It’s the inaugural (maybe the only one ever?) “Money Mania,” a game show from “Million Bazillion” in which five lucky listeners compete in an elaborate obstacle course to get their questions answered. This week, we’ll tackle questions like: What is profit? Why do receipts have so many words? And, what do stores do with all their leftover holiday stuff? This episode is sponsored by Greenlight. (For a limited time, get $10 when you sign up for a Greenlight account at greenlight.com/MIL...
Feb 28, 2023•29 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast On a trip to Washington, D.C., Bridget and Ryan take this question from Oliver in Illinois: Why do different countries use different currencies? There’s the U.S. dollar, the Mexican peso and Japanese yen, just to name a few. This week, we’ll explain why so many countries decided to make their own type of money. And we meet the ghost of Alexander Hamilton, who has an important money lesson to share … through song. For a special cartoon, discussion questions and tips for parents, check out o...
Feb 21, 2023•24 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Bridget and Ryan are stuck inside during a major rainstorm, which means it’s the perfect opportunity to answer a question they got from Archer in Los Angeles: What is insurance? Archer’s dad is an insurance agent, and he wants to get to the bottom of how his parent makes a living. We’ll learn the ins and outs of insurance and how it became a thing. Plus, we have a catchy song to help you remember the difference between some confusing insurance terms: “premium” versus “ded...
Feb 14, 2023•27 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast Bridget and Ryan go back to school to talk with students for career day about their jobs as podcasters. But when hunger strikes, they get caught up in an underground black market snack operation that gets them into a bit of trouble. Today, we’ll learn all about the black market, what it is, why it exists and why it’s even necessary sometimes. For a special cartoon, discussion questions and tips for parents, check out our website! This episode is sponsored by Greenlight. (For a limited time, get ...
Feb 07, 2023•23 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast Bazillionaires, get ready! A new season of “Million Bazillion” is dropping earlier than usual this year. Bridget and Ryan are back February 7 answering more of the big questions kids send us about money. In Season 4, we’re digging into everything from the black market to the wage gap and why different countries use different currencies. Plus, our first ever “Million Bazillion” money mania game show. Don’t forget to sign up for our “Million Bazillion̶...
Jan 31, 2023•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast After hearing Ryan and Bridget talk about money all season, one of our young listeners wants to know when she can start earning some money. This week we’ll look back to the time when lots of kids had jobs and learn about what’s changed and why. Along the way, we’ll learn that kids actually do have jobs, just not in the way you might think. For a special cartoon, discussion questions and tips for parents, check out our website! Take a second to let us know what you think of the ...
Aug 09, 2022•25 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast One of our GOAT listeners called in with a question about cryptocurrency, and Ryan is psyched. Crypto is everywhere right now, but it can be kinda hard for kids (and grown-ups!) to know how it all works. We’ll head to the far reaches of the internet to learn about the promise and peril of crypto, and why any form of money only works if you believe it will … whoa. For a special cartoon, discussion questions and tips for parents, check out our website ! Take a second to let us know what you ...
Aug 02, 2022•29 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast If you add up all the money a grown-up makes in their lifetime, it might sound like a lot! Surely they must have more to show for it. Where are the castles, the ponies, the fancy cars? In this episode, with the help of a magic necklace, we’ll do the numbers on the stuff grown-ups have to pay for every day. It’s not all pizza parties and ice cream sundaes! For a special cartoon, discussion questions and tips for parents, check out our website! Take a second to let us know what you think of ...
Jul 26, 2022•26 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast A listener wants to know how the creators behind his favorite online videos get paid. It’s a surprisingly complicated question, and Ryan and Bridget have to go viral themselves to find out the answer. Accompanied by their new dog and a bunch of influencers, we’ll learn all about the wild economics of online videos. Put on your tap-dancing shoes, we’re making content! For a special cartoon, discussion questions and tips for parents, check out our website ! Take a second to let u...
Jul 19, 2022•28 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast It’s a rainy day, the perfect time to answer a question from one listener who started looking at the bottom of his toys. A lot of them say “Made in China,” but why? Ryan Perez and Bridget Bodnar get some help from some familiar (but legally distinct!) toy friends to find the answer. Turns out there are some pretty interesting reasons why the stuff we buy — not just toys, but clothes and food too — sometimes come from far away places. For a special cartoon, discussion questions ...
Jul 12, 2022•24 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Ryan and Bridget hear from a kid who can see the future! Or, at least, a kid who knows our dollars will be able to buy less stuff as time goes on. It’s all because of inflation, something that seems to have the grown-ups concerned. After traveling back in time to stock up on snacks, the pair get a chance to try to control runaway inflation … but their ideas don’t quite go as planned. For a special cartoon, discussion questions and tips for parents, check out our website ! Take a...
Jul 05, 2022•26 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Ryan and Bridget tackle one of their most challenging questions to date: Why is it so awkward to talk about money? Using a board game that comes to life and a catchy song, they’ll find an answer that’s better than “Because I said so” and give kids (and their parents) the tools they need to have helpful and positive conversations about money. For a special cartoon, discussion questions and tips for parents, check out our website! Take a second to let us know what you think of the show at marketpl...
Jun 28, 2022•26 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast Bridget gets to know her new co-host, Ryan, who has a lot of fun ideas but doesn’t know much about money. They’ll work together on a question that quite a few listeners were wondering about: What are credit cards, besides little pieces of plastic with chips in them? Together, we’ll learn how grown-ups use credit cards and some potential pitfalls of swiping. Then things really get out of hand when the ghost pirates show up. For a special cartoon, discussion questions and tips fo...
Jun 21, 2022•27 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast Calling all Bazillionaires! “Million Bazillion” is back with a brand-new season starting June 21! Bridget has a new co-host named Ryan, and together they’re taking on the toughest money questions your kids can think of. Questions like: How do credit cards work? What do grown-ups do with all of their money? How do social media influencers make money? And what the heck is a cryptocurrency anyway? We’re back helping dollars make more sense every Tuesday starting June 21. Here̵...
Jun 14, 2022•3 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hey Million Bazillionaires! We’re coming back soon for an all-new season of “Million Bazillion,” answering the questions you have about money! This season, Bridget’s joined by a new co-host, Ryan, and they need your help! With the permission of your grown-ups, we’d love to hear your money jokes, money poems and best money tips so we can feature them on the podcast! Send them to us using this online form . We can’t wait to hear from you!...
May 19, 2022•1 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ever notice how lots of prices at the store end in $0.99? So did Eli from Philadelphia, and he asked us to find out why. Turns out, it’s a method retailers us e to get us to buy something — and it’s not the ir only one . This week, we’ll learn about how our brains work when we’re shopping, why it’s hard to resist a sale and some of the ways physical stores encourage us to spend a little more money . Let us know what you thought about this season and what you want Jed and Bridget to do next! You ...
Aug 10, 2021•24 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast Having a job is how we earn money to pay for the things we need. Money is important but it’s not the only reason people work. This week we’re going out to the pizzeria, where we’ll learn how every job is connected to lots of other jobs — and how those connections keep our economy running. Plus we’ll hear from a bunch of people with cool jobs that you probably didn’t even know existed, and we’ll ask a group of kids to tell us about the jobs of their dreams. Got a money problem you need help solvi...
Aug 03, 2021•24 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast Companies need money to grow, and there’s a way for them to get it: the stock market. They can sell a little piece of their company, called a share or stock, to regular people. If the company grows, those people get to keep some of the money it makes. Of course, there’s no guarantee that a company will grow — that’s what makes putting your money in the stock market risky. On this week’s episode, we’ll explain how it all works with the help of some Dutch spice traders, comfy sneakers, a bull … an...
Jul 27, 2021•24 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast This week we’re tracking down answers to a bunch of your questions about why money looks the way it does. A lot of you were curious about stuff like why American money is green, why other countries have more colorful currency, and who decides whose picture goes on each bill. We’ll get you all those answers — and more! Plus, we’ll meet a museum’s money curator, learn about the way money art protects us from fakes and think about how we’d design our own money … if anyone asked us. P.S....
Jul 20, 2021•25 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast One of our inquisitive listeners, Isabella, noticed when she was shopping online that women’s clothing was more expensive than men’s clothing — and she thought that was unfair. Turns out, it happens a lot. The same or really similar items, from school supplies to sports equipment, often cost more when they’re designed to look like they were made for girls. People have taken to calling this phenomenon the “pink tax.” This week, we’ll learn more about why it happens and what’s being done about it....
Jul 13, 2021•24 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast When banks first started thousands of years ago, they were known as places to borrow money, not to keep your own money safe. Through loans, they’d provide funding to farmers or traders to help them with a project — like building a fence or traveling to another country. Borrowers often had to leave something valuable with the bank until they paid off the loan. To keep all that valuable stuff safe, banks became supersecure. That made them great places for everyday folks to deposit their money. Thi...
Jul 06, 2021•23 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Back in Robin Hood’s day, tax-collecting sheriffs forced people to pay money to a king, who decided how those taxes were spent. These days our tax system works a bit differently. We get to vote for people who’ll spend that money on things we care about — like schools and libraries, health care for elderly people, police, parks, sewers and so on. With the help of a rambling troubadour and a tax policy expert, Jed and Bridget teach Robin Hood that the way tax dollars are spent today reflects what ...
Jun 29, 2021•22 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast We’re back for our second season! Thanks for sending in so many great questions about money. One that a whole bunch of you wanted to know more about is how money is made. To help us find out, Jed called his old economics teacher, Ms. Grizzle, who took us on a very hands-on field trip to the factory that stamps out U.S. coins. Plus, we talked to an expert about all the ways that money moves through our economy. You may never look at coins the same way again! Sign up for our bonus newsletter to ge...
Jun 22, 2021•23 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast Calling all Bazillionaires! Jed, Bridget and the gang are back for brand-new episodes of “Million Bazillion”! This season, we’re answering one tough money question each week from real kids! Questions like “How is money made?” “Why are women’s clothes sometimes more expensive than men’s?” “How do banks work, anyway?” And for season two, we’re putting out a bonus email newsletter for kids and their grownups. Each week you’ll get a tip sheet, episode extras, and cool comics all ab...
Jun 15, 2021•3 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hey, Million Bazillionaires! Jed and Bridget are hard at work on season two of our show. But to get it over the finish line, we need a favor (or two)! Kids, we need your money questions! You can send them to us, with a grown-up’s help, here . Grown-ups, we need your help closing a funding gap for our new season! Your donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar at marketplace.org/givemillion ! Please help us reach our $50,000 goal!...
Mar 23, 2021•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast There are lots of great reasons to want to start a business: solving a problem, pursuing a passion, even making some money. It takes a lot of dedication and hard work, and even if you do everything right, it may not work out. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you failed — thinking through a business idea can build some really great skills! This week, we talk with a bunch of expert kids and grown-ups about turning an idea into a full-blown business. Plus, Jed bakes us some cookies! And just becau...
Aug 25, 2020•25 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast Jed’s treehouse needs repairs, but it’s gonna cost more than he has right now. Saving money can be tough — and even tougher to talk about! So this week on the show we’re gonna get the conversation started and learn a few ways to think about spending and saving our money. We’ll sit down with some experts, do some mythbusting around saving and hear from a young Dollar Scholar who’s got a unique way of keeping track of her savings. Plus, singer Natasha Bedingfield’s got a cheeky idea for a twist on...
Aug 18, 2020•25 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast Advertisers have lots of ways of persuading us to buy their stuff. Sometimes you might not even realize it’s happening … until you find yourself riding around town on an ice-cream-making scooter. (Don’t worry, we’ll explain.) This week on the show, we’ll learn how to spot an ad and identify the tricks they use to win you over. And we’ll learn how to defend against them — from our special guest, Captain Kimberly. Plus, this week’s Dollar Scholar shares great ways you can help out in your communit...
Aug 11, 2020•23 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast There’s a reason things cost what they do — sneakers, pizza, you name it. Businesses put a lot of thought into how much they charge, because they have to consider their behind-the-scenes costs. But you might put just as much thought into what you’re willing to pay — so in a way, you get the final word on whether the prices are right. This week on the show, we’ll talk about how we value the things we buy. Plus, two Dollar Scholars talk to each other about their saving and spending habits, and we’...
Aug 04, 2020•25 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we’re learning how to get what you want through negotiation. It’s about empowering kids — and hopefully avoiding big, nasty arguments — by employing new skills like active listening and compromise. We’ll use those skills to help our friend Ruby, who wants her parents to get her a new smartphone. Plus , we’ve got some great knock-knock jokes , and LeVar Burton tells us who m he wants to see on U.S. currency . Send us your questions about money along with your money designs to marketpla...
Jul 28, 2020•24 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast 
