Archive for the ‘THE INDICATOR’ Category
Link: https://www.npr.org/2021/02/23/970726684/seeking-refuge-on-the-open-road
Have you ever thought about throwing all your belongings in a car and living on the open road? Bob Wells, a van nomad discusses how he turned his life on the road from a last hope into a chance to create hope and opportunity for others by documenting his nomadic life on YouTube. This episode discusses how the break from the societal “rat race” can end up being a much better economic choice for many.
Original Air Date: February 23, 2021
Length: 9 minutes 59 seconds
Link: https://www.npr.org/2021/03/31/983097569/the-virtual-office
Virtual reality (VR) might be the future of meetings in the office. With COVID-19 keeping people at home in online meeting spaces such as Zoom, VR is now being used by many businesses to join up for meetings. There is even more interest and investment happening in the field of VR making it currently worth around $16 billion and is expected to double within the next 5 years. The Indicator team discusses their experience with the virtual reality world and its growing market.
Original Air Date: March 31, 2021
Length: 9 minutes 59 seconds
Link: https://www.npr.org/2021/02/08/965572857/the-power-of-humor
The Indicator discusses the value of humor in life. They invite Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas, Stanford Business School faculty, to discuss their book new Humor, Seriously which highlights the importance of humor within the workplace. They consider all of the utility gained through the incorporation of humor into work such as increased productivity and satisfaction, as well as tips on how to add in humor to your workday.
Original Air Date: February 8, 2021
Length: 8 minutes 46 seconds
Link: https://www.npr.org/2020/10/09/922479527/wfh-from-barbados
The economy in Barbados is heavily reliant on tourism and has been struggling due to travel restrictions. To combat the effects of the lack of tourism, Barbados created a program called “Welcome Stamp”, where individuals can receive a visa to work remotely while living in Barbados for a year.
Original Air Date: October 9, 2020
Length: 9 minutes 25 seconds
Link: https://www.npr.org/2020/10/12/923123253/an-economist-walks-into-a-bar
This podcast discusses how many groundbreaking ideas were discovered at bars and how they could potentially foster innovation. Individuals like Mike Andrews have researched this through studying the number of patents filed during Prohibition. Andrews found that innovation is mainly sparked through connections made with other individuals. As seen with the Covid-19 pandemic, individuals are still finding remote ways to foster innovation through technologies like Zoom.
Original Air Date: October 12,2020
Length: 9 minutes 59 seconds
Link: https://www.npr.org/2020/04/23/843437140/the-great-potato-giveaway
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the agriculture supply chain has been suffering. Although the shelves at grocery stores are not fully stocked, farmers are giving away their goods, or even turning it into fertilizer.
Original Air Date: April 23 2020
Length: 9 minutes 25 seconds
Discussion Prompt: How will this affect the agriculture industry? What does this tell us about how these markets are functioning? What solutions can you propose which would help the industry financially?
Link: https://www.npr.org/2020/04/09/831325721/why-sweden-isnt-locking-down
The majority of countries across the globe are enforcing mandatory lockdowns, but not Sweden. All businesses are remaining open, including schools, night clubs and gyms. Sweden’s head epidemiologist states that this approach is more sustainable and less disruptive to peoples’ lives.
Original Air Date: April 9, 2020
Length: 9 minutes 57 seconds
Discussion Prompt: Do you agree or disagree with Sweden’s approach to this pandemic? Why or why not?
Note: Sweden’s chief epidemiologist has since admitted this policy resulted in “too many deaths“
Link: https://www.npr.org/2020/04/07/829264795/coronavirus-and-the-gig-economy
Delivery and service workers are considered essential right now. Without them, the economy would likely be in even more trouble than it already is. That being said, they are paid a very low wage, and some are not even being provided with adequate protection such as masks and gloves.
Original Air Date: April 7, 2020
Length: 9 minutes 56 seconds
Discussion Prompt: With the current increased demand for Instacart and other grocery delivery services, do you think demand will stay high after the pandemic? Use economic thinking to analyze what you think is happening in the market now. How do you think will this market change once the pandemic ends?
Link: https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/02/02/582843102/how-are-they-doing-now
Summary: When the recession hit, many workers within the United States not only lost their jobs, but they also had to cut back a significant amount of their hours. In this podcast, THE INDICATOR checks on three groups to see how they are doing now, part-time workers who want to be full-time, African-American unemployment, and people without college degrees.
Original Air Date: February 2, 2018
Length: 5 minutes 34 seconds
Link: https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/01/31/582224091/janet-yellen-s-mystery-story
Summary: Former head of the Federal Reserve of America, Janet Yellen, communicated about inflation, uncertainty, and monetary policy in one of her speeches last fall. With the current low inflation, the Fed hopes more consumers go out and purchase more goods to help reach the ideal inflation in the country. But as inflation remains low, the Fed is left puzzling over this mystery.
Original Air Date: January 31, 2018
Length: 6 minutes 48 seconds
