The iconic department store calls the parade its “gift to the nation.” With 30 million TV viewers, it’s also a big moneymaker — at least we think it is: when it comes to parade economics, Macy’s is famously tight-lipped. In this 2024 episode, we try to loosen them up. (Part one of a two-part series.) SOURCES:John Cheney, carpenter at Macy’s Studios.Will Coss, vice president and executive producer of Macy’s Studios.Jeff Kinney, author, cartoonist, and owner of An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café.Kevin Lynch, vice president of global helium at Messer.Jen Neal, executive vice president of live events and specials for NBCUniversal Entertainment.Tony Spring, chairman and C.E.O. of Macy’s Inc.Jessica Tisch, New York City police commissioner, former commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation.Dawn Tolson, executive director of Citywide Event Coordination and Management and the Street Activity Permit Office for the City of New York. RESOURCES:Macy’s: The Store. The Star. The Story., by Robert M. Grippo (2009).History of Macy’s of New York, 1853-1919: Chapters in the Evolution of the Department Store, by Ralph M. Hower (1943).Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. EXTRAS:"Helium," by The Economics of Everyday Things (2024). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
If you’re a parent or a teacher, you’ve probably wondered how to balance play and safety for the kids in your care. You don’t want to put children in danger, but you also don’t want to rob them of the joy of exploration. This week, we revisit a favorite conversation with psychologist Peter Gray. We'll talk about why independent play is so important to a child's development, and answer listeners' questions about the role parents, schools, and neighborhoods can play in giving kids more autonomy. In this episode, you'll learn: *The skills that children develop when they play without parental involvement. *Why American culture has shifted away from independence for children in recent decades. *The role of independent play in helping children to learn key lessons and thrive developmentally. *The simple question that parents can ask their kids to create space for more unstructured play. *How to know what's age-appropriate when it comes to independent play.*How to foster independent play in your neighborhood or community. *What schools can do to encourage unstructured opportunities for kids. Episode photo by Aisiri Iyengar on Unsplash Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
ER wait times are reaching breaking-point levels across Canada — with patients waiting hours or even days, and half a million Canadians leaving without being seen last year. Doctors warn the backlog is a symptom of a system struggling to meet basic needs, while callers describe long nights, ambulance delays and returning sicker after giving up. Our question: What’s your ER wait time story? And how is it affecting your health?
From Florida flights to Black Friday deals, Canadians are rethinking winter traditions. After months of “Elbows Up” backlash toward the U.S., travel forecasts show Canadians staying home — contributing to a projected $5.7-billion drop in U.S. tourism. But while cross-border trips slow, the Retail Council of Canada says the momentum behind “Buy Canadian” is fading. Our question: How is 'Elbows Up' changing your holiday plans?
Today on the show, we’re bringing you an episode from Our Common Nature (https://link.podtrac.com/v7mx144d), a new podcast series where cellist Yo-Yo Ma and host Ana González travel around the United States to meet people, make music and better understand how culture binds us to nature. The series features a few familiar voices, including Ana González (host) and Alan Goffinski (producer), from our kids podcast, Terrestrials (https://link.podtrac.com/vysacqn1). About the episode: West Virginia is defined by its beauty and its coal, two things that can work against each other. Yo-Yo Ma felt this as soon as stepped foot in its hills.This episode explores how music and poetry help process the emotions of a community besieged with disaster and held together by pride and duty. We travel down the Coal River with third-generation coal miner Chris Saunders, who tells us how coal has saved and threatened his life. Poet Crystal Good shares her poetry, which channels her rage and love. And musician and granddaughter of West Virginia coal miners, Kathy Mattea, explains the beauty of belting out your home state in a chorus. The end of the episode finds host Ana floating down the New River with help from a group of high schoolers and Yo-Yo Ma. Listen to the full series Our Common Nature (https://link.podtrac.com/v7mx144d). Featuring music by Yo-Yo Ma, Dom Flemons, and Kathy Mattea and poetry by Crystal Good.EPISODE CREDITS: Radiolab Bits Produced - Anisa Vietze (Radiolab bits)Signup for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org.Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
A Trump executive order is giving retail investors more access to private markets. Is that a golden opportunity — or fool’s gold? SOURCES:Elisabeth de Fontenay, professor of law at Duke University.Steven Kaplan, professor of entrepreneurship and finance at the University of Chicago. RESOURCES:"Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors," (The White House, 2025)."The (Heterogeneous) Economic Effects of Private Equity Buyouts," by Steven J. Davis, John Haltiwanger, Kyle Handley, Ben Lipsius, Josh Lerner, and Javier Miranda (Management Science, 2025)."Risk-Adjusted Returns of Private Equity Funds: A New Approach," by Arthur G. Korteweg and Stefan Nagel (The Review of Financial Studies, 2025)."The Effects of Management Buyouts on Operating Performance and Value," by Steven Kaplan (Journal of Financial Economics, 1989). EXTRAS:"The Biden Policy That Trump Hasn't Touched," by Freakonomics Radio (2025)."Should Companies Be Owned by Their Workers?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."Do You Know Who Owns Your Vet?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023)."Are Private Equity Firms Plundering the U.S. Economy?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
First up on the podcast: the mysterious fate of Europe’s Neolithic farmers. They arrived from Anatolia around 5500 B.C.E. and began farming fertile land across Europe. Five hundred years later, their buildings, cemeteries, and pottery stopped showing up in the archaeological record, and mass graves with headless bodies started to appear across the continent. Contributing Correspondent Andrew Curry talks with host Sarah Crespi about what this strange transition might mean.
Next on the show, Editor for Life Sciences Sacha Vignieri discusses recent dog research published in Science, including tracing the movement of dogs alongside ancient human populations, examining when dogs first diversified, and probing the relationship between modern dogs’ breeds and their dispositions.
This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy.
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There’s a tradition around many Thanksgiving dinner tables that’s as consistent as pumpkin pie: the family stories that get told year after year. Sometimes these stories are funny; sometimes they make us roll our eyes. No matter how we feel about them, we rarely pause to consider how these stories shape who we are and how we view the world. This week, we revisit a favorite 2024 conversation about family storytelling with psychologist Robyn Fivush. Then, in a new installment of "Your Questions Answered," Massimo Pigliucci answers listener questions about Stoicism, and why this ancient philosophy continues to resonate today.The Los Angeles stop on our live tour is almost here! Join Shankar November 22 as he shares seven key psychological insights from the show's first decade. And we're excited to share new dates for 2026. We'll be in Philadelphia on March 21 and New York City on March 25. More info and tickets here: https://www.hiddenbrain.org/tour/Episode illustration by Anna Kutukova for Unsplash+ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
