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Planet Money The economy, explained, with stories and surprises. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, "Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy." Now imagine that's actually a fun evening. That's what we're going for at Planet Money. People seem to like it.
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Planet Money

The Economy Explained
Three Reasons for the Housing Shortage
Caroline Purser/Getty Images

Planet Money

Three Reasons for the Housing Shortage

America's housing shortage has been decades in the making. A lot of people blame Baby Boomers — but is it really their fault? We unpack three big reasons for the shortage. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

Three Reasons for the Housing Shortage

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Indicators of the Week: Family Feud Edition
Mario Tama/Getty Images

The Indicator

Indicators of the Week: Family Feud Edition

There are so many indicators this week, so we invited our friends from Planet Money to compete for the best Indicator of The Week.

Indicators of the Week: Family Feud Edition

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Marriage Boom: Sin City Edition
Mario Tama/Getty Images

The Indicator

Marriage Boom: Sin City Edition

by Nate Hegyi ,

The wedding industry lost tens of billions of dollars in 2020. Now the numbers are roaring back, especially in Las Vegas. Today on the show, we explore the marriage boom in Las Vegas and elsewhere.

Marriage Boom: Sin City Edition

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Planet Money Summer School 1: The Stock Market
Suharu Ogawa for NPR

Planet Money

Planet Money Summer School 1: The Stock Market

by Cardiff Garcia , David Kestenbaum , ,

The first class of Planet Money Summer School starts off with a field trip. With the help of a cow, two economists, and three cute animals, we learn what a stock is and how stocks are priced, and we begin to see the psychological forces that make prices move up and down on the stock market. Keep an eye out throughout for our big theme for the course this summer: risk and reward.

Planet Money Summer School 1: The Stock Market

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BTS: The Band That Moves The Economy
Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM

The Indicator

BTS: The Band That Moves The Economy

Korean boy band BTS is a global music phenomenon. The group has millions of fans called A.R.M.Y., who happily support the group with their wallets. Today on the show, we dive deep into the economic impacts of BTS and what makes the group special.

BTS: The Band That Moves The Economy

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Nudge Vs Shove: A Conversation With Richard Thaler
Scott Olson/Getty Images

The Indicator

Nudge Vs Shove: A Conversation With Richard Thaler

Nobel Prize laureate Richard Thaler is a rockstar in the world of economics. His book Nudge introduced many of us to the field of behavioral economics and how it could be used in public policy. Today we speak with Professor Thaler on his latest and final edition of Nudge, and go beyond nudge to the land of sludging and shoving.

Nudge Vs Shove: A Conversation With Richard Thaler

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Relax, Millennials! You're Doing Great.
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The Indicator

Relax, Millennials! You're Doing Great.

According to new data from the Federal Reserve millennials are struggling. A closer examination of economic data, however, paints a different picture.

Relax, Millennials! You’re Doing Great.

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Banque Worms
picture alliance/Marcus Brandt/Picture Alliance via Getty Images

Planet Money

Banque Worms

by Mary Childs , Katherine Doherty

Last year, one of the biggest banks accidentally paid off a client's loan to its lenders — a $900 million mistake. Some of the recipients wouldn't give the money back. And then a surprising court ruling affirmed their no give-back. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

Banque Worms

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Mailbag: Children Edition
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The Indicator

Mailbag: Children Edition

by , Cardiff Garcia

On today's show, kids ask everything you were too afraid to admit you didn't know about money — what is it, where did it come from, what happens if a government goes bananas printing it.

Mailbag: Children Edition

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Saving Birds With Economics
California Rice

The Indicator

Saving Birds With Economics

The Pacific Flyway, one of the major bird migration routes in North America, has lost over 90% of its original wetland habitat in California. Purchasing and restoring these lands would cost a lot of money. But one economist had an idea: What if we paid rice farmers to flood their fields?

Saving Birds With Economics

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The Tequila Boom And Agave Bust
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The Indicator from Planet Money

The Tequila Boom And Agave Bust

by , Jamila Huxtable

The demand for tequila is booming, but it wasn't always the case. We speak with a fifth generation tequila distiller and a tequila scholar on the history of tequila and what will happen with this current boom.

The Tequila Boom And Agave Bust

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Video Gaming The System

Amanda Aronczyk fights a giant rat while playing Old School RuneScape. NPR hide caption

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NPR

Planet Money

Video Gaming The System

Two groups of people who would never meet in real life collide in a world of wizards and dragons. They battle it out in a low-tech video game, and it shakes the lives of a lot of real people living in a collapsing economy. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

Video Gaming The System

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Burnout, Poaching And Robots Taking Our Jobs: The Beigie Awards!
Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

The Indicator

Burnout, Poaching And Robots Taking Our Jobs: The Beigie Awards!

The Beigie Award is out for July! This time our winner talks about employee burnout, increased talent poaching, and a special cameo from someone we all know and love.

Burnout, Poaching and Robots Taking Our Jobs: The Beigie Awards!

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The Untamed Rise Of Hospital Monopolies

Michigan's two largest hospital systems, Spectrum Health and Beaumont Health, announced last month they wanted to merge. Hospital mergers and monopolies are increasingly the norm in the United States — which drives prices. Elaine Cromie/Getty Images hide caption

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Elaine Cromie/Getty Images

Newsletter

The Untamed Rise Of Hospital Monopolies

America has seen decades of consolidation of its hospitals, raising prices for consumers. President Biden now wants to do something about it.

Should Business Mandate Covid Vaccines For Employees?
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The Indicator

Should Business Mandate Covid Vaccines For Employees?

by Sally Herships ,

Only 3 to 4 percent of small businesses in many states require workers to show proof of vaccination but in Puerto Rico, the number is 20 percent. Why? We speak with an economist and two business owners to find out.

Should Business Mandate Covid Vaccines For Employees?

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The Great Inflation (Classic)
Chick Harrity/AP

Planet Money

The Great Inflation (Classic)

by Kenny Malone , Jacob Gold , David Kestenbaum

For much of the 1970s 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. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

The Great Inflation (Classic)

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In Tech We Antitrust: Indicators of The Week
Alex Wong/Getty Images

The Indicator

In Tech We Antitrust: Indicators of The Week

President Biden signed an executive order promoting competition and large technology firms came under fire. We speak with economists Luigi Zingales and Carl Shapiro on the history and implications of antitrust.

In Tech We Antitrust: Indicators of The Week

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The COVID Small Business Boom
Laura Chase de Formigny Photography

The Indicator

The COVID Small Business Boom

by Brittany Cronin ,

After millions of people lost their jobs during the pandemic, many of them started their own businesses. In June people started over 440,000 new businesses. We speak with a hot dog stand owner about his journey and an economist on this trend.

The COVID Small Business Boom

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100 Years Since Sadie Alexander
Courtesy Sadie Collective. Photo by Mathematica

Planet Money

100 Years Since Sadie Alexander

by James Sneed , Kenny Malone

In 1921, Sadie Alexander became the first Black person in America to receive a PhD in economics. Then, she was functionally shut out of economics jobs, got a law degree, and became an attorney instead. A century later, economics has made notably little progress bringing Black women into the field. We work with The Sadie Collective to bring you three stories from three eras of recent history that show us how the field has changed, where it still falls short, and the unique joys of being a Black woman and loving economics. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

100 Years Since Sadie Alexander

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Australian Wine: Political Football
Vision House Photography/Vision House Photography

The Indicator

Australian Wine: Political Football

Australian wine exports to China have gone from about $1 billion a year to nearly nothing overnight. Australia blames geopolitics, saying the Chinese government wants to send a message to the world.

Australian Wine: Political Football

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How Do You Measure Inflation?
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The Indicator

How Do You Measure Inflation?

The Consumer Price Index helps to understand prices and inflation, but where do the numbers come from in the first place? We tagged along with an economist to find out the prices of socks, butter, and daycare.

How Do You Measure Inflation?

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