Business

Economy

Small Businesses Fight Big-Box Stores By Specializing

7:30am April 24, 2014

by Sonari Glinton

As online and mega stores take up more of the retail landscape, small mom-and-pop shops are getting more specific. We examine one of the ways small stores are looking to survive and possibly thrive.

Queue Listen Now

With SuperShoes, Insoles Can Be Your Guide

7:30am April 24, 2014

SuperShoes are squishy insoles that fit inside your shoes. Inside those insoles are "vibrotactile ticklers" linked to your mobile device. Enter a destination and the ticklers guide your way.

Queue Listen Now

MidAmerican Energy's wind farm in Adair, Iowa. Facebook is working with MidAmerican to build a similar wind farm near Wellsburg, Iowa, where it will help power Facebook's planned data center.

Searching The Planet To Find Power For The Cloud

9:55am April 23, 2014

by Steve Henn

The quest for cheap, reliable electricity to power enormous cloud computing facilities is sending tech companies to the ends of the earth.

Queue Listen Now

Haagen-Dazs Experiments With Veggie Ice Cream

8:02am April 23, 2014

Next month in Japan, Haagen-Dazs will debut vegetable-flavored ice cream. Each carton will contain about half the fat content of regular Haagen-Dazs.

Queue Listen Now

Economy

Urban Libraries Become De Facto Homeless Shelters

8:02am April 23, 2014

by Scott Shafer

San Francisco's library system has hired a full-time social worker to help find housing and other services for the homeless men and women who've set up camp among the stacks.

Queue Listen Now

A teacher at the Bridge International Academy school in Kinoo, near Nairobi, Kenya, gives a lesson to young students. Bridge, a private, for-profit company, has set up more than 200 schools in the country.

Do For-Profit Schools Give Poor Kenyans A Real Choice?

1:54pm April 22, 2014

by Jason Beaubien

American entrepreneurs in Kenya are attempting to fundamentally transform education for some of the poorest kids in the world — while making a profit.

Queue Listen Now

Fur Flies Over First Cat Cafe

12:34pm April 22, 2014

There's been a bit of a cat fight over who would host the nation's first cat cafe. Purina One is sponsoring a pop-up cafe in New York City. Similar cafes are in the works in California.

Queue Listen Now

National

Some In Irwindale Still Not Happy About Smelly Neighbor, Sriracha

7:26pm April 21, 2014

by Karen Grigsby Bates

The skirmish continues between Sriracha and Irwindale, Calif. Irwindale's city council declared that owner David Tran must curb his hot sauce factory's smelly fumes or they'll do it themselves. Tran is considering relocating, and he has already received several offers.

Queue Listen Now

Alison Ledden, marketing director for The Farm, a recreational marijuana store in Boulder, Colo., says some customers come in thinking they're at a specialty grocer, not a marijuana store.

National

To Keep Business Growing, Vendors Rebrand Pot's Stoner Image

7:26pm April 21, 2014

by Luke Runyon

In Colorado, where recreational pot is now legal, stores are working hard to stand out — marketing to fans of organic, locally grown produce and trying to liken using pot to enjoying a glass of wine.

Queue Listen Now

Cannon Michael's farm grows tomatoes, melons and onions, among other crops. This year, however, Michael will have to fallow one-fifth of the land due to the drought

California's Drought Ripples Through Businesses, Then To Schools

11:16am April 21, 2014

by NPR Staff

California farmers produce an enormous proportion of American produce, but the state is now experiencing a record-breaking drought that is being felt throughout the U.S.

Queue Listen Now