Issue 4: Security

The fourth issue’s theme is Security in all of its forms: financial, emotional, technological and more. Our paychecks let us plan for the future and save for retirement, ensuring security in years to come. We talked to eight 75-year-olds around the world about how they prepared for retirement — and how it’s going.

The pandemic has also forced continued investment in cybersecurity as attacks rose in 2020. Minimum wage laws — first enacted in the Industrial Revolution to provide more security for workers — can also have a big effect on mental health. With the rise of the gig economy, some countries and cities are trying to put more emphasis on job security.

You’ll also learn how pyramid schemes nearly took down Albania’s economy in the 1990s, and how debit cards changed our lives in the past four decades. Real people talk pay in Beijing, home to the Winter Olympic Games this year, and you’ll meet Hamburg’s swanfather, who’s responsible for the safety of the Hanseatic city’s feathered friends.

This is 75: What retirement looks like in 2022

The first Baby Boomers were born in 1946; now they’re mostly in retirement. Eight 75-year-olds around the world share how they’re doing.

The email scam costing businesses billions

Criminals use simple emails to trick companies into diverting payments to untraceable accounts.

The long evolution of minimum wage

Real-life experiments show that increasing minimum wages doesn’t affect employment rates, but does help relieve poverty.

How 6 people in Beijing earn their yuans

China’s capital city is hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics in February. We asked six Beijingers about their first and future paychecks.

Creating security for gig economy workers

More countries are introducing measures to improve wage and social security for gig workers.

Hamburg’s swanfather: Keeping birds out of trouble since 1674

Olaf Nieß holds one of the oldest civil servant jobs in Germany. His most important task? Taking care of Hamburg’s swans.

Cashier check ‘kebabs’ sum up Naples’ financial history

This Italian port city was a business hub for centuries, and all its dealings were documented on slips of paper strung up like meat.

How debit cards changed our lives

After debuting in the 1970s, debit cards took hold in the 1990s and 2000s, changing how we spend our hard-earned money.

Albania, a young economy with a long history

After shifting to capitalism in 1991, Albania was rife with pyramid schemes, the collapse of which led to major economic reforms.

Income security: A basic human need

Poverty is so stressful that it can change the way the brain works. Ensuring income security is essential in this pandemic era.

Seeking security in the pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has tested our systems of social security, bringing increased attention to how governments care for people.

Steal our charts: Issue 4

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