The Today Show – What is the Internet?

In this clip from The Today Show in 1994, the hosts puzzle over a then-emerging concept: the internet. They debate the purpose of the “@” symbol, question how the internet works, and ask, “What is the internet, anyway?”—a moment that seems almost surreal today.

This is a powerful reminder of how quickly technology reshapes the economy. It can be used to introduce students to the idea of structural change in the labor market and how technological progress creates entirely new industries, jobs, and skills. Many of today’s careers didn’t exist just a few decades ago, and this moment in broadcast history captures how disorienting that change can be in real time.

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Talladega Nights – No One Lives Forever

This funny scene involves Ricky Bobby (played by Will Ferrell) discussing his prospects for longevity with his pit coach. When warned about the dangers of reckless driving, Ricky confidently cites advances in modern science and his substantial income as reasons he might live exceptionally long—perhaps to 245 or even 300 years old. Though exaggerated, Ricky’s statement underscores a real economic observation: higher income levels are correlated with better health outcomes, largely due to better access to healthcare and medical advancements.

Thanks to Scott Cunningham for the clip suggestion!

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Jaws – It’s an Eating Machine.

Who wants to swim at a beach with multiple recent shark attacks? In Jaws (1975), Mayor Vaughn knows that if word of the attacks gets out and the beaches shut down, it will cripple the local tourist economy of Amity Island. Tourists will choose other safer places to stay, and businesses will not want to invest in the area if it has become an undesirable vacation spot. If there is a shark terrorizing the local beaches, there is likely to be a decline in consumer and business confidence in the town causing the aggregate demand curve to decline.

Thanks to Amanda Mandzik for the clip submission & summary.

2023 0

Adventureland – You’re Hired!

It’s the summer of 1987, and recent college grad James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) can’t wait to begin his long-anticipated dream trip to Europe. Unfortunately, James’ plans come to a screeching halt when his parents announce that they are unable to subsidize his trip and he’ll need to get a job. He is turned down for a restaurant job and an asphalt mixer driver before taking a job at an amusement park.

Amusement parks serve as useful illustrations of simplified economies. Within the park borders, they create a range of goods and services such as rides, games, food, and entertainment. We can track the prices and total sales of these goods and services to determine the overall productivity of the park.

Thanks to Amanda Mandzik for the clip submission & summary!

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The G Word with Adam Conover – Investing in Public Health

Economic growth is driven by investments in both physical capital and human capital. To increase the health and wealth of a society, the US must ensure that businesses have access to resources (both physical and financial) but that everyone has access to resources that improve their human capital. Under this framework, government investment in irradicating diseases like malaria, polio, and measles allows individuals to live longer, healthier lives which increases their productivity.

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The G Word with Adam Conover – Federal Investment in Innovation

The federal government is responsible for funding a lot of the technological innovation that we often attribute to private companies. While the purpose of some of these innovations is to be applied to the military innovation of the US armed forces, a lot of them also end up as vital components of civilian lives. Private companies may not be willing to invest in technological advancements if they may come at a cost to shareholder profit, but the government isn’t as concerned with profitability.

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SiriusXM — Gizmos

In this clip, we see that a succession of technological advancements has changed the way Kevin Hart listens to his satellite radio provider (SiriusXM.) When satellite radio was first introduced, it was considered revolutionary. Listeners could tune into their favorite radio stations anywhere their car could go. People were no longer limited to radio stations from their geographic location. One drawback of the service was that the technology was tied to a specific physical location – the car.

Kevin Hart clearly thinks this is still the case as he is seen sitting in his car listening to SiriusXM. LL Cool J shows him he can now stream on his laptop and thus he can leave his car and continue listening to his favorite station! Eventually, he’s told that he can listen on his cell phone and even stream his station through his Alexa speaker. His mind is blown! Technological advancement has made all of this development possible. We now have greater flexibility about where we can listen to satellite radio.

Thanks to Erin Yetter for the clip submission and commentary.

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Walt Disney — Santa’s Workshop

It’s the night before Christmas and the elves are hard at work producing toys for Santa to deliver on Christmas. The North Pole is an engaging illustration of an economy and a good foundation for reviewing nominal and real GDP. The elves in Santa’s workshop illustrated assembly-line efficiency and tangible outputs based on the number of toys produced. Elves produce a wide range of toys including rocking horses, building blocks, and dolls. The assembly line scene can be used as a reminder about the difference between intermediate goods (such as the doll’s clothing) and the final good (the entire doll) and which items are counted toward GDP.

Thanks to Mandy Mandzik for the clip recommendation. Check out her working paper, All I Want for Christmas is an A on My Econ Final: A Holiday-Themed Review Class, for more Christmas-themed economics examples. The appendix includes hypothetical values for these products so that students can practice calculating real and nominal GDP.

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The Santa Clause — Technological Improvement

Even Santa and his sleigh can use some upgrades once the new technology has been developed. Technological improvements allow companies to produce more products using the same resources or to continue providing the same level of output more efficiently. Charlie and the elves help Santa improve his gift-giving efficiency by upgrading his suit and improving the features of his sleigh.

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Adam Ruins Manufacturing

A lot of the recent discussion on the manufacturing industry has framed the loss of employment as a reduction in manufacturing capacity. The US manufactures more physical goods than ever, but it’s using labor as the primary input. In this segment of Adam Ruins Everything, we meet Hank who has recently been laid off from his job at the factory. In an earlier segment, Hank and Adam discuss major economic measures like GDP and Unemployment. In this segment, they discuss some of the misperceptions about manufacturing.

Adam Ruins Everything is a half-hour informational comedy where host, Adam Conover, debunks popular myths. Each episode is divided into 3 segments with some common themes. In the Spring of 2018, James Tierney and I sat down to go through all three seasons of Adam Ruins Everything to pick out examples in each episode that could be used in an economics course.

In the Summer of 2020, the paper was officially published in The Journal of Economics and Finance Education, which you can read online.

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