Podcast · 373 episodes
Planet Money
by NPR · English
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. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Planet Money.
Latest episodes
Who’s gonna pay for your Social Security?The episode explains how Social Security—created during the Great Depression to prevent elderly poverty—faces insolvency, with projected benefit cuts around 2032.30 Sep 2026 · 29 min
Middlegarchs are the new OligarchsThe episode argues that America’s “oligarchs” are not just billionaires; a larger, stealthier class of about three million “middle garks” (Main Street/Everywhere millionaires) wields major wealth and…25 Sep 2026 · 31 min
Is our national debt finally too much? (update)Planet Money update on whether the U.S. national debt has become “too much,” revisiting the post-2008 debate and updating it with recent debt growth, higher interest rates, and market signals.23 Sep 2026 · 30 min
All episodes
Who’s gonna pay for your Social Security?The episode explains how Social Security—created during the Great Depression to prevent elderly poverty—faces insolvency, with projected benefit cuts around 2032.30 Sep 2026 · 29 min · 15 chapters
Middlegarchs are the new OligarchsThe episode argues that America’s “oligarchs” are not just billionaires; a larger, stealthier class of about three million “middle garks” (Main Street/Everywhere millionaires) wields major wealth and…25 Sep 2026 · 31 min · 14 chapters
Is our national debt finally too much? (update)Planet Money update on whether the U.S. national debt has become “too much,” revisiting the post-2008 debate and updating it with recent debt growth, higher interest rates, and market signals.23 Sep 2026 · 30 min · 9 chapters
The Domino’s Pizza Tracker Theory of EverythingHow Domino’s Pizza Tracker changed waiting from anxiety to reassurance, then spread to apps (Uber, banking, tax software) and sometimes became misleading.18 Sep 2026 · 32 min · 13 chapters
How investing is getting riskier (Two Indicators)How investing risk is rising, driven by leverage (margin debt and leveraged ETFs) and by younger people treating gambling-like bets as “investing.”16 Sep 2026 · 18 min · 12 chapters
The loan at the heart of a new foreclosure crisisA Baltimore foreclosure crisis tied to “DSCR” loans—commercial mortgages for landlords that don’t require W-2s or income verification—plus allegations that inflated property valuations may have…11 Sep 2026 · 29 min · 13 chapters
Cost-cutting, quiet guilt and the inflation generationListeners describe how inflation and uneven economic recovery are changing spending, job prospects, and long-term beliefs—plus the “K-shaped” economy, cost-cutting, and generational effects.9 Sep 2026 · 24 min · 14 chapters
Trump drinks Venezuela’s milkshakePlanet Money explains the U.S.-Venezuela oil deal announced by Trump (“biggest oil deal in world history”), framing it as a potential “Apertura 2.0” that could revive Venezuela’s failing oil industry…5 Sep 2026 · 25 min · 9 chapters
Love in the time of PalantirPlanet Money takes listeners to a “Palantir-inspired” singles dating event where attendees’ provided names and phone numbers are used with Palantir-like data-enrichment and facial-recognition…2 Sep 2026 · 26 min · 10 chapters
Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5,” the true story behind the anthem (bonus)The real-life labor movement and people behind the 1980 film 9 to 5 and Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” song, and how the movie fueled office-worker organizing.30 Aug 2026 · 23 min · 8 chapters
Branded fruit: How produce got “Honeycrisp-ified"How Rutgers-developed tomatoes helped drive the “honeycrisp-ification” trend—branded, higher-priced produce—by using IP protections, branding, and consumer-driven differentiation to escape the…28 Aug 2026 · 34 min · 10 chapters
The continent nobody owns & everyone benefits from (Summer School)Antarctica’s economics—how the Antarctic Treaty prevents ownership and mining, why trust-based governance matters, and how the continent (and Southern Ocean) provides global “services” worth an…26 Aug 2026 · 41 min · 20 chapters
Who decides what big box sells? Our GAME got us answersHow big-box retailers decide which new products make it onto shelves, using Planet Money’s board game “Sell Me a Sasquatch” as a case study.21 Aug 2026 · 38 min · 23 chapters
Getting entrepreneurial in Korea (Summer School)How South Korea became rich after the Korean War, and whether its “playbook” can spread—covering land reform, low inequality, industrial subsidies paired with export “discipline,” the textile/garment…19 Aug 2026 · 40 min · 24 chapters
You bet your life insuranceLife settlements—selling a life insurance policy for cash while alive—how it evolved from AIDS-era “viatical settlements” into a Wall Street investment market, and how one man (Frank Sirowski)…14 Aug 2026 · 39 min · 18 chapters
Currency Chaos in Argentina (Summer School)Argentina’s long-running political and economic instability, focusing on how currency volatility and inflation force people and businesses to invent workarounds (dollar hoarding, black-market…12 Aug 2026 · 39 min · 12 chapters
Older workers aren’t retiring. Should they be forced to?Planet Money episode debates whether older workers should be forced to retire to improve fairness and mobility for younger workers.7 Aug 2026 · 34 min · 13 chapters
Sand heists and property rights in the Caribbean (Summer School)Planet Money Summer School World Tour: Jamaica focuses on how property and scarce-resource rules shape Caribbean economies.5 Aug 2026 · 40 min · 14 chapters
What makes a toy go viralWhy squishy dumpling toys went viral and the business/psychology behind it: sensory appeal, mystery unboxing, variable-reward “rare” drops, and scarcity-driven demand; plus how RMS built a fast,…31 Jul 2026 · 26 min · 12 chapters
How to beat the resource curse in Norway (Summer School)Norway’s approach to avoiding the “resource curse” after discovering North Sea oil, plus a second case study on how Norway created a market for salmon sushi in Japan.29 Jul 2026 · 39 min · 11 chapters
Piles of cash and a town of solutions in Kenya, Nigeria (Summer School)Planet Money Summer School World Tour visits Kenya (Busia) and Nigeria (Abuja) to show two “real-world economics” approaches: (1) using a randomized contest to fund small businesses (“U-Win”) and (2)…24 Jul 2026 · 39 min · 15 chapters
Big Lettuce meets Small Intestine“Diarrhea Summer” and the cyclospora outbreak tied by the FDA to shredded lettuce, using it to explain how the U.S.22 Jul 2026 · 26 min · 11 chapters
New NPR Series: "We Keep Us Safe" from the Embedded podcastNPR’s Embedded trailer for “We Keep Us Safe,” investigating Seattle’s CHOP/Capitol Hill Organized Protest after a 2020 police withdrawal following anti-police brutality protests.21 Jul 2026 · 3 min · 1 chapter
Can World Cup mania grow MLS in the U.S.?Whether MLS in the U.S. can convert 2026 World Cup attention into lasting growth, using local watch parties, marketing, and World Cup hosting/training facilities.17 Jul 2026 · 26 min · 11 chapters