Americans take more than 20 billion elevator rides every year — and keeping them safe is an expensive proposition. Zachary Crockett makes small talk.

• SOURCES:
  • Frank Christensen, president of the International Union of Elevators Constructors.
  • Shannon Moore, service mechanic for the International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 8.
  • Brian O'Connell, senior vice president of the Eastern U.S. at Otis Elevators.
  • Stephen Smith, executive director of the Center for Building in North America.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Elevators," by Stephen Smith (Center for Building in North America, 2024).
  • "Elevator and Escalator Fact Sheet," (National Elevator Industry, 2020).
  • "The Evolution of Elevators: Physical-Human Interface, Digital Interaction, and Megatall Buildings," by Stephen Nichols (Frontiers of Engineering, 2017).
  • Lifted: A Cultural History of the Elevator, by Andreas Bernard (2014).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Up and Then Down," by Nick Paumgarten (The New Yorker, 2008).
  • "World's Tallest Towers."

Districts across the country are facing shortages of school bus drivers. Can technology help? Zachary Crockett takes a seat in the back.

• SOURCES:
  • Keith Corso, co-founder and CEO of BusRight.
  • Marc Medina, transportation supervisor for the Farmingdale School District in Long Island.
  • Jada Melendez, school bus driver in Burlington County, New Jersey.

• RESOURCES:
  • "How St. Louis parents are dealing with school bus driver shortages," by Gabrielle Hays (PBS, 2024).
  • "The school bus driver shortage remains severe," by Sebastian Martinez Hickey and David Cooper (Economic Policy Institute, 2023).
  • "‘End of the Line’: School Bus Industry in Crisis Because of the Coronavirus," by Pranshu Verma (New York Times, 2020).

Everyone loves to complain about it — but preparing a meal that tastes good at 35,000 feet is harder than you might think. Zachary Crockett will have the fish.

• SOURCES:
  • Molly Brandt, innovation chef for North America at Gategroup.
  • Chris Kinsella, chief commercial officer for North America at Gategroup.
  • Guillaume de Syon, professor of history at Albright College.

• RESOURCES:
  • "No Thanks, Grandma, I’m Saving Room for Airplane Food," by Christine Chung (New York Times, 2023).
  • "The Golden Age of airplane food is over. The future: Snacks and sustainability." by Natalie Comptom (The Washington Post, 2019).
  • "Why does food taste different on planes?" by Katia Moskvitch (BBC, 2015).
  • "And to Penny-Pinching Wizardry," by Claudia Deutsch (New York Times, 2001).
  • "The Pioneering Years: Commercial Aviation 1920–1930," by Rich Freeman (U.S. Centennial of Flight).