Business

Chris Guerre has made a number of improvements to the farm while he has lived there including repurposing an air compressor to force water up from the properties well and building a new chicken coop.

National

Here's How Young Farmers Looking For Land Are Getting Creative

8:02pm December 31, 2013

by Dan Charles

Across the country, there's a wave of interest in local food, and a new generation of young farmers wants to grow it. But many aren't buying land. Instead, they're renting it.

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Students at the Oakland Military Institute took several courses offered by San Jose State and the online course provider Udacity this year. The university is now scaling back its relationship with Udacity.

The Online Education Revolution Drifts Off Course

7:23pm December 31, 2013

by Eric Westervelt

In 2012, "massive open online courses" were lauded as the most important trend in higher education. But this year, educators and even students rebelled against the rapid expansion of online learning. Two of the biggest MOOCs say they're making big changes in how they deliver their classes in 2014.

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Economy

Cabbing Home From That New Year's Party? Expect To Pay A Premium

6:56pm December 31, 2013

by Yuki Noguchi

Planning on celebrating the New Year? If you are worried about driving home and plan to take a cab, you'll have plenty of competition. Cab fares soar during the first few hours of a new year, and then come back to normal around 3 a.m.

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Local Brewery Has Starbucks Frothing Over Stout's Name

7:44am December 31, 2013

The giant coffee chain sent a cease-and-desist letter to the owner of Exit 6 Pub and Brewery in Missouri. Starbucks told the pub to stop referring to one of its dark, frothy beers as "the frappicino." Starbucks noted it sounds a lot like its trademarked frozen coffee drink.

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The Cost To Keep The Home Team At Home May Not Be Worth It

7:52pm December 30, 2013

by NPR Staff

Increasingly, privately owned sports teams aren't just asking for newer, fancier digs. They're also asking the public to pay half — or more — of the bill.

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Twitter made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange in November. Both the social media giant and the relative newcomer Snapchat are valued in the billions, but neither company has yet turned a profit.

$0 Profits Couldn't Hold Back This Year's Tech Darlings

6:30pm December 30, 2013

by Steve Henn

In Silicon Valley, zero profit and even zero revenue don't make a company a loser. Tech companies like Snapchat and Twitter, which have not yet turned any profit, can be worth billions of dollars based on future potential alone.

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Looking Ahead At The Next Top Tech IPOs

4:38pm December 30, 2013

Every year, research firm CB Insights offers up a report on the fastest growing and most highly valued private companies in technology — basically, the ones most likely to go public. Audie Cornish speaks with Anand Sanwal, CB Insights' CEO, for a look at the top tech IPO's expected in 2014.

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Energy companies are adding workers, but fatal accidents are on the rise, too.

On-The-Job Deaths Spiking As Oil Drilling Quickly Expands

7:15pm December 27, 2013

As baby boomers retire and drilling increases, energy companies are hiring, adding 23 percent more workers between 2009 and 2012. But the hiring spree has come with a terrible price: Last year, 138 workers were killed on the job, twice as many as in 2009.

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Ripening fruit in a grove in Plant City, Fla., this month. Florida citrus growers are worried about citrus greening, which causes bacteria to grow on the leaf and fruit, eventually killing the tree.

Time Is Running Out To Save Florida's Oranges

7:15pm December 27, 2013

by Greg Allen

Scientists and growers are in a bitter fight against citrus greening, a disease that has devastated Florida's orange and grapefruit crops. They fear that unless scientists find a cure for greening soon, it's just a matter of time before economic realities and the disease force growers out of business.

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PLANET MONEY MAKES A T-SHIRT: The Lives Of The Workers Who Made Our Shirts

Nixon And Kimchi: How The Garment Industry Came To Bangladesh

10:35am December 27, 2013

by Zoe Chace

The business that transformed the nation is the product of an obscure but hugely influential trade deal — and a cultural struggle over Korean food.

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