Promises won’t pay for climate adaptation

11/04/23 • 32 min

2 Listeners

A new United Nations report found that wealthy nations are scaling back funding for climate adaptation in developing countries, while the cost of mitigating the effects of climate change continue to grow. We’ll get into it. And, the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against Amazon revealed a secret pricing algorithm used by the company, known as Project Nessie. We’ll unpack how the algorithm has amassed huge profits for Amazon while raising prices across the board. Then, we’ll play a round of Half Full / Half Empty with guest host Amy Scott.

Here’s everything we talked about:

- “Critics: Tuberville is just the face of a ‘broken’ confirmation process” from Roll Call
- “Amazon made more than $1B using secret algorithm called ‘Project Nessie,’ FTC says” from The Hill
- “Developing countries need at least $215 billion a year for climate adaptation” from Grist
- Adaptation Gap Report 2023 from UN Environment Programme
- “Rewriting the rules for the Colorado River’s management” from Marketplace
- “Why small phones are hard to find” from Marketplace
- “Super Commuting Is on the Rise, Thanks to Flexibility of Hybrid Work” from Business Insider
- “Are your company’s cybersecurity trainings a waste of your time?” from Marketplace
- “Brains and Losses: Aging and Financial Vulnerability to Scams” from Marketplace
- “Do We Really Need Tequila From Celebrities Like Matthew McConaughey?” from Eater
- “The Beatles’ ‘Now and Then’: The Band’s ‘Last’ Song” from The New York Times

Got a question for the hosts? Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email us at [email protected].

Here’s everything we talked about:

- “Critics: Tuberville is just the face of a ‘broken’ confirmation process” from Roll Call
- “Amazon made more than $1B using secret algorithm called ‘Project Nessie,’ FTC says” from The Hill
- “Developing countries need at least $215 billion a year for climate adaptation” from Grist
- Adaptation Gap Report 2023 from UN Environment Programme
- “Rewriting the rules for the Colorado River’s management” from Marketplace
- “Why small phones are hard to find” from Marketplace
- “Super Commuting Is on the Rise, Thanks to Flexibility of Hybrid Work” from Business Insider
- “Are your company’s cybersecurity trainings a waste of your time?” from Marketplace
- “Brains and Losses: Aging and Financial Vulnerability to Scams” from Marketplace
- “Do We Really Need Tequila From Celebrities Like Matthew McConaughey?” from Eater
- “The Beatles’ ‘Now and Then’: The Band’s ‘Last’ Song” from The New York Times

Got a question for the hosts? Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email us at [email protected].

Previous Episode

AI safety takes center stage

Hey Smarties! We recorded today’s episode before the news of Sam Bankman-Fried’s conviction came out. We’ll continue to monitor the story.

This week, President Joe Biden signed a sweeping executive order on the safety of artificial intelligence, and world leaders (plus Elon Musk) met to discuss the risks of the rapidly developing technology for the first time. We’ll get into what future AI regulation could look like as governments agree to cooperate. And, we’ll hear from Target’s CEO on trends in consumer spending. Plus, Sen. Tuberville’s block on military promotions is reaching a boiling point. Now, his own party is turning on him.

Here’s everything we talked about:

- “How much AI regulation can come from the president?” from Marketplace
- “UK, US, EU and China sign declaration of AI’s ‘catastrophic’ danger” from The Guardian
- “Target CEO says shoppers are pulling back, even on groceries” from CNBC
- “Sam Bankman-Fried’s fourth day on the stand did not go well” from CNN
- “Sam Bankman-Fried Is Convicted of Fraud in FTX Collapse” from The Wall Street Journal
- “Republican Sen. Tuberville doubles down on blocking military nominees despite GOP pleas” from ABC News
- “Playbook: Tommy Tuberville vs. everybody” from Politico

Join us for Make Me Smart Virtual Trivia on Nov. 9! Give $5 or more and the link will be in your confirmation email: https://support.marketplace.org/smart-sn

Next Episode

Elon Musk’s Starlink business going gangbusters

SpaceX is on track to make record profits this year, particularly through its Starlink satellite program. With the reins of this powerful company in the hands of a celebrity entrepreneur, has that celebrity, Elon Musk, become invincible? We’ll also dig into the details of the U.S. birthrate. As it turns out, being an only child did not become the norm we expected it would be. And we’ll learn about the physicist who’s created over 1,000 Wikipedia bios for neglected female scientists.

Here’s everything we talked about: