Planet Money

The economy explained. 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.

Summer School 4: Who are all these regulations protecting?

LIVE SHOW: August 18th in Brooklyn. Tickets here. There are occasional incentives in business that make...

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The President's Golden Share in U.S. Steel

LIVE SHOW ALERT: August 18th, NYC. Get your tickets here. When news broke that a Japanese company, Nippon...

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Summer School 3: How government decides what to spend our money on

Although it seems like the government can spend an endless amount of money, it cannot actually do all...

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Why are we so obsessed with manufacturing?

It seems like politicians cannot agree on a lot. But many seem to agree on... manufacturing. Leaders...

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Congress has voted to eliminate government funding for public media

Act now to ensure public media remains free and accessible to all. Your donation will help this essential...

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Summer School 2: How taxes change behavior and the economy

We all know the government uses taxes to pay for things. But what about using taxes to control behavior?...

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Made in America

What people might picture when they think of "Made in America" ... might not look like the "Made in...

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Summer School 1: A government's role in the economy is to make us all richer

Government. The Big G. We like to imagine the free market and the invisible hand as being independent...

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The simple math of the big bill

If we think about the economic effects of President Donald Trumps big taxing and spending and domestic...

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A thought experiment on how to fix the national debt problem

There's an economic fantasy you sometimes hear in D.C. It often gets trotted out when politicians are...

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When Trump met crypto

In 2019, President Trump tweeted: "I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies." Today, the...

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Econ Battle Zone: Budget Showdown

Econ Battle Zone is back! On today's episode Mary Childs and Kenny Malone enter Econ Battle Stadium...

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The U.S. is the world's bribery cop. Is that about to change?

The U.S. has been policing bribery all over the world for nearly half a century using a law called the...

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Jay & Shai's debt ceiling adventure (Update)

Note: A version of this episode first ran in 2023.Every year, the U.S. government spends more money...

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Why I joined DOGE

What was it like to work inside Elon Musk's DOGE? The cost-cutting initiative promised transparency,...

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Are Trump's tariffs legal?

When President Trump announced his sweeping new tariffs this year, many trade law experts were startled....

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When Chinese manufacturing met Small Town, USA

Over the past decade, politicians from both parties have courted American voters with an enticing economic...

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Trump's crypto interests (Two Indicators)

Today on the show – our crypto president. Just before President Donald Trump began his second administration...

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The U.S.-China trade war, according to game theory

Over the last few months U.S.-China trade relations have been pretty hard to make sense of – unless...

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Why does the government fund research at universities?

American universities are where people go to learn and teach. They're also where research and development...

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The secret world behind those scammy text messages

You might have seen these texts before. The scam starts innocently enough. Maybe it's a "Long time no...

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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...

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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...

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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,...

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