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Wanna see a trick? Give us any topic and we can tie it back to the economy. At Planet Money, we explore the forces that shape our lives and bring you along for the ride. Don't just understand the economy – understand the world.

Wanna go deeper? Subscribe to Planet Money+ and get sponsor-free episodes of Planet Money, The Indicator, and Planet Money Summer School. Plus access to bonus content. It's a new way to support the show you love. Learn more at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.

Most Recent Episodes

Richard Lonsinger at his home in Lawrence, Kansas, holding a photo of himself as a child shortly after he was adopted. Sam Yellowhorse Kesler/NPR hide caption

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Sam Yellowhorse Kesler/NPR

Blood, oil, and the Osage Nation: The battle over headrights

Richard J. Lonsinger is a member of the Ponca tribe of Oklahoma, who was adopted at a young age into a white family of three. He eventually reconnected with his birth family, but when his birth mother passed away in 2010, he wasn't included in the distribution of her estate. Feeling both hurt and excluded, he asked a judge to re-open her estate, to give him a part of one particular asset: an Osage headright.

Blood, oil, and the Osage Nation: The battle over headrights

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Alex Goldmark

Inside a bank run

Sometimes you hear these stories about an airplane that suddenly nosedives. Everyone onboard thinks this is it, and then the plane levels out and everything is fine. For about 72 hours, people and companies that had deposited millions of dollars at the Silicon Valley Bank — many of whom were in the tech industry — thought they had lost absolutely everything to a bank collapse.

Inside a bank run

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Sasha Fominskaya/NPR

Planet Money Records Vol. 3: Making a hit

Since we started Planet Money Records and released the 47-year-old song "Inflation," the song has taken off. It recently hit 1 million streams on Spotify. And we now have a full line of merch — including a limited edition vinyl record; a colorful, neon hoodie; and 70s-inspired stickers — n.pr/shopplanetmoney.

Planet Money Records Vol. 3: Making a hit

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Noah Berger/AFP via Getty Images

Silicon Valley Bank's collapse and rescue

Silicon Valley Bank was the 16th largest bank in America, the bank of choice for tech startups and big-name venture capitalists. Then, in the span of just a few days, it collapsed. Whispers that SVB might be in trouble spread like wildfire through group texts and Twitter posts. Depositors raced to empty their accounts, withdrawing $42 billion in a single day. Last Friday, after regulators declared that SVB had failed, the FDIC seized the bank.

Silicon Valley Bank's collapse and rescue

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Casey Bloys, President of Programming of HBO, speaks onstage at HBO Max WarnerMedia Investor Day Presentation at Warner Bros. Studios on October 29, 2019 in Burbank, California. Presley Ann/Getty Images for WarnerMedia hide caption

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Presley Ann/Getty Images for WarnerMedia

Why platforms like HBO Max are removing streaming TV shows

Over the past year, dozens of shows have been disappearing from streaming platforms like HBO Max and Showtime. Shows like Minx, Made for Love, FBoy Island, and even big budget hits like Westworld have been removed entirely.

Why platforms like HBO Max are removing streaming TV shows

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Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

The value of good teeth

As a kid, Ryanne Jones' friend accidentally hit her in the mouth with a hammer, knocking out her two front teeth. Her parents never had enough money for the dental care needed to fix them, so Ryanne lived much of her adult life with a chipped and crooked smile.

The value of good teeth

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David Turnley/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images

Exploring Seinfeld through the lens of economics

The 90s sit-com Seinfeld is often called "a show about nothing." Lauded for its observational humor, this quick-witted show focussed on four hapless New Yorkers navigating work, relationships...yada yada yada.

Exploring Seinfeld through the lens of economics

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

CBOhhhh, that's what they do

If you are a congressperson or a senator and you have an idea for a new piece of legislation, at some point someone will have to tell you how much it costs. But, how do you put a price on something that doesn't exist yet?

CBOhhhh, that's what they do

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Hobo is one of the eleven cats who lives with Brenda Jarvis, the chief cat lady of Dixfield, Maine. Willa Rubin/NPR hide caption

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How the cats of Dixfield, Maine came into a fortune — and almost lost it

More than 20 years ago, something unusual happened in the small town of Dixfield, Maine. A lady named Barbara Thorpe had left almost all of her money—$200,000—to benefit the cats of her hometown. When Barbara died in 2002, those cats suddenly got very, very rich. And that is when all the trouble began.

How the cats of Dixfield, Maine came into a fortune — and almost lost it

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Rachel Murray/Getty Images for MAKERS

Hollywood's Black List (Classic)

This episode originally ran in 2020.

Hollywood's Black List (Classic)

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