It's Indicators of the Week, our weekly look under the hood of the global economy! Today on the show: Tyler Perry halts his film studio expansion plans because of AI, Wendy's communications about a new pricing board goes haywire and a key inflation measure falls.
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Fundraising is a staple of the school experience in the U.S. There's an assembly showing off all the prizes kids can win by selling enough wrapping paper or chocolate to their neighbors. But it's pretty weird, right?
Why do schools turn kids into little salespeople? And why do we let companies come in and dangle prizes in front of students?
We spend a year with one elementary school, following their fundraising efforts, to see how much they raise, and what the money goes to.
The school – Villacorta Elementary in La Puente, California – has one big goal: To raise enough money to send every single student on one field trip. The whole school hasn't been able to go on one in three years.
We find out what the companies who run school fundraisers do to try to win a school's business. And we find that this bizarre tradition is ... surprisingly tactical. That's on today's episode.
Today's show was hosted by Sarah Gonzalez and produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Jess Jiang, fact checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Valentina Rodríguez Sánchez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.
The American journalism industry is in crisis - layoffs, strikes, and site shutdowns have some people talking about the potential extinction of the the news industry as we know it. Just last week, VICE Media announced their plans to layoff hundreds of employees and halt website operations. Taylor Lorenz, the Washington Post online culture and technology columnist, joins the show to unpack what is at stake with the continued media closures and layoffs.
Then, Brittany is joined by Deva Woodly, a professor of Political Science at Brown University. They discuss Aaron Bushnell's self-immolation outside the Israeli embassy in DC. They look at how this extreme act of protest is unique and how it might impact the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
The announcement comes amid falling profits for the company. WeightWatchers has been facing declining stock prices since November as weight loss drugs, known as GLP1s, have soared in popularity.
CVS will start filling prescriptions for mifepristone in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Walgreens will start in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California and Illinois.
A former co-chair of OpenAI, Musk says he invested millions in the AI lab on "false promises" that it would be nonprofit and open-source. OpenAI is now backed by Microsoft.
A ransomware attack targeting a UnitedHealth Group subsidiary is disrupting pharmacies and hospitals nationwide, leaving patients with problems filling prescriptions or seeking medical treatment.
The oil and gas giant is suing investor groups that want it to slash climate pollution. Interest groups on both sides of the case say it could lead to more lawsuits against activist investors.
There are no Wonka-like scenes of Tagalong rainbows and Do-si-do stools. But parents can be forgiven for feeling like Oompa Loompas — hardworking cogs in a well-oiled machine.
Airlines often damage or lose wheelchairs. Now the Biden administration is proposing new standards for how airlines accommodate passengers with disabilities.
Israel has long raised money from individual supporters living overseas through a tool called diaspora bonds. This financing tool is part patriotic gift and part investment. Today, we look at how diaspora bonds work and how Israel is making use of them for its war effort.
While nearly 20% of American gamers identify as LGBTQ+, according to a study from GLAAD and Nielsen, less than 2% of all games include LGBTQ+ characters or storylines.
