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

News Articles

(Listed from most recent to oldest)

Summer rentals in the Hamptons are down 30% | AOL (May 30, 2025)
Economic uncertainty has hit luxury vacation demand for the Hamptons. Rental demand is down 30% from last year.

Mocktails Cost $15 and Nobody Knows Why | MSN (WSJ) (May 22, 2025)
Why are mocktails as expensive as the real deal? Restaurants and alternative spirit makers often cite high production costs—but the more compelling rationale is that a small group of consumers has inelastic demand and a high willingness to pay for booze-free beverages.

Pope Leo's hometown seeks to purchase his childhood home |Aleteia (May 22, 2025)
Pope Leo’s childhood home has experienced quite the demand shift! Last year, a house hunter purchased the unassuming property for $66,000 and renovated it, listing it in January for $219,000. As it struggled to sell, the property was successively discounted until the owner discovered the new pope used to live there. Now he wants a premium for the property, but the city disagrees, wanting a more reasonable price to turn the property into a museum.

Pope Leo's hometown seeks to purchase his childhood home |Aleteia (May 22, 2025)
Pope Leo’s childhood home has experienced quite the demand shift! Last year, a house hunter purchased the unassuming property for $66,000 and renovated it, listing it in January for $219,000. As it struggled to sell, the property was successively discounted until the owner discovered the new pope used to live there. Now he wants a premium for the property, but the city disagrees, wanting a more reasonable price to turn the property into a museum.

Weight loss drugs are squeezing the food industry | Quartz (May 13, 2025)
GLP-1s are dramatically shifting consumer tastes and preferences in food, driving down demand for calorie-dense foods such as chips and other savory snacks, while boosting demand for meat and other proteins.

Apple Shoppers Race to Stores to Buy iPhones | Entrepreneur (April 8, 2025)
Anticipating rising prices for new iPhones, shoppers are flocking to Apple stores, mimicking a holiday sales rush.

Demand for viral 'torpedo' baseball bats has sent a Pennsylvania factory into overdrive | AP News (April 4, 2025)
After a home run weekend at Yankee stadium, demand for the new torpedo bat has shifted to the right. Amateurs and professionals are all interested in the new bat, designed to maximize the wood’s mass at the point of contact with the ball.

Egg prices are falling. But there’s a catch | CNN Business (April 2, 2025)
The egg-laying hen population is growing, pushing prices down. Will it be enough to persuade consumers who decreased their quantity demanded to buy more?

$921 to see Denzel Washington’s Othello? How Broadway tickets got so expensive | The Guardian (March 24, 2025)
Would you pay $900+ to see the Shakespeare play you pretended to read in high school? Find out how scarcity and the market coordinate to find buyers with the highest willingness to pay.

Global coffee trade grinding to a halt, hit hard by brutal price hikes | Reuters (March 7, 2025)
Coffee futures have skyrocketed due to limited supply from Brazil, as buyers cut back on purchases and wait for additional supply to bring down prices.

Tropicana struggles as Americans ditch OJ |  The Hustle (Feb. 26, 2025)
Tropicana’s struggles include declining orange supply and declining demand for their flagship product-OJ.

Surging egg prices are straining America’s bakeries | CNN Business (Feb. 23, 2025)
Bakeries are hesitant to hike prices but skyrocketing egg sales have even the most discerning bakeries considering egg alternatives. BTW, that hesitancy to raise prices indicates bakeries know demand is elastic. It’s cheaper to eat the additional cost than scare away customers.

To help solve its egg price crisis, America is turning to Turkey (the country) | CNN Business (Feb. 24, 2025)
Turkey plans to export 420 million eggs to the US. Will it be enough to bring down egg prices?

More adults order from McDonald's kids menu. Blame inflation | Quartz (Feb. 13, 2025)
Income effects and dietary preferences are leading more consumers to order kids meals.

Chocolate prices are up 20% this Valentine’s Day as cocoa prices hit record | CNN Business (Feb. 11, 2025)
Adverse weather and growing conditions in West Africa have pushed cocoa prices to record highs, but this year’s Valentine’s chocolate is only up 20%. Brace yourselves for next year.

Think Kendrick is Not Getting Paid For That Super Bowl Performance? Not So Fast...Here Are the Real Numbers | The Root (Feb. 11, 2025)
Officially, Kendrick Lamar was paid $0 for his record-breaking Superbowl Halftime show. However, the boost to his streaming catalog could net him millions. On Monday alone, Spotify streams of “Not Like Us” brought in $30,000.

Someone has stolen 100,000 eggs from a Pennsylvania company. Police say they're worth $40K | USA Today (Feb. 4, 2025)
Egg prices are so high, they’ve cracked the list of heist-worthy goods. Unfortunately for the thieves, their treasure can’t be stored away for long before it rots.

Bird flu brought back the egg shortage | Morning Brew (Jan. 25, 2025)
In a bad case of deja-vu, egg prices are rising again.

Frigid Weather Adds to High Beef Price Pains | MSN (Jan. 9, 2025)
Prussic acid in grass that builds up in frigid weather kills cows, forcing farmers to limit cow grazing–lowering the weight of their cattle. That’s shifting supply to the left and driving prices up, bus so far consumer appetite appears inelastic.

Rolex watch prices are through the roof this year. Thank surging gold costs | CNN Business (Jan. 2, 2025)
When the price of an input goes up, supply shifts up (or to the left), driving equilibrium prices up. That means it’s even less likely you’ll find yourself with a Rolex this year.

Why some concerned shoppers are stockpiling goods | CNN Business (Dec. 16, 2024)
Expectations of future higher prices are leading consumers to stockpile now, a great example of a demand shift.

Cyber Monday was the biggest US online shopping day ever | CNN Business (Dec. 3, 2024)
When the price decreases, quantity demanded increases! U.S. consumers spent $13.3 billion on Cyber Monday, and a whopping total of $41.1 billion in the 5 days spanning Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, attracted by retailer discounts. Demand for electronics was especially high, as consumers anticipate higher prices should Trump impose the higher tariffs he has threatened.

Thanksgiving box office showdown shows importance of premium screens | CNBC (Nov. 1, 2024)
Movie theaters are getting a lesson in the Alchian-Allen effect– if you consider leaving your comfy couch a fixed cost. Theater goers want a premium experience, and are willing to pay the additional ticket price, and in some cases, wait longer to see the show.

You may not need that student loan after all. Here's the latest college tuition trend. | USA Today (Oct. 30, 2024)
College tuition rose less than inflation, and factoring increased student aid, net student tuition costs have declined by 40% over the last decade, as fewer students enroll in colleges.

Halloween could taste different this year thanks to soaring cocoa prices | CNN Business (Oct. 20, 2024)
Halloween candy is a great microcosm in which to discuss a host of economic phenomena-a supply shift, a change in the price of a related good, and changing tastes and preferences.

Helene spurs IV fluid shortage. Milton could make it worse | The Hill (Oct. 9, 2024)
One NC-based manufacturer supplied 60% of US IV supplies until Hurricane Helene damaged the facility. But increasing capacity at other manufacturing locations has proved to be a challenge as yet another IV fluid manufacturing facility lies in the path of Hurricane Milton. Talk about a supply shock.

Companies are crafting new ways to grow cocoa, and chocolate alternatives, to keep up with demand | AP News (Sept. 1, 2024)
Get ready to try lab-grown cocoa. Soaring prices for cocoa beans, as well as environmental and labor concerns, have driven suppliers to seek alternatives to West African cocoa.

Mini farm animals are adorable. There's also a growing demand for them | AP News (Aug. 12, 2024)
Mini goat breeders are staying on top of shifting consumer preferences by increasing supply of the popular animals by 73% this past year!

Inflation comes for your oysters | CNN Business (Aug. 11, 2024)
Don’t let the title mislead you. The 250% increase in oyster prices is a classic tale of supply and demand shifts.

Paris Olympics target tourists with metro fares gone wild | SF Gate (July 22, 2024)
The Paris Olympics organizing committee wanted free metro fares for Olympic spectators. But there’s no such thing as a free metro ride

Supply, Demand, and Equilibrium: Delta says the Olympics will cost it $100 million as travelers skip Paris ⎜NBC News (July 11, 2024)
An unanticipated demand shift from the Paris Olympics–decreased demand for flights to and from Paris as tourists seek to avoid the crowds and soaring hotel prices. French travelers also appear to be postponing summer travel plans or rerouting to avoid the capital. Post-games, demand is expected to rebound.

Diaper change: Japan’s aging society is transforming the baby care business. | CNN Business (July 5, 2024)
Japanese diaper manufacturer Oji Holdings is responding to a textbook population shift in demand by ending its domestic baby diaper sales to focus on adult diapers.

Starbucks is suddenly discounting coffee left and right to win back inflation-weary consumers | Quartz (June 21, 2024)
Even Starbucks is bound by the law of demand.

Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese rematch poised to be most expensive WNBA game ever | CNN Business (June 20, 2024)
Blame a demand shift if $250-$9,000 tickets have you priced out of the next Fever v. Sky rematch.

Orange juice crisis prompts search for alternative fruits | Financial Times (May 29, 2024)
The orange juice of the future may be made with mandarins. In the meantime, OJ futures are at an all time high due to supply hits from citrus greening. Teachers can get free access to the Financial Times by registering here.

AstraZeneca is pulling its COVID-19 vaccine | Quartz (May 8, 2024)
AstraZeneca is exiting the COVID-19 vaccine market, a perfect opportunity to ask your students to predict what will happen to the price and availability of COVID vaccines. Also a good segue into economies of scale and shutdown costs.

Hotel prices soar as tourists flock to see solar eclipse | CBS News (April 6, 2024)
The eclipse shifted demand to the right for hotels along the path of totality. The result? Raised hotel prices and occupancy rates precisely as predicted by a supply and demand graph.

Egg prices are rising again. An outbreak of bird flu could make things worse | CNN Business (April 3, 2024)
Get ready for COVID-19 flashbacks as egg prices are rising again.

The chocolate crisis is here | Morning Brew (March 17, 2024)
Chocolate prices increased 25% on March 15, compared to a week before, and are up 2015% since last year. That’s due to a combination of supply hits due to weather and lack of investment, as well as tripled global demand.

Natural gas prices plunge as US set for warmest winter on record | Financial Times (Feb. 18, 2024)
Natural gas prices have fallen 50% since mid-January to a 3-decade low as supply is up and demand is down. Teachers can get free access to the Financial Times by registering here.

'It's definitely backfiring': Seattle ordinance intended to help app delivery workers is 'hurting' them | King5 (Feb. 5, 2024)
Seattle’s new ordinance, intended to boost wages for gig workers, is the latest example of unintended consequences. The new $5 fee is discouraging orders, leaving less work for gig workers.

Inside the Stanley tumbler collector economy  | Marketplace (Jan. 12, 2024)
A simple demand shift explains why used Stanley tumblers are selling on resale sites for hundreds of dollars.

Confectioners eye holiday boost as UK shoppers snub expensive gifts | Reuters (Dec. 11, 2023)
Looking for a fresh example of an income shift? Purchase data in Britain suggests that holiday chocolates are an inferior good.

The Psyche 16 Asteroid Isn't Worth $10,000,000,000,000,000,000 | Jadrian Wooten (Nov. 13, 2023)
An asteroid that is a metal treasure chest contains enough supply to drastically change metal prices on earth. For any skeptical students, refer to the comparison with the influx of gold and silver in 16th-century Spain.

Lionel Messi joins the MLS, single-game ticket prices surge | CNBC (Aug. 20, 2023)
Lionel Messi had driven up demand for MLS tickets by 1,700%. Now that’s a demand shift!

Inflation has reached the North Pole as a Santa shortage looms | NPR (December 13, 2022)
The demand for Santa is higher in 2022 compared to before Covid-19. There is a shortage of Santas. What are the reasons? Is there a solution?
 

 Getting Graphic

Shifts in Supply or Demand Interactive Practice (3 Sets) | MRU
Three variations of this interactive will provide your students with plenty of opportunities to test their knowledge on whether an event causes a shift in the demand curve or a shift in the supply curve.

Finding Equilibrium: Shifting Both Curves Interactive Practice | MRU

Change in Supply vs. Change in Quantity Supplied Interactive Practice | MRU

Change in Demand vs. Change in Quantity Demanded Interactive Practice | MRU

Valentine’s Day Edition: Change in Demand vs. Change in Quantity Demanded Interactive Practice | MRU

Holiday Edition: Shift in Supply or Demand Interactive Practice | MRU

Videos

Change in Demand vs. Change in Quantity Demanded | MRU
Cement the distinction between a change in demand and a change in quantity demanded in this quick (and somewhat silly) video! Note - this video is not designed to teach the concepts quantity demanded and demand, but rather it’s just meant to highlight the difference between the two terms.
Resource: Interactive Practice

The Demand Curve | MRU
Using the classic example of the demand for oil, students will be introduced to the concept of demand, how it’s graphed, and why people might choose a substitute good if the price gets too high.
Resource: Worksheet

The Supply Curve | MRU
Continuing with the example of oil, this video will show your students the relationship between price and the quantity supplied. They’ll also see the basics of graphing a supply curve.
Resource: Worksheet

The Demand Curve Shifts | MRU
What causes the demand curve to shift?

The Supply Curve Shifts | MRU
What causes the supply curve to shift?

Podcasts

Tik Tok made me buy it | The Indicator
Can you say demand curve shifter?

Additional Resources

Supply, Demand, and Equilibrium Unit | MRU
Our updated supply and demand unit plan gives you 7 days of lesson plans chock-full of interactives, videos, news articles and more.

Supply and Demand Simulation Game | MRU
Simulate supply and demand in a market by playing cards.

Supply, Demand, and Equilibrium Assessment Questions | MRU

Law of Supply and Demand Cheat-Sheet | MRU
A really useful cheat-sheet to offer to your students.

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