Just beneath the surface of the global economy, there is a hidden layer of dealmakers for whom war, chaos, and sanctions can be a great business opportunity. Javier Blas and Jack Farchy, the authors of The World for Sale, help us shine a light on the shadowy realm of commodity traders.

• SOURCES:
  • Javier Blas, opinion columnist at Bloomberg News.
  • Jack Farchy, energy and commodities senior reporter at Bloomberg News.

• RESOURCES:
  • The World For Sale: Money, Power, and the Traders Who Barter the Earth's Resources, by Javier Blas and Jack Farchy (2021)
  • The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of Marc Rich, by Daniel Ammann (2010).

• EXTRAS:
  • "How the Supermarket Helped America Win the Cold War (Update)" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
  • "The First Great American Industry," by Freakonomics Radio (2023).

Licensing began with medicine and law; now it extends to 20 percent of the U.S. workforce, including hair stylists and auctioneers. In a new book, the legal scholar Rebecca Allensworth calls licensing boards “a thicket of self-dealing and ineptitude” and says they keep bad workers in their jobs and good ones out — while failing to protect the public.

• SOURCES:
  • Rebecca Allensworth, professor of law at Vanderbilt University.

• RESOURCES:
  • "The Licensing Racket: How We Decide Who Is Allowed to Work, and Why It Goes Wrong" by Rebecca Allensworth (2025).
  • "Licensed to Pill," by Rebecca Allensworth (The New York Review of Books, 2020).
  • "Licensing Occupations: Ensuring Quality or Restricting Competition?" by Morris Kleiner (W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, 2006).
  • "How Much of Barrier to Entry is Occupational Licensing?" by Peter Blair and Bobby Chung (British Journal of Industrial Relations, 2019).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Is Ozempic as Magical as It Sounds?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

Adam Moss was the best magazine editor of his generation. When he retired, he took up painting. But he wasn’t very good, and that made him sad. So he wrote a book about how creative people work— and, in the process, he made himself happy again.

• SOURCE:
  • Adam Moss, magazine editor and author.

• RESOURCES:
  • The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing, by Adam Moss (2024).
  • "Goodbye, New York. Adam Moss Is Leaving the Magazine He Has Edited for 15 Years," by Michael M. Grynbaum (The New York Times, 2019).
  • Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking, by Samin Nosrat (2017).

• EXTRAS:
  • "David Simon Is On Strike. Here’s Why," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023).
  • "Samin Nosrat Always Wanted to Be Famous," by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
  • "What’s Wrong with Being a One-Hit Wonder?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023).