April 25, 2025

With more than 55 billion U.S. bank notes circulating the globe, keeping the American dollar safe from counterfeiters is an ever-evolving challenge. This video explores the many safety features that countries employ to protect their cash, from frequent redesigns and watermarks to holograms and secret molecular identifiers.

Questions:

  1. What are some design features that countries use to keep their money safe from counterfeiters?
  2. Why hasn’t the U.S. redesigned the one dollar bill for more than 60 years? Do you think Continue reading
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April 15, 2025

Korean beauty products have exploded in popularity in the U.S. thanks to their high quality formulas and affordable prices. Brands like Laneige, Cosrx, and Innisfree are now household names, especially for their sunscreens and serums that use cutting-edge ingredients not available in American-made skincare. In 2024, the U.S. imported $1.7 billion worth of cosmetics from South Korea—more than even France. But that could change fast. Under a new trade plan, these imports could be hit with a 25% tariff. Business Continue reading

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April 10, 2025

For a company whose guacamole has become a signature item, Chipotle can’t afford to take avocados for granted. Each year, the fast-casual chain uses over 130 million pounds of the fruit across its more than 3,700 locations—nearly 5% of all avocados consumed in the U.S. But climate variability, pandemic-era disruptions, and trade tensions have exposed the fragility of global food systems. As a result, Chipotle recognized the risks of relying too heavily on a single source country. Mexico, which once Continue reading

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March 27, 2025

In the early 2000’s, finance companies got in trouble for targeting young people with gifts like pizza and free t-shirts in order to get them to apply for credit cards with high interest rates and big fees. These fee-heavy accounts made it easy to turn a small debt into a very large debt, leaving some college students bankrupt before they could start their careers. In 2010, the U.S. made it illegal to give free gifts for credit card applications. Since Continue reading

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March 21, 2025

Way back in 2019, we looked at how Forever 21 filed for bankruptcy after expanding too rapidly and spending too little on e-commerce technology. Although a buyout from a licensing firm kept the company afloat for a few years, this video looks at how Forever 21 has struggled to compete with global powerhouses like Shein and Temu, leading to yet another bankruptcy. 

Questions:

  1. How did Forever 21’s enormous stores go from a selling point to a burden on the Continue reading
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March 19, 2025

Baseball is known as “America’s Pastime,” but Japan has its own thriving baseball culture steeped in more than a century of tradition. Over the past 30 years, more Japanese players have come to the U.S. and Canada to join Major League Baseball, increasing the size of the league’s Japanese fanbase. Now that cultural exchange is paying off for the league with a whole new market for merchandise, ticket sales, and broadcast revenue. In 2024, MLB sponsorship revenue from Japan increased Continue reading

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March 14, 2025

Do you live within five miles of a Walgreens? If you’re like almost 80 percent of the U.S. population, the answer is yes. The Walgreens Boots Alliance has grown its pharmacy chain into a massive conglomerate since Walgreens’ founding in 1901. Less than a decade ago, it officially became America’s largest drugstore chain with more than 13,000 stores all the way from Norway to Chile, Alaska to Thailand. Its stock was so successful that the Dow Jones Industrial Average chose Continue reading

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March 12, 2025

Air travel is one of the most volatile industries in the global economy, and airlines routinely lay off hundreds of employees at once to balance budgets after major upheavals. One exception to this rule has long been Southwest Airlines. The Dallas-based carrier hasn’t laid off any staffers in its more than five-decade history. Even after the 9/11 terrorist attacks when revenue dried up and other airlines initiated mass layoffs, Southwest avoided forced job cuts thanks to employees who donated part Continue reading

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March 4, 2025

To produce fine French cheeses like brie and camembert, you need milk, time, and one especially important ingredient: mold. For decades, farmers around the world have produced cheese by cloning the mold Penicillium camemberti, but now some are worried that it could become extinct. Along with providing an in-depth look at how brie and camembert are made, this video examines the ways that some cheesemakers are responding to the uncertain future of their business.

Questions:

  1. Why are brie and Continue reading
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January 28, 2025

TikTok turned its service back on for U.S. users after a 12-hour shutdown earlier this month, but the popular video-sharing platform is still blocked from American app stores while it faces legal uncertainty. That means people can’t download or restore the app if it gets deleted. As a result, unlocked cell phones that come preloaded with the popular social media video-sharing app have become a hot commodity on resale sites like Ebay and Facebook Marketplace. In many cases, sellers are Continue reading

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