Planet Money

The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, "Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy." Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.

Seven allegedly fake Chanel bags vs The RealReal

Once upon a time, if you wanted to buy a luxury brand item secondhand (say, a Chanel handbag) you had...

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Our mission: Find the world’s best economic ideas (Summer School World Tour)

Come along as we travel the world in search of the best economic ideas to bring home!From the beaches...

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How to win a penalty shootout (with game theory)

Lionel Messi is arguably the greatest soccer scorer of all time. But when it comes to penalty kicks,...

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Can the Trump administration make college cheaper?

Will limiting how much students can borrow force schools to lower their prices? The Department of Education...

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We almost had a smartphone in the 90s. Why did it fail?

In the early 90’s, a company called General Magic began working on a portable device that would allow...

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Before Kalshi and Polymarket there was the Iowa Electronic Markets

Prediction markets aren’t new. Election betting was common until the 1940s, then mysteriously faded...

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The real horror of ‘Alien’ and how it explains why we’re not paid enough

Maybe the real monster in the Alien franchise isn’t actually the killer alien. Because behind the...

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Can computer hackers get inside your mind?

The cyber weapon that might have prevented nuclear war.The U.S. and Israel have long been in conflict...

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It’s my tree. Why can’t I cut it down?

Can the government stop you from cutting down your own tree? In many towns and cities these days, removing...

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Two indicators for lowering the rent

One specific type of affordable housing used to be popular in American cities, kept rents low, then...

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Why is there a supplement craze if they don’t even work?

One reason the $70 billion supplement industry is set to double in the next seven years? Lax regulation.On...

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There's no business like dough business

Have you ever walked around a street, mall, or airport and noticed two or three of the same franchise...

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The sneaky way companies get new chemicals into our food

99% of chemicals in our food right now were added without FDA approval. Many were added in secret, through...

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The leaked tapes that show how the rich avoid taxes

Tax avoidance -- that is, legally reducing your tax bill -- is as American as apple pie. But the line...

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The giant factory town that might be a giant mistake

How does a poor country become a rich country? There's a simple blueprint — or at least, that's what...

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Vacation and why Americans take so little

Do you work more for more money? Or work less for more time? For some, this is the ultimate economic...

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Jerome Powell and the Future of Fed Independence

If you have a credit card, hope to buy a house, or just want stable grocery prices – let’s talk...

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The secret meeting that launched OPEC

Recently, a listener wrote in with a question about OPEC and oil prices. She was prepping for a camping...

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Diary of a WNBA negotiator

Today the WNBA season tips off, but Dallas Wings veteran forward Alysha Clark has already won a high-stakes...

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How we got free agents in baseball

Curt Flood was the best center fielder in baseball and one of the game’s highest paid players. He...

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How to make a BOOK into a bestseller

In the world of commercial publishing, there are few crowning achievements more coveted than a place...

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Spirit Airlines and the future of cheap flights

It’s way more than fuel costs that pushed Spirit Airlines to the brink of liquidation and led President...

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Battlefield rare earths: How the U.S. lost to China

At one point in history, one U.S. company monopolized the rare earths industry. Then China took over...

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Live: Anthropic co-founder on AI and jobs

We talk with Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark and Chief Economist at Redfin Daryl Fairweather about two...

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