By founding Google, tech titan Sergey Brin helped shape the internet. He also got very, very rich, as his company Alphabet became one of the biggest in the world. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng tell the story of the billionaire who partied on planes after escaping prejudice in Russia. Sergey Brin and his best friend Larry Page became two of history’s biggest tech giants by building the planet’s most popular search engine. How did their technology startup become one of the world's biggest companies? Simon and Zing find out, before deciding if they think he’s good, bad, or just another billionaire.
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Over the last decade, calls to tax the rich have grown louder around the world — but the needle hasn't exactly moved.
Now, the Brazilian government has a new proposal: a 2 percent global wealth tax on the uber-rich. It would impact the 3,000 wealthiest people around the world.
Economists say this 2 percent hike would unlock an extra $250 billion per year. That money could go toward addressing a number of issues, like climate change and global poverty.
G20 nations would have to agree on this proposal before it goes anywhere — and so far, that's not happening. France, Spain, South Africa and several other nations have voiced support, but the U.S. and Germany aren't on board.
Is a global wealth tax a feasible solution?
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Over the last decade, calls to tax the rich have grown louder around the world — but the needle hasn't exactly moved.
Now, the Brazilian government has a new proposal: a 2 percent global wealth tax on the uber-rich. It would impact the 3,000 wealthiest people around the world.
Economists say this 2 percent hike would unlock an extra $250 billion per year. That money could go toward addressing a number of issues, like climate change and global poverty.
G20 nations would have to agree on this proposal before it goes anywhere — and so far, that's not happening. France, Spain, South Africa and several other nations have voiced support, but the U.S. and Germany aren't on board.
Is a global wealth tax a feasible solution?
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
After last weekend, Marvel movies have grossed over $30 billion worldwide. Where does the franchise go from here?
Dave Gonzales is a co-author of “MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios” and a return guest to Motley Fool Money. He joins Ricky Mulvey for a conversation on what the latest Deadpool movie means for the state of Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe. They also discuss:
Ike Perlmutter’s attempt to oust Bob Iger
Bubbles in comics, movies, and franchises
Takeaways from Deadpool’s $400+ million opening weekend
Heads up: at (18:05), spoilers for Deadpool abound! If you haven’t watched yet and want to, save this part of the show for once you’re back from the theater.
Returning to the New Books Network is Doug Greene, here to discuss his book The New Reformism and the Revival of Karl Kautsky (Routledge, 2024). Split into three main parts, the book first surveys Kautsky’s own life and thought, starting with his early interest in socialist politics and turn towards Marxism, followed by a slow but steady turn away from revolution and towards reform, believing parliamentary procedures were the best road to social transformation. The second part looks at the works of Rosa Luxemburg, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, all of whom offer critical responses to Kautsky’s reformism, and the reassertion of the importance of revolutionary thought to any Marxist project. The third and final part looks at the contemporary works of Lars Lih, Eric Blanc and Mike Macnair and their attempts to make Kautsky’s reformist practice the central pillar of the contemporary left. Throughout, Greene argues that the real lesson Kautsky offers is the dead-end of reformism to any revolutionary project.
Some other relevant readings on this topic include
Douglas Greene is a historian in Boston. He is also the author of the books A Failure of Vision: Michael Harrington and the Limits of Democratic Socialism and Stalinism and the Dialectics of Saturn: Anticommunism, Marxism, and the Fate of the Soviet Union. His writing has appeared in a number of outlets.
The U.S. is the largest exporter of natural gas in the world. And Louisiana's Gulf Coast is where much of America's natural gas is piped in to be liquified for export.
Over the last twenty years, liquified natural gas (LNG) has been heralded as a clean and efficient "bridge fuel" for nations transitioning away from coal and oil, towards a future of renewable energy.
But the promise of LNG has not reflected reality. In today's episode of The Sunday Story, WWNO reporters Halle Parker and Carlyle Calhoun talk about the impact of the LNG export industry on Louisiana's Gulf Coast. And they follow the supply chain of LNG all the way to Germany and Japan.
To hear more of Halle and Carlyle's reporting on LNG, listen to their three-part series, "All Gassed Up," on the podcast Sea Change from member stations WWNO and WRKF.