Planet Money podcast

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Planet Money

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  NPR  

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] (http://plus.npr.org/) . You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for 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. Support public media by joining NPR+ at [plus.npr.org] (http://plus.npr.org/) . You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Planet Money.

 

#355

Inside the insurance industry’s destruction lab

When you think of someone burning down a house for insurance purposes, you don’t imagine i... more

06 Nov 2026

32 MINS

32:23

06 Nov 2026


#354

The history of light (classic)

How do you measure human progress? Light is the answer.For thousands of years, getting lig... more

04 Nov 2026

21 MINS

21:06

04 Nov 2026


#353

Is this how the great international borrowing spree ends?

In recent months, there have been serious whispers about an outrageous possibility: that o... more

31 Oct 2026

25 MINS

25:51

31 Oct 2026


#352

Politicians are afraid to fix taxes. So 100 citizens tried.

Connecticut’s property tax system has been broken for decades and the politicians have fai... more

28 Oct 2026

30 MINS

30:31

28 Oct 2026


#351

How surveillance crept up on us

For years, police have spent billions of tax dollars on watching us, tracking us, and reco... more

23 Oct 2026

34 MINS

34:36

23 Oct 2026


#350

We try to fix election polling (update)

Polling is facing an existential crisis. People aren't picking up the phone. Nobody wants ... more

21 Oct 2026

29 MINS

29:59

21 Oct 2026


#349

Anatomy of a movie market

Before an independent movie makes it to a streaming platform or a theater near you, it fir... more

16 Oct 2026

32 MINS

32:09

16 Oct 2026


#348

Wanna slow down AI? These biologists can help.

Fifty years ago, scientists pioneering a terrifying gene-splicing technology figured out a... more

14 Oct 2026

29 MINS

29:10

14 Oct 2026


#347

Should we all be getting tariff refunds right now?

Companies are getting billions of dollars back. How about us? It seems simple, right? We p... more

09 Oct 2026

30 MINS

30:03

09 Oct 2026


#346

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 ... more

07 Oct 2026

25 MINS

25:30

07 Oct 2026


#345

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 seltz... more

02 Oct 2026

29 MINS

29:40

02 Oct 2026


#344

Who’s gonna pay for your Social Security?

Very soon, Social Security may not have enough money to make full payments to retirees. Ve... more

30 Sep 2026

29 MINS

29:13

30 Sep 2026


#343

Middlegarchs are the new Oligarchs

Wanna know who is really in the top 1%? And how they use their influence? It may not be wh... more

25 Sep 2026

30 MINS

30:43

25 Sep 2026


#342

Is our national debt finally too much? (update)

(Note: A version of this episode originally ran in [2024] (https://www.npr.org/2024/06/07/... more

23 Sep 2026

29 MINS

29:49

23 Sep 2026


#341

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 L... more

18 Sep 2026

32 MINS

32:22

18 Sep 2026