January 11, 2023

As the post-pandemic economic recovery slows down, many companies are looking to trim their bottom lines through restructuring and layoffs. Unlike in previous downturns, however, professional employees have largely been on the receiving end of these job cuts. The video below examines why white collar workers are more likely to receive a pink slip than their blue collar brethren.

Questions:

  1. Why are white collar workers facing a disproportionate amount of layoffs as the economy slows down?
  2. How can the strong Continue reading
Continue reading...

January 4, 2023

The end of December is one of the busiest travel times of the year as people rush back and forth from home for the holidays. For travelers who booked trips on Southwest Airlines, though, the season was even more stressful as the carrier canceled more than 13,000 flights in less than a week. The trouble started when a major winter storm swept the country and prevented many pilots and flight attendants from working. Southwest staff usually solve this problem by Continue reading

Continue reading...

November 30, 2022

The National Retail Federation says that customer returns are increasing across the industry, driven primarily by online returns that have more than doubled in the last few years. Contrary to what many consumers may think, these products don’t simply boomerang back onto store shelves. As the video below shows, returned items take a complicated journey from warehouse to warehouse that frequently ends either at a secondary resale center or a landfill.

Questions:

  1. Why do many returned products end up in Continue reading
Continue reading...

November 18, 2022

Last month Taylor Swift released her 10th album Midnights, which shocked the recording industry by selling the equivalent of 1,578,000 copies. Songs from the album also occupied every slot of Billboard’s Top 10 singles chart, the first time in history that an artist has achieved this feat. Needless to say, anticipation for Swift’s upcoming tour grew to massive proportions on the eve of a pre-sale event planned for earlier this week. Ticketmaster established a Verified Fan program to keep Continue reading

Continue reading...

November 11, 2022

The New York bakery Junior’s has been selling enormous cheesecakes to customers since 1950, but 2022 has probably been the toughest year for the company since its founding. Along with examining how a cream cheese shortage and skyrocketing ingredient prices have threatened Junior’s bottom line, this video also examines the company’s history and the intricate production processes for its many baked goods. 

Questions:

  1. How have rising ingredient costs affected Junior’s business? 
  2. What role does automation play at Junior’s Continue reading
Continue reading...

November 2, 2022

The Mississippi River serves as one of the nation’s most vital supply routes, with slow-moving barges carrying everything from agricultural products to oil and building materials. Due to a drastically dry spring and summer, however, the river is running too low at some points to allow vessels to pass through. This video looks at how plummeting water levels on the Mississippi are disrupting the plans of farmers and manufacturers who rely on the river to get their goods to market. Continue reading

Continue reading...

October 28, 2022

After years of unease, this year Americans are approaching holidays like Halloween with a level of enthusiasm not seen since pre-pandemic times. According to a survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF), 69 percent of consumers plan to celebrate Halloween this year, an amount that is on par with the stats from 2019. “As consumers continue to return to pre-pandemic behaviors, retailers are prepared to meet that demand and help make this holiday a fun and memorable one,” said NRF Continue reading

Continue reading...

October 21, 2022

Earlier this week, we posted a video about a seemingly unremarkable highway corridor in Arizona that turned into a haven for enormous warehouses. Logistics hubs like these are becoming increasingly common around the U.S., from Southern California’s warehouse epicenter in the Inland Empire to multi-million square-foot facilities in Ohio and New York. Satellite images collected over the last 20 years show how warehouses have transformed acres of wide-open space into concentrated networks of huge buildings swarming with workers. In fact, Continue reading

Continue reading...

October 19, 2022

On a stretch of highway near Phoenix, property developers have constructed dozens of industrial warehouses with millions of square feet in storage. These enormous Arizona facilities are attracting big companies like Amazon, UPS, Walmart, and many more tenants that are looking to avoid California supply chain bottlenecks. This video looks at the reasons why some businesses are starting to center their logistical operations in the American Southwest.

Questions:

  1. What are the benefits and drawbacks for companies that use storage facilities Continue reading
Continue reading...

October 7, 2022

This fascinating video takes a close look at the painstaking process for making oboes, a woodwind that stands out as one of the most expensive instruments in any orchestra. The artisans depicted below must contend with costly and dwindling supplies as well as limited demand from a small and selective market, factors that make this specialty business even more complicated.

Questions:

  1. Why are the material costs for oboes so high compared to other instruments like flutes and clarinets?
  2. How does Continue reading
Continue reading...