Hey smarties! We’re on a break for the holidays and revisiting some of our top episodes from 2024. We can’t do this show without you and we still need your support. If you can, donate today to keep independent journalism going strong into 2025 and beyond. Give now to support “Make Me Smart.” Thank you so much for your generosity, happy holidays and we’ll see you in the new year.

Today we’re talking about food. Specifically, Big Food. In his book, “Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America’s Food Industry,” Austin Frerick, agricultural and antitrust policy fellow at Yale, argues the food system is the most consolidated sector in the United States. On the show today, Frerick explains how the American food system became so concentrated, how that’s inflated prices and eroded quality, and what we should do about it. Plus, Walmart’s role as king of grocery kings.

Then, we’ll get into why Boeing can’t keep up with SpaceX. And, an expert on youth mental health (and former guest on “Make Me Smart”) was wrong about how teens curate their social media feeds.

Here’s everything else we talked about today:

• “Lax Antitrust Enforcement Imperils The Nation’s Supply Chains” from Forbes
• “What Is “Big Ag,” and Why Should You Be Worried About Them?” from Union of Concerned Scientists
• “The problem with growing corporate concentration and power in the global food system” from Nature Food
• “Major retailers are offering summer deals to entice inflation-weary shoppers” from AP News
• “US Consumer Confidence Rises for First Time in Four Months” from Bloomberg
• “Inflation now means high prices, not just rising costs” from Axios
• “What do Americans think about inflation?” from The Brookings Institution
• “Boeing Prepared to Fly Crewed Space Taxi With Helium Leak” from Bloomberg

We love to hear from you. Send your questions and comments to makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

Hey Smarties! We’re on a break for the holidays and revisiting some of our top episodes from 2024. We can’t do this show without you and we still need your support. If you can, donate today to keep independent journalism going strong into 2025 and beyond. Give now to support “Make Me Smart.” Thank you so much for your generosity, happy holidays and we’ll see you in the new year.

If you’ve been feeling hopeless about the news, the election, the economy, the climate crisis and everything else that’s going on, today’s episode is for you. Emily Amick, lawyer and co-author of “Democracy in Retrograde: How to Make Changes Big and Small in Our Country and in Our Lives,” argues we can all become better participants in our democracy. And we don’t need to have a gazillion dollars to do it. On the show today, Amick explains why we should treat civic engagement as self-care, how to find your civic personality and ways to cultivate a news diet that doesn’t put you in a doom loop. Plus, the moment she realized our democracy was headed in the wrong direction.

Then, we’ll get into how voters in Utah fought to protect the power of citizen-led ballot initiatives and why shoppers hide purchases from their romantic partners. Plus, an anime cosplayer was wrong about what it would take to create her own costume.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “Despite Recent Setbacks, There Is Still Hope For Democracy” from Forbes
• “In ‘Democracy in Retrograde,’ Emily Amick Talks About Political Engagement and Her Cancer Diagnosis” from Teen Vogue
• “What does Utah’s redistricting ruling do to voters’ ability to change laws?” from The Salt Lake Tribune
• “Utah Supreme Court: Lawmakers must heed voter-passed gerrymandering reforms “ from Axios Salt Lake City
• “Amazon’s Prime Day a ‘major’ cause of worker injuries, Senate probe finds” from CNBC
• “US Retail Sales Excluding Autos Rise by Most in Three Months” from Bloomberg
• “Gym Bags, Trunks, Back Doors: How Stealth Shoppers Hide Purchases” from The Wall Street Journal
• “Financial Infidelity Report 2023: Why People Hide Purchases From Partners” from Circuit
• “Inside a UPS warehouse that prioritizes super-fast shipping” from Marketplace

How are you getting involved in civic life? What helps you fend off feelings of hopelessness? Let us know at makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

For our final episode of 2024, we’re throwing a holiday party with music, festive hats, drinks and a game. But we can’t forget about the news. The incoming Donald Trump administration is looking into the feasibility of eliminating the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. We’ll get into it. And, we’ll unpack the public rage over the United States healthcare system that dominated the news this week. Plus, how much do our hosts remember about the biggest business headlines of the year?

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “Trump Advisers Seek to Shrink or Eliminate Bank Regulators” from The Wall Street Journal
• Opinion | “UnitedHealth Group C.E.O.: Brian Thompson Was Never Content With the Status Quo” from The New York Times
• “UnitedHealth Limits Access to Key Treatment for Kids With Autism” from ProPublica
• “Boeing’s year of turbulence in five charts” from Reuters
• “Why TikTok Faces a U.S. Ban, and What’s Next?” from The New York Times
• “CrowdStrike outage: We finally know what caused it – and how much it cost” from CNN Business
• “SpaceX Polaris Dawn astronauts perform historic 1st private spacewalk in orbit” from Space
• “US ties China in Paris Olympics gold medal count after Americans’ women’s hoops win” from AP News

We’ll be back with new episodes in 2025! In the meantime, you can email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

A group of lawmakers have introduced legislation that would break up health care conglomerates, aiming to rein in the power of pharmacy benefit managers. We’ll explain what PBMs do and why all sides of the health care industry are pointing fingers at one another over high costs. And, we’ll get into how the future of the Trump-era tax cuts could impact the federal deficit and why General Motors is ditching its robotaxi business. Plus, now’s your chance to talk with an AI Santa Claus.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “Yellen Talks Russia Sanctions, Tariffs and Deficit” from Bloomberg via YouTube
• “Yellen says Trump’s tariffs could derail US inflation progress, raise costs” from Reuters
• “Senators Warren and Hawley introduce a bipartisan bill to break up pharmacy-benefit managers” from CNBC via YouTube
• “Elizabeth Warren, Josh Hawley Co-Sponsor Bill to Break Up Giant Health Care Conglomerates” from The New York Times
• “What is a pharmacy benefit manager, anyway?” from Marketplace
• “GM to stop funding troubled Cruise autonomous vehicle unit, abandoning robotaxis” from CBS San Francisco
• “GM to Shut Down Its Cruise Robotaxi Project” from The New York Times
• “OpenAI introduces ‘Santa Mode’ to ChatGPT for ho-ho-ho voice chats” from Ars Technica

Tomorrow is our last episode of the year! Join us for our annual holiday party on “Economics on Tap.” The YouTube livestream starts at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time, 6:30 p.m. Eastern.

Some states are trying to lure companies seeking to move their headquarters by offering a slew of financial perks. We’ll explain how these big relocations can impact local economies and the businesses themselves. And, the House of Representatives passed a defense bill that would restrict transgender medical care for children covered by the military’s health program. We’ll unpack how federal funding for health care can be used as a powerful political tool. Plus, do you dread winter? We’ll get into some tips for embracing the season.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “Transgender Provision Injects Tension Into Defense Vote” from The Wall Street Journal
• “Will Democrats Let the GOP Gut Trans Health Care?” from Rolling Stone
• “Brace for a Nationwide Shuffle of Corporate Headquarters” from Bloomberg
• “9 Ways to Embrace Winter — Even if You Think You Hate It” from Time
• “New Jersey Politician Fakes Spotify Wrapped to Show All Springsteen Songs” from The New York Times

We love to hear from you. Email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

Before this year’s election, Heather Cox Richardson, a historian at Boston College, joined “Make Me Smart” live in Boston to unpack the high stakes for our economy and democracy. Now that the election is over and the transition to a second Donald Trump administration is underway, we’re following up.

On the show today, Richardson weighs in on the election aftermath. She explains how the current media environment in the United States played into the election, how economic narratives have influenced American politics throughout history, and what the past can tell us about how President-elect Trump might brand his economic agenda while in office.

Then, we’ll get into the bipartisan effort to add federal judges that’s suddenly falling apart. And, author Evan Schwartz was wrong about the inspiration behind L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “December 9, 2024” from “Letters from an American”
• “What Donald Trump’s Win Means for the Economy” from Time
• Opinion: “Voters prefer Harris’s agenda to Trump’s — they just don’t realize it. Take our quiz.” from The Washington Post
• “On Issue After Issue, Trump Promises the Moon. No Word on the Rocket.” from The New York Times
• “Biden special envoy for hostages is in Beirut in search of Austin Tice” from The Washington Post
• “House sets up vote on bill to add dozens of new federal judgeships” from Roll Call
• “Ernst, Under MAGA Pressure, Signals Backing for Hegseth’s Pentagon Bid” from The New York Times

Power the show with a donation today and don’t forget to pick up one of our thank you gifts at a discount. Head to marketplace.org/givesmart.

A person of interest in the killing of UnitedHealthcare Chief Executive Brian Thompson was arrested today. We’ll get into the public’s reaction to the killing and what it says about our for-profit health system. Plus, we discuss the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in U.S. history, which is projected to take place over the next 25 years. And, Dick Van Dyke has us smiling as he waltzes into his 99th birthday.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “Live Updates: Police Identify ‘Strong Person of Interest’ in C.E.O.’s Killing” from The New York Times

• “Suspect in fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson ID’d as Luigi Mangione, an ex-Ivy League student” from New York Post

• “Manhunt for UnitedHealthcare CEO Killer Meets Unexpected Obstacle: Sympathy for the Gunman” from The Wall Street Journal

• “A $105 Trillion Inheritance Windfall Is On the Way for US Heirs” from Bloomberg

• “Dick Van Dyke, Approaching 99, Dances in Coldplay’s Latest Video” from The New York Times

• “Biden says U.S. government believes Austin Tice is alive in Syria” from Axios

We love to hear from you. Email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

NASA is pushing back its highly anticipated Artemis 2 mission from September 2025 to April 2026. It will be the first crewed mission to the moon since 1972. We’ll unpack NASA’s setbacks. Plus, momentum is building for a TikTok ban. And the hosts share their thoughts on the word of the year in a round of Half Full / Half Empty!

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “NASA delays Artemis 2 moon mission to 2026, Artemis 3 astronaut landing to mid-2027” from Space
• “Trump Defends His Imperiled Pick for Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth” from The New York Times
• “Appeals court upholds nationwide TikTok ban-or-sale law” from The Washington Post
• “TikTok advertisers stay put after US appeals court upholds law forcing sale” from Reuters
• “Bitcoin mining surge strains energy grids as miners make a fortune” from Marketplace
• “OpenAI is charging $200 a month for an exclusive version of its o1 ‘reasoning’ model” from The Verge
• “50% off! Cyber Monday deal today only! (Kidding!)” from Marketplace
• “Dolly Parton launches search for actors to play her in a new Broadway musical” from USA Today
• “‘Brain rot’ is the Oxford University Press word of the year” from AP News

We love to hear from you. Email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.