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  • Govt 6: When the markets need fixing (Market Design)

    Govt 6: When the markets need fixing (Market Design)
    2025/08/06
    In economics, a market is a place (even virtual) where buyers and sellers interact to exchange goods or services. Economists love markets. It's like all of our supply and demand graphs have come to life. Everything you buy goes through some sort of marketplace—your cup of coffee came from trading in the bean markets. Your spouse might have come from the dating marketplace on the apps. Even kids will tell you one Snickers is worth at least two Twix.

    But sometimes, as we'll see today, markets can go terribly wrong; greed can run out of control; lives can be at risk. That's when the government often steps in and gives the market a little nudge to work better.

    Today's episode: Market Design.

    Check out our Summer School video cheat sheet on the origins of money at the Planet Money TikTok.

    The series is hosted by Robert Smith and produced by Eric Mennel. Our project manager is Devin Mellor. This episode was edited by Planet Money Executive Producer Alex Goldmark and fact-checked by Emily Crawford.

    Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to     Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.

    Always free at these links:     Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.

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    36 分
  • Govt 5: The many ways governments influence industry (Industrial Policy)

    Govt 5: The many ways governments influence industry (Industrial Policy)
    2025/08/06
    LIVE SHOW: August 18th in Brooklyn. Tickets here.

    Traditional economics says the market is guided by the forces of supply and demand. Customers decide what they want to buy, and private enterprise responds to that need.

    So what makes government think that it's smarter than capitalism? Why offer tax breaks to Hollywood or incentives to build silicon chip factories in Arizona? Why those industries and not others? And when does the free market fail and need government to step in?

    Today, we discuss what happens when the government really wants to get its hands dirty and shape the direction of the economy, even decide which companies should prosper and which ones should fail, through industrial policy.

    Check out our Summer School video cheat sheet on the origins of money at the Planet Money TikTok.

    The series is hosted by Robert Smith and produced by Eric Mennel. Our project manager is Devin Mellor. This episode was edited by Planet Money Executive Producer Alex Goldmark and fact-checked by Emily Crawford.

    Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in     Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.

    Always free at these links:     Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.

    Find more Planet Money:     Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.

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    36 分
  • Govt 4: Our National Rulemaker (Regulations)

    Govt 4: Our National Rulemaker (Regulations)
    2025/07/30
    LIVE SHOW: August 18th in Brooklyn. Tickets here. (Planet Money+ supporters get a 10 percent discount off their tickets. Listen to the July 8th bonus episode to get the discount code!)

    There are occasional incentives in business that make it very profitable to do bad things; maybe cheat at the game and steal other people's ideas, or cut some corners on safety. In theory, the government as referee steps in to make the rules and enforce them, and manage competition in a way that hopefully makes things better for us all.

    But you have to ask... When is the government protecting you and when is it protecting the already rich and powerful?

    We'll meet a man trying to corner the market for frozen meat, with the help of patents. And then we'll head to the salon, and ask — Should the government really require dozens of hours of training for a license to braid hair?

    The series is hosted by Robert Smith and produced by Eric Mennel. Our project manager is Devin Mellor. This episode was edited by Planet Money Executive Producer Alex Goldmark and fact-checked by Emily Crawford.

    Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in     Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.

    Always free at these links:     Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.

    Find more Planet Money:     Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.

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    36 分
  • Govt 3: You are what you pay for (Budgets)

    Govt 3: You are what you pay for (Budgets)
    2025/07/23
    Although it seems like the government can spend an endless amount of money, it cannot actually do all the things it wants to do. So the big question in this week's lesson is: How do we decide? Why does the government spend so much money on some things and not on others? And honestly, is there any limit?

    Get tickets to our August 18th live show and graduation ceremony at The Bell House, in Brooklyn. (Planet Money+ supporters get a 10 percent discount off their tickets. Listen to the July 8th bonus episode to get the discount code!)

    The series is hosted by Robert Smith and produced by Eric Mennel. Our project manager is Devin Mellor. This episode was edited by Planet Money Executive Producer Alex Goldmark and fact-checked by Emily Crawford.

    Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+     in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.

    Always free at these links:     Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.

    Find more Planet Money:     Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.

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    37 分
  • Congress has voted to eliminate government funding for public media

    Congress has voted to eliminate government funding for public media
    2025/07/18
    Act now to ensure public media remains free and accessible to all. Your donation will help this essential American service survive and thrive. Visit donate.npr.org now.

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    2 分
  • Govt 2: How taxes change behavior and the economy (Taxes)

    Govt 2: How taxes change behavior and the economy (Taxes)
    2025/07/16
    We all know the government uses taxes to pay for things. But what about using taxes to control behavior? This week on Summer School, Professor Darrick Hamilton of The New School, helps us explore the true power of the tax code. Can taxes help lift people out of poverty? What about saving the planet?

    Get tickets to our August 18th live show and graduation ceremony at The Bell House, in Brooklyn. (Planet Money+ supporters get a 10 percent discount off their tickets. Listen to the July 8th bonus episode to get the discount code!)

    The series is hosted by Robert Smith and produced by Eric Mennel. Our project manager is Devin Mellor. This episode was edited by Planet Money Executive Producer Alex Goldmark and fact-checked by Emily Crawford and Sierra Juarez.

    Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in     Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.

    Always free at these links:     Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.

    Find more Planet Money:     Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.

    Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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    37 分
  • Govt 1: Why Are Some Countries Rich and Some Countries Poor? (Institutions)

    Govt 1: Why Are Some Countries Rich and Some Countries Poor? (Institutions)
    2025/07/09
    Government. The Big G. We like to imagine the free market and the invisible hand as being independent from political influence. But Nobel laureate, Simon Johnson, says that influence has been there since the birth of economics. Call it political economy. Call it government and business. Call it our big topic each Wednesday through Labor Day.

    We're kicking off another semester of Planet Money Summer School asking the biggest question: Why are some nations rich and others poor? With stories from India, New York City and Peru, we look at the ways in which government bureaucracy can help make or break an economy.

    Tickets for Planet Money Live at the Bell House available here

    Planet Money+ supporters get a 10 percent discount off their tickets. Go to Plus.npr.org to sign up, if you haven't already, and listen to the July 8th bonus episode to get the discount code.

    The series is hosted by Robert Smith and produced by Eric Mennel. Our project manager is Devin Mellor. This episode was edited by Planet Money Executive Producer Alex Goldmark and fact-checked by Emily Crawford and Sierra Juarez. Engineering by Neal Rausch.

    Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in     Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.

    Always free at these links:     Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.

    Find more Planet Money:     Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.

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    36 分
  • History 8: Big ideas and life lessons from Marx, Keynes and Smith and more

    History 8: Big ideas and life lessons from Marx, Keynes and Smith and more
    2024/08/28
    Take the 2024 Planet Money Summer School Quiz here to earn your personalized diploma!

    Find all the episodes from this season of Summer School here. And past seasons here. And follow along on TikTok here for video Summer School.

    We are assembled here on the lawn of Planet Money University for the greatest graduation in history – because it features the greatest economic minds in history. We'll hear from Adam Smith, Karl Marx, John Maynard Keynes, and some surprising guests as they teach us a little bit more economics, and offer a lot of life advice.

    But first, we have to wrap up our (somewhat) complete economic history of the world. We'll catch up on the last fifty years or so of human achievement and ask ourselves, has economics made life better for us all?

    This series is hosted by Robert Smith and produced by Audrey Dilling. Our project manager is Devin Mellor. This episode was edited by Planet Money Executive Producer Alex Goldmark and fact-checked by Sofia Shchukina.

    Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+     in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.

    Always free at these links:     Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.

    Find more Planet Money:     Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.

    Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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    33 分