The 'Crypto Wizard' vs. Nigeria
11 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The trip that changed Tigran Gambaryan's life forever was supposed to be short — just a few days. ...
The fight for a legendary shipwreck's treasure
Fri, 07 Feb
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The San Jose was a marvel of 17th century technology. The Spanish galleon weighed more than a thousa...
The fight for a legendary shipwreck's treasure
07 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The San Jose was a marvel of 17th century technology. The Spanish galleon weighed more than a thousa...
How the scratch off lottery changed America
Wed, 05 Feb
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Americans spend more on scratch lottery tickets per year than on pizza. More than all Coca-Cola prod...
How the scratch off lottery changed America
05 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Americans spend more on scratch lottery tickets per year than on pizza. More than all Coca-Cola prod...
How DeepSeek changed the market's mind
Sat, 01 Feb
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
On Monday, the stock market went into a tizzy over a new AI model from Chinese company DeepSeek. It ...
How DeepSeek changed the market's mind
01 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Monday, the stock market went into a tizzy over a new AI model from Chinese company DeepSeek. It ...
Re-imagining the energy grid ... through batteries (Two Indicators)
Wed, 29 Jan
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
When it comes to solar and wind power, renewable energy has always had a caveat: it can only run whe...
Re-imagining the energy grid ... through batteries (Two Indicators)
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to solar and wind power, renewable energy has always had a caveat: it can only run whe...
The "chilling effect" of deportations
Sat, 25 Jan
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
After being sworn into office, President Trump signed a whole host of executive actions and orders t...
The "chilling effect" of deportations
25 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After being sworn into office, President Trump signed a whole host of executive actions and orders t...
After the fires
Thu, 23 Jan 2025 03:43:30 +0000
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The fires in Los Angeles are almost out. Residents are starting to trickle back into their burned-ou...
After the fires
23 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The fires in Los Angeles are almost out. Residents are starting to trickle back into their burned-ou...
Tariffs, grocery prices and other listener questions
Fri, 17 Jan
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Donald Trump is just about to begin his second presidency. And it may be safe to say that every sing...
Tariffs, grocery prices and other listener questions
17 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump is just about to begin his second presidency. And it may be safe to say that every sing...
The Land of the Duty Free (classic)
Wed, 15 Jan
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
(Note: This episode originally ran in 2018.)Is it really cheaper to shop at an airport Duty Free sto...
The Land of the Duty Free (classic)
15 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
(Note: This episode originally ran in 2018.)Is it really cheaper to shop at an airport Duty Free sto...
The case for Fed Independence in the Nixon Tapes
Sat, 11 Jan
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
You know Watergate, but do you know Fedgate? The more subtle scandal with more monetary policy and, ...
The case for Fed independence in the Nixon tapes
11 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You know Watergate, but do you know Fedgate? The more subtle scandal with more monetary policy and, ...
ZIP Codes!
Wed, 08 Jan
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The ZIP code is less like a cold, clinical, ordered list of numbers, and more like a weird overgrown...
ZIP Codes!
08 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The ZIP code is less like a cold, clinical, ordered list of numbers, and more like a weird overgrown...
The potato-shaped loophole in free trade
Fri, 03 Jan
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Ever since free trade opened up between the US and Mexico in the 1990s, trillions of dollars of good...
The potato-shaped loophole in free trade
03 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ever since free trade opened up between the US and Mexico in the 1990s, trillions of dollars of good...
If AI is so good, why are there still so many jobs for translators?
Mon, 30 Dec
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
If you believe the hype, translators will all soon be out of work. Luis von Ahn, CEO and co-founder ...
If AI is so good, why are there still so many jobs for translators?
30 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you believe the hype, translators will all soon be out of work. Luis von Ahn, CEO and co-founder ...
The Rest of the Story, 2024
Fri, 27 Dec
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
After the gift exchange comes another great holiday tradition: returns season. Once again, we are jo...
The Rest of the Story, 2024
27 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After the gift exchange comes another great holiday tradition: returns season. Once again, we are jo...
The Indicators of this year and next
Wed, 25 Dec
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
This year, there was some economic good news to go around. Inflation generally ticked down. Unemploy...
The Indicators of this year and next
25 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This year, there was some economic good news to go around. Inflation generally ticked down. Unemploy...
The habitat banker
Fri, 20 Dec
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Our planet is in serious trouble. There are a million species of plants and animals in danger of ext...
The habitat banker
20 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Our planet is in serious trouble. There are a million species of plants and animals in danger of ext...
How sports gambling blew up
Wed, 18 Dec
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Sports gambling isn't exactly a financial market, but it rhymes with financial markets. What happens...
How sports gambling blew up
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sports gambling isn't exactly a financial market, but it rhymes with financial markets. What happens...
A Nobel prize for explaining why there's global inequality
Sat, 14 Dec
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Why do some nations fail and others succeed?In the late 1990s and early 2000s, three economists form...
A Nobel prize for explaining why there's global inequality
14 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Why do some nations fail and others succeed?In the late 1990s and early 2000s, three economists form...
Worst. Tariffs. Ever. (update)
Wed, 11 Dec
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The Smoot Hawley Tariffs were a debacle that helped plunge America into the Great Depression. What c...
Worst. Tariffs. Ever. (update)
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Smoot Hawley Tariffs were a debacle that helped plunge America into the Great Depression. What c...
There Will Be Flood
Fri, 06 Dec
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Windell Curole spent decades working to protect his community in southern Louisiana from the destruc...
There Will Be Flood
06 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Windell Curole spent decades working to protect his community in southern Louisiana from the destruc...
George Soros vs. the Bank of England
Wed, 04 Dec
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
As people learn more about Donald Trump's pick for Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, one story come...
George Soros vs. the Bank of England
04 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As people learn more about Donald Trump's pick for Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, one story come...
How useful, really, are the steps you can take after a data breach?
Mon, 02 Dec
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The dreaded data breach notification... It tells you your personal data's been compromised and sugge...
How useful, really, are the steps you can take after a data breach?
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The dreaded data breach notification... It tells you your personal data's been compromised and sugge...
Why you bought your couch
Wed, 27 Nov
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
You probably own a chair or a table or a sofa. And you probably think you know why you bought it. Be...
Why you bought your couch
27 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
You probably own a chair or a table or a sofa. And you probably think you know why you bought it. Be...
Title Pirates
Sat, 23 Nov
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
A couple years ago, Gina Leto, a real estate developer, bought a property with her business partner....
Title Pirates
23 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A couple years ago, Gina Leto, a real estate developer, bought a property with her business partner....
The long view of economics and immigration (Two Indicators)
Wed, 20 Nov
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Mass deportations. What would actually happen—economically—if the President-elect follows throug...
The long view of economics and immigration (Two Indicators)
20 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Mass deportations. What would actually happen—economically—if the President-elect follows throug...
The great German land lottery
Fri, 15 Nov
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Every ten years, a group of German farmers gather in the communal farm fields of the Osing for the O...
The great German land lottery
15 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Every ten years, a group of German farmers gather in the communal farm fields of the Osing for the O...
The strange way the world's fastest microchips are made
13 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is the story behind one of the most valuable — and perhaps, most improbable — technologies ...
What markets bet President Trump will do
09 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On the day after the election, Wall Street responded in a dramatic way. Some stocks went way up, oth...
Moving to the American dream? (update)
Wed, 06 Nov
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Back in the 90s, the federal government ran a bold experiment, giving people vouchers to move out of...
Moving to the American dream? (update)
06 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Back in the 90s, the federal government ran a bold experiment, giving people vouchers to move out of...
The veteran loan calamity
Fri, 01 Nov
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Ray and Becky Queen live in rural Oklahoma with their kids (and chickens). The Queens were able to b...
The veteran loan calamity
01 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ray and Becky Queen live in rural Oklahoma with their kids (and chickens). The Queens were able to b...
So your data was stolen in a data breach
31 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you... exist in the world, it's likely that you have gotten a letter or email at some point infor...
Why do hospitals keep running out of generic drugs?
25 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There's something strange going on in hospitals. Cheap, common drugs that nurses use every day seem ...
Romance on the screen and on the page: Two Indicators
23 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On today's show, we have two stories from The Indicator, Planet Money's daily podcast. They just lau...
The Subscription Trap
18 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past two decades, there's been a sort of tectonic economic shift happening under our feet. ...
We asked 188 economists. And the survey says...
16 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(For our story on this year's Nobel in Economics, check out our daily show, The Indicator!)Let's fac...
So imPORTant: Bananas, frogs, and... Bob's??
11 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Even in our modern world with planes and jets and drones, the vast majority of goods are moved aroun...
Can cap and trade work in the US?
09 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Recently, the state of Washington embarked on an ambitious new plan to combat climate change. Taking...
What's up with all the ads for law firms?
04 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The lawyer commercial is almost an art form unto itself. Learned practitioners of the law doing what...
How Venezuela imploded (update)
02 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Note: A version of this episode originally ran in 2016.)Back in 2016, things were pretty bad in Ven...
What's THAT got to do with economics?
27 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"Wanna see a trick? Give us any topic and we can tie it back to the economy."That is the bold promis...
Veep-onomics
25 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Next week, JD Vance and Tim Walz will face off in the only confirmed vice presidential debate ahead ...
How to save 10,000 fingers
20 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Table saws are extremely dangerous. The government estimates that injuries from table saws send some...
Can money buy happiness?
18 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
People often say that money can't buy you happiness. Sometimes, if you ask them to tell you more abo...
99 Percent Invisible: The White Castle System of Eating Houses
16 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today we have a guest episode from 99 Percent Invisible.It is about White Castle, the burger chain. ...
Rate Expectations
13 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates to get inflation under control. One side effect is that ta...
Is AI overrated or underrated?
11 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Are the promises made by AI boosters all hype, or are we actually under-appreciating the transformat...
Summer camp capitalism
06 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Summer camp is a classic rite of passage in the U.S. It's a place of self-discovery, where kids come...
Bingo! (Presidential debate edition)
04 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Campaigns can be a jargony slog. And this year, we are seeing a lot of economic terms being thrown a...
How to fix a housing shortage
30 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When Cody Fischer decided to get into real estate development, he had a vision. He wanted to build a...
Summer School 8: Big ideas and life lessons from Marx, Keynes and Smith and more
28 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Take the 2024 Planet Money Summer School Quiz here to earn your personalized diploma!Find all the ep...
The trade fraud detective
23 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When David Rashid took over US autoparts maker Plews and Edelmann, the company was losing business t...
Summer School 7: The Great Depression, the New Deal and how it changed our economy
21 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Find all the episodes from this season here. And past seasons here. And follow along on TikTok here ...
The hidden world behind your new "banking" app
16 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
You might have seen ads for online banking services that seem to offer a lot of great stuff — acco...
Summer School 6: China, Taiwan and how nations grow rich
14 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episodes each Wednesday through labor day. Find all the episodes from this season here. And past sea...
Will the Olympics break breakdancing?
09 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For some sports, picking the winner is simple: It's the athlete who crosses the finish line first, o...
Summer School 5: 250 years of trade history in three chapters
07 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episodes each Wednesday through labor day. Find all the episodes from this season here. And past sea...
What to do when you're in a class action
02 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Maybe you got a boring slip of paper in the mail. Maybe you got a spammy-looking email promising you...
Summer School 4: Banker vs president and the birth of the dollar
31 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episodes each Wednesday through labor day. Find all the episodes from this season here. And past sea...
Summer School 3: The first stock and perpetual life
26 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episodes each Wednesday through labor day. Find all the episodes from this season here. And past sea...
What Kamala Harris' economic agenda might look like
24 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Last weekend we were all thrown for a loop when President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential ...
The color monopoly
20 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2022, artist Stuart Semple opened up his laptop to find that all his designs had turned black ove...
Summer School 2: The golden ages of labor and looms
17 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Who has the power? Workers or bosses? It changes through the ages, though it's usually the bosses. T...
Rooftop solar's dark side
12 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
4.5 million households in the U.S. have solar panels on their homes. Most of those customers are hap...
Summer School 1: An Economic History of the World
10 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Planet Money Summer School is back for eight weeks. Join as we travel back in time to find the origi...
How flying got so bad (or did it?)
05 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We often hear that air travel is worse than it's ever been. Gone are the days when airplanes touted ...
The two companies driving the modern economy
03 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
At the core of most of the electronics we use today are some very tiny, very powerful chips. Semicon...
Do immigrants really take jobs and lower wages?
29 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We wade into the heated debate over immigrants' impact on the labor market. When the number of worke...
The Carriage Tax (Update)
26 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
(Note: A version of this episode originally ran in 2019.)In 1794, George Washington decided to raise...
The Vapes of Wrath
21 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When the vape brand Juul first hit the market back in 2015, e-cigarettes were in a kind of regulator...
Why is everyone talking about Musk's money?
19 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We've lived amongst Elon Musk headlines for so long now that it's easy to forget just how much he so...
What's with all the tiny soda cans? And other grocery store mysteries, solved.
14 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There's a behind the scenes industry that helps big brands decide questions like: How big should a b...
Bringing a tariff to a graphite fight
12 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Graphite is sort of the one-hit wonder of minerals. And that hit? Pencils. Everyone loves to talk ab...
How much national debt is too much?
07 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Most economic textbooks will tell you that there can be real dangers in running up a big national de...