Planet Money show

Planet Money

Summary: Money makes the world go around, faster and faster every day. On NPR's Planet Money, you'll meet high rollers, brainy economists and regular folks -- all trying to make sense of our rapidly changing global economy.

Join Now to Subscribe to this Podcast

Podcasts:

 Planet Money: Too Big to Fail, Take Two | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:00

The U.S. Senate turned back a rescue plan for the Big 3 automakers, sparking more cries that the industry is too big to fail. But as historian John Steele Gordon tells us, we've heard that one before — from the American makers of steel.

 A Broker in Amish Country | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:00

The Old Order Amish of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania almost never use credit. The one exception is when they buy a farm, and for that they turn Bill O'Brien. The mortgage broker says he has never lost money on an Amish deal, though he does put a thousand miles a week on his car.

 Planet Money: A Personal Bailout | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:00

An Oregon woman bought a house at the peak of the market, just before prices began to tumble. Back in school, she keeps up with the monthly note — painful as it is. Now she wonders whether she can stop paying the mortgage and get help in the bailout. An economist gives his take on that.

 Planet Money: We're Off The Map | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:00

The loss of jobs looks typical, says economist Ian Shepherdson, but the drop-off in consumer spending makes this recession unlike any he has ever seen — anywhere, anytime. Plus: What you learn from a Craigslist tour of Washington State.

 Planet Money: Small Choices, Terrible Consequences | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:00

Small decisions by consumers and companies are reshaping the economy we live in. Eric Hansen, a clothing distributor, says these days even people who have money and jobs aren't spending. Hansen's orders have been drastically cut. This week, he's selling stock for cheap in a Manhattan sample sale.

 Planet Money: Layoffs Are Good for Us | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:00

Two workers wrestling with layoffs turn their attention to an argument that's standard fare for academics: Namely, that a flexible economy is a healthy economy. If companies can't fire people, argues one economist, they won't hire them, either.

 Planet Money: The Mystery of Jobs | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:00

New claims for unemployment benefits dipped a bit last week. Economist Karl Case says you can't draw too much on numbers about jobs, though, because no one really knows how many people are working — and how many wish they were.

 Planet Money: Can Anyone Make Jobs? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:00

President-elect Barack Obama says his plan for economy will create 2.5 million jobs. Economist Russell Roberts, of George Mason University, says the government just shifts money from one part of the economy to another, so the net effect is minimal. Plus: A husband and wife at the University of Florida own their home — but don't know where they'll end up working.

 Cousin 'Knows Best' | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:00

We don't usually listen to our family members when they offer financial advice. But what happens when your family member happens to be Planet Money host Adam Davidson? Adam tells his cousin, DJ, that he's facing economic danger. A finance professor says not so fast.

 Money Goes Haywire | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:00

The Bureau of Economic Research officially declares that not only is the U.S. in a recession, but it has been in one since December 2007. Meanwhile, in Zimbabwe, hyperinflation is swallowing the economy whole. Plus: If you sell your house for less than you paid for it, where does the money go?

 Money Is As Money Does | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:00

Ammon Shea, author of Reading the OED, defines "money." Literally. Adam Davidson takes former Treasury Under Secretary Peter Fisher out for street food, plus a mindblowing curbside chat on which kind of money is what.

 Where Did All The Money Go? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:00

In the first part of our series on the nature of money, we talked about money as relationship. Today, we look at what happens when your sugar up and leaves. Where, oh, where does the money go? Plus, a divine Economist House Call with Simon Johnson and a Presbyterian pastor from California.

 Money Is a Relationship | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:00

We spend a lot of time worrying about money, working for money, spending money, saving money — but what, exactly, is money? Where does it come from? Where does it go? Today, we begin a series that we hope will answer those questions (and, you know, more). First up: Economist Niall Ferguson, who describes money in a rather surprising way.

 Peter Schiff Is Warning You | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:00

The president of Euro Pacific Capital and frequent TV commentator spent the past few years telling anyone who'd listen that America was heading for a recession. Now Peter Schiff tells us what he expects next. Plus: a listener asks whether the recession may have a silver lining... for the planet.

 Dancing With Detroit | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:00

A bipartisan group of lawmakers says it's ready to bail out the auto industry. Congressional Democrats say show us the plan and we'll show you the money. Plus: Adam Davidson reveals what's bothering him about the stock market.

Comments

Login or signup comment.