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 bankruptcy is a secret weapon of the American economy. | Subscribe to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney. | At this Summer School, phones ARE allowed during class... Check out this week's PM TikTok! | Listen to past seasons of Summer School here. Learn more about sponsor messa...
Jul 28, 2022•32 min•Ep. 1558
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? | Subscribe to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 22, 2022•21 min•Ep. 1556
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, history, and problems with the economic indicator to rule them all. | At this Summer School, phones ARE allowed during class... Check out this week's PM TikTok! | Listen to past seasons of Summer School here. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 21, 2022•25 min•Ep. 1555
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+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 16, 2022•25 min•Ep. 1554
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 "right" level of unemployment? Who gains from trade? What rhymes with 'paradox of thrift'? Also, inflation, we'll get to inflation. Episode 1 begins with the rise of macroeconomics as a field, with one of the great economic debates of the 20th century: what causes booms and busts, and what can the government...
Jul 14, 2022•31 min•Ep. 1553
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 exclusion – and also potholes. | Subscribe to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 08, 2022•25 min•Ep. 1552
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? | Subscribe to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 06, 2022•19 min•Ep. 1551
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 here. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 01, 2022•26 min•Ep. 1550
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 here . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jun 29, 2022•20 min•Ep. 1549
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 officially matter. Today on the show, we meet the committee that calls recessions. | Subscribe to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jun 25, 2022•23 min•Ep. 1548
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+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jun 22, 2022•19 min•Ep. 1547
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: npr.org/podcastsurvey Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Jun 17, 2022•19 min•Ep. 1546
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 here Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Jun 16, 2022•22 min•Ep. 1545
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. Now, we're all living with the consequences. | Fill out our listener survey here Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jun 11, 2022•28 min•Ep. 1544
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. | Fill out our listener survey here . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jun 09, 2022•20 min•Ep. 1543
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't seem so believable anymore. Today we examine the changing reality of what middle-class means in America through the Simpsons. It's a wild, musical journey into the heart of the US economy. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoi...
Jun 03, 2022•20 min•Ep. 1542
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. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Jun 01, 2022•20 min•Ep. 1541
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 Micro-Face comic book into the most collectible item of all time. | Bid on our collectible Micro-Face comic book here ! Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
May 28, 2022•28 min•Ep. 1540
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's Investigations team reveal how the NRA developed what would become their standard response after decades of school shootings. | Listen to the original Up First episode: n.pr/nratapes Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
May 26, 2022•32 min•Ep. 1539
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 here . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
May 20, 2022•25 min•Ep. 1538
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 here . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
May 18, 2022•16 min•Ep. 1537
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 be true? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
May 14, 2022•21 min•Ep. 1536
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 on the video game industry. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
May 11, 2022•19 min•Ep. 1535
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 our weekly newsletter here . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
May 07, 2022•31 min•Ep. 1534
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 here . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
May 04, 2022•21 min•Ep. 1533
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, American Bonds: How Credit Markets Shaped a Nation by Sarah L. Quinn From Erika, The End of Globalization: Lessons from the Great Depression by Harold James From Alexi, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Apr 29, 2022•16 min•Ep. 1532
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 cyber insurance. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Apr 27, 2022•18 min•Ep. 1531
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 night only. Tickets on sale here . And buy our now-ready Micro-Face comic book . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Apr 22, 2022•26 min•Ep. 1530
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 night only. Tickets on sale here . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Apr 21, 2022•22 min•Ep. 1529
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 restarts? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here . | Planet Money TikTok has been nominated for a Webby award! Cast your vote for us here . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Apr 15, 2022•21 min•Ep. 1528
