Economics Unboxed Episodes

The story doesn't romanticize divorce, but it doesn't flatten it into pure hardship either. There's grief, adjustment, and — eventually — something that's genuinely your own. Supporting links 1. The Divorce Planner [Website] 2. How To Move on After Divorce [Marriage.com] 3. Life After Divorce: How You Can Start Again [Cleveland Clinic] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com Twitter at @Re...

Learn how innovation and expansion come with real trade-offs, especially when a beloved brand tries to grow beyond its core identity. Supporting links 1. Whole Foods will transition to Amazon labor framework [Supermarket News] 2. The Whole Foods Story [Website] 3. Whole Foods Market [Wikipedia] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com Twitter at @RedPhantom Bluesky at @rickbarron.bsky.social Email us at https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/...

Kyla Scanlon explains how America’s economy is no longer built on production, innovation, or shared prosperity — it’s built on speculation. Supporting links 1. Kyla Scanlon Explains Trumponomics [That’s Life, I Swear] 2. Kyla Scanlon: Gen Z’s Economic Guru Adviser [That’s Life, I Swear] 3. Kylascan [Instagram] 4. Kyla Scanlon [YouTube] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com Twitter at @RedPhantom Bluesky at @rickbarron.bsky.social Email us...

Learn the sobering lesson about the long-term consequences of student debt, especially for Generation X—a generation that bought into the promise of higher education as the surest path to success, only to find that promise transformed into a financial trap. Supporting links 1. Workers Without Access to Retirement Benefits Struggle to Build Wealth [PEW] 2. Student Loan Debt by Generation: 2025 Debt Levels by Age [Student Loan Planner] 3. Higher Education Act of 1965 [Wikipedia] 4. Stu...

The refusal of senior economic officials to stand up to Trump — even when they knew better — reveals a collapse of ethical leadership. Their silence wasn’t neutral; it was a green light for political manipulation. Authoritarianism doesn’t rise only through bold, evil acts — it grows quietly, when good people say nothing. Supporting links 1. Kyla Scanlon: “In This Economy? How Money and Markets Really Work” [The Daily Show] 2. CDC [website] 3. Erika Lee McEntarfer [Wikipedia] Bu...

Learn how Trumponomics offers a powerful lesson about the difference between rhetoric and reality in economic policy — and the critical importance of strategic coherence in national industrial planning. Supporting links 1. Kyla Scanlon: “In This Economy? How Money and Markets Really Work” [The Daily Show] 2. Understanding Trump's Tariffs [Kyla Scanlon/YouTube] 3. Trumponomics [Youtube] 4. Trump Tariffs: Tracking the Economic Impact of the Trump Trade War [Tax Foundation] 5. The Ca...

Many people today are confronting a stark reality: the looming retirement crisis in America. Picture this – a significant portion of our seniors, after a lifetime of hard work, find themselves barely scraping by in their ‘golden years’. supporting links 1. America Has a Retirement Crisis. We Need to Make It Easier to Save [PEW] 2. SECURE 2.0 [Principal] 3. Will Your Retirement Income Be Enough? [Investopedia] 4. Americans need 53% more in retirement savings, higher than 4 years ago [...

The U.S. economy may be sleepwalking into a disaster—and the warning signs are being ignored. Are we prepared for what’s coming next? 1. Workers want AI training from their companies [World Economic Forum] 2. AI Automation And The Future Of The Workforce [YouTube] 3. The growth of the older workforce [Pew Research Center] 4. Understanding America’s Labor Shortage: The Most Impacted Industries [U.S. Chamber of Commerce] 5. Geopolitics and the geometry of global trade [McKinsey] ...

By taking advantage of robotics as the new digital clerk, grocery brands can solve the most pressing issues they face today: tight margins, labor shortages and shifting customer expectations. 1. How robots are taking over warehouse work [BBC] 2. Thrive Market [website] 3. How Robotics is Transforming Grocery Operations [Food Logistics] 4. 7 Online Grocery Delivery Challenges (and How To Overcome Them) [MarktPOS] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thats...

Text us your thoughts on the podcast There’s a critical two-word issue that impacts millions of Americans. Social Security. The retirement program we all rely on is running out of time, and there’s a fix no one seems to want to talk about. Supporting links 1. Is the Retirement Picture for Millennials Looking Better? [Center for Retirement Research] 2. How to fix Social Security? It’s political but it can be done [Princeton University] 3. Good Options for ‘Saving’ Social Security Are Dis...

Text us your thoughts on the podcast Kyla Scanlon is demystifying the most complicated things about economics, one TikTok video at a time. 1. Kyla Scanlon on Gen Z's Money Worries and Approach to Investing [YouTube] 2. Kyla Scanlon — State of the Economy Really that Bad? With Scott Galloway [YoutTube] 3. Are We Still In A 'Vibecession'? with Kyla Scanlon [YouTube] 4. Mary C. Daly, President and Chief Executive Officer [Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco] 5. On Deck [LinkedIn] ...

Text us your thoughts on the podcast Very soon a housing revolution will begin as baby boomers unlock the doors to their homes, passing the keys to a new era. supporting links 1. Characteristics of generations X, Y and Z [Iberdrola] 2. Gen Z’s Homeownership Rate Stagnated in 2023, But Millennials and Gen Xers Saw Gains [Redfin|News] 3. How Generation Z Will Change The Housing Market (Forever) [Hommati] 4. Gen Z is snatching up houses in regional cities [AXIOS] 5. How the Demograph...

Text us your thoughts on the podcast The economic challenges facing pharmacies impact everyone. As more locations close, those that remain are overwhelmed with an increasing patient load, often with the same or fewer staff and resources. 1. Pharmacy Deserts [CNN] 2. Pharmacy benefit management [Wikipedia] 3. Rite Aid Bankruptcy Explained [Newsweek] 4. Pharmaceutical industry [Wikipedia] 5. Pharmaceutical Industry Overview [YouTube] Buzzsprout Tags: pharmacy, drug store, medicat...

Text us your thoughts on the podcast Today we’re tackling a topic that hits close to home for millions of workers — tipping. Has tipping reached its limit, or are we just getting started? supporting links 1. How Americans Feel About the Basics of Tipping [Wikipedia] 2. Trump proposing tips be tax free. What would that mean for you? [AP] 3. What is the new etiquette for tipping? [NPR] 4. Tipping Is Out of Control. It’s Also a Serious Labor Issue [TIME] 5. Tipflation: What is it and...

Text us your thoughts on the podcast As more people cancel subscriptions, streaming video companies must work harder to sign up new users to expand their overall customer base. supporting links 1. Antenna [website] 2. The Future of Streaming: How to Cut Costs & Save Money [Cloudwards] 3. Streaming services keep getting more expensive [The Verge] 4. Price Storm: Why Major Streaming Services Have Hiked Rates [Variety] 5. Americans’ New TV Habit: Subscribe. Watch. Cancel. Repeat [Mot...

Text us your thoughts on the podcast The perception of the economy among the American public is influenced by a complex interplay of factors, including media coverage, global economic connection, income inequality, political polarization, job insecurity, and psychological factors. supporting links 1. Consumer Spending [Investopedia] 2. Why Americans are unhappy with the economy, in 3 charts [CBS News] 3. Americans More Upbeat on the Economy, but not Biden [Pew Research Center] Why ar...

Text us your thoughts on the podcast There are many risks inherent in the switch to a cashless society. However, with the change being considered all but inevitable, it becomes crucial for all organizations involved in the economy to work together responsibly and make sure no person is left behind and the vulnerabilities in a cashless system cannot be exploited by those with nefarious intentions. supporting links 1. Pymnts Intelligence [website] 2. Stolen Device Protection [Apple] 3. 1P...

show notes Next time you buy Parmesan, watch out for the microchip. Food producers are going to ever greater lengths to protect their billion-dollar markets against knockoffs. supporting links 1. Stop Fake Food [website] 2. p-Chip [website] 3. Battle against China's fake foods drives new tech frontier [The Straits Times] 4. Food fraud: can we trust the authenticity of our food? [Eit Food] 5. Honeygate: How Europe is being flooded with fake honey [EURACTIV] 6. 27,000 tones of ...

Change is a constant. The world we live in is consistently evolving. Everywhere, all the time, something is changing. One of those changes happening is the corner gas station. Why would that be? I can say it with two letters…EV. supporting links 1. The 14 Best American-Made EVs to Watch in 2022 [LeafSource] 2. California accelerates to 100% new zero-emission vehicle sales by 2035 [CA.GOV] 3. As More EVs come, California Gas Stations May Soon Disappear [Spectrum News 1] 4. Why the dea...

The United States credit rating dropped to AA+ from AAA in August of 2023. The U.S. government will run a budget deficit of $1.5 trillion in 2023, along with a national debt currently hitting $30 trillion! supporting links 1. Fitch Downgrades the United States' Long-Term Ratings to 'AA+, Outlook Stable [Fitch Ratings] 2. U.S. Debt Clock in real time [U.S. Debt Clock.org] 3. Fitch Ratings [Wikipedia] 4. Majority Of Americans Say Shutdown Is 'Embarrassing for The Country' [NPR] 5. C...

China is poised to become the world’s largest economy between 2035 and 2040, thus surpassing the United States. Well, guess what? There’s another country knocking on the door…India. supporting links 1. Key facts as India surpasses China as the world’s most populous country [Pew Research] 2. Corruption in India [Wikipedia] 3. India: extreme inequality in numbers [OXFAM International] 4. FY 2023 is the determining year for India’s future Infrastructure [The Times of India] 5. Will I...

Is cryptocurrency drifting from being a niche to a fad? As of late, the S.E.C. has filed charges against Binance and Coinbase for money laundering and not registering as a broker. Will these two companies be heading for the crypto junk pile to join FTX? supporting links 1. Majority of Americans aren’t confident in cryptocurrency [Pew Research Center] 2. The 2023 Crypto Crime Report [Chainalysis] 3. Cryptocurrencies in Household Finance [Michael Weber Survey] 4. Crypto Glossary [CoinD...

Over the past two years, we had to deal with COVID-19 and all of the underpinnings it brought with it. As we started walking out of this virus nightmare, our society had time to rethink what they wanted in their work-life during those two long years. Part of that rethinking was a new definition of the typical workweek and where. supporting links 1. A four-day workweek: is it really worth it? [Breathe] 2. The five-day workweek is dead [Vox] 3. The 4-day week is flawed. Workers still want it [WIR...

American shoppers, in part, contributed to the breaking of the Supply Chain. The USA is a nation of impatient consumers. We’re geared that anything can be delivered to our homes, 24 by 7, with the click of a mouse button. COVID only exasperated the situation. We have more inventory in our homes than we need due in part to Jeff Bezos convincing us we can have delivery tomorrow. supporting links 1. Building a More Resilient Supply Chain [Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency] 2. Lessons ...