Why the Sweden-based company IKEA has cut prices 3 times in a year
NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with IKEA Retail U.S. President Javier Quiñones about the furniture store chain's decision to reduce its prices.
Business
'Washington Post' CEO tried to kill a story about himself. It wasn’t the first time
The Post's new CEO Will Lewis tried to stop the paper from publishing a story about allegations he faces in Britain. It wasn't the first time he's attempted to head off unwanted coverage. I know, because he tried to do that to me in December.
Black workers sue General Mills over alleged racial discrimination at a Georgia plant
The eight employees say that since the plant opened in 1988, many systems in place have benefited white workers more than Black staff. They claim that HR has ignored “egregious incidents of racism.”
Elon Musk’s giant Starship rocket rumbles into space once more
This is the fourth test for Starship, and this time, it returned successfully to earth.
An auto plant in Alabama is offering employees up to $250 per month for child care
To attract workers, Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, a joint venture in northern Alabama, decided to offer a child care benefit. The company pays 30% of its employees child care costs, up to $250 a month.
Russian propaganda in 2024 includes deepfakes, sham websites and social media swarms
The hallmarks of Russian-back influence are consistent: trying to erode support for Ukraine, discrediting democratic institutions and seizing on existing political divides.
Congressional stock trading law has unintended, but profitable consequence
The law requiring lawmakers to disclose their stock trades spurred an unintended consequence: a cottage industry with funds modeled on lawmakers' investments. These funds are beating the market.
How Ronan Farrow's reporting on Weinstein led to the criminal case against Trump
While reporting on Harvey Weinstein, Farrow unearthed details of the National Enquirer’s plan to pay for damaging stories about Trump and then bury the stories — a practice known as "catch and kill."
Why California's high speed rail was always going to blow out
99.5 percent of megaprojects are either over time, over budget or have lower benefits than expected. What's going wrong? Today, we look at case studies from California's high speed rail project to the Sydney Opera House to consider the do's and don'ts of ambitious projects.
Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner's book on megaprojects is How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors that Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything In Between.
Related episodes:
Why building public transit in the US costs so much (Apple / Spotify)
Planes, trains and bad bridges (Apple / Spotify)
ICYMI, preorder our new Indicator t-shirt at the NPR shop. For more ways to support our show, sign up for Planet Money+ where you'll get sponsor-free listening, bonus episodes, and access to even more Indicator merch!
Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner's book on megaprojects is How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors that Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything In Between.
Related episodes:
Why building public transit in the US costs so much (Apple / Spotify)
Planes, trains and bad bridges (Apple / Spotify)
ICYMI, preorder our new Indicator t-shirt at the NPR shop. For more ways to support our show, sign up for Planet Money+ where you'll get sponsor-free listening, bonus episodes, and access to even more Indicator merch!
Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
Why the U.S. helps pay for Israel's military
The United States has been a supporter of Israel since the nation's establishment in 1948. With the civilian death toll rising in the Israel-Hamas war, growing scrutiny is mounting over just how much the U.S. should support Israel's military. Today, a historical explanation for why the United States tied itself so closely to support for Israel.
Related episodes:
Protesters want schools to divest from Israel. How would that work? (Apple / Spotify)
ICYMI, preorder our new Indicator t-shirt at the NPR shop. For more ways to support our show, sign up for Planet Money+ where you'll get sponsor-free listening, bonus episodes, and access to even more Indicator merch!
Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
Related episodes:
Protesters want schools to divest from Israel. How would that work? (Apple / Spotify)
ICYMI, preorder our new Indicator t-shirt at the NPR shop. For more ways to support our show, sign up for Planet Money+ where you'll get sponsor-free listening, bonus episodes, and access to even more Indicator merch!
Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.