It’s been a long, complicated year. This hour, TED speakers share ideas to help you get grounded, back on track, and even edge toward something like bliss.
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AI is already reshaping how people find work. Fewer entry-level jobs, robot recruiters, and ever-changing new skill requirements all add up to a new, daunting landscape for humans trying to find dignified work.
Today on the show: two stories from the edges of a changing labor market. First we’ll assess claims that AI is causing a white collar job apocalypse. What does the data actually say? We meet an economist who has found one small but fascinating way to measure the impact of AI on workers.
Then, we go face-to-face, or at least voice-to-voice, with AI. We meet a robot recruiter for a job interview and find cause to ask, ‘When might that actually be preferable to a human recruiter?’
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The original Indicator episodes were hosted by Wailin Wong, Darian Woods, and Adrian Ma. They were produced by Cooper Katz McKim and engineered by Robert Rodriguez and Debbie Daughtry. They were fact checked by Sierra Juarez. They were edited by Paddy Hirsch and Kate Concannon.
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Taylor Swift reaches new heights with her latest album, which is both divisive and record-breaking. And it’s fueled by an elaborate series of business choices that propel profits but also chart numbers. Today’s episode comes from our friends at Today Explained, Vox’s lively, smart daily news podcast.
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This episode was hosted by Noel King. It was produced by Ariana Aspuru, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, and engineered by Adriene Lilly.
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We can’t protect what we don’t understand. From decoding wolf howls to making sense of millions of citizen-science sightings, we explore the tools helping researchers understand the wild in new ways.
TED Radio Hour+ subscribers now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and a behind the scenes look with our producers. A Plus subscription also lets you listen to regular episodes (like this one!) without sponsors. Sign-up at plus.npr.org/ted.
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Givewell is a nonprofit organization that gives money to “save or improve the most lives per dollar.” Part of their whole thing is a rigorous research process with copious and specific datapoints. So, in the chaotic wake of USAID’s gutting, they scrambled to figure out if they could fund the kind of projects USAID used to.
Today on the show: GiveWell let us in on their decision-making process, as they try to reconcile the urgency of the moment with their normal diligence. We get to watch as they decide if they can back one project, to support health facilities in Cameroon.
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This episode was hosted by Mary Childs. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Marianne McCune, fact-checked by Vito Emanuel, and engineered by Jimmy Keeley with help from Robert Rodriguez. Planet Money’s executive producer is Alex Goldmark.
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Coca-Cola is… sugar water. And somehow it’s also America, Christmas, summertime, friendship and happiness. Today we tell the story of how The Coca-Cola Company amazingly transmogrified a beverage into emotion in all of our collective psyches, and ALSO built one of the most incredible scale economy businesses of all-time. And oh yeah, there’s also cocaine, WW2, Mad Men, Warren Buffett, James Dean, Bill Cosby, Michael Jackson, Michael Ovitz, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, McDonald’s and Monsanto. So cozy up to the fire with your favorite images of Santa Claus and Polar Bears and enjoy an ice-cold episode of Acquired — always delicious, always refreshing.
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© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
- (00:00) – Start
- (00:41) – Intro
- (05:52) – Patent Medicines & the Birth of an Industry
- (12:13) – Dr. John Pemberton & the “Miracle Drug” Cocaine
- (16:40) – Creating the Secret Formula (1886)
- (22:14) – Frank Robinson’s Genius & the First Coupon
- (33:01) – Asa Candler & Building a National Brand (1890s)
- (42:11) – The $1 Bottling Deal: A Fortuitous Mistake
- (54:43) – Protecting the “Real Thing”: Lawsuits & the Contour Bottle
- (01:07:34) – Robert Woodruff: The Boss Takes Over (1923)
- (01:16:16) – Creating Lifestyle Advertising & Santa Claus
- (01:28:08) – Standardization, Gas Stations & Early Global Growth
- (01:36:49) – Pepsi: The First Real Competitor Emerges
- (01:44:51) – World War II: The Greatest Sampling Program in History
- (01:55:23) – The Cola Wars Begin & the McDonald’s Partnership (1950s)
- (02:22:08) – The Pepsi Challenge (1975)
- (02:40:08) – New Coke: The Worst Marketing Blunder Ever (1985)
- (03:07:11) – Buffett’s Investment & the “Total Beverage Company”
- (03:36:01) – Analysis: Why Did Coca-Cola Work?
- (03:41:29) – 7 Powers
- (03:48:20) – Quintessence
- (03:56:26) – Carve-Outs + Outro
Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.
Wherever consumer sentiment goes, consumer spending usually goes too. They’re like buddies that do everything together. Consumer sentiment wants a hair cut, its buddy consumer spending does too.
But lately, these friends are drifting apart.
While consumer sentiment about the economy is down … spending remains strong.
And not just that… Interest rates are still high, inflation is growing, tariffs have made the prices of goods go up. And yet, consumer spending looks good. What gives?
Today – a consumer spending mystery. Is the economy actually healthy? Or is something distorting our view of the economy?
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This episode was hosted by Sarah Gonzalez and Kenny Malone. It was produced by James Sneed. It was edited by Meg Cramer and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. It was engineered by Debbie Daughtry and Kwesi Lee. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer.
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NASA astronaut Chris Williams shares his journey exploring the early
universe, cancer treatment techniques, and astronaut training before his first mission to the International Space Station. HWHAP 403.
It’s never too late to make things right—even when cracks form within our relationships with our families, our environment…or the inevitable. This hour, TED speakers offer healing solutions.
TED Radio Hour+ subscribers now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and a behind the scenes look with our producers. A Plus subscription also lets you listen to regular episodes (like this one!) without sponsors. Sign-up at plus.npr.org/ted.
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Tariffs. They’ve been announced, unannounced, re-announced, raised and lowered. It’s an on-going saga with billions at stake!
On today’s episode, we run full-on at the twisty, turny drama of life with broad-based tariffs and tackle perhaps our most asked question: Are we, regular U.S. shoppers, feeling the tariffs yet? When we’re at the grocery store or the coffee shop, are we paying more for things because of the tariffs?
We now have the data to get a very clear answer to that question. Plus, we hear a cautionary tale from our dear colleague James Sneed, who ordered a collectible doll and wound up with a surprise tariff bill at his door.
Related episodes:
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This episode was produced by Willa Rubin and edited by Jess Jiang. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez with research help from Vito Emanuel. It was engineered by Jimmy Keeley and Maggie Luthar. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.
Music: NPR Source Audio – “Mirror,” “Remorse,” “Endless,” “Secrets,” “Schmaltzy,” “Water Mirror.”
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