Accessibility links
Alex Blumberg Alex Blumberg is a contributing editor for NPR's Planet Money. He is also a producer for the public radio program This American Life, and an adjunct professor of journalism at Columbia University.
Stories By

Alex Blumberg

Planet Money T-Shirt Exposes Issues Of Work, Trade And Clothes
Josh Davis/Planet Money

Planet Money's T-Shirt Project

Planet Money T-Shirt Exposes Issues Of Work, Trade And Clothes

All this week, All Things Considered and Morning Edition has aired stories about the global journey a T-shirt makes from seed to finished product. Over the months NPR's Planet Money team spent reporting the series, they tackled questions about trade, work and clothes play in the global economy.

Planet Money T-Shirt Exposes Issues Of Work, Trade And Clothes

Listen · 5:24
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/249339951/249333987" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Why The Falling Birthrate Is Bad News For My 2-Year-Old Son

Please don't make me pay for your retirement. Alex Blumberg/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Alex Blumberg/NPR

Planet Money

Why The Falling Birthrate Is Bad News For My 2-Year-Old Son

By the time our children get to be our age, there will be fewer working people for each retiree. So they'll have to pay a bigger share of our retirement costs.

Why The Falling Birthrate Is Bad News For My 2-Year-Old Son

Listen · 3:07
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/166682253/166713177" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Why Does The Mortgage-Interest Tax Deduction Still Exist?
Alex Brandon/AP

Planet Money

Why Does The Mortgage-Interest Tax Deduction Still Exist?

If you own a home in the U.S., if you have a mortgage, you can deduct the interest you pay on that mortgage from your taxes. It's a popular, well-entrenched policy. But according to one policy adviser in Washington, "the mortgage-interest deduction ... makes no sense."

Why Does The Mortgage-Interest Tax Deduction Still Exist?

Listen · 4:00
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/154344781/154408048" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
When Lobbyists Pay To Meet With Congressmen
Charles Dharapak/AP

Planet Money

When Lobbyists Pay To Meet With Congressmen

"...the fundraiser has 35,000 bucks in checks sitting in her pocket right now. And we're going to talk about public policy while we take the checks."

When Lobbyists Pay To Meet With Congressmen

Listen · 3:43
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/150984304/150959513" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Planet Money

Why Lobbyists Dodge Calls From Congressmen

We imagine the lobbyist stalking the halls of Congress trying to use cash to influence important people. But often, the Congressman is stalking the lobbyist, asking for money.

Why Lobbyists Dodge Calls From Congressmen

Listen · 4:24
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/150904641/150936427" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Senator By Day, Telemarketer By Night

"I think most Americans would be shocked..." - Sen. Dick Durbin. Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images

Planet Money

Senator By Day, Telemarketer By Night

Lawmakers have two jobs: making laws, and raising money. "I think most Americans would be shocked ... if they knew how much time a United States Senator spends raising money," says Sen. Dick Durbin.

Senator By Day, Telemarketer By Night

Listen · 3:43
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/149648666/149669057" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript