The Gist: Adam Davidson on the economy of wages, and Anita Rachvelishvili on opera methods.

It Doesn’t Just Feel Like We’re Working Harder for Less Money. We Are. 

It Doesn’t Just Feel Like We’re Working Harder for Less Money. We Are. 

A daily news and culture podcast with Mike Pesca.
Oct. 22 2014 6:41 PM

We Work Hard for Less Money

In terms of “real wages,” we make less than our grandparents did. At least we have air conditioning.

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Are we making less real wages than past generations?

Photo illustration by Slate. Photo by 401kcalculator.org/Flickr.

Listen to Episode 120 of Slate’s The Gist:

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Today on The Gist, a question about opera that has (almost) nothing to do with the controversy over The Death of Klinghoffer at the Metropolitan Opera. Mike asks mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili, star of the Met’s new production of Carmen, what it’s like to perform opera—from a seated position. Then, why are real wages not growing anywhere near the rate they once did? Adam Davidson from NPR’s Planet Money gives the economists’ explanation. For the Spiel, we’d like to be trusted as much as we’re mistrusted.

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Mike Pesca is the host of the Slate daily podcast The Gist. He also contributes reports and commentary to NPR.