Planet Money
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. Wanna go deeper? Subscribe to Planet Money+ and get sponsor-free episodes of Planet Money, The Indicator, and Planet Money Summer School. Plus access to bonus content. It's a new way to support the show you love. Learn more at plus.npr.org/planetmoney
Episodes
July 11, 2025 • 30 mins
What people might picture when they think of "Made in America" ... might not look like the "Made in America" we have today.
The U.S. does have a domestic manufacturing industry, including a garment manufacturing industry.
In today's episode: We buy a garment made by factory workers in the U.S. – a basic purple sports bra – and learn how many people it took to make it, how much workers got paid to work on it ... a...
The U.S. does have a domestic manufacturing industry, including a garment manufacturing industry.
In today's episode: We buy a garment made by factory workers in the U.S. – a basic purple sports bra – and learn how many people it took to make it, how much workers got paid to work on it ... a...
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July 9, 2025 • 35 mins
Government. The Big G. We like to imagine the free market and the invisible hand as being independent from political influence. But Nobel laureate, Simon Johnson, says that influence has been there since the birth of economics. Call it political economy. Call it government and business. Call it our big topic each Wednesday through Labor Day.
We're kicking off another semester of Planet Money Summer School asking the bigge...
We're kicking off another semester of Planet Money Summer School asking the bigge...
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July 4, 2025 • 32 mins
If we think about the economic effects of President Donald Trumps big taxing and spending and domestic policy bill, we can roughly sum it up in one line. It goes something like this:
We will make many big tax cuts permanent and pay for those tax cuts by cutting Medicaid and a few other things and also...by borrowing money.
A lot of money.
Even more than we've already been borrowing over the past twenty...
We will make many big tax cuts permanent and pay for those tax cuts by cutting Medicaid and a few other things and also...by borrowing money.
A lot of money.
Even more than we've already been borrowing over the past twenty...
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July 2, 2025 • 25 mins
There's an economic fantasy you sometimes hear in D.C. It often gets trotted out when politicians are trying to add billions or trillions to the national debt. They claim that all the new spending will be worth it in the end because we will supercharge economic growth.
This fantasy recurs again and again, because economic growth is a potent force. Over the next few decades, tiny changes in how fast our economy grows could...
This fantasy recurs again and again, because economic growth is a potent force. Over the next few decades, tiny changes in how fast our economy grows could...
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June 27, 2025 • 31 mins
In 2019, President Trump tweeted: "I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies." Today, the Trumps are all over crypto.
There are memecoins for Trump and the first lady. They own a stablecoin, a bitcoin mining operation, and a crypto financial services company. And, at the Bitcoin 2025 conference, Trump's media group announced they're raising 2.5 billion dollars from investors to buy bitcoin.
At that same...
There are memecoins for Trump and the first lady. They own a stablecoin, a bitcoin mining operation, and a crypto financial services company. And, at the Bitcoin 2025 conference, Trump's media group announced they're raising 2.5 billion dollars from investors to buy bitcoin.
At that same...
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June 26, 2025 • 38 mins
Econ Battle Zone is back! On today's episode Mary Childs and Kenny Malone enter Econ Battle Stadium to throw down against reigning champion Erika Beras.
Can Mary explain what effect extending the 2017 tax cuts will have on economic growth AND make her entire segment rhyme? Will Erika be able to overcome her fear of singing and craft a country song about the history of Medicaid? Can Kenny put together a piece about what war...
Can Mary explain what effect extending the 2017 tax cuts will have on economic growth AND make her entire segment rhyme? Will Erika be able to overcome her fear of singing and craft a country song about the history of Medicaid? Can Kenny put together a piece about what war...
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June 20, 2025 • 28 mins
The U.S. has been policing bribery all over the world for nearly half a century using a law called the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. But now, President Trump has said that this anti-corruption law is crippling American businesses. Since taking office, his administration has reduced the number of investigators, killed some cases, and changed the rules.
In this episode, we look at the FCPA case against Glencore, a large com...
In this episode, we look at the FCPA case against Glencore, a large com...
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June 18, 2025 • 30 mins
Note: A version of this episode first ran in 2023.
Every year, the U.S. government spends more money than it takes in. In order to fund all that spending, the country takes on debt. Congress has the power to limit how much debt the U.S. takes on. Once we reach that limit, Congress has a few options so that the government keeps paying its bills: Raise the debt limit, suspend it, or eliminate it entirely.
Which is ...
Every year, the U.S. government spends more money than it takes in. In order to fund all that spending, the country takes on debt. Congress has the power to limit how much debt the U.S. takes on. Once we reach that limit, Congress has a few options so that the government keeps paying its bills: Raise the debt limit, suspend it, or eliminate it entirely.
Which is ...
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June 13, 2025 • 27 mins
What was it like to work inside Elon Musk's DOGE? The cost-cutting initiative promised transparency, but most of its actions have been shrouded in secrecy.
For months, there were reports of software engineers and Trump loyalists entering agencies and accessing sensitive data. DOGE also helped the Trump administration lay off thousands of government workers. NPR reporters have been trying for months to get anyone from DOGE ...
For months, there were reports of software engineers and Trump loyalists entering agencies and accessing sensitive data. DOGE also helped the Trump administration lay off thousands of government workers. NPR reporters have been trying for months to get anyone from DOGE ...
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June 11, 2025 • 24 mins
When President Trump announced his sweeping new tariffs this year, many trade law experts were startled. Typically, presidents don't have the authority to impose broad tariffs with a snap of their fingers.
But Trump's advisors have an unusual new legal theory. They say that as long as there's a national emergency of some kind, Trump may be able to create whatever tariffs he wants. This is a creative interpretation of a 197...
But Trump's advisors have an unusual new legal theory. They say that as long as there's a national emergency of some kind, Trump may be able to create whatever tariffs he wants. This is a creative interpretation of a 197...
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June 6, 2025 • 31 mins
Over the past decade, politicians from both parties have courted American voters with an enticing economic prospect – the dream of bringing manufacturing and manufacturing jobs back to America. They've pushed for that dream with tariffs and tax breaks and subsidies. But what happens when one multinational company actually responds to those incentives, and tries to set up shop in Small Town, USA?
Today on the show – how a b...
Today on the show – how a b...
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June 4, 2025 • 18 mins
Today on the show – our crypto president. Just before President Donald Trump began his second administration in January, he and his business partners launched the $TRUMP coin. It's a memecoin that quickly raked in hundreds of millions of dollars. And there's a lot of earning potential still left on the table. Is that even legal?
We bring you two stories from our daily show, The Indicator about President Trump and his ties ...
We bring you two stories from our daily show, The Indicator about President Trump and his ties ...
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May 30, 2025 • 28 mins
Over the last few months U.S.-China trade relations have been pretty hard to make sense of – unless you look at what's happening through the lens of game theory. Game theory is all about how decisions are made, based not just on one side's options and payoffs, but on the choices and incentives of others.
So, are Donald Trump and Xi Jinping competing in a simple game of chicken? Or is the game more like the prisoner's dilem...
So, are Donald Trump and Xi Jinping competing in a simple game of chicken? Or is the game more like the prisoner's dilem...
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May 28, 2025 • 27 mins
American universities are where people go to learn and teach. They're also where research and development happens. Over the past eight decades, universities have received billions in federal dollars to help that happen. Those dollars have contributed to innovations like: Drone technology. Inhalable Covid vaccines. Google search code.
The Trump administration is cutting or threatening to cut federal funding for research. Fe...
The Trump administration is cutting or threatening to cut federal funding for research. Fe...
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May 23, 2025 • 34 mins
You might have seen these texts before. The scam starts innocently enough. Maybe it's a "Long time no see" or "Hello" or "How are you." For investigative reporter Zeke Faux it was – "Hi David, I'm Vicky Ho. Don't you remember me?"
Many people ignore them. But Zeke responded. He wanted to get scammed. This led him on a journey halfway around the world to find out who is sending him random wrong number texts and why. After ...
Many people ignore them. But Zeke responded. He wanted to get scammed. This led him on a journey halfway around the world to find out who is sending him random wrong number texts and why. After ...
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May 21, 2025 • 23 mins
Lately we've noticed that something we think about all the time here at Planet Money is having a viral moment: recession indicators!
From the more practical (like sales for lipstick going up and men's underwear going down) to the absurd and nonsensical (like babysitter buns coming back into style?) — people are posting to social media every little sign they see that a recession is coming. And we LOVE it. Because between th...
From the more practical (like sales for lipstick going up and men's underwear going down) to the absurd and nonsensical (like babysitter buns coming back into style?) — people are posting to social media every little sign they see that a recession is coming. And we LOVE it. Because between th...
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May 16, 2025 • 26 mins
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 something you can turn off and on like that.
Some companies got really unlucky. Like those whose goods arrived at U.S. ports before the pause. If a medium size company had a million dollars worth of goods imported, they had to pay an extra million and a half dollars on top of that – j...
Some companies got really unlucky. Like those whose goods arrived at U.S. ports before the pause. If a medium size company had a million dollars worth of goods imported, they had to pay an extra million and a half dollars on top of that – j...
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May 14, 2025 • 25 mins
The U.S. exports billions of dollars worth of agricultural products each year — things like soybeans, corn and pork. And over the last month, these exports have been caught up in a trade war.
U.S. farmers have been collateral damage in a trade war before. In 2018, President Trump put tariffs on a bunch of Chinese products including flatscreen TVs, medical devices and batteries. But China matched those tariffs with their o...
U.S. farmers have been collateral damage in a trade war before. In 2018, President Trump put tariffs on a bunch of Chinese products including flatscreen TVs, medical devices and batteries. But China matched those tariffs with their o...
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May 9, 2025 • 26 mins
For decades, dollars have been the world's common financial language. Central banks everywhere hold dollars as a way to safely store their wealth. Countries, businesses, and people use it to trade; around 90% of all foreign exchange transactions involve dollars. It's the world's money, the world's "reserve currency."
But what if that is changing? What if the world stops seeing the dollar as safe?
Today on the sho...
But what if that is changing? What if the world stops seeing the dollar as safe?
Today on the sho...
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May 7, 2025 • 27 mins
Virtually every product brought into the United States must have a so-called "country of origin." Think of it as the official place it comes from. And this is the country that counts for calculating tariffs.
But what does it really mean when something is a "Product of China"? How much of it actually comes from China? And how do customs officials draw the line?
Here in the U.S., the rules are delightfully counterin...
But what does it really mean when something is a "Product of China"? How much of it actually comes from China? And how do customs officials draw the line?
Here in the U.S., the rules are delightfully counterin...
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