Make Me Smart

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

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.

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 TimesIf “Make Me Smart” adds something meaningful to your week, we’d love your help keeping it going. Donate now: https://support.marketplace.org/smart-sn

From the success of “K-pop Demon Hunters” to the return of BTS, K-pop is having a moment. But the rise of Korean culture was no accident—it has a decades-long backstory of investment by the South Korean government. On “Economics on Tap,” Kimberly talks with Michelle Cho, researcher of East Asian pop cultures at the University of Toronto, about the history behind the spread of Korean culture and how it’s shaped industries from entertainment to beauty. Speaking of K-beauty: sunscreen or sheet masks?Here’s everything we talked about today:‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Leads the Wave Back to Korea from Foreign PolicyBTS Is Back With ‘Arirang,’ but the K-Pop Landscape Has Changed from The New York TimesK-everything: the rise and rise of Korean culture from The Guardian "Americans Are Learning Korean Because of ‘KPop Demon Hunters’" from The New York Times"What’s So Special About Korean Sunscreens?" from Vogue"How K-pop Stars Are Leading Mental Health Conversations for AAPI People and Beyond" from Teen VogueWe love hearing from you. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email makemesmart@marketplace.org.

Farm bills are huge, sprawling pieces of legislation that affect all Americans — not just farmers. But as they’ve gotten more expensive, they’ve gotten tougher to pass. And due to the SNAP cuts in Congress’s big budget bill passed last summer, the coalitions that have historically gotten this legislation over the finish line may be fractured beyond repair. Kimberly talks with Chris Neubert, agriculture policy expert at Arizona State University, about what this could mean for this year’s farm bill prospects.

ICE may have wound down its operations in Minnesota, but the state is still facing the economic consequences of Operation Metro Surge. This has fueled concerns that an eviction crisis could take hold, particularly in the Twin Cities. On today’s show, Kimberly joins MPR News correspondent Dana Ferguson in St. Paul, Minnesota to discuss measures the state legislature is taking to provide economic relief to renters, and what life has been like since she last checked in with us on “Make Me Smart.”