Aug 6, 2020

Unemployment is bad, but we don’t know just how bad

Plus: The recording industry's legacy of exploiting Black artists, the decline in household debt and how robots can help with distance learning.

Segments From this episode

COVID & Unemployment

30 million? 18 million? How many Americans are out of work right now?

by Mitchell Hartman

Aug 6, 2020

Why various estimates of joblessness don't seem to add up.

A woman leaves the Department of Employment Services in Washington, D.C. Estimates of unemployment vary depending on the formula and data used.

Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

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COVID-19

Using coronavirus relief to pay down credit cards

by Nancy Marshall-Genzer

Aug 6, 2020

Credit card debt was down by $76 billion in the second quarter, the steepest decline in card balances since tracking started.

The changes in household debt in the second quarter were driven by a decline in credit card balances as consumer spending dropped.

iStock/Getty Images

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Music industry confronts calls to 'make things right' for Black artists

by Jasmine Garsd

Aug 6, 2020

Labels have long been accused of racist, exploitative practices toward artists. Some now pledge to support social justice and diversify executive ranks.

Rock 'n' roll great Chuck Berry in 1964. Berry was prevented from performing in segregated venues and had to share songwriting credit that belonged solely to him.

Terry Fincher/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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Texas regulators want oil companies 'flaring' less gas

by Andy Uhler

Aug 6, 2020

Burning excess natural gas can be less costly than figuring out a way to use it, but the practice spurs climate change and hurts air quality.

A gas flare burns at a Permian Basin plant. A study found that companies in the region wasted $750 million worth of natural gas in 2018.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

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Want to understand the laws of supply and demand? Watch the dairy industry

by Justin Ho

Aug 6, 2020

Milk prices have been volatile with the trade war and now the coronavirus pandemic, and dairy farmers are stretched thin.

A Wisconsin dairy farmer moves her cows into a barn. Her industry has been whipsawed by milk prices.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

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My Economy

"If we can't get it let's create it:" tech entrepreneur Rameish Budhoo on creating the Black Nation app

by Alli Fam

Aug 6, 2020

The Black Nation app started as a directory, and is now a social platform.

Image Courtesy of Rameish Budhoo

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Music from the episode

Kick, Push Lupe Fiasco

Call It Home The Foreign Exchange

Go on Now James Brown

Pretty Pimpin Kurt Vile

Colours Hot Chip

TV Queen Wild Nothing

The team

Nancy Farghalli Executive Producer

Daisy Palacios Senior Producer

Maria Hollenhorst Producer

Sean McHenry Associate Producer

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