Gilded Age, Prosperity Paradox, Unemployment in Nigeria

When Rules Ruled Society and Mrs. Astor Was Queen (Originally aired March 8, 2019) Guest: Cecelia Tichi, Professor of English and American Studies, Vanderbilt University, Author of “What Would Mrs. Astor Do?” Mark Twain called it the “Gilded Age,” a time when strict rules ruled, and manners really mattered. From 1870 to 1900, the US population doubled, industry expanded, and wealth exploded. New York City was the center of it all and Caroline Astor was its queen. How Innovation Can Lift Nations Out of Poverty (Originally aired March 22, 2019) Guests: Karen Dillon, Former Editor of Harvard Business Review; Efosa Ojomo, Director of Global Prosperity Practice at Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, Co-authors of “The Prosperity Paradox” Since 1990, global efforts have lifted a billion people out of poverty. That’s a lot of people no longer desperately poor. But look more closely at the data and it turns out most of that improvement has been in China. In other places, like sub-Saharan Africa, the number of people in poverty has actually increased. And that’s despite, trillions of dollars spent on development projects globally. Why aren’t those efforts making more of a difference? Soft Skills and Nigeria’s Unemployment Problem (Originally aired March 22, 2019) Guest: Misan Rewane, Co-Founder and CEO, West Africa Vocational Education (WAVE) One of the biggest challenges facing Nigeria today is a huge population of unemployed young people. Many of them are high school - even college - graduates. And yet, the businesses who desperately need workers find young people lacking skills in things like teamwork and communication. West Africa Vocational Education is tackling the challenge of teaching "soft skills" to Nigeria's youth.