Economy/Labor/Biz

Youth Radio: Rethinking fashion after Bangladesh

Bianca Brooks — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:21:22 +0000

I’ve always had a deep love for fashion. I celebrate fashion week like it’s a holiday. But earlier this year, I realized the true cost of my clothes when I met a group of women I’d been stealing from my whole life.

As part of an exchange program, I traveled eight thousand miles, from Oakland, Calif. to Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Today on Your Call: What is the real cost of cheap fashion?

Malihe Razazan — Tue, 21 May 2013 06:28:31 +0000

Building a more resilient economy with Bay Bucks

Jen Chien — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:16:05 +0000

Sergio Lub is walking me through the stockroom of his jewelry company’s headquarters in Martinez. All around the room, precious metal bracelets and rings nestle in cardboard boxes with labels like “Mardi Gras” and “Sage Bundle.”

Lub’s been making and designing jewelry for over 30 years, but I’m not here to talk with him about that. I’m here to learn about something else he’s been experimenting with for just as long – alternative economies, or as he puts it: “trying to find different forms of this human invention we call money.”

Extended interview: Tour the world of giving through micro-lending

Ben Trefny — Thu, 16 May 2013 23:56:13 +0000

If you imagine your dream job, what would it be?

Bob Harris has had a lot of jobs that may have made your list. About 15 years ago, Harris was a standup comedian, working out of L.A. Then he sent a demo tape into the city’s top radio news station, and he landed a job as a syndicated talking head.

He’s also been on Jeopardy 13 times and was even the “lifeline”for a friend on the game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” He helped his friend get a quarter-million dollars.

He’s also been a travel writer and is a published author. According to Harris, the most important thing he’s done is write a new book called The International Bank of Bob: Connecting Our Worlds One $25 Kiva Loan at a Time. KALW’s Ben Trefny asked Bob Harris to share the story of how it happened.

Kindergarteners get a jump on college savings

Jen Chien — Wed, 15 May 2013 23:27:09 +0000

At the Castro branch of Citibank in San Francisco, kindergartener Mat Larizadeh is making his very first bank deposit. Mat walks with his mom, Aoddi Attasara, up to the teller window. He’s much too short to see what transpires up there, but he knows the amount is $50 – and that it has something to do with his education. After the transaction, the two make their way over to a table where a plate of cookies, a stack of coloring books, and a clear plastic piggy bank await them.