Adam Davidson, of NPR’s Planet Money, is starting a regular column in the New York Times Magazine, and his first column is, well, not that cheerful:

The economy that emerges from this recession is going to be different. Without the distortion of a credit bubble, it is clear that far too many Americans don’t know how to do anything that the world is willing to pay them a living wage for. No economic theory offers them easy salvation.

To cheer up a bit, try this Planet Money episode from late July that presents a cheeky three-part plan for fixing the economy.