Week of February 20th, 2017

A glitch in code resulted in data leaking from 150 websites.

The lines are long but entry is free. So how can the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn capitalize on its 'blockbuster'?

Since Lizzie is reporting from Wyoming, we’re revisiting some of our favorite stories from the recent past. We revisit the question “Can your office make you sick?” We’re not necessarily saying “yes,” but we’re most definitely not saying “no” either. We also listen back on an interview with Emily Weiss, the CEO of Glossier, one of the hottest beauty products brands among millennials. 

The artist Yayoi Kusama is known for her infinity room installations that make you feel like you’re in, well, an infinite room. She’s also known for the blocks-long lines people will wait in to spend a few minutes inside one of them. We explore the financial conundrum of orchestrating a blockbuster show centered on installations that only accommodate a few people at a time. Plus, a look inside the constellation of immigrant visa programs that are on the table for reform, and, of course, a roundtable about what happened this week with Nela Richardson of Redfin and Catherine Rampell of the Washington Post.

It has to do with money, power and influence.

Permits for skilled tech workers get all the attention, but H1-Bs have plenty of company.

The state's Department of Natural Resources says flying an unmanned aircraft is a cheaper and faster alternative to other methods, including helicopters.

Soon after Sen. Elizabeth Warren was silenced on the Senate floor Minneapolis women took words from Sen. Mitch McConnell and turned them on their head, using 'nevertheless, she persisted' as a rallying cry for proponents of women's rights.

Backing a political or social issue is often an exercise in branding.

We’ll explore why Chinese President Xi Jinping has plans to move new people into power on his economic team. Afterwards, a look at why stock car racing is struggling and how celebrities choose the political causes they’re involved in.

There have been a lot of protests going on recently. And at these events, there’s a fair amount of time spent sitting, standing, waiting. Ian Bogost, a game critic and professor at Georgia Tech, discusses how a new website called protestgames.org aims to have attendees translate some of that downtime into positive energy. Next, we’ll look at Alphabet’s decision to sue Uber and Otto for allegedly stealing its intellectual property. And to end today’s show, we’ll play this week’s Silicon Tally with Laura Weidman Powers, the co-founder and CEO of the nonprofit Code 2040.

Sturm Ruger CEO Michael Fifer says owning firearms is 'more socially acceptable.'

Listeners weigh in on how their businesses have been affected by the constant state of protest.

Groups like She Should Run and Run for Something help potential candidates parlay leadership skills into public service.

As the energy market dwindles, some are finding new uses for coal.

The Trump Administration predicts its policies will drive economic growth up to 3 percent or higher. We take a look at what it would take to get there.

Foreign companies have been invited into the energy market, but problems with Pemex deter investment.

Just because foreign companies can now invest in Mexico’s state-owned energy agency Pemex, it doesn’t necessarily mean they will. Seventy-five years of monopoly bred messy finances, debt, nepotism and corruption. But it’s too big an opportunity for some to pass up, and we’ll likely see U.S. companies involved with Pemex’s modernization. Next, our sustainability desk visits tech startups that are figuring out better places to put carbon dioxide than into the air — and some of their solutions make pretty useful products. Plus, the coal conversation continues with an update from Wyoming.

Could monetizing carbon emissions drive the fight against climate change?

With technical skills in demand, vocational programs try to shake old stereotype.

In southern Illinois coal towns, reality overshadows hope for coal deregulation.

Members of Trump’s cabinet are in Mexico for talks, but can they smooth over a tense relationship between the country and the U.S.? We’ll look at what’s at stake during the visit. Afterwards, we’ll dive into how Brexit will affect banking and then explore the job losses that southern Illinois coal towns are experiencing.

We’re look at how public-private partnerships, like the collaboration between NASA and Elon Musk’s SpaceX, are changing how America’s space program works. Afterward, we’ll talk to analyst Tasha Keeney about how fully autonomous cars may start pulling up into our lives earlier than expected. 

Most left peacefully, but some were arrested after the government's deadline to leave the area.

John Janick, the CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, explains the connection.

Eight decades of boom and bust ends in bust and leaves land dry.

Bloomberg Reporter Rebecca Greenfield talks about the new ways companies can track employees.

John Janick was hand-picked by Jimmy Iovine to replace him. And he knows all about bringing down barriers.

We’ve been hearing a lot about coal lately. Coal mining country came out strong for Trump, who has been promising to bring back mining jobs. We discuss the reality of the boom-and-bust industry with residents in one Illinois town who wonder if they’d be better off without it. From the latest installment of Corner Office, we’ll hear the unlikely story of how the “La La Land” soundtrack came to be from the man who made it happen: John Janick, CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records. Plus, how closely are you being watched at work? Companies are making inconspicuous sensors that track a wide range of employee behavior at the office.

African asylum seekers are streaming to the border, making a perilous journey that has immigration and security officials worried.

Extroverts, take note.

In Kettleman City, California, where arsenic contaminates groundwater, the state supplies every home with bottled water.

Children can use the 3Doodler Start Pen to make sculptures.

Civic leaders sound an alarm on repealing the Affordable Care Act without a replacement.

Mayors around the country plan to warn their cities about what will happen if the Affordable Care Act is repealed. We’ll explore the financial consequences of a potential end to Obamacare, and then look at why amusement parks may have a harder time hiring workers this year. Plus: A look at the connection that exists between personality type and management style. 

A former Uber employee has written a blog post about being the target of sexual harassment and sexism at the company. Jessi Hempel, head of editorial at Backchannel, joined us to discuss how she thinks CEO Travis Kalanick should have handled the issue. Next, we’ll discuss some of the products we discovered at Toy Fair 2017, which included a children’s 3-D pen that’ll let you create sculptures.

The system already has a hard time filling border patrol positions and has a backlog of pending cases.

International companies have been helping to create domestic jobs.

The lieutenant general really has three new jobs. Security consultant Erin Simpson explains.

The White House may ask for changes to trade deficit and economic growth data.

We hear from a retired West Virginia miner and another just starting his career.

The president’s plan to crack down on illegal immigration calls for more arrests, more agents and more deportations. But we wondered whether the system for deporting immigrants has the capacity to handle this kind of growth, so we did the numbers. Later in the show, we talk to Erin Simpson, co-host of the “Bombshell” podcast, about the appointment of Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as national security adviser. We also hear from two coal miners living in West Virginia, where 12,000 mining jobs have been lost and Trump supporters are betting he’ll bring them back. 

In addition to being required by law, Environmental Protection Agency funding is critical to state budgets.

The law, slated to go into effect in May unless it's stopped by the state legislature, aims to close the gender salary gap.

Residents received $100 in taxpayer-supported coupons to give to city candidates of their choice.

About 20 million people are at risk of starvation within the next six months. We’ll look at the four different food crises that are all happening at once. Next, we’ll talk about Home Depot’s earnings growth, despite a lack of new stores, and a Philadelphia law that prevents companies from asking job applicants about past salaries.

A Volkswagen subsidiary will invest about $2 billion in electric cars over the next decade, as part of VW’s settlement in the emissions cheating case.  We’ll look at the challenges that an electric-car ecosystem faces. Next, attorney Jenny Afia will join us to talk about her role in rewriting apps’ privacy policy for the British government.    

Donated breast milk in liquid form can be expensive because it needs to be to be screened for disease and drugs, and then stored. One way to address this may be a technique called "spray-drying."

Wage hike or wage increase? Does it really matter? Linguists would say "yes."

When you read a story about minimum wage or hear a story about it on air, chances are we use the word “hike.” It’s short, it’s punchy, but it also has some negative connotations attached to it. We take a look at the linguistics behind the word shaping our conversations about minimum wage. Also on today’s show: New Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt takes control of the agency this week. What will his EPA look like? Finally, the Oscars are next week, so we talked to one of the show’s main producers about what its like to produce an award show in this political climate. 

How a real estate developer transformed a former ship building facility to a new space for hardware companies.

Her townhome is designed with two units to host short- or long-term paying guests.

Many artists self-publish runs of 200 to 500 copies of their work.

While many might be thinking about the next big thing in software, one Brooklyn facility is focused on hardware. We’ll talk about the history and future of New Lab, a building that has several companies sharing its space to build new products. Joining us on today’s show: David Belt, its cofounder; Sean Petterson, the cofounder of Strong Arm, which makes exoskeletons for industrial workers; and Jessica Banks from Rock Paper Robot, a kinetic furniture company (think levitating tables). 

Unilever has turned down Kraft Heinz’s $143 billion proposal, a move that lowered its stock. What went wrong? Next, we’ll look at a pilot program that will allow some food stamp users to purchase groceries online, and then explore the market for locally produced comics in Africa.