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Local Business · New episodes on Tuesdays
The Corner Economy
Why does a haircut cost what it costs? Who actually makes money on a croissant? Each week, two hosts take one business on your block, a bakery, a nail salon, a food truck or a barbershop, and dig through its strange history and hidden math until you see your own shop differently. Every episode ends on the owner's side of the counter, with one thing to check in your own business on Monday. Every claim checked using FactUnion's fact-checking process; every source is in the episode notes.
Made by WovenPod. Hosted by Tess and Ray, performed by synthetic voices. Sources are in every episode's notes.
FactUnion VerifiedEvery episode's facts were checked against their sources. What this means
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Episodes
Newest first-
The Crash You Missed: Why Your Chocolate Never Got Cheaper
Cocoa fell by more than half from its record and then nearly doubled again, so why did the price on a small baker's chocolate invoice barely move?
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The Rent Is the Product
A salon suite stylist's weekly rent is the whole revenue line of a fast-growing franchise system, so who in that building actually carries the risk?
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The Fee on the Tip
A tip used to be something you could get arrested for. Now it's something the shop pays a card fee on, and since 2026 the tip screen also decides part of the worker's tax break.
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