THC, STAY CURIOUS!

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According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 47 million Americans quit their jobs in 2021. So.. During the Pandemic, the definition of “work” drastically changed. Millions of Americans learned how to work from home and even more were forced to risk their lives, being front-line workers.

This event pushed many to re-think what they want from work… many factors impacted this decision from safety, working from home, higher wages and better care form the companies they worked for. And the huge demand for workers meant for the first time in a long time workers had the power!

So… they left!

Welcome to our latest season on THC, where we talk jobs jobs jobs! Specifically the big trends within the global labor markets since COVID. From the Great resignation, to the tight labor markets today, where employers in select industries are still scrambling to find workers! Tune in for our deep dive

Some Helpful Links:

• The Great Resignation Didn’t Start with the Pandemic
• Why the Rich World is Facing a Hiring Problem
• Are Labor Markets in the Rich World too Tight?
• Evidence for the Great Resignation is on Thin Ground

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32 years ago, Mcdonalds opened a restaurant in Moscow. Many people interpretted it as a soft integration to the west. In 1990, 30,000 people lined up for the opening at Pushkin Square, for many, it was the first taste of western consumerism. Since then, the Russian people have fallen in love with the Big Mac and the chain has grown all over the country. 

But today, the American fast-food giant has pulled out of Russia entirely. McDonalds closed over 800 stores in the country and ended up selling their productive resources to the Russians. The new owner replaced the symbolic golden arches with a new brand, "Vkusno & tochka", which translates to "Tasty & That's it".

But McDonalds isn’t the only one. So many other companies are leaving Russia! From the Auto industry (Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen AG), to the Finance industry (Goldman Sachs, Visa, American Express, and Paypal), companies are either suspending operations or limiting their services in the country of 146 million people - check out this article to see who's made drastic measures.

The sanctions of the west are definitely taking effect and the Russian economy is drastically changing… But are the changes what the west was aiming for?

Last episode, we talked about what Sanctions are and Professor Seth Benzells work around studying their effects. In this episode, we’re going to hear the professors thoughts about where policy makers might want to spend more time.

Tune in to learn about which Moscow factory, that used to employ 10,000 people, is being sold to the Russian government for $1 rouble..

Some Helpful Links:

• Simulating Russias and Other Large Economies' Challenging and Interconnected Transitions
• What Companies have Pulled Back from Russia
• What to KNow as U.S., Allies Put Sanctions on Russia
• How New Sanctions Could Cripple Russias Economy
• Professor Seth Benzells Research

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As one of the worlds most televised conflict rages on in Ukraine, western countries, not directly involved, look to utilize a weapon that is forged by economists..

The sanctions imposed on Russia are some of the largest and far-reaching the world has ever seen.. with western countries and international corporations completely cutting ties with the once major emerging economy.. But is this economic weapon working?

Thanks to the pandemic, Sanctions can exacerbate the issues that already trouble the global supply chains, ultimately contributing to inflation…

Here at Things Have Changed, we’ve sat down with our favorite economist, Professor Seth Benzell, who has done some research on assessing how effective western sanctions would be on the Russian economy. One important note is that Seth worked on this with a team of Russian economists at the Gaidar institute, a major center of economic research and training in Russia. On this first episode, we talked about why would sanctions be prescribed and how exactly this would play out in the Russian economy.

For our next episode, we chat more about some ideas that Seth has about where the sanctions should be targeted! To read about it today, check out the article he posted on Warontherocks.com titled “To really hurt Russia’s economy, Target Investment and Human Capital, not gas”. 

Helpful Links:

• Western Sanctions are Nothing like the World has Seen
• Western Businesses Pulling Out
• How is the Russian Economy Doing?
• Anonymous Tipsters and Russian Intelligence
• When Central Banks Face Sanctions
• How New Sanctions Could Cripple Russias Economy
• Water-shed Moment in Global Economic History

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The Great Deceleration in housing might just be bigger than a seasonal cooldown.

The economic shock of higher mortgage rates means borrowers are getting stretched thin to a degree unseen since 2006. And home shoppers in April and May are finally backing away from record home prices.

On Thursday, Freddie Mac deputy chief economist Len Kiefer tweeted about what this downward shift means: "The U.S. housing market is at the beginning stages of the most significant contraction in activity since 2006."

So today on THC, we’re going to talk about the problem of affordability in many hot markets, from Phoenix, Charlotte to Toronto, Canada and what that impact could be.

Important Links:

• Even Deep-Pocketed Buyers Are Starting to Back Away From the U.S. Housing Market
• The housing market is entering the ‘most significant contraction in activity since 2006,’ says Freddie Mac economist
• Toronto Home Prices Slide for Third Month on Higher Rates
• Mortgage Rates Hit 5.27%, Highest Level Since 2009

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