From the farm, to the lab, to our tables, what we eat and how it’s grown is changing. Agriculture contributes to global warming and is being transformed by it. This hour, a glimpse into the future of food.

Guests include chef and policy advisor Sam Kass, farmers Jim Whitaker and Jessica Whitaker Allen, biotechnologist Isha Datar and artist Sam Van Aken.

Original broadcast date: July 5, 2024.

TED Radio Hour+ listeners now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and deeper conversations with Manoush. By signing up for Plus, you directly support our work and public media, so all your episodes (like this one!) come to you without sponsor breaks. Learn more at plus.npr.org/ted

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Do you work more for more money? Or work less for more time? For some, this is the ultimate economic choice. 

Every single worker in the European Union is guaranteed four weeks of paid vacation. No matter how long they’ve been at a company. No matter how low paying the job is. Vacation is a right. 

In fact, all but one of the richest countries in the world guarantees paid vacation, except: the U.S. 

According to a 2019 study, people in Japan get 10 paid vacation days and 15 paid holidays; in Australia it’s 20 paid vacation days and 8 paid holidays; and in Spain it’s 25 paid vacation days and 14 paid holidays. 

And it’s not just a rich country thing: Mexico, Afghanistan, Thailand, Tanzania – they all guarantee paid vacation from work, at least in the formal job sector. 

In the U.S: Zero paid vacation days and zero paid holidays. 

So, why is the United States the outlier? We go to several labor economists and historians, to find out what makes Americans different from Europeans. It’s a winding journey, so maybe put in a request for some paid time off and take a listen!

Note: This episode originally ran in 2023.

Some articles we mention in this episode:

“No Vacation Nation”
“Study: A Record 768 Million U.S. Vacation Days Went Unused in ‘18, Opportunity Cost in the Billions”
“Why the US is one of only a few countries with no paid time off”

This episode was hosted by Sarah Gonzalez, produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler, edited by Jess Jiang, engineered by Maggie Luthar, and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer. 

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One family faces the Trump administration’s ban on trans people serving in the military, and responds with a surprising secret weapon.

Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.

• Prologue: Geirid and Chrissy are extreme planners. But about a year ago, they were confronted with a situation that even they had no idea how to plan for. (4 minutes)
• Act One: Geirid and Chrissy make an “in case of emergency, break glass” spreadsheet and get some big news. (14 minutes)
• Act Two: Geirid and Chrissy have less than a month to make a life-changing decision. The government gives them two options, and they try to find a third. (21 minutes)
• Act Three: A short story from Rachel Khong: Two people have a very consequential choice to make, given to them by God. (15 minutes)

Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

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If you have a credit card, hope to buy a house, or just want stable grocery prices – let’s talk about the future of Fed independence!

It’s impossibly important for the Federal Reserve to steer monetary policy without political interference – an ideal pushed to its brink during Jerome Powell’s time as Fed Chair.

Powell’s Fed faced a once-in-a-century pandemic, oversaw the economy as inflation spiked to about 9 percent … went back down to nearly 2 percent … and has started to go back up as the U.S. has gone to war and continued to try and implement the most comprehensive tariffs since the early 1900s.

But perhaps Powell will be best remembered as a target – of angry tweets, speeches, and ultimately a criminal investigation, by the very president who nominated him in the first place.

On Powell’s last day as chair, we ask where his story fits into the sweep of history. We’ll hear from someone who was on the Fed Board when Powell was appointed … and when President Trump started to pressure Powell. Plus, we learn what to watch for to see if Fed Independence is crumbling – or holding – as a new Fed Chair nominated by President Trump takes office.

Recommend Listening:

– Happy Fed Independence Day
– The case for Fed independence in the Nixon tapes
– A primer on the Federal Reserve’s independence
– Trump’s unprecedented attack on the Fed
– Should presidents have more of a say in interest rates?
– Lisa Cook and the fight for the Fed
– What happens to central banks under pressure?

Book info. / Subscribe to Planet Money+

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This episode was hosted by Kenny Malone and Erika Beras. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler, edited by Jess Jiang, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Robert Rodriguez and Cena Loffredo. Planet Money’s executive producer is Alex Goldmark. 

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NASA’s Kathleen Karika and Kim Hurst discuss how the Artemis Accords are helping shape a safe, peaceful, and prosperous future for lunar exploration and beyond. 

Why do some of us feel so tired, while others seem to have endless energy? This hour, host Manoush Zomorodi explores what science is revealing about stress, breathing, cellular energy and the body.

Guests include mitochondrial psychobiologist Martin Picard and science journalist James Nestor.

TED Radio Hour+ listeners now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and deeper conversations with Manoush. By signing up for Plus, you directly support our work and public media, so all your episodes (like this one!) come to you without sponsor breaks. Learn more at plus.npr.org/ted.

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Recently, a listener wrote in with a question about OPEC and oil prices. She was prepping for a camping trip… thinking about how much it costs to fill up her diesel-guzzling camper van at the pump. 

“It would be so awesome if you guys could do an episode explaining OPEC to us,” she emailed us. She wanted to know: why does OPEC exist? Why does it limit the supply of oil? And now that the United Arab Emirates has dropped out, what will happen to gas prices?  

We love when our listeners write in (and send us voice notes!). The simplest questions can reveal how the complicated web of the economy works.

On our latest: we answer our listener’s questions… and the questions behind those questions! 

Related episodes:
• Chevron, Venezuela and the Paradox of Plenty  

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This episode of Planet Money was produced by James Sneed with help from Willa Rubin. It was edited by Marianne McCune, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer. 

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Today the WNBA season tips off, but Dallas Wings veteran forward Alysha Clark has already won a high-stakes competition. She – and a Nobel Prize winning economist – were on the team that negotiated a ground-breaking contract for the players. And Alysha wrote all about it in her journal.

Alysha is the oldest player in the league – and when she started she was making a yearly salary of about $36,400. The players flew economy, the rookies in middle seats. They doubled up in hotel rooms. The league was just starting out, wasn’t bringing in money, and, as Alysha says, “That’s just what you got.”

Jump forward to 2025 and fans are crowding into stadiums, games are on primetime TV, and the WNBA has a 3.1 billion dollar media rights deal.  

So when the players’ contract came up for renewal, they had a once in a generation opportunity to change the future for all of women’s basketball. Maybe all of women’s sports. Today on the show, we hear Alysha’s minute by minute account of what it’s like to be a rookie doing high-stakes bargaining. It came right down to the buzzer. 

Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life is in stores now. 

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This episode was produced by Emma Peaslee and Willa Rubin. It was edited by Marianne McCune. It was fact-checked by Vito Emanuel and engineered by Jimmy Keeley and James Willets. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.

Music: NPR Source Audio – “Nights Like This,” “Funk Dive,” and “Tropical Heat”

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NASA astronaut Andre Douglas and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jenni Gibbons discuss their roles as the Artemis II backup crew, including their training and mission support. The pair reflects on the historic flight around the Moon. HWHAP 421