TEXT OF STORY
Kai Ryssdal: This final note today in which we observe that it’s Thursday, not Friday. Still, though, we’re going to take a break from the big economic news of the week and let Rico Gagliano and Brendan Newnam loose to do what they do: ask some of the Marketplace staff what they’d really like to talk about. News that might have escaped your notice. Something you might like to talk about at a 4th of July party this weekend.
Managing editor at Marketplace, George Judson, what story are you going to be talking about this weekend?
GEORGE JUDSON: I’m going to ask people what their dream theme restaurant is.
NEWNAM: And what prompted that question?
JUDSON: The Clinic, which is a new restaurant in Singapore, is done up in medical equipment.
NEWNAM: Rehab while you eat?
JUDSON: Well, you can get your drink by drip.
NEWNAM: I used to joke about wanting like a martini IV, but now that it’s a reality.
JUDSON: The question is do you really want it?
RICO GAGLIANO: Rod Abid, senior producer of the Marketplace Morning Report, what story are you going to be talking about this weekend?
RON ABID: Well, you know, you may have heard that China was going to require that any computer sold in the country had to have this porn-blocking software on it.
GAGLIANO: And it is not anymore?
ABID: No, they just changed their mind. It turns out this software they were using also blocked things like Johnny Depp’s face and the lovable cat Garfield.
GAGLIANO: Oh my. But here’s the thing. This is the Internet, there could be a porn Garfield.
ABID: Exactly, it’s like Ron Jeremy with whiskers. It’s not cute at all.
NEWNAM: Stacey Vanek-Smith, senior reporter at Marketplace, what story are you going to be talking about this weekend?
STACEY VANEK-SMITH: Well, the city College of San Francisco is considering selling naming rights for its classes.
NEWNAM: Oh my goodness.
VANEK-SMITH: So companies would pay like $6,000, and they would buy the name of a class.
NEWNAM: The possibilities are endless here.
VANEK-SMITH: I know, like theoretical math brought to you by Lehman Brothers.
NEWNAM: Existentialism brought to you by Prozac.
VANEK-SMITH: Oceanography from Exxon.
NEWNAM: The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire brought to you by Bank of America.
RYSSDAL: That’s just a taste of Rico and Brendan’s podcast. It’s called The Dinner Party Download.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
