Category: 3-EconSometimeCommentary

(Note: This episode originally ran in 2020.)

In the restaurant game, you need to make the most of every table every minute you are open. And you need to make sure your guests are happy, comfortable, and want to come back.

If you're a restaurateur, your gut tells you "more seats, more money," but, in this episode, restaurant design expert Stephani Robson upends all that and more. She helps Roni Mazumdar, owner of the casual Indian spot Adda in New York's Long Island City, rethink how a customer behaves at a table, and how small changes can lead to a lot more money.

It's a data-driven restaurant makeover.

This episode was originally produced by Darian Woods and Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi. James Sneed and Sam Yellowhorse Kesler produced this update. Engineering by Isaac Rodrigues and Maggie Luthar. Alex Goldmark originally edited the show and is now Planet Money's executive producer.

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Relocating halfway across the world is hard enough for humans. For pets it can require a specialist. Zachary Crockett waits at the airport, holding a sign saying "Fluffy."

 

• SOURCES:
  • Amelia Barklow, owner of two pet ducks, Wobbles and Bean.
  • Mike Gays, managing director of Global Pet Relocation.
  • Gemma Tappin, pet relocation consultant team leader at Global Pet Relocation.

 

• RESOURCES:
  • "Service Dogs Are Allowed on Planes, but There Are Some Requirements to Get Them There," by Zach Wichter (USA Today, 2023).
  • "More Dogs Die on United Than on Any Other Airline. Here’s Why," by Martine Powers (The Washington Post, 2018).
  • "Emotional support peacock denied flight by United Airlines," by Daniella Silva (NBC News, 2018).
  • "Banned by Many Airlines, These Bulldogs Fly Private," by Christine Haughney (The New York Times, 2011).
  • Pet Travel information, by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

 

• EXTRAS:
  • "Should You Trust Private Equity to Take Care of Your Dog?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023).

It is rare that a new e-commerce company has such a meteoric rise as Temu. The company, which launched in the fall of 2022, has been flooding the American advertising market, buying much of the inventory of Facebook, Snapchat, and beyond. According to the market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, Temu is one of the most downloaded iPhone apps in the country, with around 50 million monthly active users.

On today's show, we go deep on Temu: How does it work, how did it manage such a quick rise in the U.S., and what hints might it offer us about the future of retail? Plus, we'll talk to the bicycle-loving U.S. Representative who is working to shut down a loophole that has proved very helpful to Temu's swift ascent.

This episode was hosted by Nick Fountain and Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi with reporting from Emily Feng. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler and Emma Peaslee. It was edited by Keith Romer, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

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On this episode of the Hayek Program Podcast, we kickoff the Living Better Together miniseries, featuring select authors of Living Better Together: Social Relations and Economic Governance in the Work of Ostrom and Zelizer (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023) and hosted by its coeditor, Stefanie Haeffele.

Joining us today are Bri Wolf and Jayme Lemke. Starting the discussion, they reflect on their path to joining the book project and elaborate on the insights they provide in their chapters. Together, they explore how Ostrom and Zelizer's approaches illuminate the complex relationships between societal norms, family dynamics, and broader social systems, advocating for a multidisciplinary and global perspective on these themes.

Bri Wolf is an Assistant Professor of Political Theory at James Madison College at Michigan State University. She is an alum of the Mercatus Adam Smith Fellowship. Learn more about her experience as a fellow here, and check out her chapter, "Bringing the Family Back In: Political Economy and the Family in Liberal Theory."

Jayme Lemke is Senior Research Fellow and a Senior Fellow with the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. She is an alum of the Mercatus PhD Fellowship. Check out her chapter, "Polycentric Institutions of Intimacy."

Listen to the lecture that started it all, "'Why and How Do Social Relations Matter for Economic Lives?' with Viviana Zelizer"

If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Virtual Sentiments, our new podcast series from the Hayek Program is now streaming! Subscribe today and listen to season two, now releasing!

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CC Music: Twisterium

Steel manufacturing was at one point the most important industry in the United States. It was one of the biggest employers, a driver of economic growth, and it shaped our national security. Cars, weapons, skyscrapers... all needed steel.

But in the second half of the 20th century, the industry's power started to decline. Foreign steel companies gained more market power and the established steel industry in the U.S. was hesitant to change and invest in newer technologies. But then, a smaller company took a chance and changed the industry.

On today's episode: What can the fall of a once-great industry teach us about innovation and technology? And why you should never underestimate an underdog.

This episode was hosted by Erika Beras and Mary Childs. It was produced by Willa Rubin and edited by Jess Jiang. It was engineered by Cena Loffredo. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Our executive producer is Alex Goldmark.

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More and more Americans rely on prostheses. They’re custom-fitted, highly personal, and extremely expensive. Zachary Crockett investigates.

 

• SOURCES:
  • Jordan Beckwith, YouTuber and advocate.
  • Eric Neufeld, owner and medical director of Agile Orthopedics.

 

• RESOURCES:
  • "Medicare Coverage of Durable Medical Equipment & Other Devices," by Medicare (2024).
  • "Limb Loss in the U.S.," infographic by the Amputee Coalition (2022).
  • "A Robot Hand Helps Amputees 'Feel' Again," by Jeffery Delviscio (Scientific American, 2019).
  • "Differences in Myoelectric and Body-Powered Upper-Limb Prostheses: Systematic Literature Review," by Stephanie L. Carey, Derek J. Lura, and Jason Highsmith (Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, 2015).
  • "Local Coverage Determination: Lower Limb Prostheses," from the Medicare Coverage Database (effective 2015).
  • "Variation in the Care of Surgical Conditions: Diabetes and Peripheral Arterial Disease," by Philip P. Goodney, Nino Dzebisashvili, David C. Goodman, and Kristen K. Bronner (Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care Series, 2014).
  • "Estimating the Prevalence of Limb Loss in the United States: 2005 to 2050," by Kathryn Ziegler-Graham, Ellen J. MacKenzie, Patti L. Ephraim, Thomas G. Travison, and Ron Brookmeyer (Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2008).

When you buy a bottle of rum in the United States, by law nearly all the federal taxes on that rum must be sent to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It's an unusual system that Congress designed decades ago to help fund these two U.S. territories. In 2021 alone, these rum tax payments added up to more than $700 million.

Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands split the money according to how much rum each territory produces. And the territories produce a lot of it — especially Puerto Rico, which single handedly supplies the majority of the rum that Americans drink.

But in 2008, the U.S. Virgin Islands pulled off a coup. It convinced one of the largest rum brands in the world, Captain Morgan, to abandon Puerto Rico and to shift its operations to the tiny island of St. Croix.

This was the beginning of the Rum Wars.

On today's show, the story of how a scheme designed to help Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands turned them into bitter rivals. And how it ended up putting hundreds of millions of dollars a year — U.S. taxpayer dollars — into the pockets of big liquor companies instead.

This episode was hosted by Jeff Guo and Sarah Gonzalez. It was produced by James Sneed with help from Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Molly Messick, engineered by Cena Loffredo, and fact checked by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

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The wind power business is a bit contradictory right now. It's showing signs of boom and bust seemingly all at once.

The story of wind energy markets in two acts today. First, the Gulf of Mexico saw its first-ever auction of leases for offshore wind this summer. It was another sign of the Biden administration's desire to get more renewable energy online as fast as possible. Expectations were high, but results did not deliver. Two of the three patches of sea didn't get any bids at all. Hidden in the flop for this auction are some keys to what it takes to spark a whole new market, quickly.

Then, the booming side of wind power: the job that's projected to be the fastest-growing in the U.S. is wind turbine service technician. Is it a "good" job? Reporter Darian Woods suits up to see a green-collar job above the clouds for himself.

Today's episode is adapted from episodes for Planet Money's daily show, The Indicator. Subscribe here.

The original Indicator episodes were produced by Cooper Katz McKim and Julia Ritchey with engineering by Valentina Rodriguez Sanchez and James Willetts. They were fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and edited by Dave Blanchard and Kate Concannon.

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Interest in houseplants has exploded in recent years. But what causes floral trends, and prices, to grow? Zachary Crockett sows a few seeds.

 

• SOURCES:
  • Justin Hancock, director of research and development at Costa Farms.
  • Brian Williams, co-owner of Brian's Botanicals.
  • Sarah Williams, co-owner Brian's Botanicals.

 

• RESOURCES:
  • "Bidding Wars and $1,000 Succulents: The Wild World of Rare Houseplants," by Hannah Holland (The Washington Post, 2023).
  • "Houseplants Boomed During the Pandemic. Gen Z and Millennials Say the Popularity Is Here to Stay," by Lucia Starbuck (KUNR, 2022).
  • "The Most Iconic Houseplant Trends Through the Decades," by Wretched Flowers (Architectural Digest, 2021).
  • "Meet the Plantfluencers," by Penelope Green (The New York Times, 2018).

When you sit down to watch the Oscars, what you are really watching is the final battle in a months-long war of financial engineering and campaign strategy. Because in Hollywood, every year is an election year. A small army of Oscars campaign strategists help studios and streamers deploy tens of millions of dollars to sway Academy voters. And the signs of these campaigns are everywhere — from the endless celebrity appearances on late night TV to the billboards along your daily commute.

On today's show, we hit the Oscars campaign trail to learn how these campaigns got so big in the first place. And we look into why Hollywood is still spending so much chasing gold statues, when the old playbook for how to make money on them is being rewritten.

This episode was hosted by Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi. It was produced by Emma Peaslee and edited by Jess Jiang. It was engineered by Cena Loffredo and fact checked by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

Help support Planet Money and get bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.

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