Fake beauty queens charm judges at the Miss AI pageant
Ten models that exist only in the digital realm have made it to the finals of what's being billed as the world's first beauty pageant involving AI.
Business
Creating a throw-away culture: How companies ingrained plastics in modern life
Plastic has become embedded in everyday life. That’s because for the last 70 years, the plastics industry convinced consumers to embrace the material for its low cost and disposability.
The Sunday Story: Video Game Economics (It's Not Play Money)
Can you get a college scholarship for playing video games? Are they becoming more accessible? Will forever games really last... forever? Wailin Wong, co-host of The Indicator from Planet Money, joins us to discuss the economics of gaming and efforts to make the industry sustainable in the wake of mass layoffs.
In a few years, the nation's tallest building may not be in New York or Chicago
The Legends Tower, proposed for Oklahoma City, would stretch to 1,907 feet, a number chosen to commemorate the year Oklahoma became a state.
Hiring jumps in May but so does unemployment
U.S. employers added 272,000 jobs in May -- more than forecasters had expected. The unemployment rate inched up to 4% from 3.9% in April.
A training program promised jobs working on EV chargers. The market hasn’t lived up
A training program out of Georgia was meant to move people from low-wage positions to green jobs of the future. It focused on Electric Vehicle charging and was met with enthusiasm.
How much national debt is too much?
Most economic textbooks will tell you that there can be real dangers in running up a big national debt. A major concern is how the debt you add now could slow down economic growth in the future. Economists have not been able to nail down how much debt a country can safely take on. But they have tried.
Back in 2010, two economists took a look at 20 countries over the course of decades, and sometimes centuries, and came back with a number. Their analysis suggested that economic growth slowed significantly once national debt passed 90% of annual GDP... and that is when the fight over debt and growth really took off.
On today's episode: a deep dive on what we know, and what we don't know, about when exactly national debt becomes a problem. We will also try to figure out how worried we should be about the United States' current debt total of 26 trillion dollars.
This episode was hosted by Keith Romer and Nick Fountain. It was produced by Willa Rubin and edited by Molly Messick. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez with help from Sofia Shchukina and engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.
Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.
Back in 2010, two economists took a look at 20 countries over the course of decades, and sometimes centuries, and came back with a number. Their analysis suggested that economic growth slowed significantly once national debt passed 90% of annual GDP... and that is when the fight over debt and growth really took off.
On today's episode: a deep dive on what we know, and what we don't know, about when exactly national debt becomes a problem. We will also try to figure out how worried we should be about the United States' current debt total of 26 trillion dollars.
This episode was hosted by Keith Romer and Nick Fountain. It was produced by Willa Rubin and edited by Molly Messick. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez with help from Sofia Shchukina and engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.
Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.
Commercial fisheries in the Great Lakes borrow an idea to help revive their industry
Commercial fisheries in the Great Lakes hope to follow an example set in Iceland, by using nearly 100 percent of a fish in order to increase the value of each one landed while also decreasing waste.
Ghost jobs
Today's jobs report shows a slight rise in unemployment to 4%. And some frustrated job seekers are growing tired of applying for job after job with no replies, sometimes asking whether the listings are even real. And this isn't just vexing for applicants. It's also haunting economists when trying to figure out how much slack there is in the labor market, and whether interest rates should be raised or lowered. Today on the show: the rise of ghost jobs. Where they're happening and why.
Related episodes:
Not too hot, not too cold: a 'Goldilocks' jobs report
The Beigie Awards: From Ghosting to Coasting
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
Related episodes:
Not too hot, not too cold: a 'Goldilocks' jobs report
The Beigie Awards: From Ghosting to Coasting
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
Homes have popped up on the National Mall - showing they can be built fast and cheap
From tiny homes to big ones built in hours, the Innovative Housing Showcase highlights ways to make housing more affordable and plentiful — at a time when many Americans struggle to buy a home.