NPR1 min read
How To Get A Haircut In Space
Hey, Short Wavers! Today we're sharing an excerpt of the new NPR podcast How To Do Everything. How To Do Everything is half advice show, half survival guide, and half absurdity-fest — and it's not made by anyone who understands math. In fact, it come
NPR1 min read
Can Money Buy Happiness?
People often say that money can't buy you happiness. Sometimes, if you ask them to tell you more about it, they'll mention a famous 2010 study by Nobel Prize winners Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton. That study found that higher household income corr
NPR1 min read
Rate Expectations: What It Means That The Fed Is About To Lower Interest Rates.
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates to get inflation under control. One side effect is that taking out a mortgage to buy a home has gotten very expensive. That's especially a problem for some homeowners who managed to get a lower mortgage rate
NPR1 min read
Gen Z Asks: What Is School For? Plus, Rebranding Gentrification
It's September, which means millions of young learners across the country are dusting off their backpacks and heading back to school. But a new study from Gallup and The Walton Family Foundation has shown that students are less engaged, and feel less
NPR1 min read
Summer Camp Capitalism
Summer camp is a classic rite of passage in the U.S. It's a place of self-discovery, where kids come to make new friends and take on new challenges. But what if it were ALSO a place where children came to learn how to survive in a free market economy
NPR1 min read
New Music Friday: The best albums out Aug. 30
You know that mind-expanding feeling when an album — even one that fits solidly in a familiar genre — gives you something that feels brand new? This week on New Music Friday from All Songs Considered, NPR Music's Daoud Tyler-Ameen and Ann Powers find
NPR1 min read
Summer School 8: Big Ideas And Life Lessons From Marx, Keynes And Smith And More
Take the 2024 Planet Money Summer School Quiz here to earn your personalized diploma!Find all the episodes from this season of Summer School here. And past seasons here. And follow along on TikTok here for video Summer School. We are assembled here o
NPR1 min read
History 8: Big Ideas And Life Lessons From Marx, Keynes And Smith And More
Take the 2024 Planet Money Summer School Quiz here to earn your personalized diploma!Find all the episodes from this season of Summer School here. And past seasons here. And follow along on TikTok here for video Summer School. We are assembled here o
NPR1 min read
The Trade Fraud Detective
When David Rashid took over US autoparts maker Plews and Edelmann, the company was losing business to its Chinese rival, Qingdao Sunsong. Both companies make power steering hoses, but Sunsong was offering its hoses to retailers at a much lower price.
NPR1 min read
History 7: The Great Depression, The New Deal And How It Changed Our Economy
Find all the episodes from this season here. And past seasons here. And follow along on TikTok here for video Summer School. When we last left the United States of America in our economic telling of history, it was the early 1900s and the country's l
NPR1 min read
Summer School 7: The Great Depression, The New Deal And How It Changed Our Economy
Find all the episodes from this season here. And past seasons here. And follow along on TikTok here for video Summer School. When we last left the United States of America in our economic telling of history, it was the early 1900s and the country's l
NPR1 min read
Summer School 6: China, Taiwan And How Nations Grow Rich
Episodes each Wednesday through labor day. Find all the episodes from this season here. And past seasons here. And follow along on TikTok here for video Summer School. In the middle of the twentieth century, China and its neighbors in East Asia were
NPR1 min read
Will The Olympics Break Breakdancing?
For some sports, picking the winner is simple: It's the athlete who crosses the finish line first, or the side that scores the most goals. But for the new Olympic sport of breaking (if you want to be cool, don't call it breakdancing), the criteria ar
NPR1 min read
Summer School 5: 250 Years Of Trade History In Three Chapters
Episodes each Wednesday through labor day. Find all the episodes from this season here. And past seasons here. And follow along on TikTok here for video Summer School. Trade has come up in all of the episodes of Summer School so far. An early use of
NPR1 min read
History 5: 250 Years Of Trade History In Three Chapters
Episodes each Wednesday through labor day. Find all the episodes from this season here. And past seasons here. And follow along on TikTok here for video Summer School. Trade has come up in all of the episodes of Summer School so far. An early use of
NPR1 min read
Summer School 4: Banker Vs President And The Birth Of The Dollar
Episodes each Wednesday through labor day. Find all the episodes from this season here. And past seasons here. And follow along on TikTok here for video Summer School. Planet Money Summer School has arrived at the birth of the United States and the c
NPR1 min read
History 4: Banker Vs President And The Birth Of The Dollar
Episodes each Wednesday through labor day. Find all the episodes from this season here. And past seasons here. And follow along on TikTok here for video Summer School. Planet Money Summer School has arrived at the birth of the United States and the c
NPR1 min read
History 3: The First Stock And Perpetual Life
Episodes each Wednesday through labor day. Find all the episodes from this season here. And past seasons here. And follow along on TikTok here for video Summer School.Once upon a time, every business was a small business. It was run by the owner, may
NPR1 min read
Summer School 3: The First Stock And Perpetual Life
Episodes each Wednesday through labor day. Find all the episodes from this season here. And past seasons here. And follow along on TikTok here for video Summer School. Once upon a time, every business was a small business. It was run by the owner, ma
NPR1 min read
What Kamala Harris' Economic Agenda Might Look Like
Last weekend we were all thrown for a loop when President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Kamala Harris for the nomination. Just like everyone else, we are trying to quickly wrap our heads around what it means now that Har
NPR1 min read
Alt.Latino's Guide To Chicano Soul
The genre commonly referred to as "Chicano soul" has that "you know it if you hear it" kind of sound. It's a bicultural interpretation of late 1950s and early '60s African American R&B ballads by Mexican American youth, influenced by the operatic
NPR1 min read
Alt.Latino's Guide To Chicano Soul
The genre commonly referred to as "Chicano soul" has that "you know it if you hear it" kind of sound. It's a bicultural interpretation of late 1950s and early '60s African American R&B ballads by Mexican American youth, influenced by the operatic
NPR1 min read
The Company That Owns Colors
In 2022, artist Stuart Semple opened up his laptop to find that all his designs had turned black overnight. All the colors, across files on Adobe products like Photoshop and Illustrator, were gone. Who had taken the colors away? The story of what hap
NPR1 min read
Inheriting Presents: "Specially Processed" by Self Evident
This week, we bring you a special bonus episode from our friends at the podcast Self Evident: Asian America's Stories.For so many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Spam is a beloved classic food, showing up in everything from musubi to fried ric
NPR1 min read
History 2: The Golden Ages Of Labor And Looms
Who has the power? Workers or bosses? It changes through the ages, though it's usually the bosses. Today, we look at two key moments when the power of labor shifted, for better and worse, and we ask why then? What does history have to say about labor
NPR1 min read
Summer School 2: The Golden Ages Of Labor And Looms
Who has the power? Workers or bosses? It changes through the ages, though it's usually the bosses. Today, we look at two key moments when the power of labor shifted, for better and worse, and we ask why then? What does history have to say about labor
NPR1 min read
Rooftop Solar's Dark Side
4.5 million households in the U.S. have solar panels on their homes. Most of those customers are happy with it - their electricity bills have just about disappeared, and it's great for the planet. But thousands and thousands of people are really disa
NPR1 min read
How Flying Got So Bad (or Did It?)
We often hear that air travel is worse than it's ever been. Gone are the days when airplanes touted piano bars and meat carving stations — or even free meals. Instead we're crammed into tiny seats and fighting for overhead space. How did we get here?
NPR1 min read
The Two Companies Driving The Modern Economy
At the core of most of the electronics we use today are some very tiny, very powerful chips. Semiconductor chips. And they are mighty: they help power our phones, laptops, and cars. They enable advances in healthcare, military systems, transportation
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