The writers' strike means viewers lose out. But there's a lot for them to gain, too.

Plus, how one company changed after introducing AI to its workflow. [View this email online]( [NPR Up First Newsletter]( by Suzanne Nuyen May 7, 2023 Good morning. This week, [WHO ended the COVID global health emergency]( The [World Wide Web turned 30]( and Elon Musk threatened to [give NPR's Twitter account away](. Plus, Scott Simon talks to Pussy Riot about art, freedom and fear. Best of NPR Hollywood writers have been on strike for five days now. It's likely you've already noticed changes in your late-night television viewing and on shows like SNL. And the longer the strike goes on, the more viewers will lose out. (I'm personally still traumatized over the Pushing Daisies cancelation after the 2007 writers' strike.) [Members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) East picketed outside of the Peacock NewFront on May 2, 2023 in New York City as the WGA strike began.]( Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images But in the long term, viewers will also be the beneficiaries of this strike — if negotiations manage to fix what the Writers Guild of America calls a broken system. Here's why the [audience should care about the WGA contract]( 🖋️ It's a question of ethical consumption: Do you as a viewer want your entertainment to come from an exploitative system? 🖋️ Shows could also improve if some of WGA's demands are met. Right now, many writers bang out scripts, but they don't get to participate in production. Their involvement and experience make for better TV. 🖋️ The current system makes it hard for writers who belong to marginalized identities to move up the ladder. And a more homogenous writer's room means more homogenous entertainment. This strike is complicated. Here's how to wrap your head around what's at stake: 🎧 Listen to a writer and co-executive producer for Star Trek: Strange New World tell WBUR about his [experiences](. 🎧 Listen to writer and WGA captain Jeane Phan Wong break down the [guild's demands]( on All Things Considered. 📷 Have a laugh at some of the best picket signs so far. [They're very creative]( — these people are writers after all. ➡️ Catch up on how much has changed since the [last big writers' strike]( in 2007. --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- The Week That Was [An illustration of a robot and a man connected by a line that is being held by a raised fist.]( Mohamed Hassan/Pixabay AI technology is changing at a dizzying pace, and there are plenty of fears around how it could affect human existence. Now, new economic research could calm our nerves. After a company introduced an AI chatbot similar to ChatGPT to its workflows, economists found workers were able to [accomplish more in less time]( and improve customer satisfaction. It's one of the first empirical studies of "generative AI" at a real-world company, and the results could have significant implications for income inequality. The anti-vaccine movement is evolving. As the COVID pandemic winds down, advocates aim to bring together lawyers who have brought COVID and vaccine-related cases to court to [build a body of law]( to fight public health agencies in case of a new threat. Their fights include everything from suing educators who enforced mask mandates to demanding that vaccination status be made a protected class, like race or sexual orientation. The U.S. has more than 4,000 small banks — more than any other country in the world. Before the FDIC was created in the 1930s, small banks would go bust all the time, and bank runs would leave entire communities devastated. Now, [some see them as the economy's superpower]( because they can tailor lending to specific communities. Still, small banks aren't risk-free. --------------------------------------------------------------- Podcast Picks [An illustration of a girl taking a selfie. ]( Kaz Fantone/NPR The Indicator from Planet Money: Economic stories are lurking everywhere. The Indicator helps you [make sense of work, business, the economy]( and more every weekday afternoon. 🎧 What did you want to be when you grew up? Ask a kid now, and they'll probably say, "An influencer." This episode is the first in a five-part series about how [social media influencers' rise in popularity]( fame and power makes influencing a viable career. Mid Pacific, from Cap Radio: This is the perfect podcast to ring in the first week of AAPI Heritage Month. Host Sarah Mizes-Tan explores [what it means to be Asian American]( and how it feels to be caught between two worlds through stories about food, politics, family and more. 🎧 In this episode, Sarah and her guests discuss [food appropriation]( and who gets to "own" a cuisine. How does food influence your Asian American identity and vice versa? Caliber 60, from Texas Public Radio: Avocados, guns and people. Caliber 60 is a [limited series]( about illegal arms trafficking to Mexico, told through the eyes of Linda, a woman who had to flee her hometown in Michoacan, Mexico, after a devastating loss. 🎧 The first episode in the series looks at avocados. U.S. avocado consumption has exploded in the last decade. Still, Americans rarely see the [rotten underbelly of the industry]( run by groups in Mexico armed with weapons smuggled from the U.S. --------------------------------------------------------------- Scott's Thoughts [Russian political activist Nadya Tolokonnikova of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot]( Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP When our Zoom interview from an undisclosed location with [Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova]( ended, I told her, “I’m sorry, I simply must introduce you to my daughters.” I rushed them into Zoom view. The Russian feminist collective and performance art group received the Woody Guthrie Prize in Tulsa last night for their art and music that speaks for freedom, democracy and bravery. Nadya Tolokonnikova was imprisoned in 2012 for performing an anti-Putin song with her group at a Moscow church. She is now on Russia’s most-wanted list, but continues her performance art because, as she told us, “Fear is paralyzing.” We were honored to interview her the week we spoke with [Billy Corgan]( long-time frontman of The Smashing Pumpkins. NPR editor D. Parvaz and producer Michael Radcliffe noticed a similar theme. The Smashing Pumpkins have created a rock opera called Atum. It's 33 songs long, but in a media world that doles out increasingly small morsels of content, Billy Corgan says he doesn’t worry about trends. “When you put fear and art together, it tends not to result in great work,” he told us. “It doesn't sort of touch people at a deeper level because it's based on something that I don't think people resonate to.” There’s no comparison between the violence faced by Pussy Riot, and the vogues of the music industry. But this gives us a glimpse of the hearts of two resolute artists. This week’s show aired during King Charles’ coronation, so our essay explained the [creative power]( that keeps monarchy modest. --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. [Find a Station]( --------------------------------------------------------------- This newsletter was edited by Carol Ritchie. Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Music, Politics, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Best of NPR emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( [NPR logo]