Make Me Smart September 16, 2022 transcript

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Amy Scott: I am enough. I am enough.

Kimberly Adams: You are enough.

Amy Scott: Uh-oh, they heard the mantra.

Kimberly Adams: Goodness gracious. Hello everyone. I am Kimberly Adams and welcome to Make Me Smart, where none of us is as smart as all of us. And we also try to make today make sense, all those things, together.

Amy Scott: And I’m Amy Scott in today for Kai Ryssdal. Thanks to everyone for joining us on the YouTube live stream and on the podcast. And today is of course economics on tap. We’re going to do the news fix and then play a game. But first Kimberly, what are you drinking?

Kimberly Adams: Oh, I am having a lovely black tea with mint right now. Just because I was in the mood for something warm and soothing and you know me, I’m like ready for autumn, so I’ve got like, ramping my cold weather warm drink repertoire backup, and so I am having black tea with mint. Let’s see what folks are drinking in the Discord. Oh, everybody says Hello Amy and that your closet is awesome. We’ve got a … with brown sugar that Michael is drinking. Let’s see. Les is drinking a Marg like drink of reposado tequila spiced up… Is that how you say it? I think that’s right. Preceded by some other things. Anyway, it’s been that kind of day. You know what? It has. Like Amy and I were just talking about like everybody has had like a day. Tequila neat in the YouTube chat that Sarah is drinking. Yes. Oh, a black Manhattan with… That sounds delicious, yes. Yellow rose smash IPA and the KPA glass, Michael? Love it. Debbie’s worried about me being negatively impacted by caffeine later in the day. Well, it’s okay. Because since I missed my train this morning, I have to get on a train tonight. So I need the caffeine.

Amy Scott: Oh no. That’s nice of Debbie though, to be thinking of you and your sleep. Thank you. I’ve got a cocktail in a can myself. This is a Vodka Soto blueberry…

Kimberly Adams: It’s blocking your face. I can’t see you face, Amy.

Amy Scott: That’s how it gets into my mouth. Kimberly. Block my face first.

Kimberly Adams: Fair, very fair. All right. Well, since you’re the one who has the booze, I’ll let you go first with the news fix.

Amy Scott: Okay. All right. Well, mine’s kind of light today. You know, there was a lot of big news this week. And I decided to go a little bit small news. But it’s kind of a changing of the guard story. The Phantom of the Opera is closing.

Kimberly Adams: I totally thought this was about to be a royal story.

Amy Scott: Yeah, I could see why you’d might think that I was going that way. But now the the longest running show on Broadway is closing. The New York Post first reported this and then the times confirmed that the last show will be in February. This is after 35 years. So I think it was 1987 it opened. It was the first show I ever saw on Broadway when I was like 15. I didn’t even like it then.

Kimberly Adams: Oh.

Amy Scott: I mean, I’m not a musical theater fan. I don’t want to like go there per se. But the cast, the crew in the orchestra were told today. And apparently the show just hasn’t done very well since coming back from the pandemic lockdown. The Post, the New York Post writer Johnny Oleksinski reported that Phantom has been losing about a million dollars a month. And he also says that this is actually probably pretty good news for the owners of the majestic theatre which he calls the best musical house on Broadway, because they can now finally freed up for other shows. Right? So you know, he said the right show there could be grossing $3 million a week rather than the $1 million that Phantom is doing. And he also says, which I think is interesting, Broadway’s second longest running show is the revival of Chicago. But that’s only been going 25 years. So it’s going to be a while before anybody cuts out all the Phantom. Yeah. That’s what I got.

Kimberly Adams: Wow. You know, I think that’s a great story. I was listening – I had a reason to listen to parts of that album the other day. I can’t remember why, but it reminded me, I had forgotten how very 80s it is. Like that music is so like, peak 80s synthesizers, rock opera type deal.

Amy Scott: And the organ.

Kimberly Adams: Yeah, and that would just absolutely not resonate with a lot of the youths today. And like, it was, you know, kind of like for grownups when we were kids, and then we watched it because, you know, they did, but yeah.

Amy Scott: Maybe there’ll be a come back some day. Nothing wrong with the 80s. Except maybe some of the music and the shoulder pads. I think we could do without the shoulder pads.

Kimberly Adams: No, I think the shoulder pads are back now in certain circumstances. Yes?

Amy Scott: Well, maybe for the youths. Not for this middle aged lady. All right. What’s yours, Kimberly?

Kimberly Adams: I have another fun story. Like you said, it’s been kind of a rough week. And so I also did my – Oh, some someone complimented me on my nails and lipstick. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it. I also wanted something fun today and was gifted this by the Washington Post this morning, where they have this wonderful story, where one of their reporters in Chicago attempted to recreate the day from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. And they went to –

Amy Scott: Oh my god, speaking of the 80s!

Kimberly Adams: Yes, speaking of the 80s. They went to all the different spots. They went to the museum, they went to the Cubs game. They literally ended up riding on a float in the same parade that Ferris Bueller was in a float in the movie? And so she talks about, yeah, and people were shouting like, save Ferris and all these things because they dressed up in costumes. And they kept running into other people who were dressed like the three characters at these different spots. Because I guess this is a thing people do. Anyway, it’s a lot of fun and there are photos. And it, you know, makes me want to go to Chicago almost. As a St. Louisan that’s, you know.

Amy Scott: That’s the best assignment ever. I’m wondering if my kids are old enough to watch Ferris Bueller yet. I don’t remember how much adult content is in there. But it was so, it was so crucial for my childhood that I would love for them to see it.

Kimberly Adams: Hmm. I don’t know. I can’t remember. It’s been a while since I’ve watched so I don’t –

Amy Scott: I feel like there might be an F bomb or something. Bueller?

Kimberly Adams: I’m sure that they’ve heard it by now. Amy.

Amy Scott: You think? Maybe just this morning? Yeah. Anyway.

Kimberly Adams: All right. That’s great. Let’s see everybody else loves Ferris Bueller. Wonderful. Okay.

Amy Scott: There we go. Did I miss my cue?

Kimberly Adams: It was your line, Amy. I was trying to like give you space.

Amy Scott: Turn the page, Amy. Turn the page.

Kimberly Adams: Oh, okay. Well, this is half full half empty. The game hosted by the one, the only, Drew Jostad. And drew, your up?

Drew Jostad: Hey, everybody. Are you half full or half empty on buying a smartphone that doubles as a satellite phone?

Kimberly Adams: I love your face. Amy. We did this story on tech. Apple’s new iPhones have this feature to allow them to connect to satellites to send messages in an emergency. And, you know, satellite phones have been around for decades, but they’ve been like big and clunky, or a separate device. And a lot of the satellite phones now are a bit smaller. But still, it’s like you are gonna pay for a separate device, and then the monthly fees and everything like that. And so Apple is now, you know, it’s like an SOS feature basically, where if you’re stuck out in the wilderness somewhere and you need to alert for help. But there have been other companies that have, you know, launched satellites to try to just give regular cell service. But hopping over this barrier between getting your regular cell phones to connect to satellites is a thing that people been working on for a while. So Apple is starting to roll out some infrastructure there. I am gonna go half full on this. I actually can imagine a future where satellite connectivity for phones is a lot more common than it is. The expert we talked to on Tech says it’s never going to fully replace like cellular networks, but you know, sure.

Amy Scott: Yeah, I would say I’m half full too. I have, you know, been on the receiving end of sat phone calls. And it’s a little awkward, there’s a delay, you have to like, stop and wait, kind of like on the Comrex. Kimberly, we know how this works. But my husband is a landscape photographer, and he goes to a lot of remote places. And so if it were easier for him to call me on those trips, I’m in favor. I’m sure it’s expensive. And you know, there’s the whole issue of how many satellites are we going to have in our night skies, you know? but I think the ability to communicate is a plus.

Kimberly Adams: I think it’s going to be free, but only for like emergency messages, not for like phone calls. But you know, maybe one day. Anyway. Okay, what’s next, Drew?

Drew Jostad: Half full or half empty on utilities avoiding grid failures with cell phone alerts?

Kimberly Adams: I can tell you this idea. This is like old tech. Just get going, I love this, thank you Drew – and the wonderful other people who pick the half full half empty topics. So during this California Heatwave, they basically pushed out this text alert saying, you know, we’re at peak capacity, please turn off your stuff, or we’re going to have some blackouts. And people did it. And usage dropped in a major way. And they didn’t have to have blackouts at that particular juncture. And so, this is sort of being added to the toolbox of ways to try to prevent the grid from you know, failing or them having to schedule blackouts or whatever. But I’m gonna go half empty, actually, on this, because just like Margie says in the YouTube chat, it helped this time, but this can’t be the solution. And I feel like this is one of those things where people will become desensitized to it if it happens a lot. And so, yeah.

Amy Scott: Yeah. Okay, I’m gonna go half full, because, just because. I think that if people respond, you know, that’s great, but obviously can’t be the only solution to fixing the grid. There are way more problems than that. But I think, you know, when I get an official alert of some kind, I tend to respond. And, you know, so it’s a little different than some of the other noise that comes across our phones, shall we say?

Kimberly Adams: Yeah, I mean, like, I definitely respond if it’s an Amber Alert or something like that. And I’ll like start scanning all the cars around and things like that. But send me a tornado warning, and I’ll laugh in Midwesterner, you know? It’s like…

Amy Scott: Oh, my gosh, you are? Yeah, I go straight for the basement. I’m not taking up chance.

Kimberly Adams: … saying this may work in California, but in Texas, they’ll just turn down their thermostats to get in before the rush.

Amy Scott: Ah, interesting. Not all states respond the same way.

Drew Jostad: Next up, half full or half empty on points based attendance policies?

Kimberly Adams: I’m guessing this one…

Amy Scott: Why are you not asking me anything I know this week. This is really funny.

Drew Jostad: As Kimberly said…

Amy Scott: I’ve been listening to the show! What’s point based attendance? Are you talking about school?

Drew Jostad: No, this is for workplaces. This was one of the main sticking points in the rail rate negotiations that you basically have a certain number of points that you either, some businesses do it where you lose a point when you miss a day, and some people do it where you gain a point when you missed a day. But the upshot is when you get to a certain level, there’s disciplinary action. And that some people were basically having to forego funerals and things like that, because they didn’t have enough points.

Amy Scott: They didn’t have enough points? Gosh.

Kimberly Adams: I’m gonna go half empty. This does not seem – like just based on that one example that you gave, it seems bad. I’d have to look into it more, but I’m leaning towards half empty.

Amy Scott: Yeah, I would say same. Anything that’s like nickel and diming in the workplace is pretty bad for morale. I mean, I know you got to clock your hours and get, you know. But I think that can be, that people can feel pretty rigidly when you treat them that way.

Kimberly Adams: Or they just quit.

Amy Scott: Yeah. Or they quit. Right. In this job market?

Kimberly Adams: Yeah, it’s like no thank you. All right. Okay, Drew. What’s next?

Drew Jostad: Are you familiar with Kourtney Kardashian’s new fashion line?

Amy Scott: Next in, stumped.

Kimberly Adams: I’m just gonna default to empty. Just default.

Drew Jostad: Apparently there was a…

Amy Scott: Kardashian was mentioned? Empty.

Drew Jostad: With a company called Boohoo, which is the first I’m hearing from them. That’s supposedly a more sustainable fashion line from Kourtney Kardashian. But the launch did not go well. Well, sustainable is good, I guess. Yeah. I mean. But I have to abstain from this particular question. I just don’t know.

Kimberly Adams: I don’t care. Next,

Drew Jostad: Seems like that topic was specifically calibrated to have none of us care.

Amy Scott: Maybe they were hoping for something sarcastic.

Drew Jostad: Okay, there’s a trend of younger people using Tiktok as their primary search engine. Are you half full?

Amy Scott: Oh, I know this one! I know this one!

Kimberly Adams: Go Amy.

Amy Scott: Um, well, I don’t really care again. But I think it’s interesting that young people are finding ways around Google’s dominance. I think, you know, all apps should be easily searchable, because we do learn a lot from interacting with them. And, you know, I do. I’m trying to find a tweet that I saw that I wanted to go back and check out, it can be impossible. So I’d love to know how they’re searching Tiktok and how effective it is. But I think it’s cool that they’re using their information sources in creative ways.

Kimberly Adams: I’m gonna, I’m really torn on this one. Because on the one hand, I love the idea of getting information from lots of different places and the news being presented to people and the way that they like to consume it. And so if you’re on Tiktok anyway, you know, get news in that way. But the opportunities there for mis- and disinformation and the lack of vetting and how are you like, verifying that this stuff is true makes me worried. Yeah, just gonna go half.

Amy Scott: If you’re searching for like, how to make chocolate chip cookies, it’s probably pretty safe. But yeah.

Kimberly Adams: I want to know, I want to know what Drew thinks of this one. Drew, what do you think?

Drew Jostad: Already hit the button, man.

Kimberly Adams: That’s okay. We can do anything.

Amy Scott: You can still have an opinion.

Drew Jostad: Well, I have seen plenty of videos of people breaking down how such and such viral Tiktok is complete garbage. Like it’s basically staged for hits. You know, it’s basically staged to go viral. So I mean, what you said made a lot of sense about not necessarily thinking though, that Google is like, much better, though. So yeah, I don’t know.

Kimberly Adams: I mean, there are other options. Lots of them. Alright, that is all we have for today. I’m glad we kept it light for once, and Kai and I will be back on Monday. So if you have questions that you want us to answer for “Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday”, in particular, we’re starting to, you know, run out of questions y’all. You got to write in, expand your minds. Tell us what you want to know. Especially if they are economy, business, or tech related. You can send those our way.

Amy Scott: And our email is makemesmart@marketplace.org. You can also leave us a voice message. We’re at 508-827-6278. That’s 508-U-B-SMART.

Drew Jostad: letter U letter B.

Amy Scott: Did I not say that?

Kimberly Adams: That’s the glories of post production. Make Me Smart is produced by Marissa Cabrera. Today’s episode was engineered by Drew Jostad and also, I guess fact checked with senior producer Bridget Bodnar.

Amy Scott: The team behind the YouTube live stream and our Friday game is Mel Rosenberg and Emily Macune, with theme music written by Drew Jostad. The director of on demand is Donna Tam.

Kimberly Adams: Drew, everyone wants to know if you’re on Tik Tok, which you must be if you know about all these things, but will you share your handle? Yeah, strategic silence.

Amy Scott: I’m gonna Google that one.

Kimberly Adams: No, you have to search for it on TikTok.

Drew Jostad: No, I’m not on TikTok.