Across the country, pharmacies big  and small are closing. The closures have disproportionately affected rural and low-income communities, leaving residents with limited access to prescription drugs and creating so-called “pharmacy deserts.” We’ll discuss a New York Times investigation about the middlemen driving pharmacies out of business. Plus, should the American Dream be a townhouse? And, introducing the real “househusbands” of Wall Street.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “Housing costs are rising everywhere — but especially in swing states” from The Washington Post
• “The new American Dream should be a townhouse” from The Washington Post
• closing-pbm-pharmacy.html">“The Powerful Companies Driving Local Drugstores Out of Business” from The New York Times
• “The real reason Walgreens and other pharmacies are failing” from MSNBC
• “Behind Many Powerful Women on Wall Street: A Doting ‘Househusband’” from The Wall Street Journal

Join Kai Ryssdal and Kimberly Adams for a live taping of “Make Me Smart” on Oct. 25 in Boston. In-person tickets are sold out, but you can still join us virtually. Get your tickets here.