Planet Money vs. the NBA’s tanking problem
March 6, 2026
The core problem of NBA tanking stems from the incentive structure of the draft, where intentionally losing games is a rational strategy for teams seeking top draft picks.
The Business of Heated Rivalry
March 4, 2026
The Canadian TV production model, supported by government subsidies, tax credits, and a structure where producers retain underlying IP, allows for significantly lower per-episode costs (around $2.2 million USD for *
Don't hate the replicator, hate the game
February 27, 2026
Economist Abel Brodeur created the 'Replication Games,' a crowdsourced surveillance system designed to combat the 'replication crisis' in social sciences by incentivizing researchers to ensure their findings are reproducible.
The ICE hiring boom
February 25, 2026
The unprecedented hiring boom at ICE, which more than doubled its ranks through aggressive recruitment tactics like large signing bonuses, has led to scrutiny over the training and conduct of new officers.
The Supreme Court struck down a bunch of Trump's tariffs. Now what?
February 21, 2026
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that President Trump's sweeping tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEPA) are illegal because the statute's language ("regulate importation") cannot legally support such broad tariff actions.
How to get what Greenland has, with permission
February 18, 2026
Greenland's value stems from its strategic geographic location and its deposits of heavy rare earth minerals, which are critical for modern technology and defense systems.
Betty Boop, Excel Olympics, Penny-isms: Our 2026 Valentines
February 13, 2026
The annual Valentine's Day episode of Planet Money celebrates specific cultural and economic topics, including the entry of Betty Boop into the public domain, the competitive world of Excel championships, the enduring cultural language surrounding the US penny, and exemplary data journalism.
The Invention Invention
February 11, 2026
The history of invention and technological progress, as explored in "The Invention Invention," is often driven not by singular, selfish inventors, but by the necessity of collaboration, exemplified by the creation of the patent pool.
Iran, protests, and sanctions
February 7, 2026
Recent protests in Iran are fueled by a combination of human rights concerns, corruption, and severe economic hardship largely attributed to 47 years of U.S. sanctions.
Riding with the repo man (update)
February 4, 2026
The current surge in car repossessions, estimated to reach 3 million in 2025, mirrors the severity seen during the Great Recession, driven largely by an increase in subprime auto loans.
Can Trump make buying a home more affordable?
January 31, 2026
The extreme difficulty in affording a home, exemplified by James deploying to Djibouti for tax-free pay to save for a down payment, highlights the current housing affordability crisis.
Can transforming neighborhoods help kids escape poverty?
January 28, 2026
The HOPE VI program, which aimed to transform high-poverty public housing neighborhoods into mixed-income areas, substantially increased adult earnings by about 50% for children who grew up in the revitalized sites from birth.
A trip to the magic mushroom megachurch
January 24, 2026
The Zide Door Church of Entheogenic Plants, led by Pastor Dave Hodges, operates as a massive, cash-only psychedelic church in Oakland, California, centered on the belief that psilocybin mushrooms offer direct access to the divine.
BOARD GAMES 3: What’s in a name?
January 22, 2026
The name and theme of a board game are critically important, capable of sinking an otherwise great game, especially when aiming for mass-appeal retail success.
Chevron, Venezuela and the Paradox of Plenty
January 17, 2026
Venezuela became the world's first petrostate after a massive 1922 oil discovery, leading to economic complications like the Dutch disease which decimated its prior coffee export economy.
How much money President Trump and his family have made
January 14, 2026
According to New Yorker writer David Kirkpatrick, President Trump and his family have made almost $4 billion "off of the presidency" in about a year during his second term, a significant increase from his first term.
So are we in an AI bubble? Here are clues to look for.
January 10, 2026
Economists have identified four clues for detecting bubbles—high valuations, volatility, issuance, and acceleration—though these indicators only predict popped bubbles about 60% of the time, challenging Nobel laureate Eugene Fama's skepticism.
How Black hair care grew Black power
January 7, 2026
The Johnson Products Company, founded by George and Joan Johnson, leveraged an intimate understanding of Black consumer needs to build a multi-billion dollar Black haircare industry, funding the Civil Rights Movement and cultural touchstones like *
Venezuela’s recent economic history (Update)
January 4, 2026
Venezuela's economic collapse stemmed from decisions made during oil boom years, specifically over-reliance on oil revenue and the implementation of fixed exchange rates that created massive distortions and opportunities for scams.
Indicators of the Year, Past and Future
December 31, 2025
The episode features a 'Family Feud' style competition where Planet Money and The Indicator staff argue for their chosen economic indicator of 2025: Consumer Sentiment (Kenny Malone), Tariffs (Greg Rosowski), or the CAPE Ratio (Darian Woods).
Why economists got free trade with China so wrong
December 30, 2025
Mainstream economic theory, based on comparative advantage, failed to predict the severe, regionally concentrated negative employment consequences of the China trade shock, which manifested primarily through job loss rather than just wage changes.
The Rest of the Story, 2025
December 26, 2025
The Federal Trade Commission's 'click-to-cancel rule' aimed at curbing subscription abuse was struck down by a federal appeals court and its new chair opposes it, leaving subscription regulation in limbo despite ongoing one-off enforcement actions.
The summer I turned binge-y
December 24, 2025
The binge-drop strategy, exemplified by shows like *
What AI data centers are doing to your electric bill
December 20, 2025
The massive investment in AI data centers is causing significant increases in residential electricity bills, with the largest portion of the cost hike attributed to failures within the deregulated electricity generation market's capacity pricing structure.
PM does a pop culture draft: 1999 edition
December 17, 2025
The inaugural Planet Money Pop Culture Draft focused on the year 1999, where hosts Kenny Malone, Wailin Wong, and Jeff Guo selected one movie, one song, and one wildcard entry that best represented the 'Planet Money spirit.'
When Chicago pawned its parking meters
December 12, 2025
Chicago leased its 36,000 parking meters for 75 years to a private company for a \$1.16 billion upfront payment during the 2008 recession to avoid raising property taxes.
Strange threadfellows: How the U.S. military shaped what we all wear
December 10, 2025
The U.S. military's massive R&D and production efforts during World War II, particularly the creation of the M43 layering system, fundamentally shaped modern civilian and outdoor clothing technology.
How hurricanes became a hot investment
December 5, 2025
Catastrophe bonds (cat bonds) are financial instruments that allow entities like governments or insurance companies to transfer disaster risk to investors in exchange for interest payments, with the principal being forfeited if a specified disaster occurs.
Is AI slopifying the job market? (Two Indicators)
December 3, 2025
Economist Laura Veldkamp's research suggests AI adoption in knowledge work could lead to a 5% drop in the labor share of income, mirroring trends seen during the Industrial Revolution, though workers with AI skills earn significantly more.
Capitalism (Taylor's Version) (25-minute Podcast Version)
November 28, 2025
Taylor Swift's record-breaking album sales are heavily attributed to a deliberate business strategy involving the release of numerous physical and digital album variants designed to maximize first-week commercial reception.
Saving lives with fewer dollars
November 27, 2025
GiveWell, an organization focused on maximizing lives saved per dollar through rigorous research, faced the challenge of rapidly assessing a complex, multi-pronged health project in conflict-ridden Cameroon after USAID funding was cut.
The Consumer Sentiment vs. Consumer Spending Puzzle
November 21, 2025
Consumer spending remains surprisingly strong despite low consumer sentiment and negative economic factors like high interest rates and inflation, creating a significant economic puzzle explored in this episode of Planet Money.
Days of our Tariffs
November 19, 2025
Regular U.S. consumers are indeed feeling the impact of tariffs, evidenced by direct costs passed on to individuals like Planet Money producer James Sneed, and broader price increases across imported goods.
The obscure pool of money the US used to bail out Argentina
November 15, 2025
The U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unilaterally offered Argentina a $20 billion credit line using the Exchange Stabilization Fund (ESF), an obscure pool of money historically requiring no Congressional authorization.
Buy now, pay dearly? (update)
November 12, 2025
Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) companies primarily generate revenue by charging merchants higher transaction fees (4% to 9.5%) compared to credit cards (2% to 4%), rather than charging consumers interest.
A new experiment in remote work … from the inside
November 7, 2025
Maine is pioneering an experiment allowing incarcerated individuals to hold remote jobs for outside companies, paying fair market wages, which originated from expanding access to online education in prison.
Everything’s more expensive!! Pet Care!! Concert Tickets!! (Two Indicators)
November 5, 2025
The rising cost of concert tickets is driven by primary market mispricing (setting prices too low) which fuels an active, often problematic, secondary resale market dominated by bots, despite legal efforts to curb them.
After the shutdown, SNAP will still be in trouble
November 1, 2025
A recent tax-cut and spending bill shifts the cost of SNAP benefits from being entirely federal to requiring states to contribute based on their Payment Error Rate.
The remittance mystery
October 30, 2025
Despite a public immigration crackdown and plummeting new immigration to the U.S., remittances from immigrants, particularly from Central American countries, are surging, creating a 'remittance mystery.'
Should the fine have to fit the crime?
October 24, 2025
The episode centers on Ken Jouppi's case, where his $95,000 Cessna plane was forfeited due to a bootlegging conviction involving a single six-pack of Budweiser, highlighting the severity of asset forfeiture laws.
TikTok’s Trojan Horse Strategy
October 22, 2025
The TikTok Sonic logo, developed by Massive Music's Afrik Lennon and Roscoe Williamson, is considered the most effective sonic logo of the past decade due to its rapid recognition, achieved partly through an accidental inclusion of a user-generated dog bark.
How Russia’s shadow fleet is sailing around oil sanctions
October 17, 2025
A massive, deliberately obscured "shadow fleet" of hundreds of aging oil tankers has formed to ferry sanctioned Russian oil globally, circumventing Western price caps.
The year NYC went broke
October 15, 2025
New York City's 1975 fiscal crisis was rooted in a decade of uncoordinated accounting gimmicks that created the appearance of balanced budgets without generating actual cash, leading to billions in hidden debt.
How the government got hedge funded
October 10, 2025
The U.S. government's need to borrow money to cover deficits is facilitated by the deep and liquid Treasury market, which is now increasingly reliant on hedge funds engaging in the complex "Treasury basis trade."
Two ways AI is changing the business of crime (Two Indicators)
October 8, 2025
Audio deepfake scams, which use cloned voices to bypass voice verification, are a growing threat targeting both individuals and businesses, necessitating AI-vs-AI defense strategies.
The Planet Money Game: Test our prototype
October 4, 2025
The core game mechanic for the Planet Money game was discovered during an impromptu testing session inspired by the economic concept of the 'Market for Lemons,' which focuses on asymmetric information.
We make a board game
October 1, 2025
The modern tabletop gaming industry is experiencing a 'golden age' with around 5,000 new games released annually, creating immense competition for new designers.
How refrigeration took over the world
September 26, 2025
The development of the end-to-end refrigeration system, known as the cold chain, is one of the modern world's great achievements, fundamentally altering global food distribution and the economy.
How Jane Street’s secret billion-dollar trade unraveled
September 24, 2025
Jane Street, a notoriously secretive trading firm, generated billions of dollars through an arbitrage strategy in the Indian options market, exploiting price discrepancies driven by a surge of inexperienced retail traders.
In Gaza, money is falling apart
September 20, 2025
The severe cash shortage in Gaza, exacerbated by the ongoing conflict, has created a black market where people must buy money at exorbitant rates, often 50% or more, to obtain usable bills.
When CEO pay exploded (update)
September 17, 2025
A 1993 tax law change, intended to curb excessive CEO pay by limiting deductions for salaries over $1 million unless tied to performance, inadvertently fueled the rise of stock options as a primary compensation tool, leading to a dramatic increase in CEO pay.
The U.S. now owns a big chunk of Intel. That’s a huge deal.
September 12, 2025
The U.S. government, under President Trump, has taken an unprecedented step by becoming Intel's largest shareholder, a move that blurs the lines between government and private enterprise in industrial policy.
Asking for a friend … which jobs are safe from AI?
September 10, 2025
AI exposure in a job does not necessarily mean automation, but rather a potential for significant change and transformation.
What happens to central banks under pressure?
September 6, 2025
Central bank independence is crucial for economic stability, as its erosion leads to increased inflation and volatility, with regaining lost independence being a difficult and lengthy process.
The Million Dollar Mystery Behind Milk Com
September 3, 2025
Premium domain names like milk.com, despite their potential high value, can remain undeveloped personal websites due to the owner's personal attachment and the speculative nature of the domain market.
Lisa Cook and the fight for the Fed
August 29, 2025
President Trump's attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook represents an unprecedented challenge to the central bank's independence, a cornerstone of economic stability.
Summer School 8: Graduation LIVE!
August 27, 2025
The firing of a Federal Reserve appointee highlights the importance of Federal Reserve independence for economic stability, a topic previously explored by Planet Money.