Planet Money

  • Hear us out: We ban left turns and other big ideas

    On today’s episode, we have three big economic ideas for your consideration – ideas that could potentially improve the economy and make us more efficient. First, what if we ban left turns on roads? Then,…


  • Econ Battle Zone: Disinflation Confrontation

    After very high inflation, the United States is finally feeling some relief in the form of “disinflation.” But, why exactly has inflation slowed down? Three Planet Money hosts try to answer that question while competing…


  • Mid-East conflict escalation, two indicators

    On today’s show, we look at two indicators of the economic disruptions of the war in Gaza and try to trace how far they will reach. We start in the Red Sea, a crucial link…


  • The Maine Potato War of 1976

    When you think of a potato, one state probably comes to mind: Idaho. But for much of American history, Maine was home to the nation’s largest potato crop. That status had changed by the 1970s,…


  • The Universal Basic Income experiment in Kenya

    There’s this fundamental question in economics that has proven really hard to answer: What’s a good way to help people out of poverty? The old-school way was to fund programs that would support very particular…


  • The case of the serial sinking Spanish ships

    Picture the Pacific Ocean of the 16th century. Spanish Galleons sail the wide open seas, carrying precious cargo like silver, porcelain, and textiles. The waters are dangerous; ship logs show concerns over pirates. But pirates…


  • The Rest of the Story, 2023

    It’s that time of year again! Our annual year-end tradition of checking in on the stories we’ve reported and the people we met along the way. We’ll hear from a Hollywood strike captain who tried…


  • The Indicators of this year and next

    Today on the show, hosts from Planet Money and The Indicator debate the economic indicators of this year and next year. First up, we try to identify the figure that best captured the essence of…


  • We buy a lot of Christmas trees (Update)

    *Note: This episode originally ran in 2020* ‘Tis the season for Americans to head out in droves and bring home a freshly-cut Christmas tree. But decorative evergreens don’t just magically show up on corner lots,…


  • Dollarizing Argentina

    Argentina has been on a decades-long search for economic stability, but it always seems to be out of reach. High inflation has been plaguing the country and just surpassed 160% a year. Over the past…


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