Business & Economy

COVID-19 attacks indiscriminately: Young or old, rich or poor, it seems like everyone is vulnerable to the virus. But New York Times economics writer Nelson Schwartz says increasing economic inequality in the U.S. means that, as a group, the country's wealthiest one percent are likely to fare better during the pandemic than everyone else.

How can one company be so wildly successful — and so thoroughly distrusted? Tech writer Steven Levy reflects on Facebook's enigmatic leader and its drive for expansion in his new book.

New York Times financial editor David Enrich has been covering the German Deutsche bank for years. In his new book he chronicles why the 150 year old institution began shadowy practices - like laundering money, tax evasion, violating international sanctions, and lending money to Donald Trump after no other Wall Street bank would.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is now the richest man in the world, with an empire that stretches from Hollywood to Whole Foods — and even into outer space.

The new PBS FRONTLINE documentary, Amazon Empire: The Rise And Reign Of Jeff Bezos, investigates how Bezos transformed Amazon from an online bookseller into a trillion-dollar business that's unprecedented in its size and reach. Director James Jacoby, who worked with fellow filmmaker Anya Bourg on the project, calls the company an "inescapable part of our modern lives."

"What you have is a presidential campaign that is pushing lies and distortions and conspiracy theories into the bloodstream at an unprecedented rate," says Atlantic writer McKay Coppins.

In 2008, GM closed its manufacturing plant in Dayton, Ohio, sending the community into a tailspin. Workers who had been unionized at GM struggled to find jobs that paid close to the wages the plant had paid.

How the Trump and Kushner families immigrated to the U.S. and built their fortunes, a talk with Andrea Bernstein, author of American Oligarchs.

Christopher Wylie was a research director at Cambridge Analytica. When he joined the company its goal was countering extremists who were using social media to recruit followers. But then the company began collecting personal data from Facebook users, and used it to target people susceptible to conspiracy theories and disinformation during the 2016 presidential campaign. Wylie left the company and became a whistleblower.

Environmental scientist Kate O'Neill discusses recycling and the global politics of waste. "Once you throw something away, you've got to think about where's it going to go next," she says.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Fahrenthold says in the past, an honor system helped keep presidents from using the office to benefit themselves. Not Trump: "He exploits honor systems."

In a new book, Christopher Leonard chronicles how Koch Industries acquired huge businesses, limited its liability and created a political influence network to remake the GOP.

Verge journalist Casey Newton investigated working conditions for the people who determine what material can be posted to Facebook. Many are traumatized by the images of hate and violence they see.

At the height of America's Jim Crow era, Taylor broke barriers by becoming the country's fastest and most famous cyclist. Michael Kranish tells his story in the new book, The World's Fastest Man.

The German bank was Trump's partner on countless investments at a time when most of Wall Street shied away. As a result, NY Times editor David Enrich says, it has a trove of information about Trump.

Jennifer Stockburger runs the Consumer Reports "test track," where the magazine takes stock of hundreds of cars, trucks and SUVs. She says more than 50 tests drive each vehicle's rating.

Former federal public defender Alexandra Natapoff says 13 million misdemeanors are filed each year in the U.S., trapping the innocent, punishing the poor and making society more unequal.

For trauma surgeon Joseph Sakran, gun violence is a very personal issue. He has treated hundreds of gun wound victims, comforted anxious loved ones and told mothers and fathers that their children would not be coming home.

But Sakran's empathy for his patients and their families extends beyond the hospital. Sakran knows the pain of gun violence because he is a survivor of it; when he was 17, he took a bullet to the throat after a high school football game.

Investigative reporters Susanne Craig and David Barstow say the president received today's equivalent of $413 million from his father's real estate empire, through what appears to be tax fraud.

Lewis' new book, The Fifth Risk, examines three federal departments under Trump: energy, agriculture and commerce. He warns that half of the top 700 positions in the administration remain unfilled.