transcript
Speaker 1:
[00:01] Right now, we are living through some of the most tumultuous political times our country has ever known. I'm David Remnick, and each week on the New Yorker Radio Hour, I'll try to make sense of what's happening, alongside politicians and thinkers like Cory Booker, Nancy Pelosi, Liz Cheney, Tim Walz, Katanji Brown Jackson, Newt Gingrich, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Charlemagne the God, and so many more. That's all on the New Yorker Radio Hour, wherever you listen to podcasts.
Speaker 2:
[00:30] This Marketplace Podcast is supported by Viking, committed to exploring the world in comfort. Journey through the heart of Europe on an elegant Viking longship with thoughtful service, destination-focused dining, and cultural enrichment on board and on shore. And every Viking voyage is all-inclusive with no children and no casinos. Discover more at viking.com.
Speaker 3:
[00:55] The haves and the have-nots of energy. From Marketplace, I'm Sabri Benishur. Almost 2,500 years ago, Thucydides, the historian and general from Ancient Greece, famously wrote, The strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must. The quote is often used to refer to the grim reality in international affairs that when push comes to shove, the vulnerable suffer at the hands of the powerful. And as it was in the Peloponnesian War millennia ago, it is true today in oil markets. The Iran wars' chokehold on oil and gas supplies is laying bare the haves and the have-nots in the global economy. Marketplace's Samantha Fields has more.
Speaker 4:
[01:35] Maybe it's hoarding or protectionist or human nature. Whatever you want to call it, some countries have plenty of oil right now, while others don't.
Speaker 5:
[01:44] The disruption of oil and natural gas flows through the Strait of Hormuz is the biggest energy disruption the world has ever seen. Mark Finley at Rice University says with any global shortage like this, Richer countries are the ones who can afford the bidding war, and poorer countries drop out and ration supplies.
Speaker 4:
[02:03] That's what we're seeing right now. Matt Smith at data analytics firm Kepler says countries that have their own refineries and reserves and that can afford to pay, like the US, China, Japan and South Korea, are facing high oil and gas prices, but not shortages.
Speaker 6:
[02:19] You're seeing protectionist measures being implemented by certain countries. They're dialing back on their exports, so keeping them back for their domestic market instead.
Speaker 4:
[02:27] Which means less wealthy countries that rely on exports aren't able to get what they need.
Speaker 6:
[02:32] Pakistan or India, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, they are implementing ways to dial back on consumption because they are running out of fuel.
Speaker 4:
[02:43] Like canceling flights, telling people to work from home, and rationing gas and electricity. I'm Samantha Fields for Marketplace.
Speaker 3:
[02:51] Tesla's profits rose in the first quarter up 17% from a year ago. Its car sales bounced back after falling in 2025. CEO Elon Musk says the EV maker's future is in self-driving cabs. And the company says it's begun production of what it calls cyber cabs, robo taxis without wheels or pedals. Musk also said Tesla is coming out with a non-self-driving, human-operated, second-generation roadster. Tesla stock is down 3.4% in pre-market trading.
Speaker 1:
[03:39] Right now, we are living through some of the most tumultuous political times our country has ever known. I'm David Remnick, and each week on the New Yorker Radio Hour, I'll try to make sense of what's happening, alongside politicians and thinkers like Cory Booker, Nancy Pelosi, Liz Cheney, Tim Walz, Katanji Brown Jackson, Newt Gingrich, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Charlemagne the God, and so many more. That's all on the New Yorker Radio Hour, wherever you listen to podcasts.
Speaker 7:
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Speaker 3:
[05:02] The unemployment rate among young people, many of whom are about to graduate, has been elevated for many months. There are concerns about how much artificial intelligence is going to eat away at entry-level jobs. There's uncertainty about the future of entire industries. There's a cool labor market in general. And yet, in the middle of all of this, some hope for figuring it out. New York Times investigative reporter and bestselling author Jodi Kantor is out with a new book, How to Start, with some guidance on just that. And she joins us now for more. Jodi, welcome.
Speaker 8:
[05:34] It's great to be with you.
Speaker 3:
[05:36] What is a piece of advice that well-meaning adults give to young people that you think is total BS?
Speaker 8:
[05:43] The single worst piece of advice right now is that everything is doomed. That's not true. I mean, we have to be intelligent about observing the economic data. But a person is not a statistic. Just because you read a story in the newspaper saying what the hiring picture is, that is not casting your fate in stone. You do have some agency in this process. And also, the kind of disruption we're experiencing right now always creates giant opportunities.
Speaker 3:
[06:17] Central to your advice are what you refer to as craft and need. Can you explain that?
Speaker 8:
[06:24] Craft is the special skill you have that other people do not. These are things that take time to learn, but your craft is yours to keep. It means that you are not interchangeable, you are not disposable. Craft, however, becomes much more powerful when you pair it with need. Need is propulsion, need is some greater cause, some gap in the market that you are going to fill.
Speaker 3:
[06:56] If you're just starting out, how do you identify what your craft is? And also, how do you identify what the world needs? Because at one point people were saying, oh, the world needs more software engineers and AI is hacking away at those jobs. So I don't know, how do you identify those things?
Speaker 8:
[07:13] It's a process. It involves struggle. I mean, this is just a time of struggle. For young people, starting has always been hard. This era is making it harder. But what I want young people to have is a great struggle because there's a big difference between a struggle that's just about feeling depressed and watching Netflix versus a journey of excitement, discovery, mistakes, originality, insight, learning, etc., etc.
Speaker 3:
[07:40] Students we've spoken to on the show have described the economy as confusing, something that they try not to think about. You make an argument about not focusing too much on the initial amount you make fresh out of college. Why is that?
Speaker 8:
[07:58] A first job is for two things. It's to earn, for sure, but it's also to invest in yourself. You want to earn, but you also want to learn. This is the foundation of your craft. The thing that's also very important is that you have to go work for the best people you can. The people who work for good bosses, bosses who care about your self-interest and are going to teach you, that's the biggest differentiator I see over time.
Speaker 3:
[08:27] Jodi Kantor is a New York Times bestselling author and Times correspondent. Her new book, How to Start, is out April 21st. Jodi, thank you so much.
Speaker 8:
[08:35] It's a pleasure. Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 3:
[08:39] In New York, I'm Sabri Benishur with the Marketplace Morning Report. From APM, American Public Media.
Speaker 9:
[08:52] You may have learned recently just how far a barrel of oil has to travel before it makes it into your gas tank.
Speaker 10:
[08:58] And a lot has to happen to that oil before it even becomes gas that you can actually use.
Speaker 9:
[09:03] So this week on Million Basilion, Ryan and I venture on a road trip with stops in Texas and Dubai to learn all about oil and why the price of gas goes up and down.
Speaker 10:
[09:13] And we even meet Derek, an oil drill who knows a lot about the global economy.
Speaker 11:
[09:18] OPEC is a group of oil producing countries that work together to decide how much oil they're going to drill and release for sale. They can drive the price down by releasing a lot of oil.
Speaker 10:
[09:29] Listen to Million Basilion on your favorite podcast app.