On today’s show, Alaska Public Media reporter Ava White joins Kimberly to make us smarter about Fat Bear Week and the issues that are top of mind for Alaskans right now. Alaska residents receive an annual check funded by the state’s oil royalties. But its purchasing power is lower than ever. We’ll get into it. Plus, we’ll weigh in on AI live translations and a rise in Hamburger Helper sales during a round of Half Full/Half Empty!

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "Meet the superfans going wild for Alaska’s fattest bears" from Alaska Public Media
• "Alaska ignored warning signs of a budget crisis. Now it doesn’t have money to fix crumbling schools" from KYUK
• ”The 2025 Alaska Permanent Fund dividend will be $1,000” from Alaska Public Media
• "North Slope leaders applaud tax breaks for whalers in the GOP megabill” from KNBA
• "Why are restaurant chains opening beverage-focused spinoffs?" from Marketplace
• "AI is taking on live translations. But jobs and meaning are getting lost." from The Washington Post
• "Touchscreens in cars are finally on their way out. Good riddance" from Fast Company
• "Hamburger Helper Sales Rise as Americans Try to Stretch Their Food Dollars" from The New York Times

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Today we’re diving into the business of music. Trapital founder Dan Runcie joins Kimberly to explain what Anthropic’s recent copyright settlement with authors could mean for record labels who’ve sued AI companies, the “fair use” debates dominating the music industry, and why even the biggest stars are struggling to create chart-toppers these days. Plus, we’ll celebrate a win from one of our listeners.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "The Generative AI Music Sweepstakes" from Trapital
• "Anthropic Agrees to Pay Authors at Least $1.5 Billion in AI Copyright Settlement" from Wired
• "Labels Claim Suno Pirated Songs From YouTube in Bulked-Up AI Copyright Lawsuit" from Billboard
• "YouTube copyright fight: Rick Beato warns UMG claims over short music clips could end his channel" from TechSpot
• TikTok from Lizzo

• "Kneecap, Faye Webster & 400 Other Artists Remove Their Catalogs From Israel: ‘No Music for Genocide’" from Billboard

  
  

  Join us tomorrow for “Economics on Tap.” The YouTube livestream starts at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time, 6:30 p.m. Eastern.

President Trump is not a fan of the United Nations—he made that clear in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly today. Under Trump, the United States has pulled back from several efforts, including U.N. organizations, that have contributed to the country’s so-called soft power goals. On the show today, Joshua Eisenman, professor of politics in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, joins Kimberly to discuss the changing role of the U.S. in global politics and how China is seizing this moment to gain more influence.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "Trump tells UN in speech that it is 'not even coming close to living up' to its potential" from AP News
• "Geopolitics of Trump Tariffs: How U.S. Trade Policy Has Shaken Allies" from Council on Foreign Relations
• "How China Stands to Gain as the U.S. Steps Away From the U.N." from The New York Times

• "The Global South Won't Give Up on China" from Foreign Relations

  
  

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