Elon Musk’s business relationship with the Pentagon is going strong. SpaceX just scored its first defense contract from the U.S. Space Force, giving Musk more control over on-off switches (see: Ukraine). We’ll get into the potential consequences of having a single private citizen like Musk so entangled in geopolitics. Plus, welcome home, astronaut Frank Rubio, and bye-bye panda cams?
Here’s everything we talked about today:
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When substances are legal but dangerous
The federal budget loop de loop
The risky business of bitcoin ETFs
The death of social media as we know it
Let’s talk about privilege in the workplace
From “Million Bazillion”: What’s a recession?
The new in-space economy (rerun)
Who benefits from the welfare-to-work system?
A U.S. history lesson through food (rerun)
The real costs of reality TV
Where’s the (lab-grown) beef? (rerun)
How technology can help solve the water crisis in the West
The dirty side of the fast-fashion business (rerun)
And that’s a wrap on 2023
The battle over aid to Ukraine
Taking the pulse of the U.S. bond market
What is MAGAnomics, actually?
Millennial mom dread
Economics on Tap: Wastewater beer edition
COP28’s big question: who should pay for the climate crisis?
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