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Even before COVID-19, there was a housing crisis in much of this country. Now, cities like San Francisco have millions of square feet of empty office space and a persistent housing shortage. One of our listeners wants to know: Why can’t one problem be the other’s solution? We’ll talk about it. Plus, the economic cost of racism against Asian Americans, the changing cosmetics industry and a whole bunch of TV recs.

Here are links to everything we talked about today:

• “Following pandemic, converting office buildings into housing may become new ‘normal’” from the Washington Post
• “S.F. has nearly 16 million square feet of vacant office space. Why can’t it become housing?” from the San Francisco Chronicle
• “Asian American businesses are defending themselves against rise in anti-Asian violence” from the Washington Post
• “How has the economy changed over the past year, in 8 charts” from Marketplace
• “What is makeup for during a pandemic?” also from Marketplace
• “How the beauty industry is surviving the pandemic” from Vox
• Kimberly’s abridged anime list: “Demon Slayer,” “Golden Kamuy,” “The Promised Neverland,” “My Hero Academia,” “Black Clover,” “Fruits Basket,” “Darwin’s Game,” “Horimiya,” “Inuyasha,” “Dr. Stone” and “Cells at Work.”