Pop Trends Price Culture

Legalization: An influence for teens to smoke pot? The 'King of emotional arguments' goes up against a serious body of facts and evidence, as this episode of Pop Trends Price Culture considers whether the social mood trend will finish what it started.

Does news coverage of "threats" help you know what the threats really are? How DO you think about real vs. perceived threats -- to your safety, health, and life? And, what the heck do bookmakers have to do with these questions? Check out this episode for the answers.

When and where did a national audience first read about popular culture and the stock market? This episode of Pop Trends, Price Culture answers that question, and spells out why the insight about social mood is more relevant today than ever.

We don't think of The Pilgrims as "risk takers," but the fact is that they took risks on a scale few of us can even imagine. Yet the smartest risk the Pilgrims took is the one few people even know. Discover what it was in this episode -- plus a few thoughts on the risks of wise compassion.

What makes the upheaval in Syria SO impossible is that 15 separate countries have active military operations in that country. The war also involves non-state group like ISIS, the Kurds, and Hezbollah. With a crisis this thorny, new or useful insights are in short supply. Can we shed light on how you see this conflict? In a word, yes...

"I'm sorry" -- it's the first truly hard-to-say phrase we repeat as children. We all know why apologies matter. Yet with big public apologies, what about the when? Are big apologies more frequent in certain recognizable eras? Pop Trends, Price Culture explains how social mood feeds the emotions that motivate "I'm sorry"...

“The Most Important Thing in the World…” Yes, that is the conventional wisdom about the fed funds rate. No, we are not putting words in anyone’s mouth. Someone really said it: Hear that audio clip – and lots more – for yourself. Pop Trends, Price Culture considers what really is (and is not) “the most important thing…”

Can two economists from opposing schools of thought share the Nobel Prize in the same year? They can ... and they did. Yet this mixed-up decision becomes clear when you see it as a story about mixed...

The only thing worse than making a bad decision is to make a bad decision and think that it's good.

Halloween is right around the corner: This episode of Pop Trends, Price Culture pays tribute to the greatest and most chilling 'Trick or Treat' prank of the 20th century. Let's just say that, if anything, America's mood was a bit too ready for this one. Plus, a link to the free video we call "History’s Hidden Engine."

As the world was falling apart, a towering maestro gave the world an exquisite composition that both captured and reflected the grievous sentiment of that time. This week's episode of Pop Trends, Prices Culture tells part one of an exceptional two-part story. Plus, a link to the free video we call "History's Hidden Engine."

The public loves portrayals of vigilante justice. Memorable vigilantes are sometimes a ‘good guy,’ other times they are … something else. Why? Where did those characters come from? Are there ever ‘good guy’ vigilantes in the real world? These great questions get great answers in this episode of Pop Trends, Prices Culture. Plus, read Bob Prechter's original essay that explains the link between pop culture & the stock market (free!).

More than 80 percent of economists predicted it would happen. The Fed would raise interest rates. It would be the 'All Clear' signal for the economy. But... it didn't happen. The entire economics profession was caught off guard. Listen to the 'follow up story' you won't get anyplace else.

Just before he was re-elected, the President assured the public that America would not go to war. But go to war it did -- complete with harsh anti-immigration laws, and tens of thousands of naturalized citizens in "relocation camps." No, this isn't a re-run of our previous episode. Different president, different war -- but social mood was very much alike.

For the past 100 years, social mood has been pivotal in America’s decisions to go to war. This episode of Pop Trends, Price Culture shows just how true this is was for World War I – despite...

Immigration policy has been an epic contradiction all thru U.S. history. America is “a nation of immigrants,” yet major political trends in America frequently include outbursts of anti-immigration...

Who actually tries to get away with making the most outrageous and extreme comments in public? No, not professional wrestlers. The answer is, “Aspirants to the Oval Office.” Pop Trends, Price Culture explains why the Stupid Season of presidential politics has arrived a full year ahead of schedule.

The meltdown of China’s stock market is arguably the biggest global financial story so far in 2015. The decline began barely six weeks ago, yet the Shanghai index has lost nearly one-third of its value.

A few provocative questions: Just over a month ago, 9 people were murdered in a church in Charleston, SC. What if people there had responded by looting and destroying property?

To “demonize the enemy” is a staple of war propaganda. But, you don’t need a war to call your enemy demonic. Case in point, the United States and Iran for the past 35 years – as in, “The Great Satan” vs. “The Axis of Evil.” Each country really did use language that describes a mortal foe. So what on earth explains recent news of these two enemies shaking hands over a comprehensive nuclear agreement? This week’s Pop Trends, Price Culture explains the otherwise inexplicable answer.