Wanna see a trick? Give us any topic and we can tie it back to the economy. At Planet Money, we explore the forces that shape our lives and bring you along for the ride. Don't just understand the economy – understand the world. Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Planet Money.
Latest episodes
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35 min
How surveillance crept up on us
For years, police have spent billions of tax dollars on watching us, tracking us, and recording us. In the largest police department in the country, these surveillance systems were…
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30 min
We try to fix election polling (update)
Polling is facing an existential crisis. People aren't picking up the phone. Nobody wants to talk to pollsters. Trust is on the line. We pluck a solution from the economics canon a…
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32 min
Anatomy of a movie market
Before an independent movie makes it to a streaming platform or a theater near you, it first needs to survive an artistic and economic gauntlet. And even for those movies that make…
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29 min
Wanna slow down AI? These biologists can help.
Fifty years ago, scientists pioneering a terrifying gene-splicing technology figured out a way to collectively hit pause. Can we do it again with AI? We ask because some top AI ind…
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30 min
Should we all be getting tariff refunds right now?
Companies are getting billions of dollars back. How about us? It seems simple, right? We paid higher prices for imported goods because of tariffs. Then the tariffs were ruled illeg…
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26 min
Charles Ponzi's scheme (plus a new scam)
Charles Ponzi was down on his luck. In 1919, the Italian immigrant had spent a decade and a half in the U.S. He was looking for a way to get rich and tried his hand at everything —…
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30 min
Where all those weird new drinks are coming from
It's getting pretty wild in the beverage aisle these days — from the rainbow wall of seltzers, to the increasingly strange flavors of Pepsi, to the new "functional" sodas with adde…
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29 min
Who’s gonna pay for your Social Security?
Very soon, Social Security may not have enough money to make full payments to retirees. Very soon. Like by 2032, just six years from now. So what are we gonna do about it? Today on…
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31 min
Middlegarchs are the new Oligarchs
Wanna know who is really in the top 1%? And how they use their influence? It may not be who you think.Look beyond Silicon Valley. Look beyond Wall Street. Look beyond the “oligarch…
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30 min
Is our national debt finally too much? (update)
(Note: A version of this episode originally ran in 2024.)$40,000,000,000,000. Four commas. Thirteen zeroes. It’s an eye-popping, almost infinite-sounding pile of money. And every t…
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32 min
The Domino’s Pizza Tracker Theory of Everything
Did a pizza restaurant’s humble status page change how we wait forever? When you order a Lyft or Uber, you get texts every few minutes about your car approaching and arriving. When…
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18 min
How investing is getting riskier (Two Indicators)
Margin borrowing and sports gambling “investments” are both on the rise! Today on the show, two stories from Planet Money’s daily podcast The Indicator about the ways investing is…
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29 min
The loan at the heart of a new foreclosure crisis
There is a new type of loan that is sweeping through the country right now. It’s advertised as a super quick and super easy way to get a mortgage to buy a home. In recent years, Wa…
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24 min
Cost-cutting, quiet guilt and the inflation generation
In this economy it is boom times and doom times all at once. The statistics aren’t really capturing it. K-shaped only goes so far as a metaphor. So … we asked you to help. And you…
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25 min
Trump drinks Venezuela’s milkshake
One week ago, President Trump announced a deal that would give the “U.S. control of more than 65 BILLION BARRELS of proven Oil Reserves in Venezuela, at no cost to the American Tax…
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26 min
Love in the time of Palantir
To a lot of people, Palantir is a mystery — what does the company know, what data do they have, and (if they have it) what do they do with it all? We dig into that mystery and take…
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23 min
Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5,” the true story behind the anthem (bonus)
The brilliance of "9 to 5" is that it is catchy even though it’s also kinda depressing. You will be dancing along. You're enjoying it. And, then when you really listen to the lyric…
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34 min
Branded fruit: How produce got “Honeycrisp-ified"
The produce aisle is changing. You’ve noticed this, I’m sure. It is now full of superstar fruits and vegetables: The Honeycrisp apple, The Cotton Candy grape, The Cuties mandarin o…
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41 min
The continent nobody owns & everyone benefits from (Summer School)
This episode is packed with your best economic ideas from around the world and a penguin interview. It all comes together in this final session of Summer School 2026.Pack your park…
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38 min
Who decides what big box sells? Our GAME got us answers
There’s a room where the fates of retail products are decided. Will they make it onto the shelves of the big box stores? Usually the rest of us can’t get inside the room where deci…