Planet Money
NPR
Wanna see a trick? Give us any topic and we can tie it back to the economy. At <em>Planet Money</em>, we explore the forces that shape our lives and bring you along for the ride. Don't just understand the economy – understand the world.<br><br><em>Wanna go deeper? <em>Subscribe to </em><em>Planet Money+ and get sponsor-free episodes of Planet Money, The Indicator, and Planet Money Summer School. Plus access to bonus content. It's a new way to support the show you love. Learn more at plus.npr.org/planetmoney</em><br></em>
Recent Episodes
20 episodesBuilding things and breaking things in China (Summer School World Tour)
China’s turbocharged growth may have made it rich, but now it has to deal with rich country problems. High-speed trains that connect every town. Gleaming new bridges and skyscrapers. An apartment (or two) for every family. No country on Earth has seen the kind of economic growth that China has over the last 50 years. China has become the factory to the world, a grand experiment in central government planning mixed with personal ambition. It was all enabled by what our guide for today calls, an engineering state, a central planning mindset where leaders believe they can engineer their way out of economic problems. And problems are mounting. Today on the show, the perils of prosperity and the despair of success as China deals with overbuilding. We’ll travel back to China’s free-wheeling boom-era of the early 2000s and hang out with a property developer who amassed his wealth at the center of the action – private jet rides, thousand-dollar fish soup, casual bribes. Then, as the economy slows, we ask what can we learn from the despair of success. Does rising youth unemployment signal a less prosperous future? With young people struggling to find white-collar jobs, some of them are opting out of work altogether. Featured Episodes:China’s real estate crisis, explained (2023) Young, “spoiled and miserable” in China (2023) Featured Terms: Socialism with Chinese CharacteristicsEngineering StateMalinvestmentSupport:Planet Money+Read: Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life (Audiobook here) Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletterOur weekly Indicator link round-up newsletterDan Wang’s book: Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the FutureFollow: InstagramTikTokYouTubeFacebookThis episode of Planet Money Summer School is hosted by Robert Smith. It was produced by Sophia Paliza-Carre, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Maggie Luthar. This episode was edited by Planet Money Executive Producer Alex Goldmark.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Seven allegedly fake Chanel bags vs The RealReal
Once upon a time, if you wanted to buy a luxury brand item secondhand (say, a Chanel handbag) you had to have an in. There was no easy way to find one. But over the past decade, the market for secondhand luxury goods has exploded. There are now many online resellers where you can shop for used and discounted luxury items. One big problem — how can you be sure if it’s real and authentic?Some online resellers claim to have solved this problem. They say they’ve developed a process of authentication, and so buyers can trust that the bag is really Gucci or Cartier or Hermès or whatever. But according to some luxury brands, authenticity is something that is often imitated but never replicated.In today’s episode of Planet Money, the fight between Chanel and The RealReal. And how luxury brands are reacting to the enormous and growing secondhand market for luxury goods.Support:Planet Money+Read: Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your LifeOur weekly longform Planet Money newsletterOur weekly Indicator round-up newsletterFollow: InstagramTikTokYouTubeFacebookThis episode of Planet Money was hosted by Amanda Aronczyk and Jeff Guo. It was produced by James Sneed with help from Charlotte Isidore, who also fact checked this episode. Jess Jiang edited the show and it was engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Our mission: Find the world’s best economic ideas (Summer School World Tour)
Come along as we travel the world in search of the best economic ideas to bring home!From the beaches of Barbuda to the fjords of Norway, there's money (and money problems) everywhere. For this summer travel season, Planet Money Summer School will take you on a world tour for your ears. Pack that sense of wonder and nose for adventure, this is our semester abroad. We’re going to explore exotic locales and discover cultural norms, but we’re also going to buckle down and learn the biggest economic lessons around the world from our guides.We start as far away as you can get from Planet Money headquarters, New Zealand and Australia. We’ll visit a sheep farm to observe an innovative but controversial market for the most important substance on earth, and we’ll ask when do speculators help and when do they hurt the rest of us? Then, we’ll get to know the economist – and jazz musician – who changed how the entire world fights inflation when he released a secret number to tame the dreaded wild beast. How did that work? Spoiler: it was the great leap forward in economic mind tricks.Featured Episodes:Liquid Markets (2021)The Secret Target (2018)Featured Terms:Multiple equilibriaInflation targetingSpeculators (impact on liquidity)Support:Planet Money+Read: Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life (Audiobook here) Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletterOur weekly Indicator link round-up newsletterFollow: InstagramTikTokYouTubeFacebookThis episode of Planet Money Summer School is hosted by Robert Smith. It was produced by Sophia Paliza-Carre, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Annlie Huang with help from Robert Rodriguez.Music: NPR Source Audio - "The Boy from Ipanema," "Desmontes," "Long Drive,” and “Bondi.”See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
How to win a penalty shootout (with game theory)
Lionel Messi is arguably the greatest soccer scorer of all time. But when it comes to penalty kicks, Messi is merely average. Why? Maybe the answer involves game theory.According to game theory, there’s an optimal strategy for taking penalty kicks. This strategy involves an idea that was once somewhat controversial in economics — that is, until economists started studying soccer players in real life. On today's show, we kick it over to the hosts of the Soccernomics podcast to explain how game theory has changed soccer, and how soccer has changed game theory. Watch the penalty shootout between Manchester United and Chelsea in the Champions League final in 2008. Support:Planet Money+Read: Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletterOur weekly Indicator round-up newsletterFollow: InstagramTikTokYouTubeFacebook This episode of Planet Money was produced by Emma Peaslee with help from James Sneed. It was edited by Jess Jiang. It was fact checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Annlie Huang. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.The Soccernomics episode was originally hosted by Ashish Malhotra, Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski and sound designed by Alex Roldan.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Can the Trump administration make college cheaper?
Will limiting how much students can borrow force schools to lower their prices? The Department of Education thinks so. It has a new plan to bring down tuition costs. Starting today, July 1st, it’s going to cap how much it’s willing to loan to graduate students. You read that right. To reduce the burden of school…the plan is to give students less money to pay for school. This plan is, in part, based on an idea that’s been floating around higher education circles for decades: The Bennett Hypothesis, which claims there’s a direct relationship between student borrowing and tuition prices. And therefore, if the Department of Education — the biggest student loan provider in the country — limits how much students can take out, then schools will have no choice but to charge students less. This hypothesis was floated roughly 40 years ago...without evidence. But now, as the Trump administration rolls out their Bennettian plan, we have decades of data to see how true this hypothesis is.Today on the show: NPR Education Correspondent Cory Turner explains this theory, and what the new plan influenced by it will mean for borrowers this fall.Other notes:Bill Bennett: “Our Greedy Colleges”Cory Turner: "July 1 brings big student loan changes. Here's what you need to know"The Indicator: "What you should know about your student loans" Support:Planet Money+Read: Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletterOur weekly Indicator round-up newsletterFollow: InstagramTikTokYouTubeFacebookThis episode was hosted by Cory Turner and Kenny Malone. It was produced by Willa Rubin and edited by Marianne McCune. It was fact-checked by Charlotte Isidore and engineered by Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.Music: NPR Source Audio - “Morning Chorus,” “Belle Mar,” and “The Sky Was Orange.” See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
We almost had a smartphone in the 90s. Why did it fail?
In the early 90’s, a company called General Magic began working on a portable device that would allow people to check email, make phone calls, even play games. It was basically a smartphone. But it never caught on.On today’s show, a theory about why this device failed. General Magic had generous investors, world-class talent and creative freedom. But is it possible what they needed was constraints?Further reading and viewing:David Epstein’s book is Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better.Tony Fadell’s book is Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Make Things Worth Making.Sarah Kerruish and Matt Maude’s documentary is called General Magic.Support:Planet Money+Read: Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletterOur weekly Indicator round-up newsletterFollow: InstagramTikTokYouTubeFacebookThis episode was hosted by Erika Beras and Emma Peaslee. It was produced by Emma Peaslee with help from Sam Yellowhorse Kesler and James Sneed. It was edited by Marianne McCune and fact-checked by Charlotte Isidore. It was engineered by Jimmy Keeley with help from Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Before Kalshi and Polymarket there was the Iowa Electronic Markets
Prediction markets aren’t new. Election betting was common until the 1940s, then mysteriously faded away.There was an entire political era when party bosses were expected to conspicuously gamble on their candidates (even if they secretly hedged).And in the 1980s, a few economists designed an election market that beat out election polling 74 percent of the time.Today, we’re running an excerpt from our friends at Throughline, NPR’s excellent history podcast. Subscribe right now if you don’t already. And, listen to their extended version of the episode to hear about the early markets for betting on terrorism and military uses of prediction markets.Support:NPR+Read: Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletterOur weekly Indicator round-up newsletterFollow: InstagramTikTokYouTubeFacebookToday's episode was produced for Planet Money by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler, edited by Alex Goldmark, and engineered by Maggie Luthar. The original Throughline episode was produced by Rund Abdelfatah, Casey Miner, Cristina Kim, Devin Katayama, Sarah Wyman, Julia Redpath, and Kyana Moghadam. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
The real horror of ‘Alien’ and how it explains why we’re not paid enough
Maybe the real monster in the Alien franchise isn’t actually the killer alien. Because behind the acid blood and jump scares is an even more insidious horror: a single employer with unchecked power. That employer is named Weyland-Yutani, a mega-corporation that dominates workers across the galaxy.Weyland-Yutani is a sort of extreme example of what economists call a monopsony — when one employer dominates a labor market and gains power to underpay and mistreat workers. Sure, it’s science fiction. But a growing number of economists argue that monopsony power is a much bigger deal in the real world than previously thought.We watch scenes from the movie Alien with labor economist Arin Dube, whose new book, The Wage Standard, shines a spotlight on the problem of monopsony power in the modern economy. We ask Arin what policy ideas he has that would have maybe prevented the worker tragedy seen in Alien. And we use his answer to try and rewrite the movie (spoiler: the movie becomes much shorter and less exciting).Plus, we speak with Fede Álvarez, the director and co-writer of Alien: Romulus, which puts Weyland-Yutani’s poor treatment of workers front row and center.For more on monopsony and anti-trust:The labor economics of 'Alien' — and its lessons for inequality on Earth (PM newsletter)The hidden power keeping wages low (PM newsletter)Antitrust In America (PM series)How we got free agents in baseball (PM episode)Support:Planet Money+Read: Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletterOur weekly Indicator round-up newsletterFollow: InstagramTikTokYouTubeFacebookToday's episode of Planet Money was hosted by Greg Rosalsky and Kenny Malone. It was produced by James Sneed, edited by Jess Jiang, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Robert Rodriguez. Our executive producer is Alex Goldmark.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Can computer hackers get inside your mind?
The cyber weapon that might have prevented nuclear war.The U.S. and Israel have long been in conflict with Iran over their nuclear development program. Some of that conflict has been out in the open, with bombs and blockades, but some of it has been invisible. Recently some security researchers discovered a cyberweapon likely tied to that invisible conflict. It looks like it was designed to hide on nuclear scientists computers, then throw off their calculations--just as they got close to achieving their goals.Sounds like something out of science fiction. But it was created 20 years ago. On today’s show: a whodunit about hackers, ‘Cyber Paleontologists’, spy-vs-spy protocols, cryptic intelligence leaks, nuclear physics, high-precision math, and epistemological warfare.Pictured: Juan Andres Guerrero Saade (JAGS) and his ‘Fast16 - NOTHING TO SEE HERE, CARRY ON’ tattoo. Support:Planet Money+Read: Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletterOur weekly Indicator round-up newsletterFollow: InstagramTikTokYouTubeFacebookThis episode was hosted by Nick Fountain and Erika Beras. It was produced by Willa Rubin and edited by Marianne McCune with help from Jess Jiang. It was fact-checked by Charlotte Isidore and engineered by Kwesi Lee. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.Music: NPR Source Audio - “High Tech Expert,” “Digital Wave,” and “Hyper Pop.”See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
It’s my tree. Why can’t I cut it down?
Can the government stop you from cutting down your own tree? In many towns and cities these days, removing a tree now requires a permit. You might have to pay a fee, or promise to plant replacement trees. But sometimes, the city won't let you cut down the tree at all, even a tree in your own backyard.That's because trees are important for air quality, for flood control, and for public health. They help keep neighborhoods cool on hot days. But some think that tree protection laws have gone too far — that they might even be unconstitutional.On today's episode, it's the latest showdown between property rights and local zoning laws. Typically, towns and cities enjoy a lot of power when it comes to zoning and permits. They can ban certain types of buildings. They can make you paint your house a certain color. But can they make it illegal to cut down a tree? And what does it mean to "own" a piece of property anyway?Support:Planet Money+Read: Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletterOur weekly Indicator round-up newsletterFollow: InstagramTikTokYouTubeFacebookThis episode of Planet Money was hosted by Jeff Guo and Amanda Aronczyk. It was produced by James Sneed and Emma Peaslee, edited by Jess Jiang, and fact-checked by Vito Emanuel. It was engineered by Robert Rodriguez and Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Two indicators for lowering the rent
One specific type of affordable housing used to be popular in American cities, kept rents low, then nearly vanished. Is it time to reconsider boarding houses and single room occupancy units? If they lowered rents in cities, why did they go away? We have the history.Then, let’s talk about corporate landlords. They’re blamed for driving up rents. Studies show they do the opposite. When corporate landlords come to town, they do buy up homes, which can raise the price to buy, but at the same time lower rents. We’ll parse the impact as we consider a Trump administration plan to restrict corporate home ownership.Related episodes:Is the YIMBY movement doomed? How to fix a housing shortage How to build abundantlyCan Trump make buying a home more affordable?Support:NPR+Read: Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletterOur weekly Indicator round-up newsletterFollow: InstagramTikTokYouTubeFacebookThe original episodes of the Indicator were hosted by Darian Woods and Wailin Wong. They were produced by Julia Ritchey, Cooper Katz McKim and Corey Bridges with engineering by Travis Hagan and Robert Rodriguez. They were fact checked by Vito Emanuel and Sierra Juarez. Kate Concannon edits the show. This episode of Planet Money was produced by James Sneed with help from Emma Murphy. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Why is there a supplement craze if they don’t even work?
One reason the $70 billion supplement industry is set to double in the next seven years? Lax regulation.On today's show, we tell the story of a century-long battle between the U.S. government and … you, the people, blinded by your love of a magic pill.We’re talking about protein powders, pre-workouts, creatine, stuff for gut health, joint health, vitamin C, turmeric supplements. All that. You might not wanna hear this.Sources mentioned in the episode:Marion Nestle, Food PoliticsCatherine Price, VitamaniaSupport:Planet Money+Read: Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletterOur weekly Indicator round-up newsletterFollow: InstagramTikTokYouTubeFacebookThis episode was hosted by Sarah Gonzalez and Jane Black. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler, edited by Marianne McCune, and fact checked by Sierra Juarez with help with Vito Emanuel. It was engineered by Robert Rodriguez with help from Jimmy Keeley. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
There's no business like dough business
Have you ever walked around a street, mall, or airport and noticed two or three of the same franchise restaurant within walking distance? Why might one Starbucks or McDonald’s or Wetzel’s Pretzels sometimes be built so close to another? Are they friends or competitors? And how can that possibly be profitable?Today’s show is one such example. Our pals at Hyperfixed got a knotty question we just had to help them untangle: Why are there so many Wetzel’s Pretzels so close to one another at the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center Station?To find out, Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi followed the dough all the way to the top. His journey led him to a jolly pretzel executive, a franchisee with a deep-fried American dream, and a brush with mall security.Support:Planet Money+Read: Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletterOur weekly Indicator round-up newsletterFollow: InstagramTikTokYouTubeFacebookThis episode was hosted by Alex Goldman and Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi. Hyperfixed is produced and edited by Emma Courtland, Amor Yates, Sari Soffer Sukenik and Tori Dominguez Peak. The music is by the mysterious Breakmaster Cylinder and Alex Goldman. It was engineered by Tony Williams. Fact checking by Naomi Barr. The Planet Money version was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler and edited by Jess Jiang. It was engineered by Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
The sneaky way companies get new chemicals into our food
99% of chemicals in our food right now were added without FDA approval. Many were added in secret, through a sneaky loophole built into the 1958 Food Additives Amendment.It was supposed to require FDA approval for new additives. But food companies and chemical makers found a workaround. And the FDA formally okayed the loophole in the 90s — in the process bringing attention to a loophole to the loophole.The FDA has essentially admitted it doesn’t have the capacity to verify the safety of new food chemicals. So they leave it up to food companies and chemical makers to declare their brand new chemicals are safe. These chemicals are used in everything from chocolate and smoked fish, to tea bags, protein drinks, popcorn, and seeds.So, how’d the loophole get there, and what does it tell us about the priority the U.S. places on safety versus speed and innovation? And, how much can one lawyer do about it?Live show tour and book info. / Subscribe to Planet Money+Listen free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.This episode was hosted by Sarah Gonzalez, produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler, edited by Jess Jiang, fact checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Robert Rodrguez with help from Kwesi Lee. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
The leaked tapes that show how the rich avoid taxes
Tax avoidance -- that is, legally reducing your tax bill -- is as American as apple pie. But the line between tax avoidance and tax evasion is often a grey one. On today’s show, a collaboration with Tax Notes, we listen in on the secret tapes that show how the wealthiest Americans avoid taxes. We trace the lifecycle of a tax loophole: how it was born (in Malta), how it grew, how the Feds cracked down, and how the industry came to its rescue -- with the help of one high-ranking Trump administration official. Support:Planet Money+Read: Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletterOur weekly Indicator round-up newsletterFollow: InstagramTikTokYouTubeFacebookThis episode was produced by Luis Gallo and Emma Peaslee and edited by Marianne McCune. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Cena Loffredo and Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
The giant factory town that might be a giant mistake
How does a poor country become a rich country? There's a simple blueprint — or at least, that's what many economists used to believe. But over the years, a lot of rapidly developing economies have stalled out. These countries aren't poor anymore, but they're not rich either. They're stuck in the middle. The World Bank calls this problem the "middle income trap."And if there's a poster child for the middle income trap, many would point to Brazil. For a time, Brazil had one of the fastest growing economies in the world. On today's show, we head to Brazil to understand why the old blueprint for economic development might not work so well anymore.The story starts in the Amazon rainforest. With an audacious plan to industrialize the country as fast as possible.Support:Planet Money+Read: Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletterOur weekly Indicator round-up newsletterFollow: InstagramTikTokYouTubeFacebookThis episode of Planet Money was hosted by Jeff Guo. It was produced by James Sneed and Luis Gallo. It was edited by Marianne McCune, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, translation help from Sarah Robbins. It was engineered by Robert Rodriguez and Jimmy Keeley. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.A very, very special thanks to Carrie Kahn and Valdemar Geo from NPR’s Rio bureau. Also to Otaviano Canuto and Denis Minev.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Vacation and why Americans take so little
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 vacation. No matter how long they’ve been at a company. No matter how low paying the job is. Vacation is a right. In fact, all but one of the richest countries in the world guarantees paid vacation, except: the U.S. According to a 2019 study, people in Japan get 10 paid vacation days and 15 paid holidays; in Australia it’s 20 paid vacation days and 8 paid holidays; and in Spain it’s 25 paid vacation days and 14 paid holidays. And it’s not just a rich country thing: Mexico, Afghanistan, Thailand, Tanzania - they all guarantee paid vacation from work, at least in the formal job sector. In the U.S: Zero paid vacation days and zero paid holidays. So, why is the United States the outlier? We go to several labor economists and historians, to find out what makes Americans different from Europeans. It’s a winding journey, so maybe put in a request for some paid time off and take a listen!Note: This episode originally ran in 2023.Some articles we mention in this episode:“No Vacation Nation”“Study: A Record 768 Million U.S. Vacation Days Went Unused in ‘18, Opportunity Cost in the Billions”“Why the US is one of only a few countries with no paid time off”This episode was hosted by Sarah Gonzalez, produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler, edited by Jess Jiang, engineered by Maggie Luthar, and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer. Book info. / Subscribe to Planet Money+Listen free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, NPR One or anywhere you get podcasts.Find more Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Jerome Powell and the Future of Fed Independence
If you have a credit card, hope to buy a house, or just want stable grocery prices – let’s talk about the future of Fed independence!It’s impossibly important for the Federal Reserve to steer monetary policy without political interference – an ideal pushed to its brink during Jerome Powell’s time as Fed Chair.Powell’s Fed faced a once-in-a-century pandemic, oversaw the economy as inflation spiked to about 9 percent … went back down to nearly 2 percent … and has started to go back up as the U.S. has gone to war and continued to try and implement the most comprehensive tariffs since the early 1900s.But perhaps Powell will be best remembered as a target – of angry tweets, speeches, and ultimately a criminal investigation, by the very president who nominated him in the first place.On Powell’s last day as chair, we ask where his story fits into the sweep of history. We’ll hear from someone who was on the Fed Board when Powell was appointed … and when President Trump started to pressure Powell. Plus, we learn what to watch for to see if Fed Independence is crumbling – or holding – as a new Fed Chair nominated by President Trump takes office.Recommend Listening: - Happy Fed Independence Day - The case for Fed independence in the Nixon tapes - A primer on the Federal Reserve's independence - Trump's unprecedented attack on the Fed - Should presidents have more of a say in interest rates? - Lisa Cook and the fight for the Fed - What happens to central banks under pressure?Book info. / Subscribe to Planet Money+Listen free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.This episode was hosted by Kenny Malone and Erika Beras. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler, edited by Jess Jiang, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Robert Rodriguez and Cena Loffredo. Planet Money’s executive producer is Alex Goldmark. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
The secret meeting that launched OPEC
Recently, a listener wrote in with a question about OPEC and oil prices. She was prepping for a camping trip… thinking about how much it costs to fill up her diesel-guzzling camper van at the pump. “It would be so awesome if you guys could do an episode explaining OPEC to us,” she emailed us. She wanted to know: why does OPEC exist? Why does it limit the supply of oil? And now that the United Arab Emirates has dropped out, what will happen to gas prices? We love when our listeners write in (and send us voice notes!). The simplest questions can reveal how the complicated web of the economy works.On our latest: we answer our listener’s questions… and the questions behind those questions! Related episodes:• Chevron, Venezuela and the Paradox of Plenty Book info. / Subscribe to Planet Money+Listen free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.This episode of Planet Money was produced by James Sneed with help from Willa Rubin. It was edited by Marianne McCune, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Diary of a WNBA negotiator
Today the WNBA season tips off, but Dallas Wings veteran forward Alysha Clark has already won a high-stakes competition. She – and a Nobel Prize winning economist – were on the team that negotiated a ground-breaking contract for the players. And Alysha wrote all about it in her journal.Alysha is the oldest player in the league – and when she started she was making a yearly salary of about $36,400. The players flew economy, the rookies in middle seats. They doubled up in hotel rooms. The league was just starting out, wasn’t bringing in money, and, as Alysha says, “That's just what you got.”Jump forward to 2025 and fans are crowding into stadiums, games are on primetime TV, and the WNBA has a 3.1 billion dollar media rights deal. So when the players’ contract came up for renewal, they had a once in a generation opportunity to change the future for all of women’s basketball. Maybe all of women's sports. Today on the show, we hear Alysha’s minute by minute account of what it’s like to be a rookie doing high-stakes bargaining. It came right down to the buzzer. Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life is in stores now. Subscribe to Planet Money+Listen free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.This episode was produced by Emma Peaslee and Willa Rubin. It was edited by Marianne McCune. It was fact-checked by Vito Emanuel and engineered by Jimmy Keeley and James Willets. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.Music: NPR Source Audio - "Nights Like This," "Funk Dive," and "Tropical Heat"See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy