Business & Economy

Goldstein's 2020 book, Money: The True Story of a Made Up Thing, traces the history and meaning of money, including the role of the Federal Reserve in regulating the U.S. economy.

A hard look at one of the world’s leading management consultants, McKinsey & Company. Though the firm says it‘s values-driven, investigative reporters Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe find it’s made millions from ethically questionable work, helping clients increase profits by harming workers and consumers. Their book is When McKinsey Comes to Town.

The folk singer, who died in 2014, was famous for his songs about working people, unions and social justice. In this 1984 interview, Seeger cited Woody Guthrie as one his most important influences.

Nina Jankowicz was tapped to head the Biden administration's new Disinformation Governance Board but resigned after being deluged with online threats. Her new book is How to Be a Woman Online.

A 91-year-old billionaire sits atop a global media empire, while his adult children vie to control the family company in the next generation.

It sounds like the plot of the HBO series Succession, but New York Times journalist Jim Rutenberg says the real-life drama involving Fox News founder Rupert Murdoch and his children, Lachlan, James, Elisabeth and Prudence, rivals anything a screenwriter could dream up.

Today's Hollywood blockbusters are specifically being crafted to appeal to Chinese audiences — and pass muster with the Chinese government — according to Wall Street Journal reporter Erich Schwartzel.

Petersen and her partner and co-author, Charlie Warzel, make the case that the pandemic has created a rare opportunity to rethink the shape of work life — including the 9-to-5 workday.

Journalist Jerry Knight has been covering the Savings & Loan Crisis for the Washington Post. He'll talk about the predicted bank closings that will probably occur in early 1993 triggered by a federal law that goes into affect December 19. The law requires that federal regulators take over failing banks when their financial problems "reach the point of no return." There are 1,000 banks on the FDIC's "problem bank list." The issue was brought up in last night's presidential debate.

Former president of NBC Entertainment Brandon Tartikoff was the youngest person to hold that position. While there, he was responsible for such hit series as "The Cosby Show," "Cheers," "Miami Vice," and "Hill Street Blues." Now Tartikoff is chairman at Paramount Pictures. He has a new book about his NBC years, called "The Last Great Ride."

Greg Miller of The Washington Post is part of the team that sifted through millions of documents to reveal how dictators, oligarchs, drug dealers and others hide assets in secret accounts.

For his new book, Dirty Work, Eyal Press interviewed people working punishingly difficult jobs — slaughterhouse employees, correctional officers, oil rig workers, military drone operators. He writes that these workers often do jobs that many of us believe we benefit from — in the form of lower prices, safer streets or cheaper energy — but don't really want to think about.

Popeil, who died July 28, was an infomercial pioneer whose products included the Chop-O-Matic, the Veg-O-Matic, the smokeless ashtray and many other household gadgets. Originally broadcast in 1996.

One of this year's surprise hits has been the Netflix series "Lupin," which stars French actor Omar Sy as a likeable and brilliant thief who's out to avenge the railroading of his father. The second season of "Lupin" is streaming now. And our critic-at-large, John Powers, says that it isn't just exciting but clever in its way of taking something old and making it feel new.

Investigative journalist Michael Moss's 2013 book, Salt Sugar Fat, explored food companies' aggressive marketing of those products and their impact on our health. In his new book, Hooked, Moss updates the food giants' efforts to keep us eating what they serve — and how they're responding to complaints from consumers and health advocates.

Actor Courtney B. Vance plays Rev. Franklin in the National Geographic series, "Genius: Aretha," now streaming on Hulu.

The story of the Sackler dynasty--the family that owns Purdue Pharma, which created oxycontin, the drug marketed to relieve acute and chronic pain, that played a major role in creating the opioid epidemic. Patrick Radden Keefe's new book is Empire of Pain. It’s based in part on leaked documents and private emails that reveal the Sacklers knew about how addictive oxycontin is--before they admitted it, and they used deceptive practices to keep selling more of the drug.

Journalist Alec MacGillis writes about Amazon's growing impact on American life in his new book, Fulfillment: Winning and Losing in One-Click America.

The travails of immigrant life take a quietly beguiling form in Minari, a semi-autobiographical film by Lee Isaac Chung that brims with humor, humanity and hope.

Author Heather McGhee draws on a wealth of economic data to make the case that discriminatory laws and practices that target African Americans also negatively impact society at large.

New York Times reporter Jim Tankersley discusses Biden's proposed $1.9 trillion economic stimulus/pandemic relief package — as well as his plans for infrastructure work and clean energy investment.