business

Extortion and predatory lending have skyrocketed in Peru

Cases of extortion in Peru shot up 370% between 2021 and 2023. That represents close to a fivefold increase in just two years, with the trend continuing into 2024.

Man cuts quartz in factory.

Lungs of stone: How Silica has sickened a generation of quartz cutters

Health & Medicine
A yacht maneuvers near homes on Palm Island

Cities suffer when the 1% leave

Margrethe Vestager

Europe is not afraid to regulate Big Tech. EU Competition Commissioner Vestager explains why.

Environment
Man playing guitar in front of projected images laughing, with woman next to him, arm around his shoulder. Laptop on chair in background.

Haiti has a burgeoning entrepreneur scene, but can it make room for Haitians forced to return from the US?

Jobs

House of Cards

Arts, Culture & Media

The fall of the investment bank Bear Stearns can tell us a lot about how we ended up in the current recession. Writer and former banker William Cohan gives Kurt his take on the narrative of the new economy. Cohan’s new book is House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall […]

The Man Behind the Brand

Arts, Culture & Media

A tiny museum in Manhattan is showcasing one of the biggest brands in America.

illustration of people being stamped by immigration related words

Their lives are changing because of Trump’s immigration policies. Here’s how.

Global Politics

We’re following the stories of individuals as they navigate the policy and ideological shifts happening during the Donald Trump administration. From an undocumented immigrant to a Nobel Prize winner, here’s how immigration affects people.

What’s for dinner? Edible insects on the menu in San Francisco

A chef in San Francisco is hoping to encourage more people to eat insects rather than or as a supplement to meat. They’ve been on menus for centuries.

The World

Takeouts: Gulf oil spill threatens Democrat’s climate bill, listener responses

Conflict & Justice

Washington Takeout: Takeaway Washington Correspondent Todd Zwillich explains how the oil spill that threatens the business and environment of the Gulf Coast region is also threatening Congressional Democrats who hoped to pass a sweeping energy and climate reform bill. Listener Responses: We hear what you had to say about the Times Square bomb attempt and […]