Week of August 7th, 2017

An Ohio business wants to pick out those specific items for you and deliver it to school.

How much can Wall Street shrug off?

You can do better.

Local school policies address how to deal with unpaid meal charges.

Alexander Hamilton was one of the country's original protectionists.

We spoke with a Los Angeles teacher about the school supplies she buys for her classroom each year, and what she wishes the school budget would cover.

Environmental offenders were also required to perform less cleanup.

The show this week is education themed, and we’re looking at stories from all over the country. We consider a landmark case weighing the right to literacy and its value, tax breaks for school supplies, the cost of college and the best gifts to give a new freshman. Parents, students and teachers all share their views in this episode about the value of education in the U.S.

Expert Mark Kantrowitz tells us his top tips.

Donald Trump won the presidency in part on the idea that the United States isn’t getting its fair share of the global economic pie. The slogan “America First” more or less boils down to protectionism. Now, the Trumpian approach to global trade might feel like a departure from recent history. But the American industrial economy has its roots in protectionism, all the way back to Alexander Hamilton. We’ll talk about it in the second installment of our series “Trade Off.” Plus, the latest on SoundCloud’s financial troubles, and we try to fit a wild week of news into five minutes of live radio. 

Let's take a closer look at the cryptocurrency.

Don’t give up on that dream of a white picket fence just yet.

A searing campaign song from 1896 sounds surprisingly modern.

The big fear is that America will flood the market with cheap produce.

The company said it goes against its terms of service.

Tech companies have had to grapple with some big moral issues as of late. Recently, Airbnb reportedly deactivated the accounts of users planning to attend a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville. Virginia. On today’s show, we’ll chat with University of Maryland professor Dana Fisher about whether the company is allowed to do something like this, and whether it’s good for a business’ bottom line to make a big political stand. Afterwards, we’ll play this week’s Silicon Tally with Saron Yitbarek, founder of the Code Newbie podcast.

With tensions rising between the U.S. and North Korea, we’ll talk with Leon Sigal — director of the Northeast Asia Cooperative Security Project — about whether sanctions actually work, and then look at growing support in Congress for greater missile defense spending. Afterwards, we’ll discuss the U.S. Postal Service’s push to gain more freedom to raise the price of stamps.

Most undocumented immigrants who are deported are Latino men with jobs. That has a ripple effect on housing.

After its first earnings report, Blue Apron's stock price went down by 15 percent.

All three major stock indices fell today, and not a little bit either. And guess what: That’s what’s supposed to happen. We’ll talk about it when we do the numbers. Then: The White House touted a huge deal between Wisconsin an Foxconn: 13,000 jobs in exchange for $3 billion in tax breaks. The state won’t break even for more than 25 years, but these deals are becoming more and more common. Plus: Most undocumented immigrants who are deported are Latino men with jobs. That has a ripple effect on housing.

A tighter labor market could shift the balance of power from employers to employees.

A group of students is suing the state of Michigan for failing to provide access to literacy in public schools

He found 40 website vulnerabilities at a federal bug bounty challenge.

Facebook and Instagram have replicated many of Snap’s features, from face filters to disappearing messages, and that hasn’t been great for business on Snap’s end. Does it still have some creative power going for it right now? Business Insider senior reporter Alex Heath takes a look at the company’s future with us. Afterwards, we’ll talk to 17-year-old Jack Cable about that time he hacked the Air Force.

Deep into this slow economic recovery, American workers might finally be gaining the leverage to ask for more money (or they’ll find work elsewhere.) On today’s show, we’ll discuss why their prospects are looking good. Afterwards, we’ll discuss how military conflict between the U.S. and North Korea would affect the global economy, and then look at Nordstrom’s (unsuccessful) attempts at going private.

It would provide direct access to overseas markets. With a new administration in place, the project could be revived.

The change in the market has been driven by the community, writer Ashley C. Ford says.

Critics say a controversial program that provides hospitals with deep discounts is being abused.

The headlines about fire and fury and escalation and threats and all that has happened the past 24 hours are alarming. No doubt about it. Without discounting the reality of what’s going on, allow us to cut through the fear a little bit. Nothing in this economy reacts as viscerally to the news as the markets to. The bond market, in particular, is a refuge in times of uncertainty. And it’s telling us to take a deep breath. We’ll explain. Then: For the first time in 60 years, the U.S. is set to become a net exporter of natural gas. Now we need to get the infrastructure up to speed. Plus: Go ahead, cut the cord, see if cable companies care. 

Tillerson has laid the ground work for direct talks with Pyongyang, Eurasia Group founder says.

Murcy Jones has been a student, teacher and parent in the Detroit School System.

Nuclear threats from North Korea have rattled global markets. Amid the escalating rhetoric, we’ll talk about how certain stock indices have been reacting, and investors’ move toward bonds. Afterwards, we’ll step back in time to examine where and when exactly the financial crisis began, and then talk about the problems Detroit’s public school system is facing through the eyes of one of the city’s teachers.

The French bank BNP Paribas was a key figure in the crisis.

A Google engineer named James Damore recently penned a memo blaming tech’s gender gap on biological differences between men and women, which then led to his firing. Nicole Sanchez, CEO and founder of Vaya Consulting, joined us to talk about what Google needs to do to address its diversity issues and how female staffers are feeling about the company. Plus: A look at secretive Amazon brands.

Google needs to prioritize diversity, the same way it's prioritized AI and driverless cars, a diversity consultant tells us.

Once an urban staple, the businesses are decreasing as developers transform neighborhoods. But people still depend on them.

Renting a room from an empty nester can save a young person thousands a year. The older generation gets something, too.

Tackling social problems in campaigns can be tricky. Just ask Pepsi.

We’re starting the show tonight by doing the numbers of two crises facing the U.S. — and neither of them have to do with North Korea. First, we’ll talk about the challenges of getting money to fight the opioid crisis, then why fighting climate change doesn’t have to mean cutting economic growth. Of course, we’ll also look at how markets reacted to President Trump’s talk of raining “fire and fury” on North Korea (with a shrug). After that, we’ll look at recent advertising campaigns focused on social issues, their risks and their rewards. Plus: How the decline of laundromats is changing U.S. cities.

"Just like the children's book 'Everyone Poops,' it's definitely the ultimate in job security."

Take those employee handbooks seriously.

They're all around you, along with a whole bunch of other cryptocurrencies.

With Samsung and Apple getting ready to launch new phones, we’ll take a look at what we can expect from these new devices. Afterwards, we’ll discuss Netflix’s decision to buy Millarworld, the publishing company of comic book writer Mark Millar.    

San Francisco’s Federal Reserve Bank is looking into whether Wells Fargo failed to refund insurance money it owed to some customers that financed car purchases through the bank. These customers may be entitled through this money through a type of insurance known as Guaranteed Auto Protection. On today’s show, we’ll explain how exactly GAP works. Afterwards, we’ll look at why you want to be living in Texas or California when you win a lottery, and then talk about Eros International’s potential plans to sell its catalog of movies and music.

Nebraska is the only state in the lower 48 using more coal for generating electricity than it did a decade ago.

In the U.S., people wrote about 38 checks on average in 2015, compared to 18 in Canada, 8 in the U.K., and almost none in Germany.

Opening up borders created economic winners, but the losers were hit disproportionately hard.

Some lawmakers are eyeing the hedge fund industry as a potential piggy bank.

Over the weekend, the U.N. decided to sanction North Korea in a move backed by China.

A lot’s changing about America’s place in the global economy. NAFTA negotiations are starting next week in Washington, and President Trump has already withdrawn from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. In a lot of ways, it’s the total opposite of the late ’80s and early ’90s, when opening things up was supposed to be the key to growth. We’re kicking off our new series, “Trade Off,” with a look at the dream of trade some 30ish years ago. Globalization had some much-hyped economic winners, but the losers were hit disproportionately hard. Plus: putting the recent sanctions against North Korea into perspective. Then: What would get people to stop using checks?

President Trump has been in office for 200 days, and is far behind on nominees, including key positions that would give businesses clarity on patient policies.

Regulators have until the end of the year figure out a definition of medical marijuana, who can produce it and who can buy it.

This Nashville food specialty went from hot trend to KFC. How does that happen?

The Secret Service will run tests during Trump's working vacation this month.

President Trump is scheduled to spend 17 days of working vacation at Trump National Golf Club this month. And near the fairway, the Secret Service will be testing one or more drones. Missy Cummings, director of the Humans and Autonomy Laboratory at Duke University, joined us to chat about how these drones will likely be utilized. Afterwards, we’ll look at the video game phenomenon “Overwatch.”

After reports that North Korea successfully tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles, the U.N. has agreed to sanction the country in a move backed by China. On today’s show, we’ll take a brief look at the history of the North Korea-China relationship. Afterwards, we’ll discuss the purpose of “catastrophe bonds,” and then — amid the rising popularity of Nashville hot chicken — examine how food trends spread.