Slate Money

Slate Money

A weekly roundup of the most important stories from the worlds of business and finance, hosted by Felix Salmon. Want more Slate Money? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit https://slate.com/moneyplus to get access wherever you listen.

Episodes

October 25, 2025 56 mins
This week: A spectacular heist unfolded at the Louvre, with thieves stealing priceless jewels within 7 minutes in broad daylight.  Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck unpack what happened, why the world was so delighted by this particular crime, and the reasons the thieves might not get that big of a big score in the end. Then, ADP has decided to refrain from giving the Fed special data access, exacerbating the data shor...
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This week: The downfall of First Brands and Tricolor has led to finger-pointing between banks and private credit firms. Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck discuss whether these fraud-related bankruptcies are a sign of major issues to come within the credit market. Then, car prices and sales are up across the board. The hosts cover the state of the auto industry, the spike in EV sales caused by expiring incentives, and w...
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October 14, 2025 35 mins
In this Money Talks: Felix Salmon and Elizabeth Spiers are joined by journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin to discuss his new book 1929, a detailed account of what led to Wall Street’s most devastating crash. They’ll discuss the lessons we should keep from the systemic failure that resulted in the Great Depression and why the knowledge feels as relevant as ever today.   Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ...
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October 11, 2025 58 mins
This week: The price of gold has skyrocketed to over $4k an ounce.  Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck speculate why this might be happening right now – or if there even is a “why”. Then, Intercontinental Exchange has announced an investment of $2 billion in Polymarket, upping the valuation from $1 billion to $8 billion. The hosts discuss what makes prediction markets so big right now and the increasingly murky distinct...
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October 4, 2025 54 mins
This week: Felix Salmon finally gets to nerd out on Argentina's economy as Trump goes against the GOP playbook by bailing the country out to the tune of $20 billion. Felix, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck break down why this is such an unusual move, how it shows Trump’s favoritism, and what it means for America’s soy farmers. Then, the US government has officially shut down but stocks are soaring. The hosts talk about who, if not ...
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In this Money Talks: Felix Salmon is joined by Doug Woodham, author of the upcoming biography Jean-­Michel Basquiat: The Making of an Icon, to discuss Basquiat’s path to becoming a darling of the art market. They discuss the idiosyncrasies of the art market and  why Basquiat – the “Jimi Hendrix” of the art world – was initially undervalued but later became part of the modern day art canon.  Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus e...
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September 27, 2025 57 mins
This week: NVIDIA has announced a $100 billion investment in OpenAI to help build out data centers equipped with NVIDIA chips. Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck, joined by Bloomberg’s Max Chafkin, examine the complexities of this massive deal and why it might feed the argument that the AI boom is a bubble. Then,Trump has announced a $100,000 fee for H-1B visas.They discuss how the clunky rollout of this plan has caused...
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September 20, 2025 43 mins
This week: The Fed announced an expected rate cut with an unexpected dissent.      Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck are joined by Axios’ Neil Irwin who breaks down why the Fed meeting was so unusual – thanks to the very recent Trump appointee Stephen Miran– and what it means for the future of the central bank. Then, AMEX announced an increase that brings their Platinum fee to $895. Neil and the hosts reflect on the tr...
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September 16, 2025 37 mins
In this Money Talks: Elizabeth Spiers is joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gary Rivlin to discuss his book AI Valley, a deep dive into the Silicon Valley companies that are competing to create the best–and most profitable–AI model. Gary has been covering the tech world for decades and has seen the major players in this arms race evolve over that time. He discusses the perspectives of the companies competing for AI superio...
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September 13, 2025 47 mins
This week: ICE raided a Hyundai plant in Georgia. Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck discuss the somewhat hamfisted raid that detained hundreds of South Korean workers–disrupting both Hyundai’s operations and the local economy–and the potential fallout if foreign companies see this as a reason to avoid investing in the US. Then, Oracle’s stock surged this week thanks to its AI deals, bringing it close to a trillion doll...
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This week: Tesla offered Elon Musk an incentive package worth a trillion dollars.   Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck discuss Tesla's motivation and why Musk, already the richest man in the world, would be tempted by the outrageous number. Then, the big antitrust case against Google went out with a whimper, with the Judge ruling that they are a monopoly but they don’t need to break up the company if they follow a few n...
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September 2, 2025 39 mins
In this Money Talks: Felix Salmon is joined by author and New York Times reporter David Gelles to discuss his new biography of enigmatic Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, Dirtbag Billionaire. David does a deep dive into what makes the brand and its founder so unique, including the paradoxes of a wildly successful company trying to remain environmentally sustainable and a billionaire who believes all billionaires to be “policy failu...
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August 30, 2025 57 mins
This week: Fed governor Lisa Cook is suing the Trump administration over her dismissal. Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck, along with guest Kashmir Hill of The New York Times, discuss the weak fraud case being used to oust the Biden-appointed Fed governor and its significance in the fight to preserve the independence of the Federal Reserve. Then, Kashmir goes in depth on the many stories she’s reported on lately of peo...
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August 23, 2025 57 mins
This week: We got more details on the ATM scam that swept New York City thanks to a teen summer job program and an infinite money glitch last month.  Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck discuss the mechanics of the scam, the fallout for the many parties involved, and the tragic irony that a program meant to teach teen financial literacy led them straight into a harsh real world lesson. Then, Yieldstreet is part of a grow...
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In this Money Talks:  Elizabeth Spiers is joined by professors Matt Sekerke and Steve H. Hanke, coauthors of Making Money Work: How to Rewrite the Rules of Our Financial System. They’ll lay out how the money supply in the US is misunderstood and underweighted in monetary policy, how that flawed system contributed to the global financial crisis, and what policymakers can do to fix it all.  Want to hear that discussion and hear more...
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In this special episode of Slate Money Travels, Felix Salmon, Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers discuss what extras are really worth paying for when you travel. Airlines, especially want to nickel and dime for every little thing. But is the extra leg room worth it? What about getting off the plane sooner? Can you put a price on not waiting in line?    Want to hear that discussion and hear more Slate Money? Join Slate Plus to unlock...
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August 16, 2025 50 mins
This week: Trump continues to involve himself in the operations of large US companies. Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck discuss this slide toward state capitalism, which seemingly goes against the GOP’s usual stance on government involvement in business. Then, so called “wrench attacks" are on the rise wherein wealthy crypto holders are being targeted with real life violence for their digital wallets. The hosts discus...
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In this special episode of Slate Money Travels, Felix Salmon, Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers discuss whether traveling can really “broaden your mind.” They dig into the distinction between ‘traveling’ and actually living somewhere; why you need to do more than tick places to see off a list to really have an experience; and how you can travel within the US and still have a mind-bending experience. Plus, Emily builds an army of Stra...
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August 9, 2025 63 mins
This week: Planet Money’s Mary Childs wrote about why we should all care about the growing national debt right now. Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck are joined by Mary to help them understand why the arguments we’ve heard before about why we don’t need to worry about the national debt are falling short. Then, they discuss the statistical crisis that was exacerbated by Trump firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Stati...
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In this Money Talks: Slate’s own Cheyna Roth joins Emily Peck to break down how HBO’s Sex and the City revival And Just Like That…has taken the fantasy of being fabulous in New York City into a whole new tax bracket. They’ll discuss the curious dimensions of the kitchen in Carrie’s Manhattan mansion among other real estate mysteries within the show, examine why it’s so annoying to watch incredibly wealthy people be happy on TV, and...
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