How an Ad Campaign Made Lesbians Fall in Love with Subaru

The story of how Subaru cultivated its image as a car for lesbians—and did so at a time when few companies would embrace or even acknowledge their gay customers.

Source: Priceonomics
Published: May 23, 2016
Length: 12 minutes (3,024 words)

The Food Industrial Complex

How the economics of processed foods explain their dominance over fruits and vegetables, and what the U.S. government has to do with it.

Source: Priceonomics
Published: Mar 24, 2016
Length: 11 minutes (2,874 words)

The Dark Origins of Conjugal Visits

An in-depth look at the history of conjugal visits, and how they originated in American racism.

Source: Priceonomics
Published: Sep 21, 2015
Length: 11 minutes (2,890 words)

Why Is Science Behind a Paywall?

Why is scientific research still stuck in a model that requires that work be published in a small number of journals owned by a small number of companies?

“Companies like Elsevier developed in the 1960s and 1970s. They bought academic journals from the non-profits and academic societies that ran them, successfully betting that they could raise prices without losing customers. Today just three publishers, Elsevier, Springer and Wiley, account for roughly 42% of all articles published in the $19 billion plus academic publishing market for science, technology, engineering, and medical topics. University libraries account for 80% of their customers. Since every article is published in only one journal and researchers ideally want access to every article in their field, libraries bought subscriptions no matter the price. From 1984 to 2002, for example, the price of science journals increased nearly 600%. One estimate puts Elsevier’s prices at 642% higher than industry-wide averages.”

Source: Priceonomics
Published: May 12, 2013
Length: 12 minutes (3,246 words)