Week of March 30th, 2015

In which we unpacked the week with Cardiff Garcia and Linette Lopez.

Quartz and Marketplace look at digital media and online piracy.

Early promoters needed a substitute for ivory billiard balls. Result? Plastics.

Selling what others throw out

Frank Bruni on why acceptance rates have dipped so low, and what top high school students should do.

Some tax preparers charge high fees and make dubious loans to vulnerable clients.

How to make products that last forever and still turn a profit.

Whether it's yours or someone else's, weddings can be expensive.

USC's Therese Wilbur lays out a yearly calendar of marketing events

Can bike shares become part of public transit?

Sarah Thomas was the first woman to officiate a major college football game in 2007. Two years later, she was also the first woman to officiate a bowl game.

Airing on Friday, April 3, 2015: The biggest loser of a Kentucky championship in the men’s NCAA tournament might just be the sportsbooks in Vegas. Gamblers have put a lot on Kentucky to win, including tens of thousands of dollars of bets made at 50-1 odds that the Wildcats would go undefeated. That means big liability for the house. On a day the stock markets are closed, we look at the gambling markets. We investigate. Plus, Labor Department figures released today show that employers added just 126,000 new jobs in March. Thousands of jobs in oil and gas extraction were lost as oil prices continued to fall. We recently visited the Bakken shale oil field in North Dakota, where employers and workers are feeling the pinch. Also, oil prices dipped today after news of a framework for an Iran agreement and eventual lifting of sanctions. But Iran oil won’t flow freely for a few years to come, most likely. We look ahead at what that new oil world, once again including Iran, might look like.  

Staying awake in a 24-hour economy

On this week’s show, Marketplace Weekend explores cycles in the economy. Guest host David Lazarus checks in with Marketplace’s Paddy Hirsch about cycles in the oil market. Sleep expert Ken Wright explains how working the night shift impacts the economy — and workers’ health. USC’s Therese Wilbur talks us through a year in cyclical seasonal advertising. We hear from two companies that make products meant to last forever, and how they keep turning a profit. Plus, cycles with two wheels … bicycles!

There's a fine line between "hedging" and "faking."

Even if sanctions are finally lifted, Iran faces barriers to rejoining the world oil market

Falling oil prices slashed thousands of jobs in oil and gas extraction, including some on the Bakken oilfield in North Dakota.

William Hill sports book is on the hook if Kentucky goes undefeated.

Opinions about the Common Core standards differ by race, according to a new poll.

Filling hotels fine art at a fraction of the cost is big business.

Chrysler is considering an appeal of a verdict in a case involving a 1999 Jeep.

A look at the latest jobs report and the challenges our National Parks Service face.

Airing on Friday, April 3, 2015: The Nevada Supreme Court is running out of money because it’s funded by traffic tickets, and Nevada police are ticketing less. We look at the perils of unsound funding mechanisms. Plus, new jobs numbers are out this morning. How do these these numbers reflect on the ongoing economic recovery and why do wage increases remain sluggish? We investigate. Plus, the hotel business is a competitive one. One way high-end boutique joints stand out is with their art—but not always at a fine-art prices. Turns out, the hotels are using “art curators” to stand out, while employing digital printing and mass production to do it cheaply.  

Airing on Friday, April 3, 2015: First up, we talk to Mark Paterson, the lead motion designer for Archer, about the elaborate Easter Eggs hidden throughout the show. And how well have you kept up with the week in tech? It’s time for Silicon Tally. This week, Aminatou Sow, co-founder of Tech Lady Mafia and co-host of the podcast Call Your Girlfriend, takes on host Ben Johnson. And the EU is preparing an anti-trust suit against Google for favoring its own sites in search results. The fine could be up to 6 million dollars. Alistair Barr, reporter for the Wall Street Journal, says google investors are more worried about the toll on Google’s business strategy.

Just in time for Easter, an egg hunt through the show Archer.

Here are the numbers we're reading and watching for Friday.

How well have you kept up with the week in tech news?

As the unemployment rate falls, are more people coming back into the labor force?

Much of that money is needed to repair the National Mall in Washington.

The president of China takes over every formal power structure in the country.

It's the latest in Hollywood's attempts to make a believable digital actor.

Our listeners appear to agree with the German approach to higher education.

Local water districts will restrict residential use, not agriculture.

The outdoor clothing company tries to limit the environmental problems its products contribute to.

More than 10 percent of full-time undergrads receive work-study financial aid.

A new poll out from Gallup says half of all employees in this country have, at some point or another, quit their jobs to get away from a bad boss.

The Fed's mandate is to monitor only employment and inflation.

Airing on Thursday, April 2, 2015: Speaking at an economic conference in Washington, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen again hit on the idea that income inequality is a problem. In fact, she called it a “disturbing trend.” The central bank’s mandate is clear: promoting full employment and keeping inflation in check. What can (and should) Yellen be doing about income inequality. We explore.

Publisher Harper Collins picks a fight with Amazon. Plus, college admission season means sweatshirt for everyone.

Airing on Thursday, April 2, 2015: Evidence is mounting that the U.S. economy may not be as robust as many investors and central bankers have touted it to be. This at a time when we’ve seen softening data on personal spending, manufacturing, job growth and auto sales. It’s a situation that’s heightened concerns that Friday’s all-important jobs report could also be a disappointment. Plus, FICO has created a new credit score specifically for consumers with weak — or no — creditworthiness. We explain how the new metric will work, how it is different, and who will benefit most from it. And Missouri doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage, but the governor there has allowed those couples to file state taxes as married couples. Other states that don’t allow same-sex marriage have issued other workarounds. But in Alabama, there’s a standoff between federal and state courts, with the state courts refusing to recognize same-sex marriage, leaving accountants at tax time flustered.      

Airing on Thursday, April 2, 2015:  The Obama Administration announced a new executive order yesterday classifying cyber-attacks as a “national emergency” and authorizing new sanctions against those who perpetrate a cyber-attack. we talk to Jason Healey, director of the Cyber Statecraft Initiative of the Atlantic Council, about how the new rule and its ramifications. Next up, we meet up with Ben Glitzman, the organizer of the first algorithm auction, which sold rare  memorabilia and software licenses related to important and historic code. Finally, as part of our Back to Back to the Future Part 2” series, we talk to Gizmodo writer Matt Novak about the fate of dehydrated pizza and the movie’s other future food predication.      

Only one state doesn't advise same-sex couples on how to comply with state tax laws.

When acceptance letters go out, lots of cash comes in to college bookstores.

There may be rough waters ahead for the two book industry giants.

Still in a pilot phase, the new score would help people with no credit cards.

Imagine an auction where you could buy algorithms…

Here are the numbers we're reading and watching for Thursday.

The love and heartbreak of a musician's first guitar.

Average hourly wages will rise to $9.90 for 1,500 locations the company runs directly.

More American students are getting degrees in other countries with free college.

On Wednesday, Governor Jerry Brown ordered a mandatory 25 percent reduction in water use statewide. He made the announcement standing at a ski resort in the Sierra Nevada mountains where there was nary a flake of snow to be seen, a spot at which he said there should be five feet of snow this time of […]

Businesses can bounce unwanted customers, but not whole classes of customers.

Today’s big IPO — the domain-registration firm GoDaddy — shot up 30 percent in price.

Airing on Wednesday, April 1, 2015: Today’s big IPO — the domain-registration firm GoDaddy — was priced at $20 a share and promptly shot up about 30 percent. We look at who wins and who loses when an IPO isn’t priced at the level the market will bear. Plus, those signs on business windows that say “we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone”? That’s legal. If someone’s terribly obnoxious, ixnay. But refusing service to a category of people is discriminatory, as well as against the interests of most businesses, which want as many customers as possible. The Indiana Chamber of Commerce says some members have already suffered business losses as a result of objections by big corporations. We investigate.

More offices are emphasizing trendiness over functionality.

Voting in Nigeria, and Dayton, OH bucks the trend.

Airing on Wednesday, April 1, 2015: The FCC issued strong rules in favor of net neutrality only a few weeks ago. But it’s already being challenged in the courtroom. We talk with Brain Fung, technology reporter for the Washington Post, about what’s next for net neutrality. Next up is JP Gownder, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, to explain why Microsoft’s Surface 3 might be a real competitor to the iPad. We’ll also speak with Dr. Greg Hagar, director of the Computer Interaction and Robotics Lab at Johns Hopkins University, about Google’s new partnership with Johnson & Johnson to develop technology for surgical robots. 

Airing on Wednesday, April 1, 2015: Web hosting company GoDaddy is going public today. Shares in the company are expected to start trading this morning, after pricing its initial public offering overnight. More on that. Plus, Seattle is front and center in the minimum wage debate in the nation and today as the first phase of the city’s minimum wage plan goes into effect with a $11 an hour rate for all minimum wage workers. This will increase to $15 for all workers over the next few years but at least one iconic local restaurant chain, Ivars, is jumping ahead to the final phase straight away. We explore. And we mentioned earlier this week that there’s so much oil being pumped right now that we may be running out of space to put it all. And that situation might get worse if Iran is allowed to start pumping its oil into the market. That’s doing a couple of things: it’s making oil prices fall, and it’s increasing the price of storage. And that could create an opportunity for oil traders. Marketplace’s Paddy Hirsch joins us to explain.  

Welcoming immigrants has helped Dayton reverse its economic prospects.

As Seattle's minimum wage starts a gradual rise, Ivar's takes a radical path.

Here come the lawsuits…

A new report says health insurance plans still discriminate against mentally ill.

Here are the numbers we're watching and reading for Wednesday.

Russian-speaking Latvians may oppose sanctions more than their Latvian-speaking compatriots but most see the country's future in the West.

Indoor climbing makes big money, and it's getting more popular.

What America can learn from taxpayers who foot the bill for free university.

William Mulholland brought water to a parched Los Angeles.

The company has announced a faster way to order products if you don't have time to use an actual computer

Iran wants sanctions to be lifted as soon as agreement is reached over its nuclear program but there are many complications.

Jay Z has started a streaming music service called Tidal. Can its business model succeed?

Airing on Tuesday, March 31, 2015: Jay Z, the musician, has started a “new” streaming music service called Tidal (actually it’s a relaunch of an existing Swedish service that he bought). We unpack the likely business model for Tidal — as a way of explaining the economics of streaming music. Plus, today is the deadline for agreement with Iran on its nuclear program. The Iranians have said that once a deal is struck, sanctions should be lifted at once. Others say the lifting of sanctions should be gradual so as to encourage ongoing compliance. We look at the mechanism for lifting sanctions when transgressing countries stop offending and we ask what are the complications involved in removing sanctions.  

The answer is complicated, thanks to that basic economic rule: supply and demand.

Oil, Jay Z, and Silicon Valley.

The e-commerce retailer is looking to become an even bigger part of our lives.

Airing on Tuesday, March 31, 2015: First up, we take a look at Jay Z new music streaming site, Tidal, which was just re-launched. We’re joined by Ian Sherr, Executive Editor of CNET News, to talk about whether the rap mogul can compete with Spotify, Apple etc. Next, we turn to Reddit’s “dark net markets,” which have become a hot bed of activity for online drug sales. We’ll speak with Wired’s Andy Greenberg about federal attempts to find criminals on Reddit. And we’ll take a look at a recent finding by economists that Silicon Valley has the highest rate of economic mobility in the US. People at the bottom of the income ladder have a roughly 12 percent chance of climbing up into the top fifth of the income ladder. The downside? That leaves 88 percent of the economy who aren’t making that climb and all those people that did make the leap have caused the cost of living to climb ever higher. 

Airing on Tuesday, March 31, 2015: The Case-Shiller 20-city housing price index for the month of January comes out today. Given the recent uptick in pending sales and overall tightening of inventory, a bump seems likely. But will it be a healthy bump if it’s due in part to a limited number of new and existing homes on the market? And the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany, have been in Switzerland since Sunday trying to get some sort of deal done that would prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb, in exchange for easing sanctions that are crippling its economy. Secretary of State John Kerry put the odds of reaching a deal at fifty/fifty – and oil markets are taking note with crude prices down almost 2 percent today. More on that. Plus, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will intervene anywhere to protect ethnic Russians from persecution. Just like in Ukraine. Which begs the question: What about Latvia? We report rom the Latvian capital, Riga.

From Obamacare to a generic drug supply crunch, mergers are due to lots of reasons.

Latvia's Russian-speaking minority prefers economic stability to separatism.

Traditional middle class jobs—and families—are feeling the tech pinch.

How powerful is the Jay Z brand?

Here are the numbers we're watching and reading for on Tuesday.

Chinese students are now able to apply for the prestigious program.

Homeowners may find themselves living mortgage-free for life

Loved NBC's "Peter Pan?" You're in luck.

College costs are rising, but 84 percent of undergrads received financial aid in 2011.

Lufthansa may be vulnerable to unlimited liability, but not punitive damages

Apple's Tim Cook planted a flag on gay rights on Monday, raising the ire of some shareholders.

Airing on Monday, March 30, 2015: A number of CEOs are making a stand on Indiana and pulling out of potentially lucrative deals there. Tim Cook of Apple planted a flag in an op-ed today. This has raised the ire of conservative shareholders, but these CEOs appear unfazed. They appear to be taking a leaf out of the activist shareholder book, standing on principle and behaving like activist CEOs, regardless of the short-term cost. What is it that makes a CEO an activist? What are the risks of being an activist? And what is it that makes them so confident? Plus, we look at why Lufthansa may be vulnerable to unlimited liability in the crash of its Germanwings airliner, and what unlimited liability in the death of 150 people can mean to an airline. Also, Rhodes scholarships are coming to China. The prestigious grant program that sends promising students to the University of Oxford wants to cultivate a more diverse crop of young people. Selecting college students in China is expected to be the first step in a process that could eventually include Brazil, Russia, Israel and much of the developing world. How will this help the organization financially and benefit the students from these countries?  

Most buy images that fit within design requirements. But the options are endless.

The testing is part of an agreement with the New York attorney general.

Income and spending for February, Northeastern heads west, and a question of who should pick up the tab.

Airing on Monday, March 30, 2015: There’s a report this morning that retailer GNC has agreed to start new testing of its herbal dietary supplements.  More on that.U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew will be in China on Monday meeting with Chinese officials. Currency and economic reform are on the agenda, but many also expect discussion of the planned Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The U.S. is suspicious of the Chinese-led “alternative to the World Bank” but a number of U.S. allies are rushing to join. We investigate. Plus, after putting it off during the Great Recession, cities are starting to spend money to repair roads, bridges and other pieces of their crumbling infrastructure. In Atlanta, voters recently approved a quarter of a billion dollar infrastructure bond package.   

Airing on Monday, March 30, 2015: First up, we talk with Marisa Kendall, reporter for The Recorder, about the Kleiner Perkins trial. Next, we take a look at Northeastern University’s plan to launch a series of educational hubs embedded directly in select companies across the Bay area – starting with Silicon Valley. The Boston college says the program takes a unique hybrid approach – part online, part face-to-face instruction – and aims to draw in more women and minorities to the STEM field. How does it plan to do that? Also, Marketplace’s Tobin Low brings us an audio postcard from the maker of MiMu Gloves, a gestural instrument that works like a wearable theremin.

Women rarely pick up the tab on first dates, even those out-earning the man

The university plans to launch educational hubs embedded in Bay Area companies.

Voters approved a $250 million bond package to repair the city's infrastructure.

America failed to persuade them to stay away from a new, Chinese-led institution.