OIRA: The tiny office that’s about to remake the federal governmentOIRA — the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs — is an obscure, but powerful federal off […]

Trade war dispatch from CanadaHow do you run a business when a trade war is brewing? As President Trump’s tariffs kick in – or are paused or are restarted – busin […]

Do trade deficits matter?At the heart of President Trump’s tariffs is this idea that we should not be buying more from other countries than they are buying from u […]

How the War on Drugs got us… blueberriesEver wondered why you can buy fresh Peruvian blueberries in the dead of winter? The answer, surprisingly, is tied to […]

Tariffs: What are they good for?What are tariffs good for? For years, mainstream economists have basically said: tariffs are not good. They are an import tax paid […]

PM x Radiolab: Can the economy grow forever?Earth can sustain life for another 100 million years, but can we? This episode, we partner with Radiolab to take stock […]

Planet Money buys a mystery diamondThe deal seemed too good to be true. There’s a website that’s been selling top quality diamonds at bizarrely low prices. Pri […]

Can we just change how we measure GDP?There’s one statistic that rules them all when it comes to keeping track of the economy: gross domestic product (GDP). I […]

Escheat show (Update)Note: This original episode ran in 2020. Walter Schramm did everything right as an investor — at least according to the philosophy of Warren B […]

How Tupperware took over our homes, with Decoder RingTupperware is the stealthy star of our modern homes. These plastic storage containers are ubiquitous in our […]

The last time we shrank the federal workforceIf you cut every single federal job President Donald Trump wants to cut, how much money would that save? A president […]

How to start a bank In some ways, starting a bank is a lot like starting any other business. Who will you hire? Where will you be located? What color will the […]

The Parable of Peanut the Memecoin Memecoins are having a moment. Everyone from Hawk Tuah to President Donald Trump to animal influencers like Moo Deng the pygmy […]

The Memecoin Casino What do Moo Deng the pygmy hippo, social media sensation Hawk Tuah, and the President of the United States all have in common? They’ve all i […]

The controversy over Tyson Foods’ hiring of asylum seekers Last year, Tyson Foods shuttered a meat processing plant in Perry, Iowa. The company said it made the […]

The rise and fall of Long Term Capital Management There’s this cautionary tale, in the finance world, that nearly any trader can tell you. It’s about placing too […]

Can the president override Congress on spending? So the president can’t spend more money than Congress has agreed and voted to spend. But can the president spend l […]

The Big Government Money Pipe Freeze There has been chaotic uncertainty around billions of dollars allocated by Congress. The Trump administration ordered a pause […]

The ‘Crypto Wizard’ vs. Nigeria The trip that changed Tigran Gambaryan’s life forever was supposed to be short — just a few days. When he flew to Nigeria in Feb […]

The fight for a legendary shipwreck’s treasure The San Jose was a marvel of 17th century technology. The Spanish galleon weighed more than a thousand tons, was made […]