Aug 11, 2021

Pandemic-induced surpluses boost school-supply drives

Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Also on today's show: digging into July's inflation numbers, a look at British higher education post-Brexit and how one travel agent is juggling changing COVID restrictions for clients.

Segments From this episode

July consumer price index shows signs of easing inflation

by Mitchell Hartman

Aug 11, 2021

But inflation eased on a month-to-month basis. Many economists expect price gains to moderate as the pandemic recovery progresses.

Shoppers at a Costco in Novato, California. Yearly inflation was unchanged at 5.4%, but the month-to-month and core inflation measures suggest price gains are slowing down.

Justin Sullivan via Getty Images

A Warmer World

How the infrastructure bill aims to tackle climate change

by Andy Uhler

Aug 11, 2021

Among other ways, it would upgrade the power grid and support electric cars and public transit.

The bipartisan legislation includes funding for electric vehicle charging stations and eco-friendly public transit options.

Dan Kitwood via Getty Images

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EU student exodus may not hurt British universities after all

by Stephen Beard

Aug 11, 2021

Fewer EU students in the U.K. may bring some financial benefits to British universities but it raises some political concerns, too.

EU applicants to U.K. schools have dropped dramatically following Brexit and a steep rise in tuition fees. Above, a student walks on the University of Glasgow campus in Scotland in September 2020.

Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images

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Retailers’ excess inventory fuels record donations to back-to-school events

by Kimberly Adams

Aug 11, 2021

Businesses are giving away clothes and school supplies they may not have sold when the pandemic shut them down last year.

Kimberly Adams/Marketplace

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The dates on food labels may not mean what you think they mean

by Reema Khrais and Sean McHenry

Aug 11, 2021

Vox writer Alissa Wilkinson explains the history behind food label dates, and how the "expiration date" concept is a costly misunderstanding.

A produce worker stocks shelves at a supermarket in Washington, D.C.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

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My Economy

How a travel agency is bouncing back from a devastating year

by Minju Park

Aug 11, 2021

Denver travel agent Sarah Fazendin says clients are spending more on extras than they would have before the pandemic.

Sarah Fazendin, owner of Videre Travel, a Denver-based travel agency, with her family at Machu Picchu in Peru. Her business has seen a massive uptick in travelers looking to navigate changing COVID restrictions.

Courtesy Sarah Fazendin

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Music from the episode

Dangerous (feat. Joywave) Big Data, Joywave

Outer Sunset Tycho

Cariño The Marías

Harvest Moon Poolside

J-Boy Phoenix

The team

Nancy Farghalli Executive Producer

Maria Hollenhorst Producer II

Sean McHenry Director & Associate Producer II

Richard Cunningham Associate Producer I

Dylan Miettinen Associate Digital Producer

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