With so many working from home, why not turn empty offices into homes?

Even before COVID-19, there was a housing crisis in much of this country. Now, cities like San Francisco have millions of square feet of empty office space and a persistent housing shortage. One of our listeners wants to know: Why can’t one problem be the other’s solution? We’ll talk about it. Plus, the economic cost of racism against Asian Americans, the changing cosmetics industry and a whole bunch of TV recs.

Here are links to everything we talked about today:

“Following pandemic, converting office buildings into housing may become new ‘normal’” from the Washington Post

“S.F. has nearly 16 million square feet of vacant office space. Why can’t it become housing?” from the San Francisco Chronicle

“Asian American businesses are defending themselves against rise in anti-Asian violence” from the Washington Post

“How has the economy changed over the past year, in 8 charts” from Marketplace

“What is makeup for during a pandemic?” also from Marketplace

“How the beauty industry is surviving the pandemic” from Vox

Kimberly’s abridged anime list: “Demon Slayer,” “Golden Kamuy,” “The Promised Neverland,” “My Hero Academia,” “Black Clover,” “Fruits Basket,” “Darwin’s Game,” “Horimiya,” “Inuyasha,” “Dr. Stone” and “Cells at Work.”