Kai Ryssdal: Here we are, Friday, about to wrap it up. What better time to catch up on the news that didn’t quite make the headlines. It comes to us courtesy of Rico Gagliano, Brendan Francis Newnam, and the rest of the Marketplace staff.
Brendan Newnam: Chau Tu, assistant web producer for Marketplace, what story are you going to be talking about this weekend?
Chau Tu: So Barnes and Noble did this survey recently where they found that 42 percent of people are annoyed because their partner is up reading with the light on. So this week Barnes and Noble introduced their new version of the e-reader, the Nook, with a backlit light that won’t disturb others.
Newnam: Yeah, I’m sure that people were annoyed at the light, not the fact that their partner was reading “Fifty Shades of Grey” and ignoring them.
Tu: Yeah, I don’t think Barnes and Noble can fix that.
Rico Gagliano: Rod Abid, senior producer of the Marketplace Morning Report, what story are you going to be talking about this weekend?
Rod Abid: Well Rico, I have in my hand from CareerCast.com the list of the best, worst and most stressful jobs in this country.
Gagliano: All right, let me see here. No. 1 is lumberjack. That’s the worst.
Abid: Yeah. Software engineer is on the best jobs along with things like dental hygienist.
Gagliano: Oh, look at what’s at the No. 10 worst job.
Abid: Why that’s you and me. It’s the broadcaster! I think our job is pretty good actually!
Gagliano: No. 7 most stressful job is public relations executive with whom we have to deal with as broadcasters.
Abid: Maybe we create the stress for the public relations executive and they make our job difficult.
Newnam: Matt Berger, digital director at Marketplace, what story are you going to be talking about this weekend?
Matt Berger: Well, there’s this artist who’s growing chairs.
Newnam: Aren’t all wooden chairs technically grown?
Berger: Technically, but this is actually made out of a living tree. So what they guy has done is he’s created a wire-mesh frame in which the tree grows. And when it’s complete, you pull away the wire mesh and you’re left with a chair.
Newnam: So as a guy with an unkempt yard, this sounds like a great excuse.
Berger: Those aren’t weeds, it’s a coffee table!
Newnam: That’s my Ikea plant.
Ryssdal: The radio show Brendan and Rico do is called The Dinner Party.