There’s a behind the scenes industry that helps big brands decide questions like: How big should a bag of chips be? What’s the right sizeRead More »What's with all the tiny soda cans? And other grocery store mysteries, solved.

Graphite is sort of the one-hit wonder of minerals. And that hit? Pencils. Everyone loves to talk about pencils when it comes to graphite. IfRead More »Bringing a tariff to a graphite fight

Most economic textbooks will tell you that there can be real dangers in running up a big national debt. A major concern is how theRead More »How much national debt is too much?

For thousands of years, getting light was a huge hassle. You had to make candles from scratch. This is not as romantic as it sounds.Read More »The history of light (classic)

There is a constant arms race between law enforcement and criminals, especially when it comes to technology. For years, law enforcement has been frustrated withRead More »How the FBI's fake cell phone company put criminals into real jail cells

We are living in a kind of golden age for online fraudsters. As the number of apps and services for storing and sending money hasRead More »So you've been scammed, now what?

On today’s episode, we ride through the streets of San Francisco with a long-time junkman, Jon Rolston. Jon has spent the last two decades clearingRead More »The junkyard economist

By one estimate, 40 percent of American workers get laid off at least once in their careers. And when that happens, companies will often say,Read More »Anatomy of a layoff