What drives the global economy? Any student of economics is likely to mention the “invisible hand”—the collective self-interest that acts as the market’s guiding force in a more powerful and beneficial way than government intervention can. Legendary 18th century Scottish philosopher Adam Smith coined the usage of this term, and one major economics textbook popularized it. But a closer look at context suggests Smith was saying something else entirely. Presented by EY Episode art by Vicky Leta
Mar 21, 2023•20 min•Season 4Ep. 7
In the past few years in the US, the transition to digital medical data records has made access to one’s own medical history both easier and, somehow, harder. Your test results are a couple of clicks away—if you remember on what site or app they are, and how to get on it. And the system is so complicated and regulated that in some cases, health providers are still using the humble fax machine to send records back and forth. This is the story of how far the US got with digital medical record keep...
Mar 17, 2023•31 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Space business is often associated with rockets, space tourism, and attention-seeking billionaires. But the most impactful industry to launch into space in the past decade doesn’t have much to do with any of the above. Their focus is observing Earth, via the many satellites that we use to monitor what is happening on our planet. From weather patterns to human rights violations to chlorophyll production, there is a lot about the world we can learn by looking in from the outside. Presented by EY E...
Mar 14, 2023•37 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Wildfires are getting larger, closer to human settlements, and more frequent. America’s west coast is especially vulnerable, which has Silicon Valley paying close attention. Its answer? Firetech, a whole new startup industry focused on developing technology to control and prevent fires. Presented by EY Episode art by Vicky Leta
Mar 10, 2023•28 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Humans have been burying their dead for at least 40,000 years. But in the last couple of centuries, especially in Western countries, the practice has become toxic: From embalming fluids to casket materials, burials can contaminate soil and groundwater, and endanger the health of funeral workers. Enter green burials, an industry devoted to handling death in an ecologically sustainable way. Presented by EY Episode art by Vicky Leta
Mar 07, 2023•23 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Nuclear fusion has long been a futuristic power source of sci-fi: clean, non-radioactive, bountiful energy capable of exceeding all of humanity's needs. And a recent breakthrough has shown it's surprisingly within reach. This promising new source of energy could power desalination and better carbon capture, and revolutionize our approach to consumption and climate change. Presented by EY Episode art by Vicky Leta
Mar 03, 2023•25 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Tree planting certainly seems like a wholesome, tidy way to make up for carbon emission. Take a flight? Plant a tree. Emissions: gone. But reforestation has gone from a radical political movement to a convenient corporate gimmick to encourage conscience-free consumption in the age of climate change. But not only is tree planting not that helpful in offsetting carbon emissions—it might even be counterproductive. Sponsored by EY Episode art by Vicky Leta
Feb 28, 2023•26 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Episode Five of our sister podcast: Work Reconsidered from Quartz. We all want to achieve great things. But in the wake of the pandemic, some of us have stopped to reconsider: What's the cost of all this collective desperation to succeed? From treating burnout to resisting oppressive systems, how can we get the things we want in life without sacrificing too much time, energy, and psychological well-being? Logo by Jo Minor
Nov 03, 2022•28 min•Season 3Ep. 15
Episode Four of our sister podcast: Work Reconsidered from Quartz. A growing number of companies and countries are experimenting with reducing the number of working days per week from five to four. For many organizations and their employees, there can be clear benefits. But reducing the work week doesn’t affect everyone equally, and that means not everyone wins. Logo by Jo Minor
Oct 27, 2022•26 min•Season 3Ep. 14
Episode Three of our sister podcast: Work Reconsidered from Quartz. How would you feel if anyone who wanted could look up your salary on a public website? That's the case for the employees of some companies we spoke to for this episode on pay transparency. Making salaries totally transparent is one potential way to erase the persistent unfairness around pay gaps, like those around gender and race; Some countries are legislating, attempting to make it impossible to pay people unfairly. But can kn...
Oct 18, 2022•26 min•Season 3Ep. 13
Episode Two of our sister podcast: Work Reconsidered from Quartz. Giving good, useful feedback is deceptively difficult. Managers aren’t trained to give it, and performance reviews are woefully inadequate, which often leaves employees stuck with feedback that is biased, incomplete, or even threatening. From embracing radical transparency to training managers in the metaverse, here’s how some companies are rethinking feedback by keeping in mind why employees need it in the first place. Logo by Jo...
Oct 12, 2022•26 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Episode One of our sister podcast, Work Reconsidered from Quartz: After sitting empty for two years, offices are finally getting foot traffic again, which means they’re getting renovations to match. As architects redesign the office for the ways we now use them—for both in-person and hybrid meetings—they’re tossing out the old templates and finally being given room and resources to explore the fundamental question: What makes for a happy and productive work environment? Episode art by Jo Minor T...
Oct 06, 2022•27 min•Season 3Ep. 11
TRAILER for our sister podcast, Work Reconsidered from Quartz: We’re in the middle of a work revolution. The pandemic upended our work lives overnight, but we’re still seeing the true impact of that shift. Work reconsidered is Quartz’s newest podcast all about what’s changing about work from the people who are seeing it first hand. Subscribe now so you don’t miss an episode. Logo by Jo Minor
Sep 21, 2022•1 min•Season 3Ep. 10
We’ve partnered with Hark Audio, a podcast curation app, to share some of our all-time favorite Obsession show moments. Stay tuned to hear the fascinating stories behind the things we use, eat, and wear everyday—from Google Docs to pasta and perfume to fish sticks. And if you listen on Hark, you can jump from each moment into a full episode. Try it at harkaudio.com/obsession
Jun 28, 2022•27 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Asynchronous, on-demand talk radio was a bold proposition back in 2004, when podcasts first started making waves. Less than 20 years later, podcasting is a big business. But monetization has its downsides: What began as a freewheeling, do-it-yourself space is evolving into a data-obsessed sector dominated by tech giants. Sponsored by EY. Is your technology moving fast enough to realize your ambitions? Learn more in the latest EY Tech Horizon Survey: ey.com/techhorizon Episode art by Eric Helgas,...
Jun 07, 2022•31 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Prices for goods from furniture to meat have been steadily rising for months. It’s the most obvious symptom of inflation, which is when money buys less than it used to. But there’s no need to panic: This is far from the first time inflation came for consumers’ purchasing power. The question is, how do you make it stop? Sponsored by EY. How can you create a growth strategy where everyone wins? Learn more in EY’s latest report: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/consulting/how-can-you-create-a-growth-strate...
May 31, 2022•33 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Shipping snafus have hit everything from Pelotons to paper towels, and they're coming for perfume. From Chanel No. 5's secret recipe to the modern proliferation of DIY scents, this global industry has supply chains as delicate as the scents captured in its tiny bottles. How does perfume adapt to a changing world? Sponsored by EY. Discover how EY can help you unlock new opportunities to reframe your future: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/reframe-your-future Episode art by Eric Helgas, styling by Alex C...
May 24, 2022•28 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Though scientists have known about dyslexia for well over a century, education systems still struggle to teach students with the condition. In the English-speaking world, it’s become a great unequalizer, pushing those with means into lucrative careers, and those without to the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. But as technology mediates and alters how we read, it could level the economic playing field for people with dyslexia. Sponsored by EY. EY Work Reimagined webcast: How to prepare for ren...
May 17, 2022•30 min•Season 3Ep. 5
2.1—that’s how many children every woman “needs to have.” Any fewer, and a country’s population will eventually stop growing, age, and shrink, which could inhibit its economic growth and drain government coffers. But it’s easier said than done: China has been well below replacement rate for some time; India is just hitting that number. What happens to the world when 2.1 stops being a guarantee? Sponsored by EY EY Work Reimagined webcast: How to prepare for renaissance and recommitment: https://b...
May 10, 2022•26 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Pasta's path to pantries all over the world is inextricably tied to Italy, the country that used technology and mass production to turn a homemade food into a commercial product. Even as pasta-makers market an idealized version of the Italian lifestyle to the world and to Italians themselves, some of the things that make pasta the taste of home might be due for a rethink. Sponsored by EY. Discover how EY can help you unlock new opportunities to reframe your future. Episode art by Eric Helgas, st...
May 03, 2022•23 min•Season 3Ep. 3
As individuals, we know it’s not great to have too much debt. But at the macro level, that narrative falls apart. In fact, most governments need some debt to take care of their people, especially in the wake of a crisis like a pandemic. How a country invests in itself—and how its leaders talk about that investment—says a lot about how it sees its future. Sponsored by EY Is your technology moving fast enough to realize your ambitions? Learn more in the latest EY Tech Horizon Survey. Episode art b...
Apr 26, 2022•29 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Between lab-grown meat and veganism going mainstream, we're in an age of abundance for alternative protein options. But one hasn’t been getting as much attention as the others: Edible insects, popular in places like Ghana and Mexico, are nutritious, plentiful, and much less damaging to the environment than, say, a steak. What would it take to put insects in more kitchens around the world? Sponsored by EY. Learn more about sustainable supply chain research from EY. Is your ESG data unlocking long...
Apr 19, 2022•24 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Trust us, the economy has never been more fascinating.
Apr 18, 2022•1 min
After the release of a great film, it seems natural to us now that they'd want to make another. But this was not always the case. Now that Hollywood seems to almost compulsively turn successful films into franchises, reboots, and cinematic universes, are there good reasons to keep making sequels? Sponsored by Alumni Ventures Photo by Eric Helgas, styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi Transcript: https://qz.com/2144841
Mar 22, 2022•24 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Athletes at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics had prosthetics perfectly designed to help them run, jump, or swim as the events required. Now the technology behind those prosthetics is coming to everyday people who need it—and, possibly, to people who don’t. Augmenting able bodies for super-human functions: What could go wrong? Sponsored by Alumni Ventures Photo by Eric Helgas; styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi Transcript: https://qz.com/2141719
Mar 15, 2022•26 min•Season 2Ep. 7
They tried to kill disco, but it will never die. The stubbornly upbeat genre came out of an economically turbulent moment—one to which we see a lot of parallels today. So what is it about a crisis that just makes us want to dance? Sponsored by Alumni Ventures Episode art by Eric Helgas, styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi Transcript: https://qz.com/2138049
Mar 08, 2022•29 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Fish sticks are more than just an easy way to get kids to eat healthy food. They’re the ocean’s little problem solvers, swimming in to solve a seafood glut after World War II, and to help working parents in need of cheap and easy meals. Now fish sticks might even help solve our latest challenge: an epidemic of global overfishing. Sponsored by Alumni Ventures Photo by Eric Helgas; styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi Transcript: https://qz.com/2133871
Mar 01, 2022•24 min•Season 2Ep. 5
It’s the stuff of Bollywood dreams, come to life—the big fat Indian wedding has withstood the test of time, economic turbulence, social reform, and even modern technology. But when you factor in pent-up pandemic demand, can India’s $50 billion industry possibly keep it up? Sponsored by Alumni Ventures Episode art by Eric Helgas; styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi Transcript: https://qz.com/2130303
Feb 22, 2022•25 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Google docs has revolutionized the way we work, and now it even functions as a tool for social sharing and political dissent. This is all because the world shifted from saving files locally to storing them in the cloud. But does life in the cloud present risks we aren't thinking about enough? Sponsored by Alumni Ventures Photo by Eric Helgas; styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi Transcript: https://qz.com/2127812
Feb 15, 2022•28 min•Season 2Ep. 3
As more people aren’t sure whether or when to have kids, a growing number of them are turning to egg freezing, a relatively new and expensive procedure that could help women become parents outside their biological bounds. But how realistic is any promise of parenthood entirely on your terms? Sponsored by Alumni Ventures Photo by Eric Helgas, styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi Transcript: https://qz.com/2122021
Feb 08, 2022•27 min•Season 2Ep. 2
