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Updated 2024-05-19 07:02
Episode 907: Two Spring Indicators
A trade war with China—and a hurricane—make peanut farmers miserable. And we look at the World Happiness Report for 2018.
A Brief History Of Income Taxes
Taxes have been around forever. But the income tax? In the U.S., it's relatively recent.
Episode 644: How Much Does This Cow Weigh?
The wisdom of crowds is an eerie phenomenon that informs everything from the stock market to the price of orange juice. We put it to the test with a farm animal.
Why Do Introverts Get Paid Less?
There's a gap in career earnings between introverts and extroverts.
Why Do We Still Use QWERTY Keyboards?
The story behind the first six keyboard letters are driven by economics.
A Guardian of Global Capitalism Warns Capitalism Has A Problem
The IMF finds companies are getting increasingly powerful. Here's why that's bad for consumers and for the whole economy.
The Cost Of Measles
The cost of a measles outbreak - to individuals, families, communities, and the country - is high.
Episode 906:The Chicago Boys, Part II
In 1973, a coup took Chile from socialism to capitalism. That economic shift was implemented by a ruthless dictator with the help of a handful of economists known as the Chicago Boys.
Solving Problems Caused By International Trade
Free trade may solve problems for businesses transacting across borders, but it can make life painful for their workers.
How Trade Helps Explain Inequality
Trade makes for peaceful relationships between nations, but gains for consumers and workers aren't spread evenly.
Episode 905: The Chicago Boys, Part I
Today Chile has one of the wealthiest, most stable economies in South America. But it was born in a violent struggle, between Marxism and capitalism, democracy and dictatorship.
The Maple Syrup Cartel
Prices for most agricultural products change with supply and demand. Not maple syrup.
Trade War With Cheese: Trump's New EU Tariffs
A new round of U.S. tariffs could hit European wine, cheese, aircraft, and escargots.
Are Plastic Bag Bans Garbage?
A national movement to ban plastic bags is gaining steam, but these restrictions may actually hurt the environment more than help it.
How To Measure Happiness
The U.S. is one of the world's largest economies, but it lags when it comes to happiness: the World Happiness Report ranks America number 19.
Episode 904: Joke Theft
We follow the founder of f*ckjerry and comedian Jim Mendrinos into the world of comedy. Where a whole series of informal sanctions are deployed to protect jokes from theft.
Jobs Friday: Chillaxing Edition
Happy Jobs Friday! The economy is still adding jobs, unemployment remains low, and wage growth is fine. It's all good...right?
The China Corruption Crackdown: Sincere Or Cynical?
A recent paper examines the motivations behind Xi Jinping's corruption crackdown and arrives at a surprising answer.
Episode 760: Tax Hero
Joe Bankman, professor at Stanford, figured out a way to make filing your taxes easy and painless. Then the tax lobby found out about it.
The 20-Year Quest To Save Nutella
Global demand for hazelnuts is growing, thanks to the popularity of products like Nutella. So it should be a great time to be in the hazelnut business... but there's one big problem.
What Sex Work Reveals About Risk
Allison Schrager is an economist and journalist who visited a number of brothels to examine how we understand and deal with risk.
VIDEO: How Much Money Should The Tooth Fairy Leave?
We answer a timeless parenting question with hard numbers and a bizarro story about a sad, office-dwelling fairy.
When Computers Collude
Companies are increasingly using algorithms to set their prices, but is that giving them too much power over consumers?
A Crisis Of Consumer Confidence?
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index is one of the indicators retailers, policy-makers and manufacturers use to gauge the health of the economy. But what is the index, exactly?
An Indicator In The Hand
On the one hand, you could say the economy's looking rocky; on the other hand you could argue it's in good health. We lay out both sides.
Episode 903: A New Way To Pay For College
Some colleges are offering students a new way to pay. It's not a scholarship. It's not a loan. It's called an income share agreement. It's like the students are selling stock in themselves.
Dry Cleaners, Housing, The Stock Market And Rip It
Today, answers to your questions on dry cleaner pricing, and the comparative investment virtues of the housing and stock markets.
Episode 902: The Phoebus Cartel
The story behind two sneaky forces that drive us to buy more products, more often: Planned obsolescence and psychological obsolescence.
An Economist in Caracas: Day In The Life
Gabriela Saade is a 27-year-old economist in Caracas, Venezuela. Yesterday, she walked us through Venezuela's staggering numbers. Today, we walk a mile in her shoes.
Venezuela By The Numbers
The crisis in Venezuela continues to deepen, with nationwide blackouts hitting the country again this week. Today, we talk to a Caracas-based economist about what's happening in her country.
Why Hasn't The Gig Economy Killed Traditional Work?
Recent studies suggest we're not witnessing the dawn of a new gig economy. What accounts for the resilience of traditional employment?
Spotify's Long, Winding Road To India
Spotify recently launched in India, but that path was long and complicated. We take the experience of Spotify and use it as a lens to look at why breaking into India is so difficult.
Episode 901: Bad Cops Are Expensive
There's an entire, powerful industry pushing behind the scenes for better police behavior--not with protests or picket signs, but spreadsheets and actuaries.
Are Neighbors Overrated? (And Other Questions)
The latest edition of "Overrated, Underrated" with economist Tyler Cowen.
Lyft Going Public: The Dual-Class Share Dilemma
All shares of stock are not created equal. Stock can come in different classes now: Class A, Class B. Some of this stock comes with superpowers... and some of it comes with almost no power at all.
Episode 189: Why A Dead Shark Costs $12 Million
Today's show is about the fickle market for art. What makes a dead shark cost $12 million, and a photo of steel wool that looks like a tornado cost only $1,265?
Why Are Venezuelans Starving?
Venezuelans are starving because there isn't enough food. But the country has so much fertile land, water, and sunshine — shouldn't it be a farmer's paradise?
Coffee? Thank U, Next
Your average cup of coffee is getting more expensive — but the price for coffee beans is going down. How can that be?
What Alan Krueger Taught Us
The renowned economist and former Obama adviser Alan Krueger died this past weekend. We look at his enormous legacy.
The Cost Of Student Debt
Should you take out a student loan? Jill Schlesinger, author of "The Dumb Things Smart People Do With Their Money," does the math.
Buying A College Degree: Did Aunt Becky Overpay?
The scandal that dominated the news this week involved parents paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to get their kids into the right college. But what is a college degree really worth?
Episode 900: The Stolen Company
When an American company named ABRO learns their goods are being counterfeited in China, they pursue lawsuits, extraditions, sting operations and more to make it stop.
Saying 'I Do' To Lab-Grown Diamonds
A lot of money is pouring into the global diamond industry, but demand for diamonds has been less than lustrous of late. But, at the same time, money has been pouring into the industry. Why?
The Economy Inside Your Head
Economics looks at how we make decisions in a world of scarce resources. What happens when the scarce resource is our attention?
Episode 724: Cat Scam
The internet was supposed to get rid of middlemen--but instead there are more than ever. Today on the show, we look into how one sneaky strategy, dropship arbitrage, is taking over Amazon and Ebay.
A Tale Of Two Dollar Stores
Dollar stores thrived during the economic downturn--opening thousands of locations across the country. They were recession-proof...but are they recovery-proof?
Are Doctors Overpaid?
It's Match Week, when med students apply for residencies. An economist argues this residency system is a key reason why U.S. doctors are paid around twice much as doctors in other rich nations.
WATCH: There's No Such Thing As Fancy Vodka
If vodka is by definition colorless, odorless and tasteless, then why are some vodkas so much more expensive than others?
March Madness: Britain Leaving The EU
Leaving the EU is unprecedented, but leaving a large trading bloc is not.
Episode 899: Mexico Fights The Fuel Pirates
Cartels in Mexico aren't just trafficking in drugs anymore; they're also stealing fuel. The Mexican Government is taking action to cut them off. But it's costing a lot of money, and lives.
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