NPR: Planet Money
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.
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#558: Spending Big Money To Fight Big Money
Super PACs let rich people, corporations and unions spend as ...
Super PACs let rich people, corporations and unions spend as much money as they want to try to influence the outcome of elections.On today's show: How a Harvard professor created a super PAC to attack super PACs. He's raised millions of dollars — in part from really rich people — to reduce the political influence of really rich people.
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#557: Doing Business Like A Refugee
In most parts of the world, refugees are not allowed ...
In most parts of the world, refugees are not allowed to work. But Mohammed Osman Ali is a refugee in Uganda, and there, he legally runs a video game arcade and a variety store.Today on the show, why most countries won't let refugees work. And why Uganda is trying something different.
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#556: Some Assembly Required
Today we build our show from three short Planet Money ...
Today we build our show from three short Planet Money stories. We look at when a dollar is not worth a dollar; publishing without a publisher; and, of course, Ikea.For more:* When Ikea Raises Its Minimum Wage, Where Does The Money Come From?* Money Markets: Easy To Ignore, Occasionally Dicey* Self-Published Authors Make A Living — And Sometimes A Fortune
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#555: Why Is The Milk In The Back Of The Store?
Milk is often in the very back corner of the ...
Milk is often in the very back corner of the grocery store, as far as humanly possible from the entrance. It's a strange location for milk, because it's one the most popular items. A common explanation for this location is that by forcing customers to walk through the whole store, they will pass more products and end up purchasing more. But is that really why the milk is in the back? Can you really have a business model intentionally built around inconveniencing your customers? Today on the show, two big theories to answer this little question: Why is the milk in the back of the store? The theories reflect very different world views. To try to discover which is right, we host a friendly debate between food writer Michael Pollan and economist Russ Roberts.
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#554: How The Burrito Became A Sandwich
We all know what a sandwich is. It's something delicious, ...
We all know what a sandwich is. It's something delicious, slapped between two slices of bread.But when it comes to taxes, nothing is simple.Today on the show, what regulating sandwiches and all other takeout food tells us about taxation. And how something as simple as the sandwich sales tax ends up spawning a complicated list of definitions, interlocking exemptions and rules which somehow transform the burrito into a sandwich in the eyes of the law.
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#552: The Dollar At The Center Of The World
As World War 2 was ending, world leaders realized they ...
As World War 2 was ending, world leaders realized they had a problem. Countries no longer knew how to trade with each other. Their economies were devastated. So representatives from 44 nations gathered in the small town of Bretton Woods, New Hampshire to come up with the solution.It came down to two different plans put forward by two very different men. One was the most famous economist in the world. A British aristocrat. The other was an American that no one remembers. But it was the American that won the day and put the U.S. dollar right in the middle of world trade.Today on the show, how the US won. The story involves a carefully laid trap, late night dancing and copious amounts of alcohol.
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#552: Blockbusters, Bombs And The Price Of A Ticket
The price of tickets for lots of things — baseball ...
The price of tickets for lots of things — baseball games, many Broadway musicals, plane trips — rises and falls based on how much demand there is.But when you go to the movies, a ticket to the empty theater playing a bomb is exactly the same price as a ticket to the sold-out blockbuster.On today's the show, we try to find out why.
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#551: The Case Against Patents
Tesla, the electric car company, recently decided to, basically, give ...
Tesla, the electric car company, recently decided to, basically, give up its patents. Anybody who wants to is now free to steal the company's ideas.Elon Musk, the company's CEO said he isn't really into patents — and, he said, he thinks giving them up is best for everybody.On today's show, we talk to two guys who say we should get rid of patents altogether. If someone has an idea, anyone else is free to steal it.
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#471: The Eddie Murphy Rule
Note: Today's show is a rerun. It originally ran on ...
Note: Today's show is a rerun. It originally ran on July 2013.On today's show, we talk to commodities traders to answer one of the most important questions in finance: What actually happens at the end of Trading Places?We know something crazy happens on the trading floor. We know that Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd get rich and the Duke brothers lose everything. But how does it all happen? And could it happen in the real world?Also on the show: The "Eddie Murphy Rule" that wound up in the the big financial overhaul law Congress passed in 2010.Today's special guest co-host is Roman Mars, host of 99% Invisible. (Check out their episode on the design of U.S. currency.)
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#550: When Salaries Aren't Secret
In most workplaces, salaries are secret. But what if they ...
In most workplaces, salaries are secret. But what if they weren't? What if everybody knew what everyone else made? On today's show, we visit a company in New York that practices pay transparency — and we hear how it changes the dynamic between employees and the boss.
