A lot of sci-fi is dystopian. Solarpunk flips that on its head. The subgenre imagines a brighter future where humans have fostered a better relationship with technology, the environment, and each other, in spite of climate disaster. On today’s show, writer and academic Phoebe Wagner joins Kimberly to make us smart about solarpunk, its connection to the green energy transition, and why you should check it out if you want to shake off climate doom.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "Solarpunk: A Container for More Fertile Futures" from Solarpunk Magazine
• "Tired of Dystopian Sci-Fi? You Might Like Solarpunk." from Mother Jones
• "Sunshine and Seedlings" from Hydroponic Trash
• "Underground" from Tractor Beam
• Chobani ad on YouTube

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A series of suspiciously well-timed Iran war bets placed on Polymarket have revived concerns about insider trading on prediction markets. But enforcement is something of a gray area. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino joins Kimberly to explain the relatively recent history of insider trading laws at the CFTC and what it could mean for prediction market platforms. Plus, the debate over whether insider trading on these markets is actually a good thing.

Doorbell cameras, license plate readers, and social media platforms are just a few of the tech products that make up an ever-growing surveillance network in the United States. ICE’s use of surveillance tools as part of its immigration crackdown has brought that into focus. On today’s show, Kimberly talks with investigative journalist and co-founder of 404 Media Joseph Cox about the growth of the American surveillance state and simple steps you can take to protect your privacy.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "With Ring, American Consumers Built a Surveillance Dragnet" from 404 Media
• "Surveillance company Flock generates controversy, and L.A. customers" from The L.A. Times
• "Ring Ends Deal to Link Neighborhood Cameras After Backlash to Super Bowl Ad" from The New York Times
• "All the Ways Big Tech Fuels ICE and CBP" from Wired
• "Inside a Powerful Database ICE Uses to Identify and Deport People" from 404 Media

We love hearing from you. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email makemesmart@marketplace.org.

This week’s launch of Artemis II marked the first crewed mission to the moon in over 50 years. This time around, the spaceflight industry looks pretty different, with private companies playing a more dominant role. On today’s show, Kimberly gets into the future of NASA and the commercial space sector with Ars Technica’s senior space editor Eric Berger. Plus, why are we going back to the moon, anyway?

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "Artemis II is unlikely to be the cultural touchstone Apollo 8 was, and that's OK" from Ars Technica
• "Isaacman aims to reinvigorate NASA’s image, starting with the moon" from Politico
• "Trump FY2027 NASA Budget Supports Moon Missions, But Cuts Everything Else" from SpacePolicyOnline.com
• "Big Banks Seeking a Piece of SpaceX’s I.P.O. Must Subscribe to Elon Musk’s Grok" from The New York Times
• "SpaceX quietly files for big bang IPO" from SpaceNews
• "Artemis II: What's on the Menu?" from NASA
• "Astronaut Reid Wiseman was wrong about how rockets get to space" from Marketplace

We love hearing from you. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email makemesmart@marketplace.org.

Happy first tariff-versary? Despite the fact that many of President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs were recently struck down, small businesses across the country are still dealing with the aftermath. On today’s show, Kimberly talks with two small business owners: Justine Kahn, founder of Botnia Skincare in Sausalito, CA and Will Sissle, owner of Sissle & Daughters Cheesemongers & Grocers in Portland, ME, about how they’ve navigated a year of tariffs.

Last week, at a time when the war with Iran has been roiling global energy markets, executives from energy companies all over the world gathered for CERAWeek, the “Super Bowl” of energy conferences. But as Marketplace’s Elizabeth Trovall tells us, conflict in the Middle East wasn’t the only hot topic there. Trovall joins Kimberly to discuss how the energy sector is confronting a wide range of disruptions, from geopolitics to technology.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "At "Super Bowl of the energy industry," war in the Middle East is the hot topic" from Marketplace
• "Gas prices eclipse $4 a gallon in the US, the highest since 2022" from AP News
• "How Blocking Oil and Gas From Leaving the Strait of Hormuz Ripples Around the World" from The New York Times
• "Venezuela oil production has reached 1.1 mln bpd in March" from Reuters
• "Energy demand from AI " from the International Energy Agency

Got a question about the Iran war and its impact on the global economy? Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email makemesmart@marketplace.org.

It’s peak bloom in Washington, D.C.! Cherry blossom viewing is deeply rooted in Japanese culture, and it goes hand-in-hand with enjoying Japan’s national beverage: sake. On today’s show, Kimberly is joined by Reiko Hirai, founder of D.C. Sake Co., to talk about the ins and outs of the sake industry and why more breweries are popping up in the United States. Oh, and we’ll taste some sake too!

Here’s everything we talked about:

• "Hanami - Cherry Blossom Festival" from the U.S. National Park Service
• "Sake brewers toast big rise in global sales" from BBC News
• "American Sake Is Having a Major Moment" from Bloomberg

• "How to Drink Sake, According to Pros" from Wine Enthusiast

  
  

  https://www.instagram.com/p/DI0C02mRKbB/

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The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the war with Iran is having all sorts of effects on energy markets and the flow of other commodities—like fertilizer. Roughly one third of the world’s fertilizer passes through the narrow waterway in the Persian Gulf. On today’s show, the Council on Foreign Relations’ Michael Werz joins Kimberly to make the case that the ongoing disruption to the fertilizer trade is causing a chain reaction that could raise food prices and intensify humanitarian crises across the globe.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "The Iran War’s Hidden Front: Food, Water, and Fertilizer" from the Council on Foreign Relations
• "The Iran War’s Other Energy Shortage—Food" from The Wall Street Journal
• "Energy shock talk grabs headlines but the Iran war is also driving the world towards a food crisis" from The Guardian
• "Russia reaps fertiliser windfall from Iran war" from The Financial Times

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