Author: The Wall Street Journal & Gimlet

The world’s rainforests have shrunk dramatically in recent decades due to the expansion of land for growing cash crops, like cocoa. The European Union is trying to limit destruction with a new law which aims to track where cocoa is grown. Farmers who want to sell to Europe— the world’s largest cocoa market— are racing to meet the law's requirements, or lose out. WSJ’s Alexandra Wexler details how the law will impact millions of cocoa farmers in West Africa.

Further Reading:

- Chocolate Prices Have Soared. A New Law Threatens to Keep Them High. 

- Your Sweet Tooth Is Getting Expensive 

Further Listening:

- How Indonesia Tamed Rainforest Destruction 

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Bill Ackman has pressed pause on the initial public offering of a new fund aimed at everyday investors after a lack of demand. Ackman originally aimed to raise around $25 billion in the offering, hoping to capitalize on his social-media celebrity but his fund goals shrunk dramatically. WSJ’s Peter Rudegeair unpacks what happened. 

Further Reading:

-Can Bill Ackman Turn Social-Media Stardom Into a Blockbuster IPO? 

-What Bill Ackman Got Wrong With His Bungled IPO 

Further Listening:

-The Life of One of Wall Street’s Greatest Investors 

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In a historic decision this week, a federal judge ruled that Google acted to illegally maintain a monopoly in online search. The case was the first of several antitrust lawsuits the U.S. government has brought against some of the nation’s leading tech companies, and the ruling marks a major victory for its efforts to reign in big tech. WSJ’s Miles Kruppa explains how this decision could shake up Google’s business and potentially change how we search the internet. 

Further Reading:

-Google’s Antitrust Loss Set to Reshape Search and Mobile Industries 

-Google Loses Antitrust Case Over Search-Engine Dominance 

Further Listening:

-Why the DOJ Is Suing Google Again 

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Slow job growth in the U.S. and interest rate cuts in Japan triggered a global stock market sell off on Monday. WSJ’s Nick Timiraos breaks down how it happened, what it says about the economy, and what it means for the Federal Reserve’s long-term goal of a soft landing.

Further Listening:

-Live from Seattle: A Weird Economy + Election = ?? 

-Why the Fed Is Steering Away From Rate Cuts

Further Reading:

-Market Selloff Upends Fed Rate-Cut Calculus 

-Lousy Jobs Report Forces Fed to Reckon With Hard Landing 

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Under the Americans With Disabilities Act, businesses are supposed to make their websites accessible to the visually impaired. WSJ's Ruth Simon found that this requirement has led to an explosion of lawsuits, many of which are against small businesses.

Further Reading:

- The Law Firm Hitting Businesses With Thousands of Disability Suits 

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As Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign gets underway, Democrats and Republicans are rushing to define her. And Democrats are shifting the way they talk about the GOP. WSJ’s Molly Ball explores the strategies behind how both sides are framing each other. 

Further Listening:

- The Week That Changed the Presidential Race 

- Takeaways from the RNC: Trump Is in Control 

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Russia freed wrongfully convicted Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and more than a dozen others on Thursday as part of the largest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War. WSJ’s Joe Parkinson and Drew Hinshaw report on the effort to bring Gershkovich home. 

Further Listening:

-Russia Tries a WSJ Reporter in a Secret Court 

-Two Parents on a Crusade to Free Their Son 

Further Reading:

-Inside the Secret Negotiations to Free Evan Gershkovich 

-WSJ Reporter Evan Gershkovich Is Free 

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After ten years of sales, 500 million Amazon smart devices have found their way into homes around the world. But the company is losing billions of dollars on the devices. WSJ’s Dana Mattioli discovered an accounting tool that’s kept the huge losses under wraps. 

Further Reading:

-Alexa Is in Millions of Households—and Amazon Is Losing Billions 

Further Listening:

-Amazon's Secret Operation to Gather Intel on Rivals 

-What Is Amazon's Secret 'Project Nessie'? 

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Today, Olympics officials in Paris postponed the men’s triathlon because of elevated E. coli levels in the River Seine, where the event was set to take place. WSJ’s Joshua Robinson reports on how decades of trying to clean up the river may not have been successful. 

Further Reading:

- Paris Olympics Postpones Triathlon Because of Pollution in River Seine 

- Yes, They’re Actually Doing Olympic Swimming in the River Seine. Gulp.  

- Herculean Feat in Paris Olympics: Make the Seine Safe to Swim  

Further Listening:

- Simone Biles and the Power of Saying No 

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Have you ever thought about who is behind your scam texts? WSJ reporter Feliz Solomon spent months investigating and discovered that many of these texts are coming from slaves trapped in scam dens in Southeast Asia. She talked to one person who had been imprisoned there and learned how he became ensnared in a growing criminal empire.

Further Listening:

- Pig Butchering: A Texting Scam With A Crypto Twist 

Further Reading:

- Posing As ‘Alicia,’ This Man Scammed Hundreds Online. He Was Also A Victim. 

- ‘She Hooked Me’: How An Online Scam Cost A Senior Citizen His Life’s Savings 

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