Quartz Obsession

There’s a lot of money to be made in the business of sleep. Take sunrise alarm clocks, fancy mattresses, REM-tracking wearables, and monthly deliveries of melatonin. But should we really be investing this much in hopes of catching a few more Z’s? In the final episode of season 8, we consult a bonafide sleep doctor on the matter and get a physician’s POV on a few questions keeping us up at night: Why is there such a large market for catching some Z’s? Can any of these products actually help us find rest?  Why do we need to sleep? What’s happening in our brains and bodies while we dream? The Quartz Obsession is produced by Podcast Fast Track, with additional support from Jason Russum, Amy Perry, Liliana Zapata, Juan Palacios, and Lorena Caro. Our theme music is by Taka Yasuzawa and Alex Suguira. This episode was recorded at G/O Media headquarters in New York.

There are contactless thermometers, the Nose Frieda, co-sleeping. Trends in parenting gear and childrearing practices seem to evolve at faster rates than other sectors, a speed exemplified by a single product: strollers.  While we’ve been engineering ways to wheel children around for centuries, stroller manufacturers can’t seem to stop iterating on their models. Strollers have become a status identifier, a repository for parenting anxiety, and an emblem of consumerism run amok. As doctors and experts gather new research and best practices in childcare, strollers exemplify how quickly it’s all changing. Strap into episode 5 and get the latest about this new movement in industrial design. The Quartz Obsession is produced by Podcast Fast Track, with additional support from Jason Russum, Amy Perry, Liliana Zapata, Juan Palacios, and Lorena Caro. Our theme music is by Taka Yasuzawa and Alex Suguira. This episode was recorded at G/O Media headquarters in New York.

From Dubai to Dublin to Dallas and back, air carriers are cashing in on a big business: credit cards.  In fact, analysts note that growth in the sector “significantly outpaces the overall credit card industry.” One carrier alone can profit billions from its cards in a calendar year and, in tandem, build loyalty by tying them up in frequent flier programs.  Why did airlines build out a business line through these little scraps of plastic?  What’s the history of these co-branded cards?  How did credit rewards come to make sky-high profits?  Fasten your seatbelts and put away your tray tables as the fourth episode of season 8 takes off, with a co-pilot who’s made a business of this business: The Points Guy himself.

As the highest class of international racing for open-wheel, single-seater cars, F1 is worth more than $18B and stands to accelerate even more as a bonafide entertainment business as the Euro-born sport becomes more popular in China, the United States, and other global heavyweights. But F1 also faces its challenges, from new driving tech to adopt to new electrification pressures to confront.  In this episode our Jalopnik colleague Ryan King guest-stars to navigate a few high-speed laps around the past, present, and future of Formula One racing. The Quartz Obsession is produced by Podcast Fast Track, with additional support from Jason Russum, Amy Perry, Liliana Zapata, Juan Palacios, and Lorena Caro. Our theme music is by Taka Yasuzawa and Alex Suguira. This episode was recorded at G/O Media headquarters in New York.

Powering an electric car or truck is designed for people with private garages or who live in a major city with lots of accessible charging stations. Rural and suburban apartment-dwellers can’t just run cords out their three-story windows to juice up their rides through a 140-volt outlet. That would take days.  If we want any shot at transitioning to greener vehicles, how can we turbo-charge access to EVs for everyone? Get all the answers in our second episode of season 8. The Quartz Obsession is produced by Podcast Fast Track, with additional support from Jason Russum, Amy Perry, Liliana Zapata, Juan Palacios, and Lorena Caro. Our theme music is by Taka Yasuzawa and Alex Suguira. This episode was recorded at G/O Media headquarters in New York.

Ever heard of Viagra, Rogaine, or Ozempic?  The process for turning a chemical compound into a household name is both a science and an art. In fact, naming a prescription drug can take a manufacturer up to four years, as a set of three monikers per medicine must run the gauntlet of several regulatory agencies. It all starts with determining a drug’s chemical and generic names — both of which involve established rules. After those are settled, the rest is marketing.  So how do some drugs become memorable? What global trends dominate drug naming? And what happens when a company gets it wrong? Get all the answers in our season 8 opener. The Quartz Obsession is produced by Podcast Fast Track, with additional support from Jason Russum, Amy Perry, Liliana Zapata, Juan Palacios, and Lorena Caro. Our theme music is by Taka Yasuzawa and Alex Suguira. This episode was recorded at G/O Media headquarters in New York.

Bought something you don’t need from an ad? Blame it on the algorithm. Disappointing singles on your dating app? Blame it on the algorithm. Come across a post that hits too close to home? Yep, it’s the algorithm. But what exactly is the algorithm, and when did it start shaping how we live digitally? We track the making of the algorithm — starting with ancient Babylonians and Greek mathematicians — to understand the forces filtering what we stream, shop, and see online today.

Love a game, buy a game. Really love a game, buy a new, improved version of that game. The video game industry knows that you don’t even have to be a die hard gamer to get out your wallet for a chance to recapture the thrill of killing that zombie or discovering that master sword. Plus, there are new technologies to consider — new graphics to enjoy, new storylines to flesh out, the possibilities are endless, and the piles of gold coins keep growing.

Think of the world’s dirtiest industries and you’re probably thinking along the lines of oil or meat… but the buildings we live in, the bridges we drive on, the cars we drive in, those all involve something pretty nasty. Steel. Traditional steelmaking is a famously dirty process, but we’re here to tell you that there’s a greener way to make the thing that makes all the things.

We’ve long associated virtual reality with escaping to someplace more exciting, but the technology has never quite caught up with science fiction’s promise. But VR headsets’ emerging practical applications are a different kind of thrilling — training workers, helping in healthcare, making the workplace less stressful. All of these are reasons to celebrate, and show that VR headsets actually do have a place in every home and office, without being a means to escape them.

Smart rings have been around for years. And according to some tech experts (and a lot of consumers), they might outlast the smartwatch. These sleeker, less bulky wearables collect more accurate data, often at a lower price point. And the technology has come a long way. But do we really want or need all this information about our bodies? And does having all that information at our, well, fingertips actually help us in any practical way? Presented by Deloitte Episode art by Vicky Leta

You’ve seen the endless sea of red when you’re stuck in traffic. But chances are, you haven’t given the simple tail light much thought. Car designers past and present have, though — and so has Jason Torchinsky, co-founder of auto news blog The Autopian. These signals, which include the lights that indicate a car’s existence on the road, brake lights, and turn indicators, have traveled from oil lamp to bespoke brand signature over the years. All so we can show each other where we are and where we’re going. This episode is guaranteed to change how you think about any road-based journey (and it might involve a little tail light fan fiction, too). Presented by Deloitte Episode art by Vicky Leta

The Quartz Obsession is back for season 7, and this time, host Gabriela Riccardi will talk to guests obsessed with taillights, green steel, virtual reality headsets, and more. Join us on March 19 for a whole new set of topics you won't be able to stop thinking about.

These days, we’ve got photographic evidence of our memories just about everywhere we turn. But what about the memories that you have no way of calling up at the touch of a button or the turn of a page? That’s the case for entire older generations, and one global research project is using artificial intelligence to create images of the memories of early-stage dementia patients. It’s a futuristic technology that recalls the past. Presented by Deloitte Episode art by Vicky Leta

What began with a simple window has become an exercise in efficiency—and fast food chains are always looking for ways to move more people through drive-thrus more quickly. But until recently, the technology hadn’t changed all that much in the past few decades. Now, the age of artificial intelligence has ushered in new ways to shave off valuable seconds. Drive-thrus have become such cash cows that more and more fast food locations are doing away with the in-house dining experience full stop. Will the future of drive-thrus be a dystopian tech-nightmare, or a fast and easy way to get our burgers and fries? Presented by Deloitte Episode art by Vicky Leta

Pro Tools—and other digital editing software like it—has become so entrenched in music creation that attempting to dislodge it would be akin to separating Google from the internet. But what did music-making look like when a studio relied on specialized professionals and expensive equipment? And can Pro Tools, which has now been around for decades, hold its own in a changing world? Presented by Deloitte Episode art by Vicky Leta

It’s late December 2023. The presents are wrapped, the cookies have been set out, and Brenda Lee’s 65-year-old song “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” has overtaken Mariah Carey’s holiday juggernaut “All I Want for Christmas Is You” on the Billboard Hot 100. Streaming created this bizarre holiday miracle, just like streaming has changed everything about how the entire music industry defines success. Presented by Deloitte Episode art by Vicky Leta

There’s no single solution for fixing climate change, but one resource—one slimy, beautiful, underwater resource—has the potential to lend a big leafy hand. When properly put to use, seaweed can be a major carbon sink, a sustainable source for textiles and dyes for the fashion industry, and even a building material. And industry players are starting to dive deep in search of the green gold. Presented by Deloitte Episode art by Vicky Leta

In November 2023, OpenAI announced that soon, everyone will have the ability to make their own GPTs—generative pre-trained transformers, little digital brains that can be customized to do any number of complex tasks in mere seconds. If sci-fi novels are to be believed, our lives will change once this kind of technology is at our fingertips, but we’ve been made this kind of promise before. Will humans really have their worlds rocked by GPTs? Presented by Deloitte Episode art by Vicky Leta

Hiring is becoming less human. Companies large and small are turning to a suite of automated tools to help them find, recruit, interview, and select the right candidates for open positions. So, the next time you apply for a job, it’s possible that you’ll go through many different phases of the hiring process without ever talking to a real person. What could go wrong? Presented by Deloitte Episode art by Vicky Leta

The failure of Silicon Valley Bank sent shockwaves throughout the tech and banking sector. The bank had played a pivotal role with venture capitalists, tech companies, and—in a lofty sense—America’s new ideas. The ripple effects were so enormous, the US government had to bail out depositors while allowing the bank itself to collapse. But what if the government was involved from the get-go? What if there was another option to financing America’s latest and greatest innovations? Episode art by Vicky Leta

In the US, voting is seen as a civic duty. It’s voluntary, but it’s an act of patriotism and a democratic responsibility. But there are many barriers to voting—one might have to take off from work, find childcare, or travel long distances to cast a ballot. Wouldn’t voting online instantly expand access to millions of people? Perhaps, but only if we can build a system that’s secure enough to handle it. Presented by Deloitte Episode art by Vicky Leta

Everywhere you go, there’s plastic: plastic water bottles, plastic coffee cups, plastic grocery bags... And recycling plastic is notoriously tricky—what do any of those little numbers even mean on the bottom of a container? We’ve long known that single-use plastics are a problem, but why is it so often the duty of consumers to do something about it? And if producers ultimately do start to take real action, how can they make a dent in this pressing environmental problem? Presented by Deloitte Episode art by Vicky Leta

ChatGPT isn’t always right. In fact, it’s often very wrong, giving faulty biographical information about a person or whiffing on the answers to simple questions. But instead of saying it doesn’t know, ChatGPT often makes stuff up. Chatbots can’t actually lie, but researchers sometimes call these untruthful performances “hallucinations”—not quite a lie, but a vision of something that isn’t there. So, what’s really happening here and what does it tell us about the way that AI systems err? Presented by Deloitte Episode art by Vicky Leta

Apple’s early App Store ads famously proclaimed, “There’s an app for that”—anything you wanted to do on your phone, the company insisted, you could do through an app. That marketplace ethos still holds today. But when smartphones came to China, there was just one app that really mattered—WeChat, the self-styled “superapp.” In China, people use WeChat for just about everything, so why did the US and Chinese embrace such different mobile ecosystems? And why is the dream of building a superapp in the West so persistent? Presented by Deloitte Episode art by Vicky Leta

Making one’s home “smart” may appear to be a logical step for modern dwellings, but with virtual assistants triggered by voice prompts, refrigerators that sense when your food is running low, and vacuum cleaners that zip around your home crashing into walls, we have substituted the home of the past for something altogether different. But is the smart home actually smart? And, if it’s not there yet, what could do the trick? Presented by Deloitte Episode art by Vicky Leta

Once the globe’s largest festival, World’s Fairs provided a glimpse into inventors’ newest creations, technologies, and human-contrived feats. The 1893 Chicago World’s Fair alone debuted electric irons, sewing machines, and laundry machines, along with the Ferris Wheel and Thomas Edison’s Kinetoscope, an early device for displaying motion pictures. So why do we no longer gather at massive exhibitions to show off our latest and greatest inventions? And what does the rise and fall of the World’s Fair tell us about the way technology and society are changing? Presented by Deloitte Episode art by Vicky Leta

This season, host Scott Nover and Quartz journalists around the world are checking in on how technology will, won’t, or simply shouldn’t change our lives in the next decade.

In many parts of the world, you’ve got a number attached to your name, and the value of that number acts as a gatekeeper between you and the things you want and need. Credit scores are determined by complicated math done by private companies so that other private companies can decide if they’ll lend to you, and if so how much, and at what rate. With a long history of bias and intractability, and in a global economy that runs on debt, the credit score system works…until it doesn’t. Episode art by Vicky Leta

Leather is tough to greenify—vegan leather saves animals, but is largely made of petroleum-based plastic that doesn’t biodegrade. Plus, it doesn’t hold a candle to the look, feel, and smell of the real thing. But one day soon, you could be sporting shoes made of fungi, and you may even prefer it to the animal skin variety. The fashion industry just needs to decide it’s time to invest in mycelium. Presented by EY Episode art by Vicky Leta

What drives the global economy? Any student of economics is likely to mention the “invisible hand”—the collective self-interest that acts as the market’s guiding force in a more powerful and beneficial way than government intervention can. Legendary 18th century Scottish philosopher Adam Smith coined the usage of this term, and one major economics textbook popularized it. But a closer look at context suggests Smith was saying something else entirely. Presented by EY Episode art by Vicky Leta

In the past few years in the US, the transition to digital medical data records has made access to one’s own medical history both easier and, somehow, harder. Your test results are a couple of clicks away—if you remember on what site or app they are, and how to get on it. And the system is so complicated and regulated that in some cases, health providers are still using the humble fax machine to send records back and forth. This is the story of how far the US got with digital medical record keeping in a relatively short time—and how far it still has to go. Presented by EY Episode art by Vicky Leta

Space business is often associated with rockets, space tourism, and attention-seeking billionaires. But the most impactful industry to launch into space in the past decade doesn’t have much to do with any of the above. Their focus is observing Earth, via the many satellites that we use to monitor what is happening on our planet. From weather patterns to human rights violations to chlorophyll production, there is a lot about the world we can learn by looking in from the outside. Presented by EY Episode art by Vicky Leta

Wildfires are getting larger, closer to human settlements, and more frequent. America’s west coast is especially vulnerable, which has Silicon Valley paying close attention. Its answer? Firetech, a whole new startup industry focused on developing technology to control and prevent fires. Presented by EY Episode art by Vicky Leta

Humans have been burying their dead for at least 40,000 years. But in the last couple of centuries, especially in Western countries, the practice has become toxic: From embalming fluids to casket materials, burials can contaminate soil and groundwater, and endanger the health of funeral workers. Enter green burials, an industry devoted to handling death in an ecologically sustainable way. Presented by EY Episode art by Vicky Leta

Nuclear fusion has long been a futuristic power source of sci-fi: clean, non-radioactive, bountiful energy capable of exceeding all of humanity's needs. And a recent breakthrough has shown it's surprisingly within reach. This promising new source of energy could power desalination and better carbon capture, and revolutionize our approach to consumption and climate change. Presented by EY Episode art by Vicky Leta

Tree planting certainly seems like a wholesome, tidy way to make up for carbon emission. Take a flight? Plant a tree. Emissions: gone. But reforestation has gone from a radical political movement to a convenient corporate gimmick to encourage conscience-free consumption in the age of climate change. But not only is tree planting not that helpful in offsetting carbon emissions—it might even be counterproductive. Sponsored by EY Episode art by Vicky Leta

Episode Five of our sister podcast: Work Reconsidered from Quartz. We all want to achieve great things. But in the wake of the pandemic, some of us have stopped to reconsider: What's the cost of all this collective desperation to succeed? From treating burnout to resisting oppressive systems, how can we get the things we want in life without sacrificing too much time, energy, and psychological well-being? Logo by Jo Minor

Episode Four of our sister podcast: Work Reconsidered from Quartz. A growing number of companies and countries are experimenting with reducing the number of working days per week from five to four. For many organizations and their employees, there can be clear benefits. But reducing the work week doesn’t affect everyone equally, and that means not everyone wins. Logo by Jo Minor

Episode Three of our sister podcast: Work Reconsidered from Quartz. How would you feel if anyone who wanted could look up your salary on a public website? That's the case for the employees of some companies we spoke to for this episode on pay transparency. Making salaries totally transparent is one potential way to erase the persistent unfairness around pay gaps, like those around gender and race; Some countries are legislating, attempting to make it impossible to pay people unfairly. But can knowing too much about our colleagues' pay actually be damaging to our ultimate happiness? Logo by Jo Minor

Episode Two of our sister podcast: Work Reconsidered from Quartz. Giving good, useful feedback is deceptively difficult. Managers aren’t trained to give it, and performance reviews are woefully inadequate, which often leaves employees stuck with feedback that is biased, incomplete, or even threatening. From embracing radical transparency to training managers in the metaverse, here’s how some companies are rethinking feedback by keeping in mind why employees need it in the first place. Logo by Jo Minor

Episode One of our sister podcast, Work Reconsidered from Quartz: After sitting empty for two years, offices are finally getting foot traffic again, which means they’re getting renovations to match. As architects redesign the office for the ways we now use them—for both in-person and hybrid meetings—they’re tossing out the old templates and finally being given room and resources to explore the fundamental question: What makes for a happy and productive work environment? Episode art by Jo Minor Transcript

TRAILER for our sister podcast, Work Reconsidered from Quartz: We’re in the middle of a work revolution. The pandemic upended our work lives overnight, but we’re still seeing the true impact of that shift. Work reconsidered is Quartz’s newest podcast all about what’s changing about work from the people who are seeing it first hand. Subscribe now so you don’t miss an episode. Logo by Jo Minor

We’ve partnered with Hark Audio, a podcast curation app, to share some of our all-time favorite Obsession show moments. Stay tuned to hear the fascinating stories behind the things we use, eat, and wear everyday—from Google Docs to pasta and perfume to fish sticks. And if you listen on Hark, you can jump from each moment into a full episode. Try it at harkaudio.com/obsession

Asynchronous, on-demand talk radio was a bold proposition back in 2004, when podcasts first started making waves. Less than 20 years later, podcasting is a big business. But monetization has its downsides: What began as a freewheeling, do-it-yourself space is evolving into a data-obsessed sector dominated by tech giants. Sponsored by EY. Is your technology moving fast enough to realize your ambitions? Learn more in the latest EY Tech Horizon Survey: ey.com/techhorizon Episode art by Eric Helgas, styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi Transcript: https://qz.com/2172700

Prices for goods from furniture to meat have been steadily rising for months. It’s the most obvious symptom of inflation, which is when money buys less than it used to. But there’s no need to panic: This is far from the first time inflation came for consumers’ purchasing power. The question is, how do you make it stop? Sponsored by EY. How can you create a growth strategy where everyone wins? Learn more in EY’s latest report: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/consulting/how-can-you-create-a-growth-strategy-where-everyone-wins  EY Future Consumer Index: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/future-consumer-index Episode art by Eric Helgas, styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi Transcript: https://qz.com/2171027

Shipping snafus have hit everything from Pelotons to paper towels, and they're coming for perfume. From Chanel No. 5's secret recipe to the modern proliferation of DIY scents, this global industry has supply chains as delicate as the scents captured in its tiny bottles. How does perfume adapt to a changing world? Sponsored by EY. Discover how EY can help you unlock new opportunities to reframe your future: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/reframe-your-future Episode art by Eric Helgas, styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi Transcript: https://qz.com/2167846

Though scientists have known about dyslexia for well over a century, education systems still struggle to teach students with the condition. In the English-speaking world, it’s become a great unequalizer, pushing those with means into lucrative careers, and those without to the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. But as technology mediates and alters how we read, it could level the economic playing field for people with dyslexia. Sponsored by EY. EY Work Reimagined webcast: How to prepare for renaissance and recommitment: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/webcasts/2022/05/work-reimagined-how-to-prepare-for-renaissance-and-recommitment  EY 2022 Work Reimagined Survey: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/workforce/work-reimagined-survey Episode art by Eric Helgas, styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi Transcript: https://qz.com/2166242

2.1—that’s how many children every woman “needs to have.” Any fewer, and a country’s population will eventually stop growing, age, and shrink, which could inhibit its economic growth and drain government coffers. But it’s easier said than done: China has been well below replacement rate for some time; India is just hitting that number. What happens to the world when 2.1 stops being a guarantee? Sponsored by EY EY Work Reimagined webcast: How to prepare for renaissance and recommitment: https://bit.ly/3MZdDLR  EY 2022 Work Reimagined Survey: https://bit.ly/3P7QzMI Episode art by Eric Helgas, styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi Transcript: https://qz.com/2162845

Pasta's path to pantries all over the world is inextricably tied to Italy, the country that used technology and mass production to turn a homemade food into a commercial product. Even as pasta-makers market an idealized version of the Italian lifestyle to the world and to Italians themselves, some of the things that make pasta the taste of home might be due for a rethink. Sponsored by EY. Discover how EY can help you unlock new opportunities to reframe your future. Episode art by Eric Helgas, styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi Transcript: https://qz.com/2160804