How economists (and TikTok) know if a recession is coming
Lately we've noticed that something we think about all the time here at Planet Money is having a viral moment: recession indicators!From...
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Episodes
Latest first
The 145% tariff already did its damage
Even though the 145% tariff on Chinese imports only lasted a month, it already inflicted its scars on the economy. Global trade is just not...
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What happened to U.S. farmers during the last trade war
The U.S. exports billions of dollars worth of agricultural products each year — things like soybeans, corn and pork. And over the last...
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Is the reign of the dollar over?
For decades, dollars have been the world's common financial language. Central banks everywhere hold dollars as a way to safely store their...
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What "Made in China" actually means
Virtually every product brought into the United States must have a so-called "country of origin." Think of it as the official place it...
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Why it's so hard to find a public toilet
Why is it so hard to find a bathroom when you need one? In the U.S., we used to have lots of publicly accessible toilets. But many had...
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Planet Money complains. To learn.
On today's show: we're ... venting.We at Planet Money are an ensemble show – each with different curiosities and styles. But we recently...
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How 23andMe's bankruptcy led to a run on the gene bank
Reporter Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi's Aunt Vovi signed up for 23andMe back in 2017, hoping to learn more about the genetic makeup of her...
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A primer on the Federal Reserve's independence
President Donald Trump has been loudly critical of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for years now. Since January, the President has...
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How much for that egg
Recently, one of our NPR colleagues wrote a message to all of NPR saying he had extra eggs to sell for cheap, but needed a fair way to...
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OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
OIRA — the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs — is an obscure, but powerful federal office around the corner from the White...
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Trade war dispatch from Canada
How do you run a business when a trade war is brewing? As President Trump's tariffs kick in - or are paused or are restarted - businesses...
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Do trade deficits matter?
At the heart of President Trump's tariffs is this idea that we should not be buying more from other countries than they are buying from us....
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How the War on Drugs got us... blueberries
Ever wondered why you can buy fresh Peruvian blueberries in the dead of winter? The answer, surprisingly, is tied to cocaine. Today on the...
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Tariffs: What are they good for?
What are tariffs good for?For years, mainstream economists have basically said: tariffs are not good. They are an import tax paid by...
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PM x Radiolab: Can the economy grow forever?
Earth can sustain life for another 100 million years, but can we? This episode, we partner with Radiolab to take stock of the essential raw...
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Planet Money buys a mystery diamond
The deal seemed too good to be true. There's a website that's been selling top quality diamonds at bizarrely low prices. Prices we couldn't...
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Can we just change how we measure GDP?
There's one statistic that rules them all when it comes to keeping track of the economy: gross domestic product (GDP). It's the sum of all...
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Escheat show (Update)
Note: This original episode ran in 2020.Walter Schramm did everything right as an investor — at least according to the philosophy of Warren...
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How Tupperware took over our homes, with Decoder Ring
Tupperware is the stealthy star of our modern homes. These plastic storage containers are ubiquitous in our fridges, pantries, and closets....
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