A fast-food burger has to taste the same — and cost the same — thousands of times a day at restaurants across the country. Zachary Crockett mans the fryer.

• SOURCES:
  • John Karangis, vice president of culinary innovation at Shake Shack.
  • Walter Zuromski, owner and chief culinary officer of the Chef Services Group.

• RESOURCES:
  • "How Shake Shack’s New Test Kitchen Is Shaping the Future of the Brand," by Stefanie Tuder (Eater, 2018).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Truffles," by The Economics of Everyday Things (2023).

American golfers lose 300 million balls a year — and all those bad swings are someone else’s business opportunity. Zachary Crockett hits the links.

• SOURCES:
  • Todd Hutchinson, president and owner of BallHawker.
  • Lashan Wanigatunga, founder of Two Guys With Balls.

• RESOURCES:
  • "BallHawker, Challenge Enterprises Turn Wayward Golf Shots Into Successful Endeavor," Natalie Gilstrap (Clay Today, 2023).
  • "Temecula Golf Ball Diver Nets $100,000 a Year," by Jeff Zevely (CBS8, 2022).
  • "Golf’s Recycled Ball Market is Big Business," by Erik Matuszewski (Link, 2021).
  • "The Inside Story of What the Original Titleist Pro V1 Launch Was Really Like," Andrew Tursky (Golf Digest, 2020).
  • "Head of Golf Ball Retrieval Company Sentenced for Manslaughter After Diving Death at Wales Golf Course," by Alex Myers (Golf Digest, 2017).
  • "Man Dies While Illegally Diving for Golf Balls," by Alex Myers (Golf Digest, 2015).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Greg Norman Takes On the P.G.A. Tour," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023).

Before a guide dog can help a blind person navigate the world, it has to pass a series of tests, then go through $75,000 worth of training. Zachary Crockett sniffs around.

• SOURCES:
  • Peggy Gibbon, director of canine development at The Seeing Eye.
  • Charles Pat McKenna, assistant division director of the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Why Seeing Eye Dogs Are So Expensive To Breed and Train," by Abby Tang and Emily Christian (Business Insider, 2024).
  • "For decades, the blind have used canes to get around. Now a special wristband gives them a ‘sixth sense.'" by Peter Holley (Washington Post, 2017).
  • The Seeing Eye.
  • "History of Guide Dogs," by The International Guide Dog Federation.
  • "Facts and Figures" by The International Guide Dog Federation.

• EXTRAS:
  • "Morris Frank," by The International Guide Dog Foundation (Vimeo, 2021).

Behind that 70% off sign, there’s a liquidation consultant trying to maximize retailer profits. Zachary Crockett seeks a deal.

• SOURCES:
  • Bradley Snyder, executive managing director at Tiger Group.
  • Zac Rogers, associate professor of supply chain management at Colorado State University

• RESOURCES:
  • "What Went Wrong: The Demise of Toys R Us," by Angie Basiouny (Knowledge at Wharton, 2018)
  • "Retail apocalypse 2024: All the once-popular stores and restaurants that shuttered locations this year," by Sarah Bregel (Forbes, 2024)
  • "BBB Tip: Avoid bogus bargains at going out of business sales" by Better Business Bureau (2024)
  • "There’s a science and art to running a going-out-of-business sale. (And business is booming.)" by Courtney Reagan (CNBC, 2018)

• EXTRAS:
  • "I don't wanna grow up: The first day of the end of our childhoods," by Mike Higdon (Reno Gazette-Journal, 2018)

Picture day is an annual tradition for American families — and, for the companies that take the photos, a lucrative one. Zachary Crockett smiles for the camera.

• SOURCES:
  • Ken Murphy, C.E.O. of Lifetouch
  • Jeremy McColm, senior manager of photography at Lifetouch

• RESOURCES:
  • "The money and stress and failed hairdos of school picture day," by Kaitlyn Tiffany (Vox, 2019)
  • "The School Photo Industry Is a Master Class in Drama," by David Gauvey Herbert (New York Times, 2019)
  • "With Lifetouch Acquisition, Shutterfly Claims Leadership In Picture Memories Market," by Pamela Danziger (Forbes, 2018)
  • "Exclusive School Photography Agreement" (Vernon Public School District, 2019)

• EXTRAS:
  • "Money Schools Earn From Student Portraits Varies Widely," by Scott MacFarlane, Rick Yarborough, and Jeff Piper (NBC News Washington, 2016)

They're not always the nicest places to go — but for their owners, portable toilets are a lucrative revenue stream. Zachary Crockett lifts the lid.

• SOURCES:
  • Ron Inman, vice president of Honey Bucket
  • Veronica Crosier, executive director of Portable Sanitation Association International

• RESOURCES:
  • "Providing Toilets for 39,000 Runners," by John Branch (New York Times, 2008)
  • "Platinum Equity-owned United Site Services weighs $4B sale – Reuters," by Pam Rosacia (S&P Global, 2021)
  • "Renting Portable Units," by Portable Sanitation Association International
  • PolyJohn History

• EXTRAS:
  • "The Porta-Potty King of New York City Faces a Threat to His Throne," by David Gauvey Herbert (Intelligencer, 2019)

You can be a top model and still not get recognized on the street — as long as you keep your cuticles healthy and your moons white. Zachary Crockett points a finger.

• SOURCES:
  • Dani Korwin, managing director of Parts Models.
  • Ellen Sirot, hand model.

• RESOURCES:
  • SAG-AFTRA Network TV Code 2024 - 2025 Extension Agreement Rates.
  • "How to Become a Hand Model," by Jack Smart (Backstage, 2024).
  • "Meet New York’s Top Hand and Foot Model Agent (It’s a Real Thing!)," by Christian Allaire (Vogue, 2021).

• EXTRAS:
  • "The Puffy Shirt" S5.E2 of Seinfeld (1993).

A watercolor of a harbor? A black-and-white photo of a pile of rocks? Some hotels are trying to do better. Zachary Crockett unpacks.

• SOURCES:
  • Melanie Kettring, director of studio design at Best Western Hotels.
  • Jessica Poundstone, visual artist. 
  • Gavi Wolf, founder and C.E.O. of Indiewalls.

• RESOURCES:
  • Indiewalls.
  • Best Western.

• EXTRAS:
  • "Used Hotel Soaps," by The Economics of Everyday Things (2023).
  • "The Hidden Side of the Art Market," series by Freakonomics Radio (2021).

Before beef ends up at your favorite steakhouse, it passes through the hands of a trained specialist with an encyclopedic knowledge of bovine anatomy. Zachary Crockett chews the fat.

• SOURCES:
  • Bryan Flannery, co-owner of Flannery Beef.
  • Katie Flannery, co-owner of Flannery Beef.

• RESOURCES:
  • "National Weekly Boxed Beef Cutout And Boxed Beef Cuts — Negotiated Sales," U.S.D.A. Agricultural Marketing Service (U.S.D.A. Livestock, Poultry and Grain Market News, 2025).
  • "Understanding Beef Carcass Yields and Losses During Processing," (Penn State Extension Articles, 2022).
  • "Beef Cow-Calf Production," by Cheryl A. Fairbairn, Lynn F. Kime, Jayson K. Harper, and John W. Comerford (Penn State Extension Articles, 2020).
  • "Major Supermarket Chains Changed How They Label Meat, Surprising Customers and USDA," by Roberto A. Ferdman (The Washington Post, 2014).
  • "What’s Your Beef — Prime, Choice or Select?" by Larry Meadows (U.S.D.A Blog, 2013).
  • "From Calf to Kitchen: The Journey of a Beef Cow," by Dave Eames and Mike McGraw (The Kansas City Star, 2012).

• EXTRAS:
  • "The Future of Meat," by Freakonomics Radio (2019).

How did a little green nut become a billion-dollar product, lauded by celebrities in Super Bowl ads? Zachary Crockett cracks open the story.

• SOURCES:
  • Sawyer Clark, director of asset management at Gold Leaf Farming.
  • Diana Salsa, vice president of marketing for Wonderful Pistachios.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Almond Acreage Decline Prompts Industry Introspection," by Mitch Lies (West Coast Nut, 2023).
  • American Pistachio Industry 2021 Annual Report, by American Pistachio Growers (2023).
  • "California’s Agricultural Water Policies Are Nuts," by Douglas R. Noble (The Gainesville Sun, 2021).
  • "Amid Drought, Billionaires Control a Critical California Water Bank," by Chloe Sorvino (Forbes, 2021).
  • "Wonderful Pistachios Achieves Billion-Dollar Brand Milestone," press release by The Wonderful Company (2020).
  • "Pistachios: The Quirks of Agricultural Trade in a Nutshell," by Andrea Durkin (Global Trade, 2020).
  • "California Pistachios With Perfect Timing," by Mark Blackburn (The New York Times, 1979).

Once a luxury good, the soft fiber is now everywhere — which has led to a goat boom in Mongolia. Zachary Crockett tugs at the thread.

• SOURCES:
  • Myagmarjav Serjkhuu, manager of the Mongolian Sustainable Cashmere Platform for the United Nations Development Programme.
  • Carolyn Yim, designer and owner of Ply-Knits.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Sandstorms and Desertification in Mongolia, an Example of Future Climate Events: A Review," by Jie Han, Han Dai, and Zhaolin Gu (Environmental Chemistry Letters, 2021).
  • "How Sustainable Cashmere Is Reversing Land Degradation in Mongolia," by Mariana Simões (United Nations Development Programme, 2021).
  • "Exploding Demand for Cashmere Wool Is Ruining Mongolia's Grasslands," by Kathleen McLaughlin (Science, 2019).
  • "From H&M to Gucci, Fashion Rethinks Cashmere, Citing Environmental Harm," by Matthew Dalton (The Wall Street Journal, 2019).
  • "2018 Annual Cashmere Market Report," by Marco Spina (The Schneider Group, 2019).
  • "How This Brand Made a Cashmere Sweater for $75 Ethically," by Esha Chhabra (Forbes, 2018).
  • "Pastoral Nomadism in the Forest-Steppe of the Mongolian Altai Under a Changing Economy and a Warming Climate," by D. Lkhagvadorj, M. Hauck, Ch. Dulamsuren, and J. Tsogtbaatar (Journal of Arid Environments, 2013).