It's the most wonderful time of year, er, week, because it's that time when we look at the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.
On today's Indicators of the Week: A messy grocery store breakup, a quantum leap in subatomic computing and an unexpected change to the Christmas tree market.
Chicago is a city of pubs and taverns with a robust drinking culture. During the holiday season, that might mean sipping on some warm Swedish glögg, or, as we heard in our last episode, grabbing a Tom and Jerry at Miller’s Pub. But what about a Chicago-specific cocktail?
“People really want us to have a cocktail,” said Liz Garibay, executive director of the Beer Culture Center. “It's like, you go to New Orleans and there's a Sazerac. You go to New York, there's Manhattan.”
So is there a quintessential Chicago cocktail? Curious City host Erin Allen talks to Garibay as well as Greg Shutters, owner of Cohassett Punch Liqueur to see what they think. Garibay says either way, the city’s drinking culture is shaped by its immigrant and working class roots.
We talk with Garibay and Shutters about Chicago’s drinking scene, past and present.
If you ever watch a war movie, you might see a scene where a prisoner of war evokes the Geneva convention to their captors.
But what exactly is the Geneva Convention, and what does it say? Why did countries sign a treaty covering ethics in war, of all things? Who is and isn’t covered by the Geneva Convention, and what happened to prisoners of war before the Geneva Convention?
…and what happens if a belligerent party doesn’t honor the Geneva Convention?
Learn more about Prisoners of War and the Geneva Conventions on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
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The World With Its Mouth Open is a book of short stories from journalist-turned-author Zahid Rafiq. The collection showcases the precarious but ordinary lives of people in modern day Kashmir, a site of ongoing geopolitical conflict. In Rafiq's stories, a work crew makes a disturbing discovery at a construction site, a pregnant woman searches for fresh fish, and a shopkeeper has an unexpected encounter with a mannequin. In today's episode, Rafiq tells NPR's Eric Deggans about his interest in writing stories without knowing the ending, and his characters' ability to build a future on the foundation of a difficult past.
To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday
In 2012, Karam Shaar had to leave his home country of Syria due to the civil war. But he still wanted to make a difference. Through his economic analysis, he uncovered concerning patterns about how the Assad regime and its cronies were siphoning money from humanitarian aid. Today on the show, the story of how one Syrian exile contributed to the resistance while on the other side of the world.
Related episodes: The cost of a dollar in Ukraine (Apple / Spotify)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
The Tom & Jerry cocktail didn’t originate in Chicago, but this cakey drink feels very Midwestern. We get into the drunken history of this classic drink, and why it’s become a holiday tradition.
Listen as Rob celebrates the life and career of the music icon who is Johnny Cash and his 2002 legendary cover of “Hurt.” Along the way, Rob discusses Cash’s work with Rick Rubin and much more. Later, Rob is joined by the Ringer’s Brian Phillips to further celebrate Johnny Cash’s greatness.