

The United States Federal Government spends $38bn every year subsidising the meat and dairy industries. Research from 2015 shows this subsidisation reduces the price of Big Macs from $13 to $5 and the price of a pound of hamburger meat from $30 to...
The true cost of a hamburger

From British tea to Russian vodka
A brief history of boycotts. From government bans to customers pouring it in gutters by the gallon, Americans are saying “nyet” to Russian vodka, expressing their anger over the Kremlin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Politicians have known since the republic’s...
From British tea to Russian vodka

How the Fed painted us into a corner
The Federal Reserve System manages the US’s money supply, increasing or decreasing bank credit and other circulating media to reach a target interest rate usually announced at meetings of the Open Market Committee, which meets eight times a year. They met this week,...
How the Fed painted us into a corner

The CEO
Suppose you own a substantial number of shares – say, $500,000 worth – in Acme Corp, a manufacturer of home furnishings. And being a shareholder, you decide to attend the corporation’s annual meeting. You arrive early for a good seat, eager to hear what Acme’s...
The CEO

Small talk as the instrument of civility
Or how we make connections with strangers. A male nurse did a blood draw on me the other day and as he tied the rubber strip around my upper arm, I said, “I’ve had this done about 70 times. You’re competing against some of the best and you know that women are better...
Small talk as the instrument of civility