TEXT OF INTERVIEW
KAI RYSSDAL: This final note today, enough about deficits and interest rates and healthcare policy. Let’s take a Friday afternoon break from the big news of the week.
Here are Rico Gagliano and Brendan Newnam doing some of what they do best, asking the Marketplace staff about the news that didn’t make the headlines. Stuff you might like to talk about at a dinner party.
Brendan Newnam: Phyllis Owens, commentary editor for Marketplace, what’s your story this week?
Phyllis Owens: The Brazilian government is worried something they’re calling the “Viagra Effect.”
Newnam: There economy is just too potent?
Owens: No, they believe Viagra is the reason why so many older men are marrying younger women.
Newnam: And what’s the problem with that?
Owens: The problem is these men are dying, leaving behind hordes of young widows. And the government’s having to pay pensions to these women for 30 years, instead of what might’ve been just a couple years.
Newnam: But on the other hand, the government’s spending less on anti-depressants. So they save the money there.
Rico Gagliano: Amy Scott, New York reporter, what story are you going to be talking about this weekend?
Scott: Well, you would think that people would know better, but apparently, they’re still buying the old GM stock that’s being liquidated. Even though regulators have warned them that the stock will eventually be worthless.
Gagliano: How much is the stock worth right now?
Scott: It’s been trading over under a dollar.
Gagliano: So it’s kind of like a caffeine-free Pepsi Zero. You pay 75 cents and you get absolutely nothing in return.
Newnam: Paddy Hirsch, senior editor at Marketplace, what’s your story?
Paddy Hirsch: It’s all about Malibu finally being able to get its own city hall.
Newnam: Malibu hasn’t had a town hall up until now?
Hirsch: Well they had a city hall, but they had to rent it. Because real estate’s really expensive in Malibu, of course, but a bunch of properties went into foreclosure, they were able to buy something cheaply.
Newnam: So what kind of business is going to go on at the Malibu Town Hall?
Hirsch: They’re going to talk about important stuff. I mean, they’ve got a real sewage problem in Malibu.
Newnam: I thought they were going to put implants into the Malibu hills maybe.
Hirsch: OK, that’s not helpful.
Newnam: Statue for Kelsey Grammer maybe?
Hirsch: This kind of frivolity is exactly the sort of problem that Malibu…
Newnam: Is it called the Betty Ford Town Hall?
Hirsch: There is some serious issues in Malibu, Brendan.
Newnam: You can say that again.
Ryssdal: That’s just a small taste of what Rico and Brendan have to offer. Their podcast is called the Dinner Party Download. You’ll find a link to it on our Web site, Marketplace.org.
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