Planet Money

On today's show: Three Planet Money stories that aired on the radio but haven't yet made it into the show. For more on these stories check out: When Everyone Wants To Watch 'House Of Cards,' Who Pays? and Does Raising The Minimum Wage Kill Jobs?

For the past few years, life in Greece has been like that movie Groundhog Day. Every year, it's been the same thing over and over. The official statistics come out, and the news is bad. The economy shrank this year, the economy shrank this year, the economy shrank this year.  But this year, things might be different.* The official forecasts are that the amazing shrinking economy will finally stop shrinking. This might sound like good news, but for people living in Greece it's been a painful process. Elias Tilligadas is a government food inspector in Greece. Recently, his pay was cut 45 percent. "The numbers are getting better; the people are getting worse," Elias says. "Our lives are getting worse."

There are reportedly tens of thousands of Russian troops on the Eastern Ukrainian border. The Russians have already taken control of the Crimean Peninsula; what was once Ukraine is now Russia. But, the United States and the rest of Europe refuse to recognize this. There might be an actual war soon, but not this week. For now, the battle is financial. On today's episode: how to use money as a weapon. Can you stop one of the biggest militaries in the world with sanctions?

We all know how lousy a recession feels. And we know how much long-term damage a recession can cause.   But there's still a lot we don't know about recessions — like, if you're in a recession, what's the best way to get out?   Today, we tackle the question of how to escape a recession, by going small. Economist Tim Harford walks us through two tiny self-contained economies, a babysitting co-op and a prisoner of war camp, facing what he calls "toy recessions."

Note: Today's show is a re-run. It originally ran in February, 2013.   In survey after survey, people rank buying a car as one of their least favorite experiences.   Why hasn't anyone figured out a better way to sell cars? Why can't you just go to a car store and shop for cars from a bunch of different manufacturers? Why don't cars have real price tags — with real prices, that people actually pay?   Today on the show: Why car buying is so unpleasant, and what your local legislators may be doing to keep it that way.

If you want to send a bunch of oranges by truck from Florida to Baltimore, no one cares who made the truck. Or if you want to fly computer chips across the country, it's fine if the plane is made in France. But if you want send cargo by ship, there's a law that the ship has to be American made. Here's why: a 90-year-old law, called the Jones Act. Every time you want to send something from one US port to another, the cargo must travel on a ship built in the US, staffed by mostly Americans, and flying the American flag. Today on the show, we look at the all the unexpected places this law pops up: on cruise ships, cattle farms, and in New Jersey, where a guy really, really needs salt.

On today's show, how a policy that made natural gas very cheap for every household in Ukraine almost bankrupted the nation. And how that led, in part, to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

If you asked someone on the street 100 years ago, "How's the economy doing?" They wouldn't have had any idea what you were talking about.   On today's show: How we started boiling down entire nations into a single number. And how that number made people think they could control everything.

People in La Crosse, Wisconsin are used to talking about death. In fact, 96 percent of people who die in this small, Midwestern city have specific directions laid out for when they pass. That number is astounding. Nationwide, it's more like 50 percent. In today's episode, we'll take you to a place where dying has become acceptable dinner conversation for teenagers and senior citizens alike. A place that also happens to have the lowest healthcare spending of any region in the country.

College is expensive these days. Yet, most universities argue an undergraduate education is actually worth much more than what students pay for it. Clearly there is an emotional logic to this argument. But what do the numbers tell us? In today's episode, Planet Money takes a behind the scenes look at Duke's balance sheet and considers the university's case that $60,000 a year is actually a discount.

From billion-dollar bailouts to Occupy Wall Street, it's safe to say the financial crisis didn't exactly paint a great picture of the banking industry. It's precisely that stigma that drove Kevin Roose to follow a group of young Wall Street recruits around for three years. In today's episode, Roose takes us behind the scenes of some of the largest banks, their secret societies and the young people escaping it all.  

A 30-year old woman finds out she has a viral infection attacking her heart that will kill her unless she has a transplant. Four years later she gets a new heart and goes on to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro. Inspiring story right? Will it move you to become an organ donor? Not necessarily. And that's a problem for the 120 thousand people waiting for organs in the United States. Behavior change is hard. That's something that organ donor advocates know firsthand. Polls indicate most Americans support organ donations, but less than half are actually registered as donors. So how do you get people to make the leap from thought to action? In today's show, the story of one woman who believes she is close to an answer by partnering with one of the more hated American institutions.

It's cheap to fly on Spirit Airlines, but you have to pay extra for perks. And by perks, we mean a bottle of water or space in the overhead bin. It's totally rational: pay for what you use, don't pay for what you don't use. And it's increasingly popular: Spirit is the fastest growing airline in America. And yet. Lots of people really don't like Spirit Airlines. In a Consumer Reports survey published last year, Spirit finished last among U.S. airlines. How is the fastest growing airline also the least popular? On today's show, we fly Spirit Airlines to Florida and ask the CEO.

It's cheap to fly on Spirit Airlines, but you have to pay extra for perks. And by perks, we mean a bottle of water or space in the overhead bin.It's totally rational: pay for what you use, don't pay for what you don't use. And it's increasingly popular: Spirit is the fastest growing airline in America.And yet. Lots of people really don't like Spirit Airlines. In a Consumer Reports survey published last year, Spirit finished last among U.S. airlines.How is the fastest growing airline also the least popular? On today's show, we fly Spirit Airlines to Florida and ask the CEO.

LeBron James, the best basketball player in the NBA, makes $17.5 million a year. He is the most underpaid professional athlete in the world today. On today's show, we explain why LeBron is getting hosed — and why that's probably a good thing for NBA fans, team owners, other pro players, and even LeBron himself. Note: This episode originally aired in January of 2013.