When Chicago pawned its parking meters
In 2008, Chicago’s budget was in a bad place. The city needed money. One way to raise money was to increase property taxes, but what...
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Episodes
Latest first
Strange threadfellows: How the U.S. military shaped what we all wear
From nuclear fission to GPS to the internet, it’s common knowledge that many of the most resource intensive technologies of the last...
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How hurricanes became a hot investment
A few years ago, the Jamaican government started making an unusual financial bet. It went to investors around the world asking if they'd...
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Is AI slopifying the job market? (Two Indicators)
Vote for us in NPR’s People’s Choice Awards: npr.org/peopleschoice AI is already reshaping how people find work. Fewer entry-level jobs,...
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Capitalism (Taylor's Version) (25-minute Podcast Version)
Taylor Swift reaches new heights with her latest album, which is both divisive and record-breaking. And it’s fueled by an elaborate series...
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Saving lives with fewer dollars
Givewell is a nonprofit organization that gives money to “save or improve the most lives per dollar.” Part of their whole thing is a...
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The Consumer Sentiment vs. Consumer Spending Puzzle
Wherever consumer sentiment goes, consumer spending usually goes too. They’re like buddies that do everything together. Consumer sentiment...
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Days of our Tariffs
Tariffs. They’ve been announced, unannounced, re-announced, raised and lowered. It’s an on-going saga with billions at stake!On today’s...
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The obscure pool of money the US used to bail out Argentina
Last month, during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the United States had...
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Buy now, pay dearly? (update)
(Note: A version of this episode originally ran in 2022.)Every time you shop online and make it to the checkout screen, you see those...
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A new experiment in remote work … from the inside
When people in Maine prisons started getting laptops to use in their cells for online classes and homework, it sparked this new idea. Could...
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Everything’s more expensive!! Pet care!! Concert tickets!! (Two Indicators)
People in the U.S. are feeling the financial squeeze, in part because of rising inflation, higher consumer prices and slowing job growth....
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After the shutdown, SNAP will still be in trouble
This week’s SNAP crisis is just a preview. Tucked inside the giant tax-cut and spending bill signed by President Donald Trump this summer...
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The remittance mystery
For decades, the U.S. has been the single biggest source of remittances worldwide. A remittance is a transfer of money, typically from an...
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Should the fine have to fit the crime?
The U.S. Constitution famously outlaws “cruel and unusual punishments.” But there's another, far more obscure part of the Constitution...
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TikTok’s Trojan Horse Strategy
When TikTok videos started to go viral on Instagram and Reddit, TikTok turned to professional sound designers to protect their content.More...
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How Russia’s shadow fleet is sailing around oil sanctions
Bjarne Caesar Skinnerup works as a maritime pilot in the straits of Denmark. That means he’s used to seeing oil tankers. But after the...
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The year NYC went broke
In 1975, New York City ran out of money. For a decade it had managed to pay for its hundreds of thousands of city employees and robust...
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How the government got hedge funded
The U.S. government spends a ton of money, on everything from Medicare to roads to defense. In fact, it spends way more than it takes in....
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Two ways AI is changing the business of crime (Two Indicators)
Pre-order the Planet Money book here for your free gift. Our sister show, The Indicator, is chronicling the evolving business of crime for...
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