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The Economics of Everyday Things
Who decides which snacks are in your office’s vending machine? How much is a suburban elm tree worth, and to whom? How did Girl Scout Cookies become a billion-dollar business? In bite-sized episodes, journalist Zachary Crockett looks at quotidian things and finds amazing stories.
117 episodes transcribed
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98. Police Sketches
Episode Date: July 7, 2025When security cameras and facial recognition tools fail, law enforcement investigators fall back on a witness's memory and an artist's hand. Zachary C...
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EXTRA: Fireworks Stands
Episode Date: July 2, 2025How does an industry built on roadside pop-ups make billions of dollars in two weeks of the year? Zachary Crockett gets pyrotechnical. SOURCES:Alex Zo...
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Car Washes (Replay)
Episode Date: June 30, 2025Why are these sudsy roadside stops one of the fastest growing industries in America? Zachary Crockett takes a look under the hood. RESOURCES:"Private...
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97. Elevators
Episode Date: June 23, 2025Americans take more than 20 billion elevator rides every year — and keeping them safe is an expensive proposition. Zachary Crockett makes small talk. ...
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96. School Buses
Episode Date: June 16, 2025Districts across the country are facing shortages of school bus drivers. Can technology help? Zachary Crockett takes a seat in the back. SOURCES:Keith...
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95. Airplane Food
Episode Date: June 9, 2025Everyone loves to complain about it — but preparing a meal that tastes good at 35,000 feet is harder than you might think. Zachary Crockett will have...
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94. Fireworks Shows
Episode Date: June 2, 2025Every year, America celebrates its independence with millions of dollars worth of explosives imported from China. Zachary Crockett lights a fuse and b...
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93. Pearls
Episode Date: May 26, 2025These glistening round gemstones have come a long way since your grandmother's time, but procuring them is still a lot of work. The world is Zachary C...
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Little League (Replay)
Episode Date: May 19, 2025Youth baseball — long a widely accessible American pastime — has become overrun by $10,000-per-year, for-profit travel leagues. Zachary Crockett peers...
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92. Data Centers
Episode Date: May 12, 2025Where is “the cloud,” anyway? It’s in a bunch of nondescript warehouses all over the country. Zachary Crockett serves up the story. SOURCES: Chris Kim...
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91. Roller Coasters
Episode Date: May 5, 2025A new thrill ride can cost an amusement park $20 million or more — but roller coasters attract customers like nothing else. Zachary Crockett must be a...
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90. Closed Captions
Episode Date: April 28, 2025It takes a highly skilled stenographer — and some specialized equipment — to transcribe TV dialogue in real time at 300 words per minute. Will A.I. re...
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89. Locksmiths
Episode Date: April 21, 2025The ability to get into any home, car, or safe can be lucrative — but fixing locks is a tough business. Zachary Crockett gets the key information. SOU...
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88. Fortune Cookies
Episode Date: April 14, 2025Those tiny treats that predict your future may come free at the end of a Chinese meal, but they’re big business (and not Chinese). Zachary Crockett wi...
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87. Ski Areas
Episode Date: April 7, 2025When you hit the slopes, you might not be thinking about water rights, controlled avalanches, and liability insurance — but someone has to. Zachary Cr...
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86. Toothpaste
Episode Date: March 31, 2025We reach for it twice a day — without thinking about the decades of research and engineering that went into that squeezable tube of minty goo. Zachary...
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85. Executive Recruiters
Episode Date: March 24, 2025When a Fortune 500 company needs a new leader, it turns to a well-connected headhunter who assesses candidates with psychological tests and mock TV in...
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84. Mall Cops
Episode Date: March 17, 2025Security guards make malls feel safer, but what can they do when there’s trouble? Zachary Crockett observes and reports. SOURCES:Gus Parsons, mall cop...
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83. Game Show Winnings
Episode Date: March 10, 2025How do TV producers decide how much money to give away? A little psychology and a lot of math. Zachary Crockett phones a friend. SOURCES:Bowen Kerins,...