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The Economy Explained
The Small Business Roller Coaster
Photo by Evan Morud, Art by Morgan Zion/E. Morud Photography

The Indicator from Planet Money

The Small Business Roller Coaster

Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream in Seattle has been on the same economic and political roller coaster ride many small businesses have. Now they're trying to open back up, survive and grow.

The Small Business Roller Coaster

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Hollywood's Black List
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Planet Money

Hollywood's Black List

In 2005, an anonymous list of the best unmade scripts in Hollywood shook up the movie biz. This episode: how a math-loving, movie nerd solved Hollywood's script problem. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

Hollywood's Black List

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Texas Hospitals Battle COVID-19
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The Indicator from Planet Money

Texas Hospitals Battle COVID-19

Rural hospitals in Texas are scrambling for equipment and staff to combat the surge in coronavirus cases.

Texas Hospitals Battle COVID-19

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SUMMER SCHOOL 1: Choices & Dating

Artwork by Therrious Davis Therrious Davis for NPR hide caption

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Planet Money

SUMMER SCHOOL 1: Choices & Dating

by , Lisa Chow , Chana Joffe-Walt , Zoe Chace

First lesson: Economics is not about money. It's a lens of great power and beauty. In this episode, we meet our teachers and learn the first four fundamental concepts of economic thinking, and watch them applied to things like dating and hailing a cab. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

SUMMER SCHOOL 1: Choices & Dating

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Why We Need Black-Owned Banks
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The Indicator from Planet Money

Why We Need Black-Owned Banks

Black-owned financial institutions are a shrinking part of the U.S. financial system. We look at what that means for America's entrenched racial disparities.

Why We Need Black-Owned Banks

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Live Music Industry Blues
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The Indicator from Planet Money

Live Music Industry Blues

Live music events are like micro-economies that support hundreds of small businesses. Coronavirus is hammering them.

Live Music Industry Blues

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Unintended Consequences, Hidden Deaths
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The Indicator from Planet Money

Unintended Consequences, Hidden Deaths

The way organizations and governments respond to disasters often have hidden consequences; sometimes those consequences can be fatal.

Unintended Consequences, Hidden Deaths

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Reparations For Police Brutality

Darrell Cannon was tortured into confessing to a crime he didn't commit and was sentenced to life in prison. He was exonerated in 2004 and released from prison in 2007. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption

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Reparations For Police Brutality

For years, some Chicago police officers tortured suspects. Survivors fought for reparations — and got them. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

Reparations For Police Brutality

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Inflation, Deflation
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Inflation, Deflation

After decades of relative stability, prices in the US may be about to go through the roof — or the floor. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

Inflation, Deflation

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The Market For Student Loans
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The Indicator from Planet Money

The Market For Student Loans

Americans owe about $1.5 trillion in student debt. But who actually owns those loans? One borrower goes looking for an answer—and uncovers a multi-billion dollar shadow market.

The Market For Student Loans

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Listener Questions: Past Pandemics And Property Prices
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The Indicator from Planet Money

Listener Questions: Past Pandemics And Property Prices

by , Paddy Hirsch

On the Spanish Flu, housing prices, and the resilience of Australia's economy. Indicator listener questions, answered.

Listener Questions: Past Pandemics And Property Prices

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The Uncounted Workforce
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The Indicator from Planet Money

The Uncounted Workforce

Incarcerated Americans make goods for American companies, and get paid next to nothing for their labor.

The Uncounted Workforce

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Sadie Alexander, America's First Black Economist
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The Indicator from Planet Money

Sadie Alexander, America's First Black Economist

Sadie Alexander was the first African-American to earn a PhD in economics. We think her contributions deserve another look.

Sadie Alexander, America's First Black Economist

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Liar Loans
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Liar Loans

Many businesses have been negatively affected by the pandemic. But some companies that have borrowed a lot of money are manipulating their numbers, to avoid breaking their debt agreements.

Liar Loans

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Black Workers And The Fed
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Black Workers And The Fed

How the Federal Reserve manages the economy can have an outsize effect on Black workers. Here's how to make sure it doesn't leave them behind again.

Black Workers And The Fed

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Owner Of A Broken Hertz
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Planet Money

Owner Of A Broken Hertz

Rental car giant Hertz declared bankruptcy last month, which should have made their stock worthless. So how come people keep buying it? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

Owner Of A Broken Hertz

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The Economics Of Vaccine Pricing
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The Indicator from Planet Money

The Economics Of Vaccine Pricing

by , Paddy Hirsch

Governments and drug companies agree: We need to develop a vaccine for COVID-19. But their motives for developing a vaccine are different. And that will have a big effect on the vaccine's price.

The Economics Of Vaccine Pricing

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