Category: News

When Shi Zhengrong started making solar panels at the turn of the century, there was basically no solar industry in China. But in the decades that followed, the nation started heavily investing in renewables. Today, we dig into how China became a leader in solar power while following the story of one man: the Sun King.

Related episodes:
Rooftop solar's dark side (Apple / Spotify)
The debate at the heart of new electricity transmission (Apple / Spotify)

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The ascendance of Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz has made the topic of free school lunch a political flashpoint. Over the past several years, several states—including Walz's home state of Minnesota—have created free school lunch programs, to the dismay of some House Republicans who believe government subsidies should go only to needy students.

Today on the show, we break down the economics of school lunch and explore whether universal programs are more effective than targeted programs.

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Welcome to another edition of Indicators of the Week! On today's show, the large downward revision to jobs numbers, the awkward release of that news and a survey that asks U.S. workers for the minimum salary they would accept a new job for.

Related listening:
Getting more men into so-called pink collar jobs (Apple / Spotify)
Do I need a four-year degree? (Apple / Spotify)
Indicator exploder: jobs and inflation
Our 2023 Valentines

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Earlier this month, the White House unveiled a new initiative aimed at trying to serve and protect American consumers: Time is Money.

It's an array of actions the Biden Harris administration is taking to stomp out business processes that waste consumers time and money, like, for example, making it unnecessarily difficult to cancel a subscription, get an airline ticket refund, or file an insurance claim.

On today's episode: In a competitive market, companies want to treat their customers well or else they'll lose their customers to competitors ... so why does the White House want to intervene in this area of the free market?

Related Episode:
Junk fees, unfilled jobs, jackpot

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Like several aspects of the travel economy, renting a car is more expensive than it was before the pandemic. Today on the show, we explore the great reset happening in the U.S. rental car industry that's kept prices elevated, left fleets leaner, and customers frustrated.

Related episodes:
The semiconductor shortage (still)
Offloading EVs, vacating offices and reaping windfalls

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By now, you've probably heard a lot from both presidential nominees about getting rid of taxes on tips.

The idea may sound good on first go, but it has its detractors, namely economists and tax experts. Their fears include unfairness and people gaming the system.

On today's episode, how to put in place guardrails for a policy that many economists believe is likely to go off the rails.

Related episode:
Why Americans Can't Quit Tipping

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Unlimited paid time off may sound like a nice perk, but it's not always what it appears. Employers aren't typically obligated to pay out unused vacation balances when a worker leaves, and it can be hard for workers to understand just how much time they can actually take off.

And yet ... endless leave?? It doesn't sound so bad.

Today on the show, is unlimited paid time off really a benefit? We try to figure out whether it works.

Related episodes:
Vacation, and why the U.S. takes so little of it (Apple / Spotify)
The 28-Hour Work Week

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It's ... Indicators of the Week! We cover the numbers in the news that you should know about. This week, we cover mortgage applications increasing, China's home prices decreasing, and Carrie Bradshaw ... Indices-ing?

Related Episodes:
When mortgage rates are too low to give up
Are both rents AND interest rates too dang high?
The highs and lows of US rents
The mess at the heart of China's economy

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Some bank customers are jumping to high-yield savings accounts to escape the shockingly low interest rates of personal savings accounts at big banks. So why aren't these banks raising their rates to attract more customers? Today on the show, we explore why big banks may not care about your savings account anymore.

Related episodes:
The dangers of money market funds (Apple / Spotify)
Interest rates up, but not on your savings account (Apple / Spotify)
Bad Form, Wells Fargo

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Former President Donald Trump recently suggested that if elected in this year's presidential election he would want more say on decisions made by the Federal Reserve. Presidents taking a more active role in monetary policy would mark an extraordinary shift in U.S. economic institutions, and mark the end of central bank independence.

Today on the show, why the Federal Reserve insulates itself from day-to-day politics, and what it looks like when central banks are influenced by politicians.

Related Episodes:
Happy Fed Independence Day (Update)
Arthur Burns: shorthand for Fed failure?
How the Fed got so powerful

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