Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, a fierce critic of Vladimir Putin, has died in a Russian penal colony. We’ll reflect on Navalny’s impact and what it means to push back against the slow creep of political change. Plus, more evidence that plastic recycling is a myth pushed by the plastics industry. And, we’ll weigh in on the romance novel revival and landline phones in a round of Half Full/Half Empty!

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• 
  

  
  
  • “‘They lied’: plastics producers deceived public about recycling, report reveals” from The Guardian
  
  
  
  

• 
  
  
  
  • “Tucker Carlson: ‘No decent person would defend’ what happened to Navalny” from The Hill
  
  
  
  

• 
  
  
  
  • “OpenAI teases ‘Sora,’ its new text-to-video AI model” from NBC News
  
  
  
  

• 
  
  
  
  • “Best Buy to End DVD, Blu-ray Disc Sales” from Variety
  
  
  
  

• 
  
  
  
  • “Making beer with the help of AI” from Axios
  
  
  
  

• 
  
  
  
  • “Steamy, sultry and stigmatized no more: romance novels are having a moment” from Marketplace
  
  
  
  

• 
  
  
  
  • “The humble landline phone beloved by Gen Z” from Axios
  
  
  
  

We love to hear from you. Send your questions and comments to makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.