Incarcerated people grow crops, fight wildfires, and manufacture everything from motor oil to prescription glasses — often for pennies per hour. Zachary Crockett reports from North Carolina.

SOURCES:

• Laura Appleman, professor of law at Willamette University.
• Christopher Barnes, inmate at the Franklin Correctional Center.
• Lee Blackman, general manager at Correction Enterprises.
• Brian Scott, ex-inmate, former worker at the Correction Enterprises printing plant.
• Louis Southall, warden of Franklin Correctional Center.

RESOURCES:

• "Prisoners in the U.S. Are Part of a Hidden Workforce Linked to Hundreds of Popular Food Brands," by Robin McDowell and Margie Mason (AP News, 2024).
• "Ex-Prisoners Face Headwinds as Job Seekers, Even as Openings Abound," by Talmon Joseph Smith (The New York Times, 2023).
• "Captive Labor: Exploitation of Incarcerated Workers," by the American Civil Liberties Union and the University of Chicago Law School Global Human Rights Clinic (2022).
• "Bloody Lucre: Carceral Labor and Prison Profit," by Laura Appleman (Wisconsin Law Review, 2022).
• "Prison Labor Is on the Frontlines of the COVID-19 Pandemic," by Eliyahu Kamisher (The Appeal, 2020).
• Correction Enterprises.

EXTRAS:

• "Can Data Keep People Out of Prison?" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023).

It takes millions of giant green placards to make America navigable. Where do they come from — and who pays the bill? Zachary Crockett takes the exit.

• SOURCES:
  • Lee Blackman, general manager at Correction Enterprises.
  • Gene Hawkins, senior principal engineer at Kittelson and professor emeritus of civil engineering at Texas A&M University.
  • Renee Roach, state signing and delineation engineer for the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways, 11th Edition," by the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (2023).
  • "Who Picks the Businesses on Highway Exit Signs?" by Janet Nguyen (Marketplace, 2022).
  • "The Road to Clarity," by Joshua Yaffa (The New York Times Magazine, 2007).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Do People Pay Attention to Signs?" by No Stupid Questions (2022).

When a zoo needs an elephant, or finds itself with three surplus penguins, it doesn’t buy or sell the animals — it asks around. Zachary Crockett rattles the cages.

• SOURCES:
  • Hollie Colahan, deputy director of the Birmingham Zoo and chair of the AZA's Animal Population Management Committee.
  • Dwight Lawson, executive director and C.E.O. of the Oklahoma City Zoo.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Oklahoma City Zoo Announces Near-Total Redesign in 2024 Master Plan," by Sam Royka (The Oklahoman, 2024).
  • "Panda Diplomacy: What China’s Decision to Send Bears to the US Reveals About Its Economy," by Chee Meng Tan (The Conversation, 2024).
  • "Oklahoma City Zoological Trust Financial Statements," (2023).
  • "Modern Zoos Are Not Worth the Moral Cost," by Emma Marris (The New York Times, 2021).
  • "The Tiger King of the 19th Century," by Betsy Golden Kellem (Slate, 2020).
  • Animal Population Management Committee of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Tow-truck drivers: roadside rescuers or car confiscators? Zachary Crockett gets hooked.

• SOURCES:
  • Bill Giorgis, president of Mike’s Wrecker Service.
  • Max Karimi, co-owner of H&M Roadside.
  • Teresa Murray, director of the Consumer Watchdog Program at U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Getting Off the Hook of a Predatory Tow - Part II," by Jacob van Cleef and Teresa Murray (U.S. PIRG Education Fund, 2022).
  • "Getting Off the Hook of a Predatory Tow," by Grace Brombach (U.S. PIRG Education Fund, 2021).
  • "Beware of Car Towing Companies That Patrol Private Parking Lots," by Ann Carrns (The New York Times, 2021).
  • "After a Wave of Injuries, Tow Truck Drivers Want Us All to Slow Down," by Kristian Foden-Vencil (Oregon Public Broadcasting, 2021).
  • "AAA’s Grip Forcing West Coast Tow Companies Out of Business, Owners Say," by Annie Sciacca (East Bay Times, 2016).
  • r/Hookit.

Why are these 300-year-old instruments still coveted by violinists today? And how do working musicians get their hands on multimillion-dollar antiques? Zachary Crockett is not fiddling around.

• SOURCES:
  • Frank Almond, professional violinist.
  • Ziv Arazi, co-owner of Rare Violins of New York.
  • Bruno Price, co-owner of Rare Violins of New York.

• RESOURCES:
  • "When It Comes to String Instruments, Stradivariuses Are Still Pitch Perfect," by Ted Scheinman (Smithsonian Magazine, 2022).
  • "Study Confirms Superior Sound of Stradivari Is Due to How Wood Was Treated," by Jennifer Ouellette (Ars Technica, 2021).
  • "The Case of the Stolen Stradivarius," (FBI News, 2015).
  • "A High-Strung Market," by E. H. B. (The Economist, 2013).
  • "Violins For Music — And Investment Returns," by Michael S. Fischer (Financial Advisor, 2013).
  • "Stradivarius Fetches Record $16 Million in Charity Sale," (Reuters, 2011).

• EXTRA:
  • A Violin's Life, album series by Frank Almond (2013).

Casinos think they can stop skilled gamblers from eking out a tiny edge at blackjack. Is that a losing bet? Zachary Crockett doubles down.

• SOURCES:
  • "Ben," former professional card counter.
  • Bill Zender, co-founder of Bill Zender and Associates casino consulting firm.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Blackjack Player Sues Ameristar Casino, City of Black Hawk Over Alleged Detainment for Card Counting," by Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton (The Denver Post, 2023).
  • "Why Does the House Always Win? A Look at Casino Profitability," by J. B. Maverick (Investopedia, 2023).
  • "Counting the Cost," by Bill Zender (GGB News, 2022).
  • "Nevada Supreme Court Orders Casino To Pay Card Counter," by I. Nelson Rose (Gambling and the Law, 2017).
  • "Counting Cards Is Legal, But ..." by Mark Pilarski (Detroit Free Press, 2016).
  • "Card Counter Sues Planet Hollywood Over Detention, Confiscated Casino Chips," by Carri Geer Thevenot (Las Vegas Review-Journal, 2015).
  • "Real People Behind Story of '21' Discuss Film's Facts," by Ed Symkus (The State Journal-Register, 2008).
  • Blackbelt in Blackjack: Playing 21 as a Martial Art, by Arnold Snyder (1997).

• EXTRAS:
  • "How to Make Your Own Luck," by Freakonomics Radio (2020).
  • "The Economics of Sports Gambling (Replay)," by Freakonomics Radio (2020).
  • "Could the Next Brooklyn Be … Las Vegas?!" by Freakonomics Radio (2015).
  • 21, film by Robert Luketic (2008).

Making money in the stock image business requires a sharp eye for trends, a very specific type of model, and a race against A.I. Zachary Crockett takes his shot.

• SOURCE:
  • Yuri Arcurs, C.E.O. and founder of PeopleImages.

• RESOURCES:
  • "The Last Stock Photographers Await Their Fate Under Generative A.I.," by Katie Deighton (The Wall Street Journal, 2024).
  • "The Impressive 100-Year History of Stock Photography: From Analog to A.I.," by Ivanna Attié (Stock Photo Secrets, 2024).
  • "How Much Can You Make Selling Stock Photos? — It’s Not as Profitable as it Used to Be," by Matic Broz (Photutorial, 2024).
  • "Confessions of a Stock Photography Model," by Andrew Kimler (Vox, 2016).

How does a fresh tuna get from Japan to Nebraska before it goes bad? And how does its journey show up in the price of your spicy tuna rolls? Zachary Crockett gets schooled.

• SOURCES:
  • Sasha Issenberg, journalist and author.
  • David Utterback, owner of Yoshitomo and Ota sushi restaurants.
  • Nobu Yamanashi, president of Yama Seafood.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Wild or Farmed? Pacific or Atlantic? Here’s What to Know About Bluefin Tuna," by Jean Trinh (Los Angeles Times, 2023).
  • "The Untold Story of Sushi in America," by Daniel Fromson (The New York Times Magazine, 2021).
  • "The Intricacies of Tuna Grading," (Luke's Lobster Blog, 2020).
  • "Sushinomics: How Bluefin Tuna Became a Million-Dollar Fish," by Svati Kirsten Narula (The Atlantic, 2014).
  • The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy, by Sasha Issenberg (2007).
  • Yoshitomo.

• EXTRAS:
  • "Is the Future of Farming in the Ocean?" by Freakonomics Radio (2021).