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These are the best new articles, videos, podcasts, and other resources we have found to teach globalization. They bring economics to life by showing students real-life examples and current events.
 

News Articles

(Listed from most recent to oldest)

A tiny town just got slammed by Helene. It could massively disrupt the tech industry | NPR (Sept. 30, 2024)
The widespread flooding in the southern Appalachia region didn’t just wreak heartbreaking devastation. It also may also have disrupted global tech markets by disrupting access to a key ingredient for microchips and solar panels–high-purity quartz.

McDonald’s touchscreen kiosks were feared as job killers. Instead, something surprising happened | CNN Business (Sept. 20, 2024)
Self-checkout kiosks haven’t been the job-killer naysayers expected. They also haven’t been a panacea.

CrowdStrike outage: We finally know what caused it - and how much it cost | CNN Business (July 24, 2024)
New estimates suggest Crowdstrike’s faulty software update cost $5 billion in damages. Although the updates impacted only a small percentage of Microsoft computers, the outage highlights how much our globally interconnected world relies on those 8.5 million devices.

From stealing to Spotify: the story behind how music got free | The Guardian (June 11, 2024)
A story of piracy, creative destruction, and the remaking of the music industry.

From stealing to Spotify: the story behind how music got free | The Guardian (June 11, 2024)
A story of piracy, creative destruction, and the remaking of the music industry.

Inside TSMC’s Phoenix, Arizona expansion struggles | Rest of World (April 23, 2024)
TSMC has an undeniable comparative advantage in chip manufacturing. But recreating its success in the US has shown that it isn’t as simple as following a blueprint.

As Writers Strike, AI Could Covertly Cross the Picket Line | Hollywood Reporter (May 3, 2023)
Hollywood screenwriters are striking, concerned that AI will take over portions of their jobs and reduce their pay.

IBM's CEO expects AI to replace 30% of the firm's back-office roles in five years | Quartz (May 2, 2023)
IBM wants AI to replace 7,800 clerical and administrative positions.

The first babies conceived with a sperm-injecting robot have been born | MIT Technology Review (April 25, 2023)
Can robots guided by a Sony PlayStation 5 controller make fertility medicine cheaper and more widely available?

Globalization in a Needle | Emerging World (Substack) (April 30, 2021)
There is a lot of information about the complexity of supply chains in this article, but the one most relevant is about the Pfizer vaccine: 19 countries + 280 components = one vaccine.

Dominos delivers pizza with autonomous cars | CNET (April 12, 2021)
Robot pizza delivery?

Graphics

Nike’s manufacturing map | Nike
This is a great map to show supply chains in action. How many countries are involved in, say, making a Nike shoe?

Videos

You are the only exception | Planet Money (TikTok)
We guarantee your students will like this one. In the age of hyper-automation, we still have the TI-89. There are other articles about why that is (see here), but this TikTok is a perfect way to capture the story.

Avengers: The Story of Globalization | MRU
How is the movie industry a classic example of globalization? This teaching video uses Avengers the movie as an example of not only a global production but also a global audience. This and the two other videos in the series are featured in our curriculum above.

Econ Duel: Will Machines Take Our Jobs | MRU
Economists Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok discuss whether automation will lead to job losses or new opportunities, and much more!

Podcasts

One of the hottest jobs in AI right now: 'types-question guy' | NPR (July 5, 2024)
With new technology comes new jobs, including a 6 figure salary as an AI prompt engineer.

With workers scarce, some industries are turning to robots | Marketplace (1:24 min)
There was a 40% increase in the orders for workplace robots in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same time in 2021. More and more businesses are turning to automation. Will robots take some workers’ jobs? Will they create new jobs?

Additional Resources

Will robots take my job? | Replacedbyrobot.info
Pick a job, any job, and this website will spit out the likelihood of automation. Students love this site and you can sneak a peek at the automatability of the teaching profession. (Predictions are based on the 2013 Oxford study on automatable jobs.)

The labor market for recent college grads | New York Fed
Great chart showing unemployment, underemployment, and salary by college major.

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