The end of Australian soap opera Neighbours has us wondering why a television series ending makes us sad. Also, what does science say about how to engage with screens while still protecting your vision?
Also on the show, visual ecologist Daniel Hanley has created a camera to help us visualize the world animals see, and why are there green birds, green insects, but no green mammals?
All that plus more Unexpected Elements.
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton
Producers: Margaret Sessa-Hawkins, Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, and Ella Hubber
HO! HO! HO, Y'ALL! In this episode, Rivers is snowed-in at Disgraceland Studios hangin' out and roasting some chestnuts with our ol' pal, comedian Justin Lain! We test out Sprite + Tea and talk about Christmas in Justin's hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana. We also chat about some of the worst gifts ever given according to folks on Reddit, and we've got a new batch of horrible Christmas songs to check out. Eartha Kitt's "Santa Baby" is our JAM OF THE WEEK! Happy Holidays, folks! Hope it's a good one. Thank you for listening. Follow Justin on social media @TheJustinLain Follow our show @TheGoodsPod on absolutely everything! Rivers is @RiversLangley Sam is @SamHarter666 Carter is @Carter_Glascock Subscribe on Patreon for an UNCUT video version of the show as well as HOURS of bonus content! http://patreon.com/TheGoodsPod Pick up a Goods from the Woods t-shirt at: http://prowrestlingtees.com/TheGoodsPod
From canoes on the beach at Dzidzilalich to steamships and piers, Seattle's waterfront was the center of the city's economy and culture for generations. Its tumultuous history reflects a broader story of immigration, labor battles, and technological change. The 2001 Nisqually Earthquake brought fresh urgency and opportunity to remake this contested space, sparking intense debates over history preservation, the environment, and Indigenous connections long ignored. Today, the revitalized Waterfront Park offers a new chapter in this ongoing story. The removal of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the reconstruction of the seawall have redefined how the city interacts with its shoreline. With its blend of historic structures and forward-looking public spaces, the waterfront will continue to shape Seattle's identity. Street signs now mark Dzidzilalich, acknowledging the presence of Coast Salish peoples, while restored piers recall the area's industrious past. In Where the City Meets the Sound: The Story of Seattle's Waterfront (HistoryLink, 2025), Dr. Jennifer Ott details the waterfront's history, from its deep past to its complex present. Her book reveals how battles over control, identity, and space have forged one of the city's most iconic places, with a history that mirrors Seattle itself—rich, diverse, and constantly evolving.
This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I substance to a Schedule III substance. Trump's order continues an effort begun by former President Joe Biden to change how the federal government views marijuana. Previously, under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act, marijuana had the same classification as LSD and peyote – drugs that the federal government argues have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. And because of its classification, scientists who wanted to investigate medical uses for marijuana had to jump through significant hoops – and couldn’t get federal research dollars. Once marijuana is reclassified, that will change. However, if you’re a recreational marijuana user, Trump did not, in fact, just legalize weed. So to learn more about what the executive order means, we spoke with Jeremy Berke, editor-in-chief of Cultivated Media, an outlet covering the business, policy, and culture of cannabis.
And in headlines, the Labor Department releases inflation numbers likely skewed by the government shutdown, the deadline to release the Epstein files is here, and House Speaker Mike Johnson sends representatives home for the holidays, failing to address the upcoming expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Vanity Fair publishes a candid interview with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in which she makes eye-popping admissions about Trump, Elon Musk, and many more. Trump interrupts the season finale of Survivor to deliver an angry, meandering primetime address on the economy, and the administration moves closer to war with Venezuela, announcing a blockade of oil tankers trying to enter or leave its ports. Jon and Dan discuss all the latest and then turn to Trump’s new executive orders on gender-affirming care and medical marijuana, Speaker Mike Johnson’s inability to hold his coalition together, and DNC Chair Ken Martin’s decision to bury a much-anticipated postmortem report on the 2024 election.
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As we close out 2025, the IPO market is already heating up. And it’s going to get hotter next year, with some major tech IPOs on the horizon. WSJ reporter Corrie Driebusch shares what’s ahead. Plus, WSJ Heard on the Street columnist Dan Gallagher explains why Micron’s blowout results could mean higher prices for anyone buying a new phone or PC next year.
Watch the interview on Youtube here: https://youtu.be/eyS-eokvP-U
Everyone laughed when Jesse and Emily Cole said they were going to save baseball by turning it into a circus. The traditionalists said it was a mockery. The investors said it wouldn't scale. Babe Ruth woulda blushed.
But today, while the Red Sox and Yankees yawn in the dugout, the Savannah Bananas are selling out those very same stadiums… while on stilts.
In this episode, we sit down with the husband-and-wife co-founders to uncover how they turned a struggling startup - with so much debt they had to sell their house - into a viral phenomenon with a waitlist of over 1 million people.
We dive deep into their "Fans First" business model, why they refuse to take VCmoney, and how "burning the boring" let them create a new sport and disrupt a 100-year-old industry.
They even got engaged in the middle of a (rainy) baseball game.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
The "Anti-Business" Model: Why they refuse to take investors, sell advertising, charge for hot dogs, or collect sales taxes.
Burn The Boring: How they audited every second of a baseball game to eliminate friction (goodbye, bunts and walks).
The "Do The Opposite" Strategy: How a philosophy inspired by P.T. Barnum & Walt Disney helped them win in the attention economy.
Metrics vs. Magic: Why Jesse and Emily ignore traditional ROI data to focus on "Return on Fan".
(And why you should check the weather before proposing)
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Intro: The "Cirque du Soleil" of Baseball
2:05 - The Meet Cute: How Jesse & Emily Met
5:20 - Why They Refused VC Money (Owning 100% Equity)
6:48 - The Walt Disney Lesson on Control
8:45 - Leaving $50 Million on the Table
12:55 - Burning the Boring: Inventing Banana Ball
19:00 - Failures: The "Human Pinata" Disaster
24:00 - The Strategy: "Whatever is Normal, Do The Opposite"
31:00 - Making Decisions on Intuition vs. Spreadsheets
Want more business storytelling from us? Check our weekly deepdive show, The Best Idea Yet: The untold origin story of the products you're obsessed with. Listen for free to The Best Idea Yet: https://wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/
About Us: The daily pop-biz news show making today’s top stories your business. Formerly known as Robinhood Snacks, The Best One Yet is hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell.
While the A.I. boom has created a data center boom, rich guys are turning their computing dreams to the skies. With its impending IPO, SpaceX stands to lead the extraterrestrial data center boom. Will it work out for Elon and company?
Guest: Eric Berger, space reporter at Ars Technica
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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, and Patrick Fort.
You may have heard of Ozempic, and other GLP-1 drugs. They’re everywhere. And they typically involve weekly injections — which can have a sticker price of over a thousand dollars a month. And insurance coverage has been tricky to navigate for a lot of people. That’s why there’s a lot of excitement around a new pill form of the drug. NPR Pharmaceuticals Correspondent Sydney Lupkin chats about these experimental pills with host Emily Kwong.
2025 was a wild year for the U.S. economy. Tariffs transformed the global economy, consumer sentiment hit near-historic lows, and the stock market hit scary, spooky, blood-curdling new heights! So … which of these economic stories defined the year?
Our hosts from Planet Money and The Indicator duke it out during our annual … Family Feud!
Tell us who you think has THE indicator of the year by emailing us at indicator@npr.org. Put “Family Feud” in the subject line.
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Corey Bridges. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
