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).