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Images of the new noted of the Brazilian currency.
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Government

Episode 216: How Four Drinking Buddies Saved Brazil

Two decades ago, shoppers in Brazil would run ahead of the worker who raised prices every day. Inflation was crazy. Today on the show: How four economists --who were also drinking buddies-- fixed it.

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Planet Money's very own hoverboard.

Planet Money's very own hoverboard. Kristen Clark/NPR hide caption

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Trade

Episode 666: The Hoverboard Life

The hottest toy this holiday season has no identifiable logo, no main distributor, and no widely agreed upon name. Today, we seek out the origin of the hands-free, two wheeled, self-balancing scooter.

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Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker listens to a question as he appears before the Senate Banking Committee.
Chick Harrity/AP

Government

Episode 664: The Great Inflation

For much of the 70s inflation was bad. Prices rose at over 10 percent a year. Nothing could stop it — until one powerful person did something very unpopular. Today's show: How we beat inflation.

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J.P. Morgan

J.P. Morgan Flickr/The Library of Congress hide caption

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Government

Episode 505: A Locked Door, A Secret Meeting And The Birth Of The Fed

A 70-year-old man with a bad cold and many mistresses, a nation that's ambivalent about a central bank, and a secret meeting on an island. Today on the show: The origin story of the Federal Reserve.

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Trade representatives attend a press conference for the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
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Currency

Episode 662: OMG TPP

The text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership isn't secret anymore. We dove in. From tariffs for waterproof overalls to copyright rules, we tell you what we found. Also, a way countries can get around it.

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Alaskan fisherman David Fry and his baited hooks.

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Jobs

Episode 661: The Less Deadly Catch

Today on the show, how an economic fix took the deadliest job in America and made it safer. And why a lot of people are mad about it.

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Fossils are becoming a booming business.
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Podcast

Episode 660: The T-Rex In My Backyard

There's a boom going on for dinosaur bones, a veritable gold rush for fossils buried in the badlands of North Dakota, Wyoming and Montana. Today on the show: the T-Rex that started it all.

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A Polystyrene box used for the transport of human organs.

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Demography

Episode 518: Your Organs, Please

How do you get someone to sign up as an organ donor? Today on the show: The story of one woman who found a way by partnering with one of the more hated American institutions.

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Janet Yellen, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, speaks during a news conference.

Janet Yellen, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, speaks during a news conference. Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Podcast

Episode 659: How To Make $3 Trillion Disappear

After the financial crisis, the Fed created over $3 trillion. To undo this, they have a new trick. Today on the show, how the Federal Reserve plans to make that money disappear.

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A screenshot from "Show Me Your Money," a British reality TV show where the employees at Pimlico Plumbers revealed their salaries.

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Jobs

Episode 550: When Salaries Aren't Secret

What would it be like if everyone at your office knew what everyone else earned? On today's show, we hear about a company where salaries aren't secret.

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Flint sit-down strikers sitting down.

Flint sit-down strikers sitting down. Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University. hide caption

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Jobs

Episode 658: Strike One

On today's show: The birth of unions as we know them. It's a story that includes, among other things, bravery, cunning, and auto-part projectiles flung out of giant sling shots.

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Lots of onions.

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Government

Episode 657: The Tale Of The Onion King

Vince Kosuga farmed onions. Then he tried trading them on the market, too. He made millions. Today on the show: How trading got so out of hand that the Chicago River flowed with America's onions.

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The Salesforce Tower under construction will be the tallest in the Bay Area when completed.

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Podcast

Episode 656: Bubblelicious

Things are booming in Silicon Valley. Maybe too booming. But economists say you can't call it a bubble until it goes POP. Today on the show: We find three bubbly barometers that could signal a bust.

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David Kestenbaum's signature

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Podcast

Episode 564: The Signature

The signature. We put it on checks, contracts, credit cards. It's supposed to say, "This is me." But where did the idea come from? And why are we still using it?

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MRI
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Podcast

Episode 655: Pay Patients, Save Money

We shop around when we get a plane ticket or buy a couch. But we spend thousands of dollars on health care without shopping around. What happens if we pay patients when they choose the cheaper option?

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Migrants from Syria and Afghanistan arrive on an overcrowded dinghy from the Turkish coasts to the Greek island of Lesbos, Monday, July 27, 2015.
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Podcast

Episode 654: When The Boats Arrive

In 1980, thousands of Cuban refugees suddenly arrived in Miami and started looking for work. On today's show: What happened next. And what it tells us about the migration crisis in Europe today.

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