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This northern Michigan retailer is banking on a summer with lots of foot traffic

May 14, 2021
Annie Lang Hartman, owner of Compass Paper Co., is preparing for a busy post-pandemic season.
Annie Lang Hartman's Compass Paper Co. shop. She says tourists have already come to the area, even though it's still early in the season.
Courtesy Annie Lang Hartman

After a lost summer, demand for camp is "through the roof"

May 12, 2021
Friendly Pines Camp in Prescott, Arizona, reopens later this month. Families are ready to send kids back, but hiring remains a challenge.
There's a lot of pent-up demand for summer camp. Above, a summer camp in Lake Hughes, California.
Giulio Marcocchi/Getty Images

Cities' summer challenge: Keep people cool while keeping COVID-19 at bay

Jul 24, 2020
The cooling centers that opened after hundreds died during a heat wave aren't practical during a pandemic.
Three boys stand in the middle of the fountain in Washington Square Park in New York.
Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images

Why this teacher works through the summer

Jul 4, 2019
"I have to have a second job to help support myself," says Megan Johnson from Lansing, Kansas.
Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images

What "Armageddon" got right about space drilling, and what it (mostly) didn't

Aug 16, 2018
Little about the 1998 blockbuster is true to life, but mining asteroids and comets is "humanity’s future, I’m pretty convinced of that," one expert says.
From left, Steve Buscemi, Will Patton, Bruce Willis, Michael Duncan, Ben Affleck, and Owen Wilson are on a mission to save Earth from an asteroid in “Armageddon.”
Getty Images/Handout

Here’s one reason you pay more for gas in the summer

Jun 25, 2018
The gasoline you’re putting in your car now is different than the gasoline you bought a few months ago. The gas that’s fueling your summer vacation is the “summer blend,” which uses a different mix of ingredients and it’s more expensive to produce. Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 

Rising gas prices could drive some to change travel plans

Jun 14, 2018
Gas prices are on the rise just in time for summer travel. But will that give drivers second thoughts about hitting the road during the summer vacation season? Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 

For public good, not for profit.

Tech songs to fuel your summer

Jul 17, 2017
A playlist of listener favorites, plus a few of our own.
Simon Hayhurst/Flickr

Are shorts now office-appropriate? Let's ask a manager.

Jul 14, 2017
Alison Green weighs in on flip-flops, office culture and ... biting?
Shorts and flip flops at the same time, but not in an office.
Oli Scarff/Getty Images