Month: November 2024

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More or Less: Behind the Stats - What can economics learn from sport?

The great theories of economics seem to have great explanatory power, but the actual world is often far too complicated and messy to fully test them out.

Professor Ignacio Palacios-Huerta, an economist at the London School of Economics has an answer ? sport. In the contained setting of competitive sport, he says, the rules are clear and you know who is doing what. This means, with some analysis, you can see vibrant illustrations of well-known economic theories playing out before your eyes.

Ignacio talks to Tim Harford about some of his favourite economic theories, demonstrated in action in sporting competition.

Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Natasha Fernandes Series producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison Sound mix: John Scott Editor: Richard Vadon

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CBS News Roundup - 11/01/24 | World News Roundup Late Edition

Former president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump prompts outrage after making comments attacking former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney. The Labor Department released a weak October jobs report today. And at least two people were killed in a Halloween shooting in Orlando, Florida.

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Planet Money - The veteran loan calamity

Ray and Becky Queen live in rural Oklahoma with their kids (and chickens). The Queens were able to buy that home with a VA loan because of Ray's service in the Army. During COVID, the Queens – like millions of other Americans – needed help from emergency forbearance. They were told they could pause home payments for up to a year and then pick up again making affordable mortgage payments with no problems.

That's what happened for most American homeowners who took forbearance. But not for tens of thousands of military veterans like Ray Queen.

On today's show, we follow two reporters' journey to figure out what went wrong with the VA's loan forbearance program. How did something meant to help vets keep their houses during COVID end up stranding tens of thousands of them on the brink of foreclosure? And, once the error was spotted, did the government do enough to make things right?

Today's episode was produced by James Sneed. It was edited by Meg Cramer. And fact-checked by Dania Suleman. Engineering by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

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The Gist - Funny You Should Mention – Episode 3 Sam Jay

Our third installment of Funny You Should Mention welcomes Sam Jay, former SNL writer, Tom Brady Roaster, host of HBO's Pause with Sam Jay, and stand-up comic behind such specials as Netflix's 3 In The Morning and HBO's Salute Me or Shoot Me. Sam and Mike talk cops, racism, white vs black people money management, and a joke she'll discuss but won't be telling again.


Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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Consider This from NPR - The 2024 presidential race went from deja vu to unprecedented overnight

When the 2024 presidential campaign began, it looked a lot like the last one.

Former President Donald Trump and sitting President Joe Biden became the presumptive nominees for their parties in March. This year was set to be the first U.S. presidential rematch since 1956.

We all know sequels are rarely more interesting than the original, and it seemed like this election might be downright boring. But the joke was on us, because Americans have just lived through the most dramatic, eventful, unexpected presidential campaign of our lives.

We revisit the key moments that brought us to this point in the race.

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Consider This from NPR - The 2024 presidential race went from deja vu to unprecedented overnight

When the 2024 presidential campaign began, it looked a lot like the last one.

Former President Donald Trump and sitting President Joe Biden became the presumptive nominees for their parties in March. This year was set to be the first U.S. presidential rematch since 1956.

We all know sequels are rarely more interesting than the original, and it seemed like this election might be downright boring. But the joke was on us, because Americans have just lived through the most dramatic, eventful, unexpected presidential campaign of our lives.

We revisit the key moments that brought us to this point in the race.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

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Consider This from NPR - The 2024 presidential race went from deja vu to unprecedented overnight

When the 2024 presidential campaign began, it looked a lot like the last one.

Former President Donald Trump and sitting President Joe Biden became the presumptive nominees for their parties in March. This year was set to be the first U.S. presidential rematch since 1956.

We all know sequels are rarely more interesting than the original, and it seemed like this election might be downright boring. But the joke was on us, because Americans have just lived through the most dramatic, eventful, unexpected presidential campaign of our lives.

We revisit the key moments that brought us to this point in the race.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

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1A - The News Roundup For November 1, 2024

In the final days of his campaign, former President Donald Trump held a rally at Madison Square Garden in his home city of New York. The supposed success of the event was unfortunately overshadowed by racist comments made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who was invited to open for the former real estate mogul.

House Speaker Mike Johnson took aim at the Affordable Care Act this week, promising massive reform to the law at an event in Pennsylvania should Trump emerge victorious from the election.

Meanwhile, despite multiple warnings from the United States, aid to Gaza has fallen to its lowest level since the beginning of Israel's campaign against Hamas, intensifying the humanitarian crisis in the region.

The Pentagon said this week that North Korea sent 10,000 soldiers to Russia that are likely meant to reinforce Russian troops as the latter army continues its invasion of Ukraine.

Georgia's prime minister is taking a victory lap following a supposed "landslide" election result. Irakli Kobakhidze, however, also took time to reject allegations of vote-rigging and violence in an interview with the BBC.

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CrowdScience - Why do some mushrooms glow?

Fungi are a mysterious and understudied life form. And to add to the intrigue, some of them actually glow in the dark. This phenomenon has sparked CrowdScience listener Derek's curiosity, and he's asked us to investigate.

Presenter Caroline Steel gets on the case. This is just one example of the natural wonder that is bioluminescence – living organisms that glow. How do they produce their light, and is there any reason for it? Caroline visits a bioluminescent bay in Puerto Rico, and Dr Brenda Soler-Figueroa explains what makes it sparkle.

But it turns out there are many different explanations for why living things glow. Fungi, which listener Derek is particularly interested in, are neither plants nor animals, but an entirely different kingdom of life that we know much less about. Professor Katie Field takes on the task of trying to grow us some bioluminescent mushrooms, while Prof Cassius Stevani explains how – and importantly, why – they glow.

And finally – could we ever harness the power of bioluminescence to our advantage in the future?

Presenter: Caroline Steel Producer: Hannah Fisher Editor: Cathy Edwards Production co-ordinator: Ishmael Soriano Studio Manager: Neva Missirian

(Photo: Omphalotus nidiformis, or ghost fungus, Penrose, NSW, Australia Credit: Louise Docker Sydney Australia via Getty Images)