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.
109 episodes transcribedThese 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...
Youth baseball — long a widely accessible American pastime — has become overrun by $10,000-per-year, for-profit travel leagues. Zachary Crockett peers...
Where 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...
A 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...
It 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...
The 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...
Those 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...
When you hit the slopes, you might not be thinking about water rights, controlled avalanches, and liability insurance — but someone has to. Zachary Cr...
We 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...
When 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...
Security guards make malls feel safer, but what can they do when there’s trouble? Zachary Crockett observes and reports. SOURCES:Gus Parsons, mall cop...
How 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,...
A fast-food burger has to taste the same — and cost the same — thousands of times a day at restaurants across the country. Zachary Crockett mans the f...
American golfers lose 300 million balls a year — and all those bad swings are someone else’s business opportunity. Zachary Crockett hits the links. SO...
Before a guide dog can help a blind person navigate the world, it has to pass a series of tests, then go through $75,000 worth of training. Zachary Cr...
Behind that 70% off sign, there’s a liquidation consultant trying to maximize retailer profits. Zachary Crockett seeks a deal. SOURCES:Bradley Snyder,...
Picture day is an annual tradition for American families — and, for the companies that take the photos, a lucrative one. Zachary Crockett smiles for t...
They're not always the nicest places to go — but for their owners, portable toilets are a lucrative revenue stream. Zachary Crockett lifts the lid. SO...
You can be a top model and still not get recognized on the street — as long as you keep your cuticles healthy and your moons white. Zachary Crockett p...
A watercolor of a harbor? A black-and-white photo of a pile of rocks? Some hotels are trying to do better. Zachary Crockett unpacks. SOURCES:Melanie K...
