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Planet Money

Planet Money

By: NPR
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 Wanna see a trick? Give us any topic and we can tie it back to the economy. At Planet Money, we explore the forces that shape our lives and bring you along for the ride. Don't just understand the economy – understand the world.

Wanna go deeper? Subscribe to Planet Money+ and get sponsor-free episodes of Planet Money, The Indicator, and Planet Money Summer School. Plus access to bonus content. It's a new way to support the show you love. Learn more at plus.npr.org/planetmoney
Copyright 2015-2021 NPR - For Personal Use Only Economics Politics & Government
Episodes
  • BOOKstore Economics

    BOOKstore Economics
    Apr 10 2026
    How do bookstores choose the books they stock, and how does that affect what customers read? It may not seem like it, but every shelf in a bookstore is a highly valuable and contested piece of commercial real estate. And for every new book that a bookstore decides to stock, there are thousands of others that did not make the cut. So how do bookstores make those decisions? And how will the Planet Money book fare under the discerning eyes of the booksellers, the final gatekeepers in the long gauntlet of the publishing industry?

    Today on the show: the third episode in our series. Planet Money sets out to actually sell a book. We burrow behind the bookstore shelves to learn the secret codes that publishers use to try to convince booksellers to carry the book, from little mom and pops to airport juggernauts. There will be corporate intelligence networks, bargain bin shenanigans, and a giant industrial saw chewing up books by the thousands. Call it Pulp Non-fiction.

    Related:

    - Fisher Nash’s Substack
    - Episode 1: Inside a BOOK auction
    - Episode 2: Our BOOK vs. the global supply chain
    - Series: Planet Money makes a book

    Live show tour and book info. / Subscribe to Planet Money+

    Listen free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.

    Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.

    This episode was produced by Willa Rubin with help from Emma Peaslee. It was edited by Jess Jiang, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.

    Music: NPR Source Audio - “A Peculiar Investigation,” “Round Round,” and “Neighbourhood Watcher.”

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    41 mins
  • Reese’s heir vs. chocolate skimpflation

    Reese’s heir vs. chocolate skimpflation
    Apr 4 2026
    Live event info and tickets here.

    When ingredient costs skyrocket, companies have three basic options: They can raise their prices (a sort of product-specific inflation), shrink the size of the products (often called “shrinkflation”), or, sometimes, find more creative ways to reduce costs by degrading the quality of their products - which our very own Greg Rosalsky has dubbed as “skimpflation.” The latest alleged culprit? Hershey’s.

    The Hershey Company is using ingredients in some of their Reese’s candies that — legally — they cannot call milk chocolate or peanut butter. This has infuriated Brad Reese, a grandson of H.B. Reese, the inventor of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.

    On today’s show, why chocolate makers might be skimping on chocolate and peanut butter, what else might explain these ingredients, and how Brad Reese has launched a skimp-shaming campaign to get Hershey’s to go back to using classic Reese’s ingredients.

    And – EXCLUSIVE – you’ll hear Planet Money break some big news to third-generation peanut butter cup scion Brad Reese.

    Pre-order the Planet Money book and get a free gift. / Subscribe to Planet Money+

    Listen free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.

    Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.

    This episode was hosted by Greg Rosalsky and Sarah Gonzalez. It was produced by James Sneed. It was edited by Kenny Malone, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer.

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    34 mins
  • A pro-worker experiment in private equity

    A pro-worker experiment in private equity
    Apr 8 2026
    Live event info and tickets here.

    If your company got bought by a private equity firm, how would you feel? Maybe a little nervous? You might find yourself wondering if there will be layoffs.

    And you’d be right to worry about that. Research shows that while private equity ownership can boost a company’s productivity, it does generally result in job cuts.

    But one private equity executive is trying to do things a different way – giving workers equity, little cuts of ownership in their own companies. To see if doing so can improve outcomes overall.

    On today’s show, private equity is not widely beloved for its societal costs – job losses, product degradation, worsening inequality. And this one guy at this one firm can’t solve all of his industry’s ills. But for the past 15 years, he’s been running a large-scale, real-world experiment to see if giving workers ownership can fit into the big bad world of PE. And maybe lead to more … equity.

    Recommended Listening/Reading:

    What Do Private Equity Firms Actually Do?
    The risk of private equity in your 401(k)
    Here's what happens when private equity buys homes in your neighborhood (newsletter)
    JScrewed

    Find the Planet Money book. / Subscribe to Planet Money+

    Listen free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.

    Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.

    This episode was hosted by Mary Childs and Wailin Wong. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Jess Jiang with an assist from Marianne McCune, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, engineered by Cena Loffredo with help from Jimmy Keeley. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer.

    Music: Universal Production Music - "Make Me Want You," "Baby I Surrender," and "Bye Bye Bye"

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    26 mins
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Love the show. it has got too political at some point, but it still has great episodes.

Facts, not only opinions.

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