
Texans are being hit with massive electric bills after last week’s winter storm knocked out much of the state’s grid, which is primarily powered by natural gas. You might not know that many of the data centers mining for cryptocurrency in this country also run on natural gas. On today’s Whadda Ya Wanna Know Wednesday, we’re digging into Texas’ unregulated energy market and Bitcoin’s carbon footprint. Plus your questions about stock trading and stonktails.
 
Here’s everything we talked about today:
 
“Can Texans protect themselves from their sky-high energy bills?” from Marketplace
“Texas Electric Bills Were $28 Billion Higher Under Deregulation” from The Wall Street Journal
“GameStop Mania Highlights Shift to Dark Trading” from The Wall Street Journal
“Tesla’s $1.5 billion bitcoin purchase clashes with its environmental aspirations” from The Verge
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on her Bitcoin doubts
A couple pieces on Bitcoin and natural gas
“We try your “GameStonk”-inspired cocktails” from “Make Me Smart”


What those huge Texas power bills and Bitcoin mining have in common

Each weekday, Marketplace’s Kai Ryssdal and Kimberly Adams make today make sense. Along with our supersmart listeners, we break down happenings in tech, the economy and culture. Every Tuesday we bring on a guest to dive deeper into one important topic. Because none of us is as smart as all of us.

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Investing

Careers

Management & Marketing

Business News

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News


Protests over Israel’s war in Gaza have erupted at universities across the United States. We’ll discuss what the sweeping protests and other high-profile political battles at colleges could mean for the economics of higher education. And, what the Federal Reserve might look like under a second Donald Trump presidency. Plus, we’ll play a round of Half Full / Half Empty!
 
Here’s everything we talked about today:
 



“Protests Threaten College Graduations, Denying Seniors Second Chance at Normalcy” from The New York Times



 



“What students say about the protests rocking their campuses” from The Washington Post



 



“Americans are falling out of love with the idea of college” from Noahpinion



 



“Americans Are Losing Faith in College Education, WSJ-NORC Poll Finds” from The Wall Street Journal



 



“Trump Allies Draw Up Plans to Blunt Fed’s Independence” from The Wall Street Journal



 



“Job trend ‘resenteeism’ has employees coasting through workdays and hanging on, rather than quitting” from Fox Business



 



“How science could disrupt the gin industry” from Marketplace



 



“Celebs head to DC for correspondents’ dinner: Here’s who’s coming” from The Hill



 



“California lawmakers are tired of Clear’s airport line-cutters — but airlines are not” from Fast Company



 



“Christopher Bess, 5-year-old basketball coach, goes viral” from Marketplace




 
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College campus protests and the value of a degree





“Boeing failures are a case study of America’s manufacturing “dark age” from Marketplace
“How science could disrupt the gin industry” from Marketplace



Join us tomorrow for Economics on Tap! The YouTube livestream starts at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time, 6:30 p.m. Eastern. We’ll have news, drinks and play a round of Half Full/Half Empty.
It was a big week for tech earnings calls. Guest host Nova Safo unpacks how they went down for Tesla and Meta, and why the stock market reacted so differently to what their CEOs had to say. Plus, what Boeing’s troubles say about the state of U.S. manufacturing. And, would you try an AI-generated gin cocktail?
Here’s everything we talked about today:




Tesla, Inc. Q1 2024 Financial Results and Q&A; Webcast



 



“Elon Musk Would Like to Talk About AI” from Heatmap News



 



Meta Q1’24 Earnings Presentation



 



“Boeing failures are a case study of America’s manufacturing “dark age” from Marketplace
“How science could disrupt the gin industry” from Marketplace



Join us tomorrow for Economics on Tap! The YouTube livestream starts at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time, 6:30 p.m. Eastern. We’ll have news, drinks and play a round of Half Full/Half Empty.


A stock pop and a stock flop

Today, we’re talking about two different kinds of bans. As expected, President Joe Biden signed the TikTok sell-or-ban bill. But first, guest host Meghan McCarty Carino breaks down the Federal Trade Commission’s decision to ban noncompete agreements and their impact on workers and innovation. Plus, we’ll smile about Emily Dickinson and her newfound love of exclamation points!!! And how “old” is “old”?
Here’s everything we talked about today:

“Business Groups Race to Block FTC’s Ban on Noncompete Agreements” from The Wall Street Journal
“FTC Bans Noncompete Agreements That Restrict Job Switching” from The Wall Street Journal
“Did California’s Noncompete Ban Fuel Silicon Valley Innovation?” from Bloomberg Law
“Banning Noncompetes Is Good for Innovation” from Harvard Business Review
“TikTok may be banned in the US. Here’s what happened when India did it” from The Associated Press
“U.S. Approves Sale of Dating App Whose Owners Were Probed by National Security Officials” from The Wall Street Journal
“Grindr sold by Chinese owner after US raised national security concerns” from TechCrunch
“People think ‘old age’ starts later than it used to, study finds” from the American Psychological Association
“Eternity Only Will Answer” from Poetry Foundation

Want more Make Me Smart in your life? Sign up for our newsletter at marketplace.org/smarter.

To ban or not to ban



Several American dollar store chains have been down bad these days. Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and 99 Cents Only have all recently announced store closures. On the other hand, Dollar General is poised to expand. This has us wondering: What’s going on with the dollar store business model? Has today’s inflationary economy broken it? On the show today, Sandro Steinbach, professor of agribusiness and applied economics at North Dakota State University, explains the economics behind dollar stores, how they keep prices so low, and the impact they have on different communities.
 
Then, we’ll discuss privacy risks while using popular dating apps. And, what the Australian kids’ show “Bluey” can teach us about the economy.
 
Here’s everything we talked about:
 



Video: “How can dollar stores still sell things for a dollar?” from Marketplace



 



“Why are discounters like 99 Cents Only Stores in dire straits?” from Marketplace



 



“Here’s How Dollar General Keeps Its Prices at Rock-Bottom” from Business Insider



 



“The Dollar-Store Showdown Comes Down to Real Estate” from The Wall Street Journal



 



“Dollar store expansion and independent grocery retailer contraction” from Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy



 



“The American dollar store has fallen on hard times” from CNBC



 



“Dating apps are collecting more of your information than you think” from The Washington Post



 



“Justice Department Reaches Civil Settlement with Hundreds of Victims Abused by Lawrence Nassar” from the Department of Justice



 



“Justice Department settles with Larry Nassar victims for $138.7 million” from The Washington Post



 



“Historical U.S. Trade Deficits” from The St. Louis Fed




 
Want more Make Me Smart in your life? Sigh up for our newsletter at marketplace.org/smarter.



The dollar store dilemma

Today, the Biden administration announced plans to implement strict staffing requirements at nursing homes. Kimberly Adams unpacks what this rule may mean for care and the nursing home business model. Plus, guest host Nova Safo returns to discuss the United Auto Workers’ historic victory in the South and the latest troubles at Tesla. And, high-speed rail is finally coming to the U.S.
Here’s everything we talked about today:

“UAW wins big in historic union vote at Volkswagen Tennessee factory” from Reuters
“Tesla shares tumble on price cuts in run-up to earnings” from Reuters
“Biden administration finalizes controversial minimum staffing mandate at nursing homes” from CNN
“Nursing homes must hit minimum staffing levels under new federal rule” from The Hill
“Long Term Care Insurance Costs by State and Region” from New York Life
“How much does long-term care insurance cost?” from CBS News
“I’m 68 and My Long-Term Care Insurance Now Costs $600 Per Month. Is This Too Much?” from Yahoo Finance
“Nine practices from Native American culture that could help the environment” from The Washington Post
“From Sin City to the City of Angels, building starts on high-speed rail line” from The Associated Press


We love to hear from you. Send your questions and comments to makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

What those huge Texas power bills and Bitcoin mining have in common

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