Podcasts by Planet Money
Wanna see a trick? Give us any topic and we can tie it back to the economy. At Planet Money, we explore the forces that shape our lives and bring you along for the ride. Don't just understand the economy – understand the world.
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The U.S. economy's biggest superpower, explained from 2023-12-11T20:03:40
What if you could borrow money on the cheap and use it to pay for just about anything? The U.S. government can, and does, with U.S. Treasuries. But the market for Treasuries might be more fragile t...
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Why do doctors still use pagers? from 2023-12-08T23:28:31
Remember pagers? They were huge in the 80s — these little devices that could receive short messages. Sir Mix-A-Lot even had a song about them! But then cell phones came along, and pagers more or le...
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Two food and drink indicators from 2023-12-06T23:01:57
Today on the show, we have two episodes from our daily podcast, The Indicator, about things we spend a lot of time ...
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Why are we so bummed about the economy? from 2023-12-01T23:11:04
Would you say that you and your family are better off or worse off, financially, than you were a year ago? Do you think in 12 months we'll have good times, financially, or bad? Generally speaking, ...
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So you want to sell marijuana across state lines from 2023-11-29T23:44:37
In the state of Oregon, there is a glut of grass. A wealth of weed. A crisis of chronic.
And, jokes aside, it's a real problem for people who work in the cannabis industry like Matt Ochoa. ...
A very Planet Money Thanksgiving from 2023-11-22T23:33:32
Here at Planet Money, Thanksgiving is not just a time to feast on turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casseroles and pie(s). It's also a time to feast on economics. Today, we host a very ...
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Economic fact in literary fiction from 2023-11-18T00:48:46
Some of the most influential and beloved novels of the last few years have been about money, finance, and the global economy. Some overtly so, others more subtly. It got to the point where we just ...
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China's real estate crisis, explained from 2023-11-15T23:33:53
China's economic growth for the past few decades has been extraordinary. And much of that growth was fueled by real estate – it was like this miraculous economic engine for the country. But recentl...
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The alleged theft at the heart of ChatGPT from 2023-11-10T23:54:07
When best-selling thriller writer Douglas Preston began playing around with OpenAI's new chatbot, ChatGPT, he was, at first, impressed. But then he realized how much in-depth knowledge GPT had of t...
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Never have I ever from 2023-11-08T23:38:36
The world of economics has these two different sides. One one side, there are the economists in their cozy armchairs and dusty libraries, high up in their ivory towers. On the other, there's the me...
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FTC Chair Lina Khan on Antitrust in the age of Amazon from 2023-11-03T21:45:05
When Lina Khan was in law school back in 2017, she wrote a law review article called 'Amazon's Antitrust Paradox,' that went kinda viral in policy circles. In it, she argued that antitrust enforcem...
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Antitrust in America (classic) from 2023-11-01T23:25:48
Earlier this fall, the Federal Trade Commission filed a high-stakes lawsuit against Amazon.
In that suit, the FTC claims Amazon is a monopoly, and it accuses the company of using anti-compet...
All you can eat economics from 2023-10-27T22:23:43
You might expect to find economic concepts in the pages of an economics textbook. But you know where you can really see a lot of economic concepts in action? Buffets.
Here at Planet Money we...
Cutting school... by 20% from 2023-10-26T00:08:11
Right now, a lot of school districts across the country are making a pretty giant change to the way public education usually works. Facing teacher shortages and struggling to fill vacant spots, the...
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How unions are stopped before they start from 2023-10-20T23:47:08
Union membership in the U.S. has been declining for decades. But, in 2022, support for unions among Americans was the Listen
Indicator exploder: jobs and inflation from 2023-10-18T21:33:41
When someone says "the economy is doing well"—what does that even mean? Like, for workers, for employers, for the country as a whole? According to what calculation? How do you put a number on it?
Maria Bamford gets personal (about) finance from 2023-10-13T23:26:29
Note: There is swearing in this episode.
In 2017, The University of Minnesota asked comedian Maria Bamford to give their commencement speech. But the University may not have known w...
Why the price of Coke didn't change for 70 years (classic) from 2023-10-11T20:22:40
Prices go up. Occasionally, prices go down. But for 70 years, the price of a bottle of Coca-Cola didn't change. From 1886 until the late 1950s, a bottle of coke cost just a nickel.
On today'...
A man, a plan, wind power, Uruguay from 2023-10-06T18:48:33
In 2007, Uruguay had a massive problem with no obvious fix. The economy of this country of 3.5 million people was growing, but there wasn't enough energy to power all that growth.
Ramón Ménd...
The flight attendants of CHAOS from 2023-10-04T23:28:41
When contract negotiations between Alaska Airlines and their flight attendants' union broke down in 1993, the union had a choice to make.
The union — The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA...
A trucker hat mystery, the curse of September and other listener questions from 2023-09-29T21:18:51
Ba-dee-yah! Say do you remember? Ba-dee-yah! Questions in September!
That's right - it's time for Listener Questions!
Every so often, we like to hear from listeners about what's on th...
The natural disaster economist from 2023-09-27T21:18:11
There seems to be headlines about floods, wildfires, or hurricanes every week. Scientists say this might be the new normal — that climate change is making natural disasters more and more common.
A black market, a currency crisis, and a tango competition in Argentina from 2023-09-23T03:34:53
The Nobel-prize winning economist Simon Kuznets once analyzed the world's economies this way — he said there are four kinds of countries: developed, underdeveloped, Japan... and Argentina.
I...
"Based on a true story" from 2023-09-20T21:41:25
When a group of amateur investors rallied around the stock for GameStop back in 2021, the story blew up the internet. News outlets around the world, Listen
How to launder $600 million on the internet from 2023-09-16T00:11:27
Erin Plante is a private detective who specializes in chasing down stolen cryptocurrency. In March of 2022, she got the biggest assignment of her career: Hackers had broken into an online game call...
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China's weakening economy in two Indicators from 2023-09-13T21:50:02
In China, data on the economy is sometimes difficult to come by. The Chinese government has put a pause on releasing some of its official economic data. But many of the stories emerging from the co...
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Is economists' favorite tool to crush inflation broken? from 2023-09-08T21:00:48
When economists and policymakers talk about getting inflation under control, there's an assumption they often make: bringing inflation down will probably result in some degree of layoffs and job lo...
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The prince of prints and his prints of Prince from 2023-09-06T21:48:18
In 1981, photographer Lynn Goldsmith took a portrait of the musician Prince. It's a pretty standard headshot — it's in black-and-white, and Prince is staring down the camera lens.
This was e...
How to fight a patent pirate from 2023-09-01T22:18:41
Back in the 1990s, Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar was in his office in New Delhi when he came across a puzzling story in the newspaper. Some university scientists in the U.S. had apparently filed a patent...
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Summer School 8: Graduation and the Guppy Tank from 2023-08-30T23:35:31
Congratulations to the Planet Money Summer School Class of 2023!
Today, you become masters of business administration... spelled with lower-case letters for legal purposes. Your diploma is ...
The secret entrance that sidesteps Hollywood picket lines from 2023-08-26T00:08:56
Across Hollywood right now, writers and actors are picketing in front of studio lots. They're walking back and forth, holding up signs demanding concessions on things like pay, how many writers wor...
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Summer School 7: Negotiating and the empathetic nibble from 2023-08-23T21:00:09
How do you get the best deal? How do you know you're getting the best deal? Whether you're talking down the price of a car or talking up your salary, you don't have to be a jerk t...
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Vacation, and why the U.S. takes so little of it from 2023-08-18T20:36:31
Do you work more for more money? Or work less for more time? For some, this is the ultimate economic choice.
Every single worker in the European Union is guaranteed four weeks of paid vacati...
Summer School 6: Operations and 25,000 roses from 2023-08-16T21:15:40
"It's difficult to control everything," says our guest professor for this week, Santiago Gallino. "What is not difficult is to plan for everything." Today we venture into the sphere of business tha...
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The new Biden plan that could still erase your student loans from 2023-08-11T21:43:41
This summer, the Supreme Court struck down Biden's plan to forgive student loan debt for millions of borrowers. Except, on the same day Biden first announced that plan, he also unveiled another...
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Summer School 5: Tech and the innovator's dilemma from 2023-08-09T17:43:39
For anyone running a business, technology is both threat and opportunity. Today, we run through techniques entrepreneurs can use to take advantage of new tech or defend against the dangers. It's no...
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A tarot card reading for the U.S. economy from 2023-08-04T23:20:49
Predicting the future of the economy is always a dicey proposition. That is especially true after more than three years of pandemic-related economic weirdness. No one quite knows what will happen n...
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Summer School 4: Marketing and the Ultimate Hose Nozzle from 2023-08-02T22:05:51
In this session of Planet Money Summer School, we are getting the word out about your brand. How do you convince consumers to buy your product, even if they are only just hearing about it? It's tim...
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Tackle your medical debt with Life Kit from 2023-07-31T23:00:57
There's an estimated $195 billion of medical debt in America. But just because a medical bill comes in the mail doesn't mean you have to pay that exact price. In this special episode from our frien...
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Did two honesty researchers fabricate their data? from 2023-07-28T08:15:52
Dan Ariely and Francesca Gino are two of the biggest stars in behavioral science. Both have conducted blockbuster research into how to make people more honest, research Listen
Summer School 3: Accounting and The Last Supper from 2023-07-26T22:17:52
Usually, the first class that an MBA student takes is accounting. That involves, yes, equations and counting widgets...but it's more than that. Inside the simple act of accounting is a revolutionar...
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Planet Money Paper Club from 2023-07-21T22:55:19
We here at Planet Money love economics papers. And that is also the case for so many of the economists we speak with. For them, new research can explain something they have always wondered about, ...
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Summer School 2: Competition and the cheaper sneaker from 2023-07-19T21:28:45
For episode 2 of Planet Money Summer School, we are talking strategy. You have your million dollar business idea, and maybe some money in your pocket to get it up and running. But now you enter int...
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Surprise, you just signed a contract! How hidden contracts took over the internet from 2023-07-15T00:28:48
When you make an account online or install an app, you are probably entering into a legally enforceable contract. Even if you never signed anything. These days, we enter into these contracts so oft...
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Summer School 1: Planet Money goes to business school from 2023-07-12T23:11:31
Find all episodes of Planet Money Summer School here.
Planet Money Summer School ...
The quest to save macroeconomics from itself from 2023-07-07T23:13:53
When it comes to big questions about the economy, we're still kind of in the dark ages. Why do some economies grow so much faster than others? How long is the next recession going to last? How do w...
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Two Indicators: After Affirmative Action&why America overpays for subways from 2023-07-05T23:35:49
Two stories today.
First, as we start to understand post-affirmative action America, we look to a natural experiment 25 years ago, when California ended the practice in public universities. ...
Supply, demand, extinction from 2023-06-30T22:03:23
Back in the 90s, Ivan Lozano Ortega was in charge of Bogota's wildlife rescue center. And he kept getting calls from the airport to come deal with... frogs. Hundreds of brightly colored, poisonous ...
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Planet Money Live: Two Truths and a Lie from 2023-06-28T20:51:15
The shocks of the pandemic economy gave us a bunch of enormous natural experiments, which helped to prove or disprove conventional economic thinking.
Take, for example, the Listen
Mike The Mover vs. The Furniture Police from 2023-06-23T22:15:08
In 1978, a young man named Mike Shanks started a moving business in the north end of Seattle. It was just him and a truck — a pretty small operation. Things were going great. Then one afternoon, he...
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Twins (classic) from 2023-06-21T18:36:06
Twins are used to fielding all sorts of questions, like "Can you read each other's minds?" or "Can you feel each other's pain?" Two of our Planet Money reporters are twins, and they have heard them...
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The 60-day job race from 2023-06-16T18:28:34
People come from all over the world to work in U.S. tech. And during the tech boom years, the industry relied heavily on foreign workers. This is how we built Silicon Valley – with great minds comi...
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Two Indicators: The economics of innovation from 2023-06-14T22:09:47
Innovation is crucial for game-changing advancements in society, whether it's treatments for serious diseases, developments in AI technology, or rocket science.
Today on the show, we're airi...
The town that changed economics from 2023-06-09T22:45:30
In the early 90s, when a young economist named Michael Kremer finished his PhD, there had been a few economic studies based on randomized trials. But they were rare. In part because randomized tria...
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The Spider-Man Problem (update) from 2023-06-07T22:28:04
(Note: This episode originally ran back in 2022.)
This past weekend, Spider-Man:...
AI Podcast 3.0: Dial M for Mechanization from 2023-06-02T22:32:58
It's the thrilling conclusion to our three-part series on AI — the world premiere of the first episode of Planet Money written by AI. In Part 1 of this series, we taught AI how to write an original...
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AI Podcast 2.0: The host in the machine from 2023-05-31T23:32:56
In Part 1 of this series, AI proved that it could use real research and real interviews to write an original script for an episode of Planet Money.
Our next task was to teach the computer ho...
AI Podcast 1.0: Rise of the machines from 2023-05-26T21:42:53
We used to think some jobs were safe from automation. Though machines have transformed industries like agriculture and manufacturing, the conventional wisdom was that they could never perform what'...
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Green energy gridlock from 2023-05-24T23:15:03
Lyle Jack wants to build a wind farm on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. But to make the project work, he has to connect that wind farm to the electric grid. Which is easier said than do...
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Predictions: Jobs! from 2023-05-19T22:57:56
It's time for another installment of ... Planet Money Predictions! *air horn*
Last year, we invited tw...
How AI could help rebuild the middle class from 2023-05-17T23:37:01
For the last four decades, technology has been mostly a force for greater inequality and a shrinking middle class. But new empirical evidence suggests that the age of AI could be different. We spea...
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Inflation and the Profit-Price Spiral from 2023-05-12T23:59:08
Economists say that inflation is just too much money chasing too few goods.
But something else can make inflation stick around.
If you think of the 1970s, the last time the U...
The Day of Two Noons (Classic) from 2023-05-10T21:59:56
(Note: this episode originally ran in 2019.)
In the 1800s, catching your tr...
How to fight a squatting goat from 2023-05-06T01:37:46
Back in 2005, Burt Banks inherited a plot of old family land in Delaware. But when it came time to sell it, he ran into a problem: his neighbor had a goat pen, and about half of it crossed over ont...
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Two Indicators: the influencer industry from 2023-05-03T22:54:36
When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? An astronaut, a doctor or maybe a famous athlete? Today one of the most popular responses to that question is influencer – content cr...
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Financial advising while Black from 2023-04-28T20:52:17
After a successful career in advertising, Erika Williams decided it was time for a change. She went back to school to get an MBA at the University of Chicago, and eventually, in 2012, she got a job...
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The zoo economy (classic) from 2023-04-26T22:04:57
Note: This episode originally aired in September, 2014.
Zoos follo...
The quest for the factory-built house from 2023-04-21T22:47:48
Imagine if we built cars the same way we build houses. First, a typical buyer would meet with the car designer, and tell them what kind of car they want. Then the designer would draw up plans for t...
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Tax Code Switch from 2023-04-19T20:26:59
This past January, researchers uncovered that Black taxpayers are three to five times as likely to be audited as everyone else. One likely reason for this is that the IRS disproportionately audits ...
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The life and possible death of low interest rates from 2023-04-15T02:06:04
Right now, the economy is running hot. Inflation is high, and central banks are pushing up interest rates to fight it. But before the pandemic, economies around the world were stuck in a different ...
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Two innovation market indicators from 2023-04-12T23:26:51
Right now, the economy is all over the place. And when things get confusing, we look to basic economic indicators to help explain what's going on. Today, we're bringing you two episodes of our dail...
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Your banking questions, answered from 2023-04-08T00:21:57
It's been a month since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank touched off the worst episode of banking turmoil since 2008. While the financial system appears to have stabilized, we're still reckoning...
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The battle for Puerto Rico's beaches from 2023-04-05T21:05:34
Puerto Rico's beaches are an integral part of life on the island, and by law, they're one of the few places that are truly public. In practice, the sandy stretch of land where the water meets the s...
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The safety net for banks from 2023-04-01T00:30:17
In the first half of March, three banks - Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and Silvergate - all had relatively classic bank runs and collapsed. Which sparked some major banking stress. As a res...
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A Great Recession bank takeover from 2023-03-30T01:32
Earlier this month, we saw the largest bank collapse since the 2008 financial crisis. For many of us, seeing Silicon Valley Bank's meltdown brought us right back to that time 15 years ago, at the b...
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The battle over Osage headrights from 2023-03-25T02:01:04
Richard J. Lonsinger is a member of the Ponca tribe of Oklahoma, who was adopted at a young age into a white family of three. He eventually reconnected with his birth family, but when his birth mot...
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Inside a bank run from 2023-03-23T05:33:09
Sometimes you hear these stories about an airplane that suddenly nosedives. Everyone onboard thinks this is it, and then the plane levels out and everything is fine. For about 72 hours, people and ...
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Planet Money Records Vol. 3: Making a hit from 2023-03-18T01:04:19
Since we started Planet Money Records and released the 47-year-old song "Inflation," the song has taken off. It recently hit 1 million streams on Spotify. And we now have a full line of Listen
How Silicon Valley Bank failed from 2023-03-16T00:35:11
Silicon Valley Bank was the 16th largest bank in America, the bank of choice for tech startups and big-name venture capitalists. Then, in the span of just a few days, it collapsed. Whispers that SV...
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Dude, where's my streaming TV show? from 2023-03-11T01:08:52
Over the past year, dozens of shows have been disappearing from streaming platforms like HBO Max and Showtime. Shows like Minx, Made for Love, FBoy Island, and even big budget hits like Westworld h...
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The value of good teeth from 2023-03-09T00:23:04
As a kid, Ryanne Jones' friend accidentally hit her in the mouth with a hammer, knocking out her two front teeth. Her parents never had enough money for the dental care needed to fix them, so Ryann...
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Seinfeld-onomics from 2023-03-03T23:09:02
The 90s sit-com Seinfeld is often called "a show about nothing." Lauded for its observational humor, this quick-witted show focussed on four hapless New Yorkers navigating work, relationships...yad...
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CBOhhhh, that's what they do from 2023-03-01T23:28:33
If you are a congressperson or a senator and you have an idea for a new piece of legislation, at some point someone will have to tell you how much it costs. But, how do you put a price on something...
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Meow Money Meow Problems from 2023-02-25T01:18:13
More than 20 years ago, something unusual happened in the small town of Dixfield, Maine. A lady named Barbara Thorpe had left almost all of her money—$200,000—to benefit the cats of her hometown. W...
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Hollywood's Black List (Classic) from 2023-02-22T23:10:50
This episode originally ran in 2020.
In 2005, Franklin Leonard was a junior executive at Leonar...
Jay&Shai's debt ceiling adventure from 2023-02-18T00:09:26
Every year, the U.S. government spends more money than it takes in. In order to fund all that spending, the country takes on debt. Congress has the power to limit how much debt the U.S. takes on. R...
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Two Indicators: Inside the Fed, then and now from 2023-02-16T00:35:32
A lot of the time, economic policy can seem pretty impersonal — cold, hard, data-driven. But at the heart of the Federal Reserve are people: fallible, complicated people who are just doing their be...
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Our 2023 valentines from 2023-02-11T00:11:03
Every Valentine's Day, we at Planet Money consider the things that we love, the things that we can't stop talking about, the things that get our hearts racing...in a good way. And we give them vale...
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The ice cream conspiracy from 2023-02-08T23:14:17
Take a look in any supermarket ice cream freezer section and you may see a mystery. There are big containers of the typical ice cream brands: Breyers, Turkey Hill, and Edy's. And there are specialt...
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Baby's first market failure from 2023-02-03T21:53:17
Anyone who has tried shopping for day care knows that it is tough out there.
For one, it is hard even to get your hands on information about costs, either online or over the phone – day care...
Groundhog Day 2023 from 2023-02-01T23:44:35
It's Groundhog Day, and once again, the eyes of the nation have turned to a small town in Western Pennsylvania. Every February 2nd, the only story anyone can talk about is whether or not Punxsutawn...
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To all the econ papers I've loved before from 2023-01-27T21:47:34
A great economics paper does two things. It takes on a big question, and it finds a smart way to answer that question.
But some papers go even further. The very best papers have the power to...
The story of "Monopoly" and American capitalism from 2023-01-26T01:00:03
Monopoly is one of the best-selling board games in history.
The game's staying power may in part be because of strong American lore — the idea that anyone, with just a little bit of cash, c...
Charles Ponzi's scheme from 2023-01-21T00:03
Some of history's biggest financial scams owe their name to Charles Ponzi. Here's the story of the man behind the eponymous scheme.
Subscribe to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.np...
Big Rigged (Classic) from 2023-01-18T23:49:15
Driving a truck used to mean freedom. Now it means a mountain of debt.
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Two Indicators: The 2% inflation target from 2023-01-13T23:55:56
If the Fed had a mantra to go along with its mandate, it might well be "two percent." We look into how that became the target inflation rate, why some economists are calling for a change and how th...
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Planet Money Movie Club: It's a Wonderful Life from 2023-01-11T22:55:34
Welcome to the Planet Money Movie Club, a regular series from Planet Money+ in which we watch an economics-related movie and discuss! On today's episode, Kenny Malone, Wailin Wong, and Willa Rubin ...
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The economics lessons in kids' books from 2023-01-06T22:24:17
All sorts of lessons (even about economics) can be learned from kids' books. On today's show, we visit an elementary school to try to teach third graders econ using some beloved childrens' classics...
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The Rest of the Story, 2022 from 2022-12-31T00:12:04
It's that time of year again! Our annual year-end tradition of checking in on previous stories to hear what happened after the microphones stopped running.
We'll hear from a CEO who was tryi...
Which economic indicator defined 2022? from 2022-12-28T21:43:29
2022 was a year of big economic changes. But what economic story most defined the year? Our hosts from Planet Money and The Indicator battle it out over what should be crowned the indicato...
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In defense of gift giving from 2022-12-24T00:50:27
Cold economic reasoning says, supposedly, that gifts are inefficient transfers of wealth. But Planet Money host Jeff G...
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Two Indicators: The fight over ESG investing from 2022-12-21T22:59:36
"ESG" investing – Environmental, Social, Governance – has attracted a lot of attention from investors, and from Republican politicians who call it "woke investing." On today's show, what the fight ...
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The sports ticket price enigma from 2022-12-16T22:32:40
Inflation is making prices go up, except not for...sports tickets? So, we set out on a daylong sporting event marathon to learn why.
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Spam call bounty hunter from 2022-12-14T23:43:07
Telemarketing calls are not only annoying; in some cases, they are illegal. Congress even gives you the right to sue scofflaw telemarketers for $500 a call. Today, the story of one man who collecte...
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The case of the missing cheese racks from 2022-12-09T23:45:52
Jelle Peterse's company ships cheese all over the world, but they don't always get their cheese racks back. In this episode, we try to fix a supply chain problem. Gouda grief!
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When women stopped coding (Classic) from 2022-12-07T22:53:32
A lot of computing pioneers were women. For decades, the number of women in computer science was growing. But in 1984, something changed.
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My Favorite Tax Loophole from 2022-12-03T03:20:29
There's a big difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion. But sometimes even avoiding taxes (legally) can feel like you're getting away with something. Today, we share some of our — and your...
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Messi economics from 2022-12-01T02:14:03
Soccer star Lionel Messi is currently hoping to lead Argentina to victory in the World Cup. His path to global fame was shaped by a crisis in Argentina's economy.
This episode was made in co...
One economist's take on popular advice for saving, borrowing, and spending from 2022-11-23T21:45:34
This episode was first released as a bonus episode for Planet Money+ listeners last month. We're sharing it today for all listeners. To hear more episodes like this one and support NPR in ...
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How the cookie became a monster from 2022-11-19T02:17:53
30 years ago, Lou Montulli set out to solve a fundamental problem with the internet, and accidentally created an entirely different one. On today's show, how the cookie went from an obscure piece o...
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Sam Bankman-Fried and the fall of a crypto empire from 2022-11-17T01:03:35
Sam Bankman-Fried built a reputation as the one reliable crypto bro. But within the span of days, his empire came crashing down. What the rise and fall of crypto's 30-year-old elder statesman says ...
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The E-Book Wars from 2022-11-11T23:23:34
In 2019, a group of librarians (quietly) stormed the offices of a major publisher, Macmillan, to protest a controversial policy on e-books. On this show, how a tiny change - a book on a screen - th...
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Peak Sand (classic) from 2022-11-09T23:26:17
Sand. It's in buildings, windows, your cell phone. But there isn't enough in the world for everyone. And that's created a dangerous black market.
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Planet Money tries election polling from 2022-11-04T23:44:28
Polling is facing an existential crisis. Few people are answering the phone, and fewer people want to answer surveys. On today's show, we pick up the phones ourselves to find out how polling got to...
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Two Indicators shaking China's economy from 2022-11-02T22:58:55
Xi Jinping recently secured his third term as China's president – so we're looking at two shocks to the world's second-largest economy. First: How China's housing boom turned into a real estate cri...
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Planet Money Records Vol. 2: The Negotiation from 2022-10-29T03:20:04
We got our hands on the long-lost "Inflation" song, and now it's time to put it out into the world. So, we started a record label, and we're diving into the music business to try and make a hit.
Planet Money Records Vol. 1: Earnest Jackson from 2022-10-27T00:15:10
We try to start a real record label. Just to put one song out there. It's a song about inflation, recorded in 1975... and never released. Until now.
This is part one of the
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The high cost of a strong dollar from 2022-10-22T00:25:17
When it comes to international trade and finance, everyone pretty much speaks one language: the U.S. dollar. So when the Federal Reserve hikes interest rates and the dollar suddenly gets strong, it...
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The money fixers (classic) from 2022-10-19T20:56:28
How do you mend a broken bill? On this classic episode, we visit the Mutilated Currency Division.
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You asked for coupons, Delaware, and the truth about goldfish from 2022-10-15T00:42:59
On today's show, we're answering listener questions from the Planet Money inbox. Like, who really benefits from retail coupons? And why are goldfish so cheap?
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Two Indicators: back to school from 2022-10-12T22:16:33
It's fall, so on this episode, we're taking you back to school. First, what sorority rush can teach us about a particular kind of market. Then, how two economists fixed the way macroeconomics was t...
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Forging Taiwan's Silicon Shield from 2022-10-07T23:56:07
Taiwan is at the center of a global feud. Its main defense may be what some call its "Silicon Shield" — its powerful semiconductor industry. On today's show, the story of how one economic hero help...
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Economic anarchy in the UK from 2022-10-05T23:00:30
Liz Truss, the new Prime Minister of the UK, was determined to change the British economy. Instead, her government's mini-budget helped kick off a mini-financial crisis.
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Would you like a side of offshoring with that? from 2022-09-30T21:22:23
A lot of restaurants took a hit during the pandemic. And when they struggled to find workers, some found surprising solutions. On today's show, what happens when you offshore cashiers.
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The miracle apple (Classic) from 2022-09-28T23:06:41
Today on the show, how we got from mealy, nasty apples to apples that taste delicious. The story starts with a breeder who discovered a miracle apple. But discovering that apple wasn't enough.
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Econ's Brush with the Law from 2022-09-23T22:44:06
What happens when you take some of the most powerful people in America — federal judges — and teach them economics? We look at the swanky econ retreats that may have changed American law forever.
The Midnight Connection from 2022-09-21T22:47:40
Texas's energy grid is largely disconnected from the rest of the U.S. That led to disastrous consequences last year when the state's grid was overloaded during a winter storm. Back in the 1970s, on...
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Vibecession Vibes Session from 2022-09-17T01:16:06
We're not in a recession, but why are the vibes feeling so off? We put the question to an economist and one expert on "vibes" and also hire a jazz band to take a pun way too far.
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The Good, the Bad, and the Uggly from 2022-09-15T03:33:52
Eddie Oygur is an Australian businessman who's sold sheepskin ugg boots for years. But one day, he was hit with a lawsuit for breaking American trademark law. On today's show — what's in the name u...
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Two Indicators: unlikely economic relationships from 2022-09-09T21:00:06
On today's show - how your social circle is one of the strongest predictors of economic mobility and how pop music reflects the economy.
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The salvage car Silk Road from 2022-09-08T00:15:06
A practically brand new Lexus with a New Jersey inspection sticker lands on an auto body lot in Turkmenistan. How did it get there? To find out, we journey into the bizarro economy for misfit cars....
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Breaking down the price of gasoline from 2022-09-03T00:15:03
High gas prices have fueled speculation and investigations — is anyone raising prices and keeping prices high for profit? To find out, we break down the price of gas, piece by piece, to show you ho...
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SUMMER SCHOOL 8: Productivity&Getting Lit from 2022-08-31T22:40:49
Productivity is our economic measure for how far our work goes, as individuals and as a society over all. It plays an important role in determining our quality of life, the prices of our goods and ...
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Wake up and smell the fraud from 2022-08-26T22:31:22
Sometimes online shopping can feel a little unsavory. There are the listings that make you question if you'll really be getting exactly what's advertised. And there's no worse feeling than paying f...
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SUMMER SCHOOL 7: The Fed&Volcker's Socks from 2022-08-24T23:33:35
The Federal Reserve plays a very important role in the economy. When things start to look uncertain, the central bank is tasked with stepping in to restore people's confidence in the economy. But h...
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Inflation Reduction Actually from 2022-08-19T23:48:43
Congress just passed the biggest, most ambitious climate bill in history. And it's called ... the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. What's with that branding? And what can the bill teach us about ac...
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SUMMER SCHOOL 6: Trade&The Better Life from 2022-08-17T22:46:15
International trade is the web of cross-border relationships that binds economies together. Because of trade we have access to cheaper, higher-quality goods, and we get to benefit from other countr...
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Carried interest wormhole from 2022-08-13T00:56:06
The carried interest tax loophole is a way that wealthy Americans – often the people who manage hedge funds or private equity firms – avoid paying billions of dollars worth of taxes. It has been on...
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SUMMER SCHOOL 5: Car Parts, Celery&The Labor Market from 2022-08-11T00:38:45
You can learn a lot about a person from their job. The same can be said of an economy. The market for jobs can us a lot about how the economy is doing, but more importantly, it is where we look to ...
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A new way to pay for college (Update) from 2022-08-05T20:46:11
College has gotten incredibly expensive. And some colleges are offering students a new way to pay. It's not a scholarship. It's not quite a loan. It's more like the students are selling stock in th...
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SUMMER SCHOOL 4: Inflation&Drinking Buddies from 2022-08-04T00:37
Inflation can be one of the scariest forces in the economy. As prices rise and your dollar doesn't go as far, you feel poorer, and it's all out of your control. To better understand inflation, we t...
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We Buy a Superhero 8: Micro-Face: The Musical from 2022-08-01T09:00:02
This episode, Micro-Face: The Musical. A full concert recording of a one-of-a-kind Planet Money superhero musical, taped during our recent live show at the Roulette Theater in Bro...
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Two recession Indicators from 2022-07-29T21:55:33
So are we in a recession or not? The jury is still out, but there are some warning signs. GDP is down and inflation is up. But how much do we know about the 'indicators' that tell us how the econom...
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SUMMER SCHOOL 3: Booms, Busts&Us from 2022-07-28T02:23
Life has its ups and downs. Same for the economy. Today we ask, can the business cycle be tamed? Two stories of recession and techniques for moderating the ferocity of booms and busts. Plus, how ba...
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Little House on the Blockchain from 2022-07-22T23:38:56
It has great bones, three bedrooms and one and half baths, and it comes with its own machine that mines cryptocurrency. But in a year of reckoning for crypto, how interested are potential buyers? |...
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SUMMER SCHOOL 2: GDP&What Counts from 2022-07-21T01:24
What even is "the economy"? And how do you measure it? Our path out of the economic darkness and into the light has been guided in large part by one single statistic: GDP. This week: the origins, h...
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Best by, sell by, use by from 2022-07-16T02:08:12
Wait, wait...don't throw that out! What if much of what you've been told about food expiration dates is... wrong? | Subscribe to Planet Money+ Listen
SUMMER SCHOOL 1: Recessions&Rap Battles from 2022-07-14T02:42:46
It's macro time! Today: Keynes vs. Hayek.
Season 3 of summer school is here asking the biggest economic questions about what makes an entire economy grow or contract? Things like, is there ...
A tale of two cityhoods from 2022-07-08T23:22:40
There's a movement underway in Georgia. More and more communities around Atlanta are choosing to keep their tax dollars very local, and become their own cities. It's a story about equity and exclus...
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Two crypto crash Indicators from 2022-07-06T21:09:42
Two stories of consternation from inside the crypto world. Can a crypto crash spread to the wider economy? How does contagion work? And ... why has crypto had such appeal with Black investors? | Su...
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Suitcases, secret lists, and Citizens United from 2022-07-01T22:05:01
On today's show: the Watergate scandal you haven't heard about – that led directly to Citizens United and multi-billion dollar elections. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
When Subaru came out (Classic) from 2022-06-29T22:40:15
In the early 90s, Subaru was struggling to stand out in a crowded automobile market. In their greatest time of need, they turned to an unlikely ally: lesbians | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter ...
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Recession referees from 2022-06-25T01:38:57
Whenever the economic data start to look rough, we're forced to confront a familiar question: Are we in a recession, or about to be? But there are actually only eight opinions in the country that o...
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The tale of the Onion King (Update) from 2022-06-22T23:50:10
How one man's quest to dominate the onion market changed commodities trading, and potentially how much you pay at the grocery store, forever. | Subscribe to Planet Money+ Listen
The debate over what's causing inflation from 2022-06-17T22:57:35
The last few months have made us acutely aware of inflation. We all agree that it's making our lives harder, but economists disagree about what's causing it. | Fill out our listener survey: Listen
Let them eat lunch from 2022-06-16T00:23:37
For many Americans, desk lunches are the norm. You might even be having one right now. But what if it didn't have to be this way? | Fill out our listener survey Listen
The Gecko Effect from 2022-06-11T00:10:39
Years ago advertising was dominated by cars and beer. Today on the show, how a simple slogan and a talking gecko helped the insurance industry become one of the most dominant forces in advertising....
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On the case: Recession, formula, and greenbacks from 2022-06-09T00:25:11
It was just another day at the office. Then the phone started ringing and the caseload kept growing...on today's show, your favorite Planet Money gumshoes investigate your listener questions. | Fil...
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Homer Simpson vs. the economy from 2022-06-03T22:28:11
When the beloved Simpsons family made its TV debut in 1989, it squarely represented middle-class America. Today ... not so much. That house, those two cars, those three kids all on one salary doesn...
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The bank war (Classic) from 2022-06-01T22:20:10
In the 1800s, populist president Andrew Jackson went head-to-head with the most powerful banker in America over who should control the country's money. This clash ended in disastrous results.
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We Buy a Superhero 7: Collectibles (Live Show!) from 2022-05-28T00:49:10
What transforms a regular object into a collectible? At our live show earlier this month, we went on a journey through collectibles history. And we had a goal: to turn our Listen
The NRA's Secret Tapes from 2022-05-26T02:53
Soon after the mass shooting at Columbine High School in 1999, leaders of the National Rifle Association held a conference call to craft their response. Secret tapes from this call obtained by NPR'...
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Investing in mediocrity from 2022-05-20T23:09:38
Is the key to success in financial markets a matter of luck or skill? One former bond manager shares his strategy: Win big by avoiding winning. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
How the burrito became a sandwich (Classic) from 2022-05-18T22:03:07
A sandwich is generally defined as something delicious slapped between two slices of bread. New York tax code would beg to differ. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Buy now, pay dearly? from 2022-05-14T00:45:53
A wave of companies that allow customers to pay for items from their favorite stores in four interest-free installments has taken over the country. But is "buy now, pay later" lending too good to b...
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A 12-year-old girl takes on the video game industry (UPDATE) from 2022-05-11T21:19:58
When Maddie Messer was 12 years old, she noticed an unfair dynamic in the video games she loved: playing as a man was often free, but she had to pay to play as a woman. So ... she decided to take ...
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The day Russia adopted the free market from 2022-05-07T00:24:27
In the early 90s, American economist Jeffrey Sachs was a part of a team that tried to transform Russia's economy. It did not go as planned. He tells us what he thinks went so wrong. | Subscribe to ...
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Escheat show (Classic) from 2022-05-04T23:20:40
If you're looking for money you've forgotten about, there's a chance the government might have it. The good news is that you can get it back. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Planet Money book club from 2022-04-29T21:25
Behind every Planet Money episode is a ton of reading. Today, we share some of our favorite books from along the way.
Here are our picks:
From Mary, Listen
Risky business from 2022-04-27T22:49:53
Two stories on how businesses are using insurance to navigate new kinds of risks. First, how music venues are handling pandemic-related risks. And how Russia's invasion of Ukraine is affecting cybe...
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We Buy a Superhero 6: The Comic Book from 2022-04-22T23:34:18
After many, many delays, the Micro-Face comic book is here! And we answer the burning question: Why did it take so long to make a comic book? | Come see Planet Money Live in NYC on May 10th! One ni...
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TikTok to the top from 2022-04-21T01:01:27
Thanks to TikTok, Tai Verdes went from struggling musician to Top 40 hitmaker. But first, he had to crack the algorithm of how to go viral. | Come see Planet Money Live in NYC on May 10th! One nigh...
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The student loan paaaaauuuuuse from 2022-04-15T20:47:09
The pause on federal student loan payments was just extended for the sixth time in two years. So...what's that been like for the borrowers, and what's in store for them when the system eventually r...
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Peanuts and Cracker Jack (Classic) from 2022-04-13T21:48:47
Ballpark vendors share their strategies and other secrets to selling the most hot dogs at baseball games. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
How manatees got into hot water from 2022-04-08T23:41:20
While on the brink of extinction in the 1970s, manatees found sanctuary in the warm waters of Florida power plants. Now, they're hooked on fossil fuels. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Turkey's runaway inflation problem from 2022-04-06T22:08:02
Turkey is facing really high inflation, over 60 percent. Its president is taking an unorthodox approach to dealing with it. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
When bricks were rubles from 2022-04-01T23:48:15
For a brief, strange period after the U.S.S.R. collapsed, "real" money was less valuable than tradeable objects like bricks or towels. We look back at the Russian barter economy and we see the natu...
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The Bond King from 2022-03-30T22:07:57
Investing legend Bill Gross revolutionized the bond market, built an empire, and lost it all. Our very own Mary Childs talks about her new book, The Bond King. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter ...
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Fashion Fair's makeover from 2022-03-25T23:28:40
Fashion Fair was the first big national brand to make makeup for Black women, but it slowly faded into obscurity. Now that it's relaunched, can it compete in an industry it helped create? | Subscri...
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Two inflation Indicators: Corporate greed and mortgage rates from 2022-03-24T00:21:42
Corporate profits are soaring. So are prices. Can corporations just not raise prices? Would that fight inflation? We examine this theory making the rounds. Then, we go inside the pipes of the econo...
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Tech giants and tiny dogs from 2022-03-18T23:44:04
What a business that makes ramps for wiener dogs teaches us about the massive power of tech giants. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Escape from Russia from 2022-03-16T23:13:35
An American business owner with employees in Russia extracts her colleagues from the country. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Grocery delivery wars from 2022-03-11T22:38:17
Behind the scenes at a new kind of grocery store that promises delivery in minutes. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The dollar at the center of the world (Classic) from 2022-03-10T00:32:41
After World War II devastated the global economy, there was a push for a new universal currency. This is the story of how the U.S. dollar won. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Of oligarchs, oil and rubles from 2022-03-05T02:32:47
Three stories about how the sanctions imposed on Russia are playing out – for regular Russian people, for Russia's super-rich, and for Russia's energy exports. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter ...
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'Fortress' Russia put to the test from 2022-03-02T23:37:26
The U.S. is putting Russia's defense plan against sanctions to the test. Meanwhile, Russia's role as a huge exporter of oil and natural gas could cause ripple effects throughout the global economy....
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Putin's big bet: Sanction-proofing Russia from 2022-02-25T20:14:38
The U.S. is imposing economic sanctions on Russia to punish it for invading Ukraine. But Russia has spent years trying to make its economy immune to sanctions. So, will these new sanctions be enoug...
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How bad is inflation? from 2022-02-24T00:33:37
Two stories about the effects of inflation on the economy. We meet a gig worker who's seen an increase in wages, but because of inflation, how much of that increase in earnings is an illusion? Then...
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Predictions: Inflation! from 2022-02-18T23:50:41
It's time for another round of "Planet Money Predictions!" Economic forecasters square off to predict the future of inflation and explain what's going on in the economy.| Subscribe to our weekly ne...
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SPAM strikes back from 2022-02-17T00:29:06
Hormel Foods makes SPAM, and for generations, the company also created jobs for families in Austin, Minnesota. Today, the story of a labor strike that threatened to tear one small town apart. (This...
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Waste land (Bonus) from 2022-02-14T23:03:59
Recycling most plastic doesn't work. It never has. In 2020, we ran an episode showing how big oil companies misled the public into thinking plastic would be recycled. That episode just won a Listen
Our Valentines 2022 from 2022-02-11T23:03:39
We profess our love for our curiosities, obsessions, and the things we wish we'd thought of first. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
A SWIFT getaway from 2022-02-10T00:29:19
In 2016, thieves tried to steal nearly a billion dollars from the Bank of Bangladesh's reserves without ever entering the building. And six years later, justice hasn't been so SWIFT. | Subscribe to...
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Uncle Sam wants YOU to fight inflation from 2022-02-05T00:07:07
How war bonds, controlled prices, and a national network of nosy neighbors helped beat inflation during WWII. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The M&M anomaly (Classic) from 2022-02-02T19:59:28
Despite costing the same price, a pack of peanut butter M&M's weighs 0.06 ounces less than a pack of milk chocolate M&M's. A trade secret explains why. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Spider-Man Problem from 2022-01-29T01:06:28
Spider-Man isn't the first film franchise to be rebooted over and over again. But the infamous off-screen drama between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures explains why it happens so frequent...
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Two indicators: supply chain solutions from 2022-01-26T22:27:51
Two stories about people trying to overcome supply chain challenges. We follow a ship that is forced to get creative to bypass clogged ports, and we visit a warehouse that is running out of space. ...
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'Soul Train' and the business of Black joy from 2022-01-21T22:35:28
When Soul Train first launched in 1970, Black audiences weren't understood as a viable target market. Don Cornelius changed that forever with his weekly TV dance show. | Subscribe to our w...
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Patent racism (classic) from 2022-01-19T22:08:32
Economist Lisa Cook has been nominated to serve on the Federal Reserve board. In 2020, she talked to us about proving that racism stifles innovation. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletterListen
The rapid testing show from 2022-01-15T02:38:35
The Planet Money team fans out across the nation with one goal: to get a Covid test in 24 hours. It is easier said than done. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
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No such thing as a free return from 2022-01-13T00:29:09
Lenient policies have shoppers making more returns than ever — around half a trillion dollars worth of products. Today, we find out the fate of some of those returned goods.
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The rest of the story, 2021 from 2022-01-05T22:46:52
On protests, pasta and forgiven payments. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
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The holiday industrial complex (Classic) from 2021-12-31T05:10:58
Where do holidays like National Potato Chip Day and Argyle Day come from? We trace the roots of one made-up holiday until we find out who is running the global holiday machine. | Subscribe to our w...
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The economic indicator of the year from 2021-12-30T01:14:49
Will it be inflation? Striketober? The supply chain? Our hosts make their case, and the choice is up to you.
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Bell wars (Classic) from 2021-12-24T21:30:07
The two biggest handbell companies in the world have been locked in a feud for decades. Why? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Planet Money's Supply Chain Holiday Extravaganza from 2021-12-23T05:29
Planet Money's Supply Chain Holiday Extravaganza Did the supply chain wreck your holiday shopping? Planet Money comes to the rescue. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
No shortages of labor stories from 2021-12-18T00:47:31
We asked for your dispatches from the labor market, and boy did we hear back. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
We buy a lot of Christmas trees (Classic) from 2021-12-15T22:40:12
Nick and Robert head to the world's largest Christmas tree auction with $1,000 and a truck. And get schooled in the tree market. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Two music indicators from 2021-12-11T01:06:27
Ticket scalping frustrates fans, but it fascinates economists. It's been a favorite topic of ours in the past. This time, Darian turns to friends and experts to navigate the world of concert ticket...
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Is a Stradivarius just a violin? (Classic) from 2021-12-08T23:17:08
Many music aficionados will tell you that violins and violas made by legendary craftsman Antonio Stradivari represent the pinnacle of the instruments. But what if it's all just an example of really...
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Consider the lobstermen from 2021-12-04T03:01:15
A tense conflict between Indigenous fishermen and commercial lobstermen flared up in Nova Scotia in the fall of 2020. Today, how it all got started and how the Canadian government added fuel to th...
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A locked door, a secret meeting and the birth of the Fed (Classic) from 2021-12-02T00:35:14
The story of the back-room dealings that created America's central bank. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Day of the Debt from 2021-11-26T05:10:47
We make a loan to the U.S. government, and it does not go the way we thought it would. Plus: the story of that one time the U.S. defaulted. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
You asked for real raises, free shipping, and a special delivery from 2021-11-25T01:13:35
It's listener question time. We've got answers about "free" shipping, full employment, when a raise isn't a raise, Taylor Swift, crypto seizures and our very own Listen
A trunk full of truffles (Update) from 2021-11-20T04:58:11
Truffles are one of the most expensive and sought after ingredients in the world. Today, we look back at our NYC adventure with a truffle smuggler and how the market has changed since we last talke...
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Of boats and boxes from 2021-11-17T21:19:59
We take a trip to ports on the east and west coasts to ask what's on everyone's mind: why are they so clogged? And how can we fix it? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Auction fever (Classic) from 2021-11-12T23:44:42
Today, we go on a Planet Money roadtrip to learn the secrets of the auction world. We find some amazing bargains, some shady strategies and a giant big digger. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter ...
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Planes, trains and bad bridges from 2021-11-11T01:49
The $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill has passed Congress, but what exactly is in it? Today, the important, surprising, delightful line items. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Moonshot in the arm from 2021-11-05T23:39:18
COVID-19 prompted the quickest vaccine development in history. An inside look at how the government and pharmaceutical companies joined forces to make it happen.
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The Wheat Whisperer from 2021-11-03T23:40:44
Southeast Asia is one of the biggest growth markets for American wheat. Where did this taste for wheat come from and who is responsible?
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Night of the living inflation from 2021-10-29T22:42:32
We look at a hidden form of inflation affecting our economy — we're calling it "skimpflation." The Indicator tells ...
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Nice work week, if you can get it from 2021-10-28T00:32
The 40 hour work week has been the standard for 80 years. What will it take to lower that? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Two indicators: Congressional Game Theory and the Debt Ceiling from 2021-10-22T23:50:11
We bring you two stories from The Indicator on the recent battles being fought in Congress. | Subscribe to our week...
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Burnout (Classic) from 2021-10-21T00:08
All types of companies are struggling with burnout. Many try to fix it. Most of them fail. One exception: A 26-year-old call center manager, with stress balls and costumes in her arsenal. | Subscri...
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Bonus: Janet Jackson's 'Control' from 2021-10-18T22:44:33
On the 35th anniversary of Janet Jackson's first No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit, our friends at It's Been A Minute look back at Control, her career-defining album that changed the tr...
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Hire power from 2021-10-15T21:49:26
Noncompete agreements have become an integral part of job contracts. A show about what they are and how we got here. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
How Do You Feel? (Classic) from 2021-10-13T23:47:26
We tend to think of economists as cold, unfeeling, attempting to be as rational as possible. But once a month, economists pick up the phone to just... check in with us. How are we feeling? Good, ba...
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LIBOR pains from 2021-10-09T01:27:31
For decades, banks used one rate to help set all other rates: LIBOR. After it came out that it'd been rigged, regulators said: no more. Now it's a race — and a road trip — to find an alternative. |...
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We set up an offshore company in a tax haven (Classic) from 2021-10-06T23:24:25
The Pandora Papers released this week reveal how many world leaders allegedly hold wealth through the use of shell companies. We listen back to when we set up our very own Planet Money shell compan...
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The Rent Help Is Too Damn Slow from 2021-10-02T00:37:47
Congress created a massive pile of money to help people pay rent during the pandemic. Why have so few people gotten help? We follow the money. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
When The U.S. Paid Off The Entire National Debt (Classic) from 2021-09-29T23:01:17
There was one time the U.S. federal government stopped borrowing and paid off every penny of national debt. It did not end well. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
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When Luddites Attack (Classic) from 2021-09-24T23:12:29
A couple centuries ago, a group of English clothworkers set out to destroy the machines that had been taking their jobs. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Original Sign from 2021-09-23T01:45:43
A request for dozens of stop signs flummoxes a town and angers a resident. A show about infrastructure, decision making and stop signs. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Two Indicators: Women And Work from 2021-09-18T00:35:11
Women start a lot of businesses, but when it comes time for them to grow, many hit a wall, or the women founders end up losing control. Why? We bring you two indicators on women and work from our d...
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Afghanistan's Money Problem from 2021-09-15T23:57:43
Afghanistan's economy changed — almost overnight — after the Taliban retook control of the country | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Flood Money (Classic) from 2021-09-10T22:23:31
Bill Pennington's house floods a lot: Three times over the course of three years. And every time his house floods, the government pays to help him repair the damage. Is something wrong here? | Subs...
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This Is Your Brain On Drug Ads from 2021-09-09T00:14
Apologies to listeners who received two episodes in their feed today. The U.S. is one of two countries in the world that allows pharmaceutical companies to advertise prescription drugs directly to ...
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Two Indicators: Water Pressure from 2021-09-03T23:15:57
It's another extremely dry, hot summer for the American West. Our daily podcast, The Indicator from Planet Money, brings us two stories about the water shortage in the West with economic i...
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SUMMER SCHOOL 6: Crypto&Commencement from 2021-09-02T00:00:04
In the last class of Planet Money Summer School Season 2, we cover one more important market — cryptocurrency. If you're thinking about investing in crypto, do you know exactly what it is that you'...
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The Lost Archives of Sadie Alexander from 2021-08-27T21:28:06
The work of our first Black economist was lost to history. Professor Nina Banks set out on a quest to find it. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
SUMMER SCHOOL 5: Bubbles, Bikes,&Biases from 2021-08-25T23:50:06
Investing during a bubble can leave you bust. But how to tell the difference between a bubble before it bursts and an investing rocket ship taking off? We'll run through a historical example and lo...
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Two Indicators: Will Remote Work Kill The Office? from 2021-08-20T23:10:23
It's Stacey vs Greg in a face off on the future of the office. Each takes a side, armed with studies, historical examples, theories on efficiency and happiness and from their closet studios, they b...
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SUMMER SCHOOL 4: Bonds&Becky With The Good Yield from 2021-08-18T23:44:53
A few years back, Cardiff asked for an unusual Christmas present: a junk bond... Parallel to the stock market, the bond market offers different levels of risk and reward. In this class, what is a b...
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SUMMER SCHOOL 4: Bonds & Becky With The Good Yield from 2021-08-18T19:44:53
A few years back, Cardiff asked for an unusual Christmas present: a junk bond... Parallel to the stock market, the bond market offers different levels of risk and reward. In this class, what is a b...
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Big Little Ideas from 2021-08-14T00:40:53
There are a lot of fancy terms for the things we experience — but are they really useful? Yes! We explain four social-science terms that can help us understand our world. | Subscribe to our weekly ...
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SUMMER SCHOOL 3: Smooth Spending&The 401K from 2021-08-11T22:58:45
Even if you don't own stocks, there are a lot of reasons to care about investing. We meet some of the folks left out of the stock market who deploy sophisticated economic thinking, even creating th...
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SUMMER SCHOOL 3: Smooth Spending & The 401K from 2021-08-11T18:58:45
Even if you don't own stocks, there are a lot of reasons to care about investing. We meet some of the folks left out of the stock market who deploy sophisticated economic thinking, even creating th...
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Mobile Home Parked from 2021-08-06T22:46:22
We find out what happens when big investors spend billions of dollars buying mobile home parks and make them less affordable for the people who live there. Then we learn how the government helps th...
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SUMMER SCHOOL 2: Index Funds&The Bet from 2021-08-04T21:08:47
In 2006, Warren Buffett bet a million dollars that the most brainless, boring investment around would do better than the researched, handpicked investments of some of the smartest hedge fund manage...
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Three Reasons for the Housing Shortage from 2021-07-30T22:26
America's housing shortage has been decades in the making. A lot of people blame Baby Boomers — but is it really their fault? We unpack three big reasons for the shortage. | Subscribe to our weekly...
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SUMMER SCHOOL 1: The Stock Market&Penelope The Cow from 2021-07-28T23:11
The first class of Planet Money Summer School starts off with a field trip. With the help of a cow, two economists, and three cute animals, we learn what a stock is and how stocks are priced, and w...
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Banque Worms from 2021-07-24T01:44:23
Last year, one of the biggest banks accidentally paid off a client's loan to its lenders — a $900 million mistake. Some of the recipients wouldn't give the money back. And then a surprising court r...
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Video Gaming The System from 2021-07-21T23:54:16
Two groups of people who would never meet in real life collide in a world of wizards and dragons. They battle it out in a low-tech video game, and it shakes the lives of a lot of real people living...
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The Great Inflation (Classic) from 2021-07-17T06:31:49
For much of the 1970s inflation was bad. Prices rose at over 10 percent a year. Nothing could stop it — until one powerful person did something very unpopular. Today's show: How we beat inflation. ...
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100 Years Since Sadie Alexander from 2021-07-14T22:48:42
In 1921, Sadie Alexander became the first Black person in America to receive a PhD in economics. Then, she was functionally shut out of economics jobs, got a law degree, and became an attorney inst...
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Of Memestocks and Milk Bags from 2021-07-10T03:18:24
We answer your questions about memestocks, milk in bags, the size of cereal boxes, and products exclusive to the rich, but not for long? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Two Indicators: Clogged Ports And Corporate Vets from 2021-07-07T23:51:26
We bring you two stories from The Indicator on two industries that are undergoing rapid change: vets...
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The Rest Of The Story, Summer 2021 from 2021-07-02T21:31:20
We follow up on takeout cocktails, college athletes at the Listen
What's A Bubble? (Classic) from 2021-07-01T00:42:46
Can you tell if the economy is in a bubble? How? And why do bubbles happen? Robert Shiller and Eugene Fama shared the economics Nobel back in 2013 despite fundamentally disagreeing over the meaning...
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Bobby Bonilla Day from 2021-06-26T00:38:39
How the worst deal in baseball explains one of the most important concepts in economics. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Corporate Fugitive: Carlos Ghosn from 2021-06-23T21:09
Japan once served sushi in the shape of Carlos Ghosn's face. Then Japanese authorities arrested the celebrity CEO who remade Nissan. We bring you first hand accounts of his spectacular rise, sudden...
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Predictions! from 2021-06-18T21:30:43
Two forecasters predict the future of the U.S. economy — and promise to come back on the show to see who was right, and who was wrong. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
How Uncle Jamie Broke Jeopardy (Update) from 2021-06-16T21:01:02
James Holzhauer took a math degree, a gambling career, and a buzzer, and turned it into a fortune on a game show. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
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Used Car Talk from 2021-06-11T20:30:32
How supply and demand stalled out the used car industry. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
How Stuff Gets Cheaper (Classic) from 2021-06-09T21:59:26
In the world of consumer electronics, it pays to be cheap. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Amateur Hour at the Supreme Court from 2021-06-04T22:50:48
College athletes are considered amateur players. And amateurs don't make any money. But can they get more education paid for at least? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Black Wall Street from 2021-06-02T20:25:09
100 years ago, Black Wall Street was destroyed. But how was it built? And what does it take to get restitution? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
One Hack to Fool Them All from 2021-05-28T23:00
How a single hack pried open the networks of giant corporations and the U.S. government itself. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Runaway Recommendation Engine from 2021-05-26T23:08
Recommendation systems have changed how we choose what we want. But are they choosing what we want? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Big Government Cheese (CLASSIC) from 2021-05-21T21:10:11
That time the U.S. government accidentally created a cheese surplus so large it had to be stored in a ginormous cave. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Get The Vaccine, Lose The Skinny Jeans from 2021-05-19T23:04:26
Two stories from our Indicator team about the sometimes-unlikely people who shape what we buy and what we do. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Blood Money from 2021-05-14T20:32:35
The United States is one of the few countries that lets companies pay people for their blood plasma. Why? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Hot Cheetos from 2021-05-13T03:18:47
A janitor walks out of a chip factory with a bag of dustless Cheetos and changes the global snack game forever. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Emission Impossible from 2021-05-07T22:09:50
Carbon offsets have become a popular tool to combat climate change. But how effective are they? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
DIY Reparations from 2021-05-05T21:10:47
Some Vermonters were tired of waiting around for reparations. So they decided to take matters into their own hands. | This episode was produced with our friends at Invisibilia. Check out their new ...
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We Buy A Superhero 5: Hollywood from 2021-05-01T01:06:27
In the last and greatest chapter to our superhero saga, Micro-Face tries to make the jump from comic books to movies. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
We Buy A Superhero 5: Hollywood from 2021-04-30T21:06:27
In the last and greatest chapter to our superhero saga, Micro-Face tries to make the jump from comic books to movies. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The $100 Million Deli from 2021-04-28T22:04
Why is a single New Jersey deli worth so much? And what does it tell us about how the stock market works? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
We Buy A Superhero 4: Sellout from 2021-04-23T22:59:34
Two months ago, Planet Money got its own superhero. Today, we sell him out. | Find the full Planet Money Superhero series here.
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We Buy A Superhero 4: Sellout from 2021-04-23T18:59:34
Two months ago, Planet Money got its own superhero. Today, we sell him out. | Find the full Planet Money Superhero series here.
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The Writers Revolt (UPDATE) from 2021-04-21T22:34:36
We have a winner in an epic Hollywood story. A couple years back, 7,000 TV writers across the U.S. fired their agents. All on the same day. It was part of a battle over how creative work gets value...
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India, Farming, and the Free Market from 2021-04-16T23:26:11
For decades, India has shielded its agricultural sector from the free market. Now, the government wants to let it in. Millions and millions of farmers are not happy about it. | Subscribe to our wee...
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Workin' 9 To 5 from 2021-04-14T18:16:50
The movie "9 to 5" used humor to highlight the struggles of women in the workplace 40 years ago. Where are we now? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
About Your Extended Warranty from 2021-04-09T22:37:04
Calls about "extended auto warranties" blow up our phones over and over. But what are these robocalls actually offering? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
How Jacob Loud's Land Was Lost from 2021-04-07T21:25:27
Today's show: the arcane laws that have cost Black landowners their property, and the lawyer who is trying to fix those laws. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Two Indicators: Boomtown&Bye Bye from 2021-04-02T21:18:01
We look at housing prices in Montana, an oil market milestone, and give a fond farewell. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Curse Of The Black Lotus (Update) from 2021-03-31T19:40:47
When the popular card game Magic: The Gathering entered a speculative bubble, its creators found a way to keep it from bursting. We check in to see if their strategy is still working. | Subscribe t...
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Socialism 101 from 2021-03-26T18:53
Today on the show: The critics of capitalism. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter h...
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You Asked For Shots, Tuna, Metal, and Money from 2021-03-24T21:56:11
Listeners send us questions every day. It's about time we answer a few of them. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The New Shape Of Pasta from 2021-03-19T22:18:24
What do you do when you can't find the perfect pasta shape? You invent a new shape. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Even More Minimum Wage from 2021-03-17T18:55
The tipped minimum wage hasn't changed for decades. Is now finally the time? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The $69 Million JPEG from 2021-03-13T04:28:10
An artist called Beeple just sold a piece at Christie's for millions. But it wasn't a painting... it was a kind of crypto. We speak with him and the others behind the first NFT auction. | Subscribe...
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Nigeria, You Win! (Update) from 2021-03-10T22:41:22
Nigerians heard a radio ad offering millions of dollars for people with business proposals. They thought it was a scam. It wasn't. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Marriage Pact from 2021-03-06T00:12:52
They say true love is hard to find. Whoever says that isn't an economist. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Happy Fed Independence Day (Update) from 2021-03-03T22:36:23
The story of the day the Federal Reserve got its independence and the fight — an actual physical fight — to keep it. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
We Buy A Superhero 3: Resurrection from 2021-02-27T01:07:44
We have found the perfect superhero. Now we just have to make him our own. | Find the full Planet Money Superhero series here.
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We Buy A Superhero 3: Resurrection from 2021-02-26T20:07:44
We have found the perfect superhero. Now we just have to make him our own. | Find the full Planet Money Superhero series here.
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Bond Voyage from 2021-02-24T20:22
The government used to be afraid to borrow too much money. Today, it borrows hand over fist. And it's ... fine? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
We Buy A Superhero 2: Loophole from 2021-02-19T23:56:43
Marvel was not interested in selling us Doorman. But there is another way to jumpstart our superhero empire. | Find the full Planet Money Superhero series here.
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We Buy A Superhero 2: Loophole from 2021-02-19T18:56:43
Marvel was not interested in selling us Doorman. But there is another way to jumpstart our superhero empire. | Find the full Planet Money Superhero series here.
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Why Printers Are The Worst from 2021-02-17T18:33:04
The real money is in the ink. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
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We Buy A Superhero 1: Origins from 2021-02-13T00:11:21
Marvel has 7,000 characters, many of them forgotten. We want to buy one from their vault and launch our own little Planet Money franchise. | Find the full Planet Money Superhero series Listen
We Buy A Superhero 1: Origins from 2021-02-12T19:11:21
Marvel has 7,000 characters, many of them forgotten. We want to buy one from their vault and launch our own little Planet Money franchise. | Find the full Planet Money Superhero series Listen
Can't Let It Go from 2021-02-10T20:39:57
Irrational decisions. Things we can't let go. Friend of the show Sam Sanders comes by to talk obsessions. We turn to economics for advice, clarity and comfort. | Subscribe to Sam's podcast, Listen
Fine and Punishment from 2021-02-05T20:02
When you get out of prison, you have to start paying off fees. Some are related to committing a crime. Others are not. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Robinhood's Very Bad Day from 2021-02-03T23:16:57
How the stock trading app works. And why it almost broke last week. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
New Jersey Bails Out from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
California just did away with cash bail. But credit where credit is due. New Jersey already tried something similar.
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Food Scare Squad from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
When food makes people sick all around the country, an army of germ detectives jumps into action.
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New Jersey Wine from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Today on the show: Could New Jersey become the next Napa?
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The World's Longest Yard Sale from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Six states. Three days. One ugly cookie jar. Today on the show: Yard sale!
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You Asked For Even More from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
You have a lot of questions... about tariffs, unemployment rates, and RV dealerships, to name a few. We have answers.
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Open Office from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This episode is for everyone who ever had to ask their coworkers to quiet down. Today on the show: We meet the man who stole your office door.
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Venezuela's Fugitive Money Traders from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Venezuelan government doesn't want you to know the real value of its currency. But Ruben and Mila figured it out. Now they're on the lam.
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The Postal Illuminati from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Is there a secretive postal organization fixing international shipping rates, and giving American businesses a bad deal?
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Yes In My Backyard from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
There's a simple way to solve the housing crisis in U.S. cities. Only problem is, almost everybody hates it.
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The Poop Cartel from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
What happens when a group of economists applies the number one rule of economics... to number two?
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The New Socialists from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Socialism was political poison in the U.S. for decades. Now it's gaining ground. Who are these new socialists? And what do they want?
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The One-Page Plan To Fix Global Warming Revisited from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Tax carbon emissions. That's basically the whole plan. What's the hold up?
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LeBron James Is Still Underpaid from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The best player in basketball is getting hosed. The NBA team owners, the players, the fans and even LeBron James himself want to keep it that way.
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Two Summer Indicators from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Two stories from our Indicator team. There's a province in China that makes many of the world's flags. It's a unique window on global trade right now. And we find out why so few teenagers are worki...
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Peanuts And Cracker Jack from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
It takes strategy and skill to sell snacks at a baseball game. Meet the hot dog vending legend of Fenway Park.
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The Rest Of The Story Summer 2018 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A pesticide wreaks havoc. A listener needs a bitcoin detective. And the search for the rarest economic good continues.
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The Fake Review Hunter from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Fake product reviews are wrecking the internet. But help is on the way: From a bodybuilding fake review hunter.
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VIDEO: The Chicken Tax from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Which came first, the frozen chicken or the tax on foreign trucks? Just kidding, it was the frozen chicken — then came the American tax that helped shape the domestic market for trucks.
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When CEO Pay Exploded from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Politicians have argued for decades that CEOs are overpaid. But there's this precise moment in the 1990s when CEO pay suddenly shot up. We find out what happened.
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It Takes Two To Make A Trade War Fight from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
President Trump says China is stealing U.S. technology. So we looked into one case. And things got a little complicated.
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The World's Biggest Battery from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
California has a ton of solar power. But as soon as night falls, it's gone. Today on the show: How to bottle the sun.
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Inventing Accidents from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The medical world has been trying to cure color blindness for centuries. Then a glass scientist figured it out. By accident.
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Ungerrymandering Florida from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
When Florida outlawed partisan gerrymandering, politicians tried to sneak it back in...in disguise.
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The T-Rex In My Backyard from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Meet Sue, the dinosaur who sparked a gold rush for fossils buried in the badlands of North Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana.
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Swamp Gravy from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Today on the show: A small town stakes its future on writing, directing, and starring in a musical.
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The Taxi King from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Gene Freidman built a taxi empire. We visited him before he was in legal trouble.
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Showdown at the WTO from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The World Trade Organization: Can't live with it, hard to crush your trade opponents without it.
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Class Action from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Class actions run from big civil rights cases to arguments about pepper. Are they noble, or silly?
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The Land Of Duty Free from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We meet the man who invented duty free shopping and find out if these tax free stores are really saving us any money.
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Fixing Chicken from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Today on the show: A chicken index, some Wall Street investors, and an unlikely whistle-blower.
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The Indicator Goes To California from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
California is way more than Hollywood. Today on the show, we look at what else is going on in this powerhouse state economy.
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The Fondue Conspiracy from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Today on the show: How a cheese cartel abandoned the rules of economics and convinced the world to eat fondue.
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A Series of Mysterious Packages from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Unordered trinkets have been arriving at homes around the country. We try to find out why.
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The Bottom Of The Well from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Today on the show: the economics of drought, and why the rational thing to do in California right now is use more water.
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The Belt, The Road And The Money from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Today on the show, we connect the dots between New York, Uganda, Prague, and China's thirst for resources. (Music Credit: Thanks to musician Giovanni Kiyingi for the use of his song "Kaleeba" from ...
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The Rational Madness Of The Used Car Salesman from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Why are used car commercials so annoying? Meet the original sinner.
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The Less Deadly Catch from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Today on the show: how an economic fix helped made the deadliest job in America safer, and why people are angry about it.
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NDA Tell-All from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Today on the show, we talk to one of the most famous NDA breakers of all time, and ask: Is there a legal way out of your NDA?
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Larry vs. The IRS from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
What exactly would happen if you didn't pay your taxes? Today on the show, we follow one man who did just that.
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Worst. Tariffs. Ever. from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Tariffs are stupid. This is one of the few things economists can agree on. Today, we bring you the story of the worst tariffs ever.
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Mulvaney Vs The CFPB from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
What happens when you put someone who wants to close an agency, in charge of that agency? Today on the show, we find out.
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An Insider Trader Tells All from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A man who got caught insider trading explains everything — what he did, how he did it, and why.
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The Golden Rules from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Planet Money joins the gold rush 170 years late. And the rules are still about the same. How did that happen?
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The Lollipop War from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
What do sugar farmers have against candy? A lot, according to candy manufacturers.
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XXX-XX-XXXX from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
How did the social security number become the most important identifier in the United States? And is that even a good idea?
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Rigging The Economy from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Two guys from different ends of the political spectrum agree that the economy is rigged. And they think they know who's responsible.
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The Experiment Experiment from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
There's something wrong with the way we're doing science. Today on the show, we find out how to fix it.
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You Asked For More from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We ponder the price of chicken, safe haven currencies, and the cash value of coupons. Why? Because you asked.
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Three Indicators from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
What do human blood, the conservative tax plan, and beer hops tell us about the world? Find out in today's episode.
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The Vodka Proof from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Vodka is the best selling spirit in the United States, and there are zillions of brands. But is there any difference between them?
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The Blue Pallet from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
How do you reinvent something as simple as the wooden shipping pallet?
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Planet Monet from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Investors are pouring money into art, and a lot of it is disappearing into storage. We try to find out where the art goes, and why it goes there.
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The Secret Document that Transformed China from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In 1978, a group of farmers in a Chinese village wrote a contract and hid it in the roof of a hut. They were afraid the document might get them executed. Instead, it transformed the Chinese economy.
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The Shortest Super Bowl from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
How does the market for Super Bowl tickets work? And why did it collapse in 2015?
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The Other Davos from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Billionaires, diplomats, thinkfluencers. This is the Davos everyone hears about. Today on the show, we take you to a different Davos.
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P Is For Phosphorus from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Phosphate is a crucial element, for farming, and for life. And there aren't too many places to get it. What if it runs out?
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Tax Me If You Can from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Douglas Bruce had a bold vision for Colorado.
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The Problem Of The Root from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The wild ginseng market has gone crazy. We go to a farm hidden in the Appalachian mountains to find out why.
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The Invisible Plumbing Of Our Economy from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Why does it take days to send money electronically?
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Bitcoin Losers from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Bitcoin market has gone crazy. And it's revealing something strange. A lot of people can't find their Bitcoins. We go looking for lost billions.
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When The U.S. Paid Off The Entire National Debt from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
What does a country with no debt look like? To find out, we went back to the United States in 1835.
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The Rest of the Story 2017 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Every year at Planet Money, we take a cue from radio legend Paul Harvey and bring you "The Rest of the Story." It's a show where we check in on some of the episodes that we've done in the past year...
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The M&M Anomaly from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
David Kestenbaum noticed that a pack of Milk Chocolate M&M's weighs 1.69 ounces, but a pack of Peanut Butter M&M's weighs 1.63 ounces. He had to know why. But the confectionary world has its secrets.
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BONUS INDICATOR: How Airfare Is Changing from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Why flying to small airports keeps costing more and more, just as flying to big airports is getting cheaper. (This episode is from our new podcast, The Indicator. Subscribe to it wherever you get y...
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The Tax Plan Is Huge from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Congress just passed the largest tax overhaul in decades. We dig in.
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The Santa Suit from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Today on the show: A lawsuit over a Santa suit is a window into countless hidden fights that shape the stuff we buy. It's one man's battle against the U.S. government — and, in a way, against himself.
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BONUS INDICATOR: Forget Neutrality from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
From our new podcast, The Indicator: Opponents of net neutrality argue that the government should get out of the way and let the market work, that's what leads to better service and more choice. We...
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SPACE 4: 3 2 1 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We've got a satellite. We got a rocket. We're heading to the launch pad.
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High Rise, Low Returns from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
As a businessman, President Trump is known for his towering buildings. Today we tell the story of one of those skyscrapers and what it says about how and with whom Trump does business.
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BONUS: The Indicator, From Planet Money from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We've made a new show. You can subscribe to it now. It's called 'The Indicator'. It's for those times you want Planet Money to explain the news, quickly. It's short (about five minutes) and three d...
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SPACE 3: Rocket Shopping from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We found a satellite. We tried to figure out what it would do. Now we need to choose our rocket.
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SPACE 2: Wait, Why Are We Going To Space? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We hitched a ride on a satellite. Now we have to figure out what we're going to do up there.
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Anatomy of a Hustle from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
What did Paul Manafort do, exactly? Robert Mueller's indictment is 31 pages of hard-to-understand financial crime. We try to figure it out.
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The Free Food Market from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A while back, the charity Feeding America was a mess. It was sending pickles to food banks that wanted produce, and potatoes to Idaho. So they called some economists, and a free food market was born.
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Walmart's Pickle from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Walmart and Amazon are in a battle to be the store where you buy everything. But when both companies sell everything, what sets them apart? Food inventions like a bright, red pickle!
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War And Peace And Cows from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In South Sudan, there is a kind of money that works even through bank failures and unstable governments. But when war struck, it upended a whole economy: the economy of cows.
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Bagging the Birkin from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Once you've got a Birkin bag, you've made it. But to get one, you need more than just money. Birkins always seem to be mysteriously out of stock. This is no accident.
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Your Cell Phone's A Snitch from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Timothy Carpenter stole cell phones. Then his phone sold him out to the Feds. Now the Supreme Court has to decide how private our cell phone data should be.
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If Teens Ran the Fed from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Once a year, teenagers from across the country team up and compete to run the U.S. Federal Reserve.
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Nudge, Nudge, Nobel from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Why do smart people make dumb decisions? Figuring that out won Richard Thaler a Nobel Prize.
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The Hotel at the Center of the World from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A Chinese company pays millions of dollars for a failing hotel in a small, rural town. We follow the trail of money, and it explains the world economy.
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Is the NCAA An Illegal Cartel? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In any other industry, it's illegal for a group of companies to get together and cap wages. What makes the NCAA different?
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The Death Show from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Today on the show: death. We have four stories about how people prepare for death and what they leave behind for the living.
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Free Money from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Bob Peterson claims to have found the thing people have sought for thousands of years — an investment guaranteed to double in value. He keeps it in a storage locker in Utah. It's protected by a sin...
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North Korea's Capitalists from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Capitalism isn't supposed to exist in North Korea. But all over the country, small businesses are popping up, growing the nation's economy. And much of that money is going straight to the country's...
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Corporate! Income! Tax! from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Republicans are proposing big changes to the corporate income tax. Trillions of dollars are at stake. Here's what it all means.
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Bad Credit Bureau from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
For most of our lives, Equifax has been slurping up our financial data. Now the company's been hacked and our data is loose. Today, we trace this mess back to two brothers and one fateful decision.
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The Benefits of Bankruptcy from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
It might just be the secret weapon of the U.S. economy.
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Flood Money from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Bill Pennington's house floods a lot: Three times in the last three years. And every time his house floods, the government pays to help him repair the damage. Is something wrong here?
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Mr Jones' Act from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The government suspended the Jones Act last week, to allow non-US ships to move fuel to victims of hurricanes in Houston and Florida. Which once again made us wonder why the act even exists.
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The Basic Income Experiment from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The basic income. A flat payment to citizens, without strings. Is it a progressive fever dream, or sensible policy? We may soon find out. The Finnish Government is testing it on 2,000 citizens.
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Is Record Breaking Broken? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Guinness Book of World Records had a problem. It was a book. And books aren't selling as well as they used to. So Guinness changed what they were selling, and who they were selling to.
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Hard Work Is Irrelevant from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Patty McCord helped create a workplace at Netflix that runs more like a professional sports team than a family. If you're not up to scratch, you're off the team. Is this the future of work?
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This Week in Time Bombs from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We look at three time bombs Congress is sitting on: The federal budget, the debt ceiling, and DREAMers.
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This Ad's For You from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Tom Burrell was the first black man in Chicago advertising. He went on to change the way we think about ads, and the way advertisers think about us.
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The Ransom Problem from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
When someone has been kidnapped, what do you do? If you pay ransom, you create a market for hostages. If you don't, people die. Different countries have different policies with different results.
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Tips From Spies from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
There's an entire universe of things spies are not allowed to tell us. Today on the show, a few of the teeny things they can say. They might come in handy.
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Rough Translation in Ukraine from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Fake news from Russia helped spark a real war in Ukraine. What can Ukraine's fight against fake news teach the US?
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The Hydrox Resurrection from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Hidden in the trash heap of commerce there is buried treasure. Abandoned brands--including trusted, beloved brands--are waiting to be claimed and reborn. Today on the show: A cookie comeback.
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I Am Not A Robot from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The remarkable story of the online "CAPTCHA" tests we've all taken to prove that we're not robots.
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Two Spring Indicators from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Indicator from Planet Money explores trade wars, peanuts, hurricanes, and happiness.
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How Much Does This Cow Weigh? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We wanted to understand an eerie phenomenon that drives everything from the stock market to the price of orange juice. So we asked you to guess the weight of a cow.
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The Chicago Boys, Part II from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
How a ruthless dictator, and a bunch of economists known as the Chicago Boys, took Chile from socialism to capitalism.
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The Chicago Boys, Part I from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In the late 1950s and early '60s a handful of Chilean students went to study economics at the University of Chicago. What they learned changed their country.
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Joke Theft from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Copyrighting comedy is expensive. So comedians have devised an informal system of sanctions to protect their jokes from theft. Sometimes it works.
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A New Way To Pay For College from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Some colleges are offering students a new way to pay. It's not a scholarship. It's not a loan. It's more like the students are selling stock in themselves.
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The Phoebus Cartel from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The story behind two sneaky forces that drive us to buy more products, more often: Planned obsolescence and psychological obsolescence.
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Bad Cops Are Expensive from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
There's an industry of people working to eliminate bad police behavior. They're not activists or protestors. They're insurers.
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Why A Dead Shark Costs $12 Million from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Today's show is about the fickle market for art. What makes a dead shark cost $12 million, and a photo of steel wool that looks like a tornado cost only $1,265?
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The Stolen Company from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
When an American company named ABRO learns their goods are being counterfeited in China, they start their own trade war.
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Mexico Fights The Fuel Pirates from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Thieves are stealing billions of dollars worth of gasoline in Mexico. The President is taking drastic action to cut them off, and it comes at a serious cost. Content warning: Audio of deadly pipeli...
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The Starbury from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The story of an NBA All-Star and an experiment: To make a desirable basketball shoe cheap enough for anyone.
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Happy Fed Independence Day from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The story of the day the Federal Reserve got its independence and the fight—an actual physical fight—to keep it.
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New Orleans Vs. Airbnb from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Airbnb has changed New Orleans. And now landlords and preservationists are fighting over the future of the city.
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Antitrust 3: Big Tech from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
What does the rise of dominant tech companies say about competition and the state of antitrust law? Third in a series.
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Antitrust 2: The Paradox from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
How Robert Bork won the fight over the very meaning of competition in America, and paved the way for some of the biggest companies we've ever seen.
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Antitrust 1: Standard Oil from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
At the turn of the 20th century, Ida Tarbell investigated John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil. What she discovered changed the economy of the United States.
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A Fake Bank For Money Laundering Run By The Government from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
To catch drug traffickers, the U.S. government tried something it had never tried before. It set up and ran a fake offshore bank for money laundering. Fake name. Fake employees. Real drug money.
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Our Valentines 2019 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We give a shout out to the stuff we've been obsessing over in the office — those stories that were so good, we wished we had thought of them ourselves.
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The Lost Plane from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In December, a commercial flight had to make an emergency landing in Iran. They discovered that landing there would be easy. Getting out – much, much harder.
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Who Won The Bet Over Bitcoin? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Five years ago, two sides met on our show to make a bet about the future of bitcoin. Today, we announce the winner.
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Who Started The Wildfire? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
After a wildfire, teams of investigators start combing the wreckage for clues. Finding the cause means, maybe, finding someone to pay. But where's the line between a natural disaster and a human one?
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The Division Problem from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Today on the show, we take on one of life's most vexing problems: Sharing.
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Brilliant Vs. Boring from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
John Bogle died last week. His creation — the index fund — changed investing. Today, how his invention set off a million dollar bet between some of the biggest brains on Wall Street, including Warr...
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The Pay-What-You-Want Experiment from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In 2010, Panera launched several pay-what-you-want cafes. On today's show: How this charitable experiment worked out.
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The First Shutdown from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In 1879, Congress and the President were locked in a battle over the rights of African-Americans. It led to the first government shutdown.
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You Asked For It, Yet Again from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
On today's show we answer questions about silver dollars, Venmo, and Brexit. Why? Because you asked!
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The Price of a Hack from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Hackers are an expensive headache for companies. But there might be a simple economic fix.
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Do It For Your Country from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
People are the engine that fuels an economy. But what happens when you start running out of people?
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The Rest Of The Story, Winter 2018 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We check in on some stories we did this year to see what's changed. Find a full list of the episodes we referenced at our website, NPR.org/money.
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The Curse Of The Black Lotus from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
How the card game "Magic: The Gathering" deflated a speculative bubble. You can support our show at donate.npr.org/planetmoney.
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BONUS INDICATOR: The Calculator That Time Forgot from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Most products in this world are vulnerable to creative destruction: as new products are developed, they make old ones obsolete. But there are some exceptions — products that persist, resisting chan...
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A Very Planet Money Christmas Carol from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Charles Dickens wanted to pick a fight with economists. So he invented Ebenezer Scrooge. But did he get it all right? Also: If you want to support our show, head over to donate.npr.org/planetmoney....
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Synthetic Reefer Madness from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
How a professor invented a formula for synthesizing cannabinoids and unintentionally helped launch a drug revolution.
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BONUS INDICATOR: The Measure Of A Tragedy from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Ricardo Hausmann, a Harvard-based Venezuelan economist, has constructed his own indicator, one that captures the horrifying scale of the economic catastrophe in Venezuela. (This episode is from our...
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The Prisoners of the Trade War from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A truce in the U.S.-China trade war seemed close. The leaders of China and the United States were meeting to discuss a fix. And then arrests started. It got even more confusing, so today, we call u...
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Is Amazon Good For New York? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
It feels like all of New York City is arguing about Amazon's new office in Queens. But what do the people in Long Island City think?
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Why Car Safety Is A Trade Barrier from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The U.S. and Europe just can't agree on car safety standards. That puts car companies in a weird position, makes cars cost more and just seems kind of random and wasteful.
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The Secret Target from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Their plan was dangerous, risky, and extremely unpopular. But America copied them anyway. Today on the show: how a tiny country on the other side of the world changed how America runs its economy.
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Kid Rock Vs. The Scalpers from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We talk to Kid Rock about how he tried to cut scalpers out of the business — and still sell cheap tickets to his shows.
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VIDEO: The Price Of Coke Stayed The Same For 70 Years — Why? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
For 70 years, a Coca-Cola cost a nickel. The price didn't change. How is that even possible? You can also watch the video here: https://youtu.be/Bcz0BJGEVUY
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Mugshots For Sale from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We go deep inside the market for online mugshots. Is it extortion? Or is it a First Amendment right?
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The Laws of The Office from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
You get what you measure. Work expands to fill the time allotted. Who comes up with this stuff? And is it true?
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VIDEO: Put A Chip On It from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A quick history of slow credit cards. This video also available here: https://youtu.be/2IksSNiEo2g
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Kansas City Vs. Kansas City from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A bunch of you asked why so many cities threw billions in tax breaks at Amazon. It reminded us of an episode we did in 2016.
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Patent Deception from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
How World Patent Marketing stole nearly $26 million. And how the acting attorney general was involved.
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VIDEO: A Grave Promise from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
If you die in America, chances are the cemetery is going to promise to maintain your grave forever. Americans take this for granted, but it's a wacky, wild promise that we maybe should not be makin...
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Why Did The Cow Cross The Border? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
To take advantage of the surprising benefits provided by an interlocked economic system on the other side.
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Hot Dog Hail Mary from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Falcons are trying something radical: Making their food cheaper. It could break stadium economics.
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VIDEO: Inventing Price Tags from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
For most of human history, you had to haggle over prices before you could buy something. Then came the idea of the price tag.
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The Seattle Experiment from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Seattle's radical solution to big money in politics: Flood elections with even more money.
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The Halloween Tapes from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Something spooky has been happening here at Planet Money.
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Video: The Miracle Apple from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We're kicking off a quick season of our bonus video series, Planet Money Shorts. Watch how apples became brands, and started being more than delicious.
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Blacklisted In China from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
China is trying a bold experiment to help people trust each other more: The social credit score. Will it work? Does it go too far?
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The First Lottery & How To Beat The Odds from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The first lottery was a royal affair with poems, golden flatware and invited criminals. Also, how someone won the lottery over and over.
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Trump vs. Red Tape from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
President Trump promised to slash regulations. How has he done?
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What Causes What? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We try to tell the difference between correlation and causation.
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The Student Loan Whistleblower from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Seth Frotman worked overseeing student loans for the government. He saw things that made him quit, and tell all.
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The History of Light (Nobel Edition) from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Bill Nordhaus just won the economics Nobel. In this show: He shows how history of light is the history of economic growth — of things getting faster, cheaper, and more efficient.
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Anatomy Of A Scam from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Ever seen one of those signs asking if you want to work from home? We find out what happens when you call.
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Special Report: Asylum Crackdown from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We tell the story of a massive crackdown on asylum fraud, and the fallout.
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Modern Monetary Theory from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We rethink everything we know about government spending, taxes, the nature of money... All of it.
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Tweak This from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We propose small fixes for baseball, weddings, salary negotiations and buying your morning coffee. Warning: They may be too rational.
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The Tale Of The Onion King from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
How one man took the onion market hostage.
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The Central (Bankers') Question from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We crash a party of central bankers to get an answer to one of the biggest economic questions of our time.
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For Our 10th Anniversary, Episode #1 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In honor of our 10th anniversary, we revisit our very first episode.
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The 13th Hole from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
What a hole-in-one gone awry says about the state of charity.
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When Subaru Came Out from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Subaru's sales had been slumping for years. Then they went straight to their biggest fans: Lesbians.
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Big Government Cheese from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
That time we accidentally created a cheese surplus so large it had to be stored in a ginormous cave.
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Can't Stop GameStop from 2021-01-30T02:26:06
Video game stores. Hedge Funds. Reddit forums. How this mad lib resulted in the biggest short squeeze in years. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
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The World's Biggest Battery (Classic) from 2021-01-27T20:19:02
California has a ton of solar power. But as soon as night falls, it's gone. Today on the show: how to bottle the sun
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How Desi Invented Television from 2021-01-23T00:55:25
The television was invented by Philo Farnsworth in 1927. TV was invented by Desi Arnaz in 1951.
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Modern Monetary Theory (Classic) from 2021-01-20T18:21:46
We rethink everything we know about government spending, taxes, and the nature of money.
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Nervous TikTok from 2021-01-14T03:00:51
The U.S. was going to ban TikTok... and then it didn't. We break down the beef with TikTok, and see what life would have been like without it. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Planet Monet (Classic) from 2021-01-11T22:19:15
Investors are pouring money into art, but a lot of it is disappearing into storage. We find out why. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Bees Go To California (Classic) from 2021-01-08T23:23:03
Almonds taste great. And the logistics behind pollinating almond trees are un-bee-lievable. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Chaos At The Capitol from 2021-01-07T02:22:17
With an insurrection at the Capitol, we interrupt Planet Money and turn the feed over to tonight's episode of the NPR Politics podcast. | Subscribe to Planet Money's weekly newsletter Listen
Bitcoin Losers (Classic) from 2021-01-01T22:57:53
The Bitcoin market is still crazy, but a lot of people can't even find their Bitcoins. We go looking for lost billions. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
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The Rest Of The Story, 2020 from 2020-12-30T22:49:01
We check in on The Fed, a vaccine scientist, and the mixed martial arts. Oh, and a bunch of escheaters. So long, 2020! | Support our show here.
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How To Stop An Asteroid (UPDATE) from 2020-12-25T22:00:19
Some smart people say we should be doing more to protect the Earth from asteroids. The technical issues are relatively easy. The economics — figuring out who's going to pay — are much harder. | Sup...
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Fork The Government from 2020-12-24T03:36
A global pandemic might not be the best time to try something new with technology. But Taiwan decided to do it anyway. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Mixtape Drama from 2020-12-19T00:40:59
Mixtapes were the heart of hip-hop culture in the 90s. Until an arrest in 2007 brought it all down. | Today's episode is from our friends at Listen
The Case Against Facebook from 2020-12-17T01:21:44
The government just filed one of the largest antitrust cases in history against Facebook. Why now? And what will it mean? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
We Buy A Lot Of Christmas Trees from 2020-12-11T22:39
Nick and Robert head to the world's largest Christmas tree auction with $1,000 and a truck. And get schooled in the tree market. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Stolen Company (Classic) from 2020-12-10T00:28:37
When an American company named ABRO learns their goods are being counterfeited in China, they start their own trade war. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
How The Rat Blew Up from 2020-12-05T00:36:18
Unions have been putting giant inflatable rats in front of businesses for years. Now businesses are trying to deflate them, in court. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Before The Shot In The Arm from 2020-12-03T02:45:12
Inventing a vaccine for COVID-19 was hard, but getting billions of doses to billions of people is going to be even harder. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Hot Dog Hail Mary (Classic) from 2020-11-27T22:00:26
The Falcons are trying something radical: Making their food cheaper. It could break stadium economics.
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Swamp Gravy (UPDATE) from 2020-11-25T23:47:44
Colquitt, Georgia, was struggling. And then musical theater came along. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
All Your Genes Are Belong To Us from 2020-11-21T01:37
Who owns your genes, anyway? For a while, Big Biotech patented 20% of the human genome. Then a lawyer took them to the Supreme Court. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Trade Show (UPDATE) from 2020-11-18T23:56:38
It's been a rough four years for free trade. Today on the show, we present 244 years of trade in 22 minutes. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Biden Time from 2020-11-13T22:24:30
Four things Joe Biden can do as president — even if the Democrats don't control Congress. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Worst. Tariffs. Ever. (Classic) from 2020-11-11T21:55:16
One of the few things a new president has a lot of control over is tariff policies. But it wasn't always that way. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Hacking The Perfect Auction from 2020-11-06T22:57:35
A Nobel-Prize winner spent years designing an auction to sell off the airwaves, which are owned by the public. But Wall Street found a tiny flaw. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
What's Next for the Economy? from 2020-11-04T21:10:31
A research group at Harvard came up with a faster way to check the economy's pulse. It may change how we fight recessions. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
What Economy Are You Voting For? from 2020-10-30T21:25:53
Two candidates. Two very different ways of thinking about the economy. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Who Gets To Vote In Florida? from 2020-10-28T23:30:26
Angel Sanchez was 17 and in prison when he learned felons couldn't vote in Florida. When he got out, he tried to change that. It was working – until money got involved.| Subscribe to our weekly new...
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Frame Canada from 2020-10-23T21:01
For years, Wendell Potter ran a campaign to terrify Americans... about health care in Canada. Now he explains how he did it, and why. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Hey Google, Are You Too Big? from 2020-10-22T00:23:49
The government just filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google. In this episode, we talk about why, and why it matters. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Opening Schools And Other Hard Decisions from 2020-10-16T23:47:20
Emily Oster wanted to understand the risks of opening schools. So she started a massive data collection campaign. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Caste Arrives In Silicon Valley from 2020-10-14T20:22:35
For some Indian employees of big U.S. tech companies, caste discrimination is real. To combat it, first people have to talk about it. That's hard. | Today's episode is from our friends at Listen
Political Ad Nauseam from 2020-10-09T22:27
It's presidential election season, and that means it's political ad season. But who do ads target, anyway? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Rethinking Black Wealth from 2020-10-07T21:36
Homes in Black neighborhoods are valued lower than homes in white neighborhoods. Why? This episode, Dr. Andre Perry flips the narrative of the racial wealth gap. | Subscribe to our weekly newslette...
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Call Center Call Out from 2020-10-02T23:17:13
We visit life on the other side of your customer service call and get a glimpse into the troubling future of work in America. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Trump's Tiny Taxes from 2020-10-01T01:05:48
A totally refreshing 20 minutes or so of infotainment related to Trump, taxes and toy wooden arrows. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Sell Me Your Climate Bombs from 2020-09-25T22:41:20
There are tanks all over the U.S. that are like little climate change time bombs, ticking away. Today on the show, getting to them before they go off. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
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REDMAP (Update) from 2020-09-23T21:53:33
The result of national elections is shaped in a big and underappreciated way by very local elections. This is the story of the man who shaped many, many local elections to tip the national scales. ...
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Apple v Everybody from 2020-09-18T22:01:38
When Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney sued Apple over its App Store, it started a war about antitrust and the internet.
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After The Plague from 2020-09-16T21:21
The Black Death was one of the worst catastrophes to ever hit humanity. But it also helped upend feudal hierarchies, redistribute wealth, and make daily life better for a lot of medieval Europeans.
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Waste Land from 2020-09-11T23:33:57
Recycling plastic has never worked very well. So who convinced us this was a good idea? In this episode, we might have the answer. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
We Buy A Junk Bond from 2020-09-09T20:07:32
Team Indicator buys Cardiff a surprise present. A terrible, extremely risky, but wildly interesting investment. Then it gets interesting. The company that issued the junk bond declared bankruptcy. ...
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The Murderer, The Boy King, And The Invention Of Modern Finance from 2020-09-05T00:08:01
John Law killed a man in a duel, brought the first paper money to France, and became one of the richest people in the world. Then it all collapsed.
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SUMMER SCHOOL: Graduation! from 2020-09-02T22:27
Summer School graduates take the stage to show us how we can all see our everyday world through the beautiful lens of economics. | Listen
The Old Rules Were Dumb Anyway from 2020-08-28T22:49:17
When the pandemic hit, the old rules went out the window. What rules will stay broken when things go back to normal?Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
SUMMER SCHOOL 8: Risk&Disaster from 2020-08-26T21:39
Inside one insurance policy is a world of incentives and bad behaviors. Listen
Crisis At The Post Office from 2020-08-22T02:05:19
The United States Postal Service is in the middle of a political firestorm. What happened, and can it be fixed? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
SUMMER SCHOOL 7: Advertising&Race from 2020-08-19T18:03
A Black ad executive figures out how to reach diverse audiences.
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Big Rigged from 2020-08-14T19:31:33
Driving a truck used to mean freedom. Now it means a mountain of debt. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
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SUMMER SCHOOL 6: Taxes&Donald Duck from 2020-08-12T20:21
The surprisingly entertaining history of the income tax. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
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Mask Communication from 2020-08-07T20:58:06
Why won't some people wear masks? Is there anything we can do to convince them? We look to behavioral economics for help. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
SUMMER SCHOOL 5: Trade&Santa from 2020-08-05T20:27
The economics of free trade and what happens when governments get involved. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
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College Fails from 2020-07-31T23:32:55
The pandemic is transforming college from a can't-miss into a can't-attend experience. Can colleges survive? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
SUMMER SCHOOL 4: Scarcity&Pistachios from 2020-07-29T22:14
Class 4 brings us an economic conundrum: how do you efficiently share a scarce resource? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
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Rest of the Story, Pandemic Edition from 2020-07-24T20:48:31
Rest of the Story, Pandemic Edition We check in on the people we've met and stories we've covered since this whole thing started. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
SUMMER SCHOOL 3: Profit&Cocaine from 2020-07-23T00:00
In our third class, we take all that we've learned about decisions and markets and bring it to a former drug kingpin. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
BONUS: The Kerner Commission from 2020-07-20T20:44:24
In 1967, President Johnson created a commission to investigate racial unrest in America. But, the answer they came up with was not the answer he was hoping for. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter...
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Getting Out Of Prison Sooner from 2020-07-18T00:15
Shortening prison sentences might be about morals, but it's definitely about money. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
SUMMER SCHOOL 2: Markets&Pickles from 2020-07-16T02:01
In our second class, we meet our old friends supply and demand and do graphs using only the power of the human voice. Then, we show you how markets can be created anywhere by telling the story of a...
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Hollywood's Black List from 2020-07-10T17:48
In 2005, an anonymous list of the best unmade scripts in Hollywood shook up the movie biz. This episode: how a math-loving, movie nerd solved Hollywood's script problem. | Subscribe to our weekly n...
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SUMMER SCHOOL 1: Choices&Dating from 2020-07-08T17:37
First lesson: Economics is not about money. It's a lens of great power and beauty. In this episode, we meet our teachers and learn the first four fundamental concepts of economic thinking, and watc...
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Planet Money Summer School from 2020-07-06T13:44
Introducing an economics education for your ears! We're calling it Planet Money Summer School. It's all the economi...
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Reparations For Police Brutality (UPDATE) from 2020-07-03T18:30:25
For years, some Chicago police officers tortured suspects. Survivors fought for reparations — and got them. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Inflation, Deflation from 2020-07-01T19:16:23
After decades of relative stability, prices in the US may be about to go through the roof — or the floor. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Owner Of A Broken Hertz from 2020-06-24T15:05:34
Rental car giant Hertz declared bankruptcy last month, which should have made their stock worthless. So how come people keep buying it? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Money And Justice from 2020-06-19T19:40:31
Money and social change. We talk policing, nonprofits, reparations, and the awkwardness of brands getting woke. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Problem Of The Root (2018) from 2020-06-17T13:28:09
Wild ginseng sells for thousands. We go to a farm hidden in the Appalachian mountains to find out why. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Patent Racism from 2020-06-12T18:38
Violence, including racist attacks, stifles innovation and the economy. Dr. Lisa Cook proved how. It took 10 years to be heard. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Very First Vaccine from 2020-06-10T17:30:19
We've only made vaccines for so many diseases. Let's look at the history. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Police Unions And Police Violence from 2020-06-05T18:45
We look at the data connecting police unions and police violence. Today's episode comes from our daily podcast, The Indicator. Subscribe to ou...
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Where'd The Money Go, And Other Questions from 2020-06-03T20:43:33
When the economy tanks, does money just vanish? Why are home prices still so high? You asked these and other questions. We try to answer. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Small America Vs. Big Internet from 2020-05-29T21:34:08
Small towns need fast internet. One town tried to solve the problem itself, but ran into a legal firewall. What gives? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Three Big Ideas from 2020-05-27T17:28:15
On today's show, ideas to fight the virus, get people money, and revive a multibillion-dollar corner of the economy. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
J. Screwed from 2020-05-22T21:10:48
This month, J.Crew went bankrupt. But not before inventing a whole new way of playing hardball with lenders. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
How To Get Trillions To Millions from 2020-05-20T16:50:33
Unemployment offices and small banks are getting money from the government to the people who need it. But it's like trying to smoosh a fifty foot pile of money through a ten foot hole. | Subscribe ...
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Episode 1,000 from 2020-05-15T20:37:09
It's here! We did it! 1,000 episodes! And, to thank all our listeners for riding shotgun the whole way — we're gonna let you in on our secrets... | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Restaurant From The Future from 2020-05-13T18:37:39
With over 5.5 million workers unemployed or furloughed, no other industry has been hit harder than restaurants. Yet one guy is thinking about expanding. Huh? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter
Journey To The Center Of The Fed from 2020-05-08T16:48:24
We get on a boat and go to the Federal Reserve to talk about why it may be the most important institution in the world right now. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Georgia's Open Question from 2020-05-06T23:48:34
Can you safely reopen a business right now — and should you? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
About That Hazard Pay from 2020-05-01T17:54:28
We spend a morning at a grocery store and we ask: How much is essential work worth? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Buybacks And Bailouts from 2020-04-29T22:43
Over the past decade, American companies spent billions buying back their own shares. Now they need a taxpayer rescue. Do they deserve it? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Making It Work from 2020-04-24T16:36:27
Since lockdown began, some companies are doing unexpectedly well. This episode: Farm animals, a crafty comeback, Clint Eastwood, and a story with a twist. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Negative Oil from 2020-04-22T20:39:38
On Monday, the price of a barrel of oil in the United States fell to negative $37. That's never happened before. What's going on with the price of oil? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Mask Mover from 2020-04-17T19:55:54
States are scrambling to find any way to get more masks, gloves, anything. Including mass emailing people who have nothing to do with it. Enter, a man with a van. | Subscribe to our weekly newslett...
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Lives Vs. The Economy from 2020-04-15T16:21:27
Is it worth it to shut down the economy to save lives? How do you know when to reopen it? Should we let people die to save the economy? Economists say each human life is worth about $10 million dol...
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The Big Small Business Rescue from 2020-04-10T20:02:49
There's a brand new government program with $349 billion in aid for small businesses. The problem? It was thrown together in a week. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
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What If No One Pays Rent? from 2020-04-08T21:01:49
We follow the distress from a laid-off worker, to her landlord, to the multi-trillion-dollar mortgage market. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Economics Of Hospital Beds from 2020-04-03T22:26:34
Bellevue, the oldest public hospital in the nation, has seen everything and survived everything. But even they might not have enough beds. Here's why. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Race To Make Ventilators from 2020-03-31T19:17
Ventilators are the supply and demand problem of the COVID pandemic. We go inside the scramble to build more, fast. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
America Unemployed from 2020-03-28T06:00:21
A record number of Americans filed for unemployment this week. The system isn't designed for this. What's next? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Where Do We Get $2,000,000,000,000? from 2020-03-26T09:49:25
The COVID-19 rescue bill is the largest ever. Where will that money come from? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Food And Farmworkers from 2020-03-25T19:14:13
To find out what's happening with our food, we talk to an economist, a farmer, and, of course, farmworkers. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
You Asked About The Virus Economy from 2020-03-23T20:55:40
Some answers: The deal with toilet paper; stock market circuit breakers; coronabucks; corporate paper & how to help. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
How To Save The Economy Now from 2020-03-20T06:00
Neel Kashkari is the President of the Minneapolis Fed. And he's run a bailout of an economy already. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
How To Test A Country from 2020-03-18T21:16:39
Making a test for a pandemic — which rules should you keep, and which to bend? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Fed Fights The Virus from 2020-03-16T17:50:01
The central bank is trying to prevent a health crisis from becoming a financial crisis. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Medicine For The Economy from 2020-03-13T21:50:04
COVID-19 is hammering our economy. We ask three super smart economists what we should do about it. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Coronavirus, Oil, and Kansas from 2020-03-11T19:26:21
Oil prices are way down. We follow the story from an outbreak in China, to a meeting in Vienna, to a small-time oilman in Kansas. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Where's The Vaccine? from 2020-03-06T21:32:43
Coronaviruses didn't come out of nowhere. They've actually been around for years. But economics makes it hard to find a vaccine. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Terms Of Service from 2020-03-04T19:11:14
An online review turns into a fine-print nightmare — until the victims fight back. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
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Reparations In New Zealand from 2020-02-28T17:01:52
A wool magnate gets pulled into a fight with the government over reparations. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Vodka Proof from 2020-02-26T14:22:59
Vodka is the best-selling spirit in the United States, and there are zillions of brands. But is there any difference between them? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Michael Milken from 2020-02-21T17:42:49
Michael Milken once made $550 million in one year. Then, he went to prison. This week, the President pardoned him. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Indicate This from 2020-02-19T17:50:10
From our daily podcast The Indicator: How Amazon Prime packages reach you so damn fast? And why Lancaster, PA becam...
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The CryptoQueen from 2020-02-14T23:27:22
A mysterious woman promises a financial revolution. That promise leads to greed, corruption and... a beauty pageant. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Our Valentines 2020 from 2020-02-12T17:42:17
We're sending valentines to books, ideas, and other stuff we love. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Raw Milk Deal from 2020-02-07T13:21:34
A farmer in California built an empire dealing raw milk. And then the Feds showed up. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Small Change from 2020-02-05T17:35:05
How fast is the world really changing? The answer affects everything from how we live, to whether robots really will take all our jobs. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Island No One Owns from 2020-01-31T19:49:43
In Barbuda, land isn't a thing you buy. It's something you just... have. Put up a fence and it's yours. But all that might change. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Trouble With Table 101 from 2020-01-29T20:58:58
We re-engineer a restaurant with a consultant so good, she can move a table a few inches, and make thousands of dollars. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Escheat Show from 2020-01-24T17:48:42
You may be owed money. The government may decide to just use it. So we go looking for it inside a little-known "lost and found" of forgotten fortunes. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Rise Of Putin from 2020-01-22T19:04:13
Our friends at Throughline dive into the life of Vladimir Putin and try to understand how he became Russia's new "tsar." | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Das Green Old Deal from 2020-01-17T16:18:53
We team up with Vox's The Impact, to tell the story of how one man changed the way Germany – and arguably the world – uses energy. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
BILLBOARDS from 2020-01-15T21:12
We are dedicating an entire show to billboards: good and old-fashioned, or fancy and high-tech. And we put up our own. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
13,000 Economists. 1 Question. from 2020-01-10T12:39:05
We went to the American Economic Association's annual conference and asked: What's the most useful idea in economics? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
13,000 Economists. 1 Question. from 2020-01-10T12:39:05
We went to the American Economic Association's annual conference and asked: What's the most useful idea in economics? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Cost Of Free Doughnuts from 2020-01-08T13:42:09
Free is cool, but it can backfire. On today's show, what happens when you take something that's free and give it a price. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Advanced Fairness At The Marathon from 2020-01-03T21:55:22
Four lessons for creating fairness from a big race in New York. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
How Four Drinking Buddies Saved Brazil from 2020-01-01T16:00:32
Inflation in Brazil was out of control for a decade. Four former drinking buddies from grad school fixed it. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Rest Of The Story, 2019 from 2019-12-27T16:00:06
A lot can happen after we put an episode out into the world. In The Rest Of The Story, we check-in on stories we've reported. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Writers Revolt from 2019-12-25T12:00:34
In April, 7,000 TV writers across the U.S. fired their agents. All on the same day. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
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Things We Learned in 2019 from 2019-12-20T20:47:37
Tom Whitwell made an amazing list of 52 things he learned this year. We dig into our favorite items. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
When Reagan Broke the Unions from 2019-12-18T20:17:41
When air traffic controllers went on strike in 1981, Reagan gave them 48 hours to return. Labor would never be the same. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
You're Giving Your Boss A Loan from 2019-12-13T20:24:18
Getting paid twice a month is like loaning money to your boss. What if you got paid every day? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Bell Wars from 2019-12-11T16:17
The two biggest handbell companies in the world have been locked in a feud for decades. Why? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Carriage Tax from 2019-12-06T20:52:46
People have been arguing over the constitutionality of wealth taxes since 1794, when Washington put a tax on carriages.| Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Slot Flaw Scofflaws from 2019-12-04T14:54:34
Where there are casinos, there are people trying to cheat. And now, they're using iPhones. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Pirate Videos from 2019-11-29T12:40:14
Blackbeard, a filmmaker, and a fight between two powerful forces in American law. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
We Cooked A Peacock from 2019-11-27T14:00:02
In the 1600s, a good spice rub was the ultimate display of wealth. People would risk their lives for a sack of cloves. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
What Is Foreign Interference, Anyway? from 2019-11-22T18:33:55
We've heard a lot about illegal foreign meddling in the United States elections. But what about legal foreign participation? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Three Sides Of A Car Loan from 2019-11-20T18:50:34
7 million Americans are at least 3 months behind on car payments. It's a record but is it a crisis? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Sperm Banks from 2019-11-15T21:33:03
Denmark is a big exporter of human sperm. And mad cow disease may have helped. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
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Overrated Or Underrated? from 2019-11-08T17:25:09
Today on the show, economist Tyler Cowen rates the NBA, Karl Marx, Adam Smith, the humanities, your neighbors, and more. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Free Love, Free Market from 2019-11-06T16:25:27
A free-love commune of perfectionists in upstate New York embraced the free market, and became a blockbuster brand. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Pigou Club from 2019-11-01T20:55:37
A hundred years ago, economist Arthur Cecil Pigou explained how to tax things like pollution. Countries are starting to do it. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
A Series Of Unfortunate Recessions from 2019-10-30T21:12:57
A Halloween journey into the economists' worst nightmare, an endless time loop of recession after recession after... | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Some-of-the-Money Ball from 2019-10-25T16:54:38
Income pools could change the way baseball players, and maybe the rest of us, think about how we get paid. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Fries Of The Future from 2019-10-23T17:16:10
Fast food delivery is threatening the french fry. So a band of potato scientists go to work. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
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The Liberty City from 2019-10-18T20:11
A man in Texas had a dream: To build a whole new kind of city, with no property tax, no debt, and a whole lot of freedom. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Blockchain Gang from 2019-10-16T16:23:28
Charlie Shrem went from living in his parents' basement, to bitcoin millionaire, to federal prison in just a few years. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
We Should Have Mentioned That from 2019-10-11T19:51:54
Sometimes we forget to mention something. And our listeners always let us know. Today on the show, we make good. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Unicorn Cowboy from 2019-10-04T18:42:15
The risk-addicted investor who made WeWork possible and changed the way startups work. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Capitalism In The Courtroom from 2019-10-02T17:36:43
Investors can fund lawsuits for profit, which gives more people access to the courts. But some worry it will warp the justice system. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Three Bets from 2019-09-27T20:51:23
We jog to New Jersey to bet on tennis, we solve a mystery in Las Vegas, and we venture into the world of video game loot. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
When India's Cash Disappeared from 2019-09-25T17:56:51
When India suddenly got rid of most of its cash, in an effort to end corruption and modernize its economy, chaos ensued. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Interest Rates... Why So Negative? from 2019-09-20T17:29:53
All over the world, interest rates are very, very low. In some places, they're negative: you lend out money, and get less back. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Strike One from 2019-09-18T18:12:38
Strikes these days are pretty boring. But they weren't always like this. In the past, strikers risked their lives. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Working Tapes Of Studs Terkel from 2019-09-13T17:38:01
Hear what ordinary people told Studs Terkel about their jobs in the 70s — and what they have to say now. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
How To Make It In The Music Business from 2019-09-11T15:39:35
The hidden economy of producers buying and selling sonic snippets, texting each other beats, and angling for royalties. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
The Marshall Plan from 2019-09-06T20:57
Sometimes the way to help yourself is to help your enemy. After WWII, the U.S. launched what might be the most successful intervention in history, rebuilding Germany and also the rest of Western Eu...
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Where Dollar Bills Come From from 2019-09-04T19:15:12
Every dollar bill in the world comes from the same paper mill in Massachusetts. Today on the show, we get a front-row seat to the dollar-making process. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Listen
Moving To Opportunity? from 2019-08-30T19:01:42
In the 90s, the government ran an experiment: What happens if we move people out of high-poverty neighborhoods and into low-poverty ones? Housing policy as hope? The results surprised them. | Subsc...
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The Modal American from 2019-08-28T21:00:21
Kenny takes Jacob on a nerdy quest to find the "typical American." Naturally, it ends up harder—and nerdier—than we planned, and the answer is more subtle than we expected. | Subscribe to our new...
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You Asked For A Food Show from 2019-08-23T17:39:05
The top producer of Top Chef helps us spice up this food edition of listener questions. How do you master the salad bar? Why do Americans refrigerate eggs? The story of Choco Pies and more. | Subsc...
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Two Yield Curve Indicators from 2019-08-21T19:43:35
An inverted yield curve has predicted recessions for the past six decades. The curve is inverted right now. What does that tell us? | Subscribe to our newsletter Listen
Find The Helium from 2019-08-16T19:08:01
Helium is so special, and so rare, that the U.S. government once tried to buy it all up. And hide it. But the government's helium stockpile is running low. And we need it for MRI machines and NASA ...
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How Solar Got Cheap from 2019-08-14T19:29:55
For a long time, only rich people could afford to put solar panels on the roof. Not anymore. Here's what changed.
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Deep Learning With The Elephants from 2019-08-09T17:24:32
Elephants are in danger. Counting them is crucial to saving them. But they're hard to see in the rainforest. So scientists are enlisting the help of AI technology.
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The IT Guy Vs. The Con Artist from 2019-08-07T19:16
A notorious con artist offered Felipe an IT job. He took the job —and tried to con the con man. | Plus, listen to a full double feature all about cons here.
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That Time We Shorted America, Part Two from 2019-07-31T17:44:41
Everyone said betting against the entire stock market was a terrible idea. We did it anyway. Today, we find out the results, and revisit the first short ever done in the 17th century.
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That Time We Shorted America, Part One from 2019-07-26T16:32:19
Today on the show, we ignore the advice of some very smart people and bet against something people love.
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Could A Wealth Tax Work? from 2019-07-24T17:45
Elizabeth Warren wants to tax the wealth of the mega-rich to help fix inequality. Europe tried this, and failed. Can it work in the U.S.?
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The Indicator In The House from 2019-07-17T22:23:23
Two highlights from our daily podcast, The Indicator, about houses. A plan to lower rents pits state against city, ...
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So, Should We Recycle? from 2019-07-12T23:50:45
Cities might be picking up your recyclables, but there is a very good chance they aren't being recycled. And that might be a good thing...if you really care about the planet. Part two of a two-part...
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A Mob Boss, A Garbage Boat and Why We Recycle from 2019-07-10T19:28:14
In 1987, an Alabama man had an idea. So he made a deal with the mob. And ended up with 3,186 tons of trash no landfill would take. This is the accidental birth of recycling in the U.S. ⎸Subscribe ...
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Stuck In China's Panopticon from 2019-07-05T16:09:12
China is building a high-tech surveillance state to capture minorities' every move and word. We go inside it and find that some Americans are involved. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter npr.org/pl...
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Eagles vs. Chickens from 2019-07-03T14:43:01
A farmer in Georgia became more in tune with nature. Then eagles started killing his chickens. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: npr.org/planetmoneynewsletter
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Good Teachers, Bad Deal from 2019-06-28T17:48:28
Teachers made a deal with the Department of Education. They kept their end of the bargain. Why didn't the government?
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The Cost of Getting Your Money Back from 2019-06-26T21:04
Accidentally sending $1,500 to a stranger on Venmo reveals just how hard it is to get your money back in the new economy.
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Tales From The Parking Lot from 2019-06-21T15:32:59
Three stories: A tire-booting vigilante, a surge price conspiracy, and the civil rights fight over parking tickets.
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What Should We Be Worried About? from 2019-06-19T17:42:30
The economic recovery turns 10 this month. Don't get too comfortable. There's plenty to be worried about.
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Are Cities Overrated? from 2019-06-14T16:25
Big cities used to be the land of opportunity for most people. But with changes in work, some economists are wondering: Are cities overrated?
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The Planet Money Workout from 2019-06-12T18:10:23
Gyms don't want you to workout. Or at least, not often. It's better for business that way. Economics explains why.
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The Day Of Two Noons from 2019-06-07T19:13:54
People didn't always know what time it was. But in the nineteenth century, a high school principal, a scientist, and a railroad bureaucrat synchronized the nation.
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The Salmon Taboo from 2019-06-05T17:08:43
In Japan, salmon used to be garbage fish. Today, it's a delicacy. How one Norwegian with a lot of extra fish changed the tastes of a nation.
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Quit Threat! from 2019-05-31T18:36:09
Sometimes an economy can get so strong the power dynamic between bosses and workers flips: Full employment. Are we there yet?
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The Whistleblower Whisperer from 2019-05-29T19:07:18
Jordan Thomas is a lawyer who represents some of Wall Street's biggest whistleblowers. The life that led him here is extraordinary.
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How To Meddle In An Election from 2019-05-24T18:58:41
In which someone runs a science experiment on an actual election, on actual voters, to test the persuasive power of ethically sketchy methods.
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Trump and Deutsche, A Long Affair from 2019-05-22T20:00:45
After Donald Trump's companies declared four bankruptcies, several major banks stopped loaning him money. But Deutsche Bank didn't.
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Counting The Homeless from 2019-05-17T21:26:59
From renting hotels to a jobs report-like census in the night, we look at ways communities are helping the homeless.
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A Mathematician, The Last Supper, And The Birth Of Accounting from 2019-05-15T18:47:07
The story of an innovation that changed the way the world works, and of the man who made this innovation possible: Luca Pacioli.
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How Uncle Jamie Broke Jeopardy from 2019-05-10T15:55
James Holzhauer took data, probability and a lot of practice with a fake buzzer, and turned it into a fortune on a game show.
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You Asked The Listener Question Hotline from 2019-05-08T15:50:15
We answer a bunch of the questions you asked — and even one you *didn't* ask.
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Economics, Sexism, Data from 2019-05-03T18:40:22
A young economist holds a mirror up to her field. And starts a national conversation about women in economics.
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Why The Price of Coke Didn't Change For 70 years from 2019-05-01T18:59:21
For 70 years, the price of a bottle of Coca-Cola stayed a nickel. Why? The answer includes a half a million vending machines and a 7.5 cent coin.
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The Curse Of The Black Lotus from 2018-12-26T13:03
How the card game "Magic: The Gathering" deflated a speculative bubble. You can support our show at donate.npr.org/planetmoney.
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The Laws of The Office from 2018-11-21T13:00
You get what you measure. Work expands to fill the time allotted. Who comes up with this stuff? And is it true?
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