Business & Economics

Jones County, North Carolina is one of the over two hundred U.S. counties with no local newspaper – what researchers call a news desert.

The Salt Lake Tribune has undergone lots of changes in the recent past, but nothing like what it plans next. The newspaper announced it plans last week to become a nonprofit. What does that mean for the future of journalism in Utah?

Wednesday, we’re exploring the problem of housing affordability in Utah. With the state's high birthrate and an influx of new workers moving to the state, it’s becoming harder and more expensive to find a place to live. 

Monday, we're talking about a group of activists who snuck onto factory farms in Utah to document the living conditions of pigs and turkeys. Their actions highlight the reality of industrial meat production and the debate over animal rights.

Last week, the Salt Lake Tribune let 34 people go and announced cuts to content. Monday, editor Jennifer Napier-Pearce joins us to discuss the decisions and how they’re envisioning the way forward.

Monday, The Salt Lake Tribune newsroom lost a third of its staff through layoffs and retirement. Tuesday, we’re talking about what this means for the paper and for journalism in Utah.

Wednesday, Doug is live with reporter Rachel Monroe for a look at the world of essential oils and multi-level marketing. Monroe came to Utah to figure out how it is that essential oils became “the cure for our age of anxiety.” She says that using them and selling them isn’t just about money; these networks offer community, friendship, and an alternative to what many see as a failing medical system. But is it all it’s cracked up to be? Her article appears in the current issue of The New Yorker.

The highest paid public employee in Utah—not to mention 31 other states—is a college football coach. For the journalist Gilbert Gaul, that fact is perfect evidence of the financial powerhouse that is college pigskin. In a new book, Gaul investigates how college football programs became “giant entertainment businesses that happen to do a little education on the side.” He joins us Tuesday. We’ll also talk to the sports economist David Berri about how student athletes are affected by all of this.

GUESTS

America has valued the rewards of hard work since its founding. Even so, we’ve long anticipated a future when machines would free us from the toil of labor, and that day may be close at hand. Computer scientists and software engineers are developing technologies that could replace jobs at an exponential rate. And what then? What would our world be like without work? The journalist Derek Thompson investigates that question in a new article for The Atlantic magazine, and he joins us Wednesday to talk about it.

For 15 years, the journalist Alex Blumberg enjoyed a pretty respectable career in public radio. He was an executive producer on This American Life, and he co-hosted NPR's Planet Money podcast. Given that success, why did he quit his day job, ditch public radio, and go it alone as a business entrepreneur? Don't worry, Blumberg hasn't gone too far afield. His new pursuit: it's a podcast company. He joins us Tuesday to explain his career change and to share his story of getting a startup off the ground.