Dec 22, 2022

Corporations are making more because they’re charging more

Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Businesses are passing along rising costs, which consumers are willing to pay. But can the good times for corporations last? Plus, it's evolution versus the free market in the antibiotics industry.

Segments From this episode

Corporate profits are up 10% over the same quarter last year

by Justin Ho

Dec 22, 2022

Here's a look at why American companies are making more money, and how they're spending it.

"Consumer demand has really held up much better than anyone really expected," said George Pearkes of Bespoke Investment Group.

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

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The federal spending bill could make it easier to save for emergencies

by Samantha Fields

Dec 22, 2022

Employers that offer retirement plans would also be able to offer a separate emergency savings plan.

Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images

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After a year of drawdowns, the Biden administration moves to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

by Lily Jamali

Dec 22, 2022

Analysts say the SPR is increasingly being used not just to cushion against oil price shocks, but to support prices.

A Strategic Petroleum Reserve storage site in Freeport, Texas. Currently, there's less oil in the reserve than at any point since 1984.

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

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Are we still 30 years away from fusion energy? Some think the timeline's shrinking.

by Andy Uhler

Dec 22, 2022

Last week, the Department of Energy said scientists had ignited a fusion reaction that created more energy than was needed to sustain it.

U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm discusses the breakthrough in nuclear fusion research by scientists at a government lab.

Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

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The free market is failing us on antibiotics

by Sabri Ben-Achour

Dec 22, 2022

The free market is pretty simple: There’s supply, there’s demand, they meet somewhere in the middle. If there’s a need, there’s a product. But sometimes, that system breaks down, as it has in the market for antibiotics.

Above, a pharmacist measures out antibiotic pills. Only a handful of biotechs are currently developing new antibiotics.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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Don't panic, it's just a roundabout

by Kai Ryssdal

Dec 22, 2022

The modern roundabout was created in 1960s Britain. But since the '90s, the small Indianapolis suburb of Carmel, Indiana has slowly become the roundabout capital of the United States.

Popularized in Great Britain, roundabouts work around the key behavior of yielding to those already inside the circle.

James Brey/Getty Images.

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Music from the episode

Wait a Minute Willow Smith

The Moment I Knew Taylor Swift

Motherboard Daft Punk

thank u Alanis Morisette

Creep TLC

A Matterapat Dr. Lonnie Smith

The team

Nancy Farghalli Executive Producer

Maria Hollenhorst Producer II

Andie Corban Producer I

Sarah Leeson Producer I

Sean McHenry Director & Associate Producer II

Richard Cunningham Associate Producer I

Dylan Miettinen Associate Digital Producer

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