PODCAST: Pizza as just dessert, Valentine’s Day insurance

In last night’s State of the Union address, President Obama declared he wants to make pre-school available to every child in America: “Every dollar we invest in high quality early-childhood education, can save more than $7 later on — by boosting graduation rates, reducing teen pregnancy, even reducing violent crime.” What are Obama’s plans for universal pre-school access, high-school funding, and higher education?

President Obama also proposed an increase to the federal minimum wage in his address last night: “Tonight, let’s declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty, and raise the federal minimum wage to $9.00 an hour,” he said. Would such an increase help or hurt minimum wage workers?

From Washington politics to pizza in Boston. In a twist, some former employees who’d been duped out of overtime pay are becoming part-owners of a Harvard Square pizzeria they used to work for.

And finally, to Japan, where one company is offering insurance for unlikely people who don’t get any chocolate for Valentine’s Day. The policy holder will receive a package of sweets and a personal message from a quote “beautiful lady” to avoid embarrassment. The cost is 500 yen, or about $5.