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.
A settlement by the National Realtors Association promises to change the way real estate agents are compensated. It could spell an end to 6% commissions, which are higher than people pay elsewhere.
Snowmaking has helped cover up the effects of climate change for a long time. But by the turn of the century, that started to change. A recent report shows US resorts are opening later, closing earlier, and taking a financial hit. For an industry that relies on snow, the threat is existential. Can ski resorts survive?
President Biden just awarded $8.5 billion dollars to the company Intel to help fund semiconductor factories in Arizona, Ohio, New Mexico, and Oregon.
At a visit to Intel's campus outside Phoenix this week, Biden said the money will help semiconductor manufacturing make a comeback in the US after 40 years.
The money for Intel comes from the CHIPS and Science Act, which was signed in 2022 to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing. The administration's goal? For 20% of the world's leading-edge semiconductor chips to be made on American soil by 2030.
The US currently makes zero of the world's leading-edge semiconductor chips. By 2030, the Biden administration wants to make a fifth of them. So how will America get there?
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
The number of teenagers in the workforce today is at its highest level in about 20 years. At the same time, child labor violations are up and states are relaxing some protections for their youngest workers. On today's show, we examine the state of the Gen Z labor force, and the distinction between youth employment and child labor.
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady Wednesday, but policymakers signaled they still expect to start cutting rates later this year. The stock market jumped in response.
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.
The political pressure on TikTok continues to ratchet up. This week Biden administration officials are throwing their support behind legislation that would essentially give an ultimatum to TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance. Sell TikTok to another owner not controlled by a "foreign adversary" or be banned from US app stores.
It's a big step towards an outcome that some high-ranking U.S. officials have desired for years. But why is there so much concern about TikTok, and just how likely is a ban?
Today, a couple of TikTok creators talk about what a ban would mean for them, and NPR tech correspondent Bobby Allyn explains how we got where we are and what could be coming next.
Related episodes: Is Project Texas enough to save TikTok? (Apple / Spotify)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Agriculture is Georgia’s largest industry but it can also be stressful for those who work in it. To address this, the University of Georgia Extension is hosting its annual Farm Stress Summit Wednesday — for the first time, in North Georgia.
The pilot program chose people on the city's long waitlist for housing vouchers to test how much direct cash payments can help. HUD, the federal housing agency, is interested in the possibility.
The majority of European members of NATO are not spending as much on defense as they agreed to. But that may change as the European Union considers a move to a "war economy." Today, we examine what that means and what barriers to a "war economy" look like.
It's Indicators of the Week, our up close and personal examination of economic headlines. Today we have three indicators from President Joe Biden's economic agenda. His budget proposals include fixes for childcare, home buying and hiking corporate taxes.
The Savannah College of Art and Design’s (SCAD) economic impact on Georgia has reached an all-time high, according to a study conducted by Tripp Umbach, a national consulting firm for not-for-profit, arts, and tourism sectors.
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.
