Episodes

  • The Big Government Money Pipe Freeze

    The Big Government Money Pipe Freeze
    Feb 14 2025
    There has been chaotic uncertainty around billions of dollars allocated by Congress. The Trump administration ordered a pause on — and review of — certain types of federal assistance. A judge blocked that freeze. But reports continue to emerge that certain parts of the government were not getting their money.

    As a result, hundreds and hundreds of people have lost their jobs, clinics and daycares across the country have been left wondering if they'll have money to operate, retirees have worried about getting their payments.

    But the United States is a country of transparency. And if you know where to look, there is a way to cut through all the confusion. Because there's this one big pipe from the US Treasury through which most federal spending flows.

    So, today, we discover a way to go look at that money pipe. And we'll look at some of the people and the programs on the other end of that pipe. And we tell you about a tool (it's at The Hamilton Project! Right here.) that you can use to follow along from home, right now, as this gigantic federal spending story continues developing and developing.

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    26 mins
  • The 'Crypto Wizard' vs. Nigeria

    The 'Crypto Wizard' vs. Nigeria
    Feb 11 2025
    The trip that changed Tigran Gambaryan's life forever was supposed to be short — just a few days. When he flew to Nigeria in February of 2024, he didn't even check a bag. Tigran is a former IRS Special Agent. He made his name investigating high-profile dark web and cryptocurrency cases. Some colleagues called him the 'Crypto Wizard' because of his pioneering work tracing crypto transactions for law enforcement. Since 2021, he's worked at the world's largest crypto exchange, Binance.

    Tigran was in Nigeria as a sort of envoy. He was supposed to meet with government officials and show them that Binance – and crypto itself – was safe, reliable, and law-abiding.

    One of the most important meetings was at the headquarters of the Office of the National Security Advisor. He says officials there made him wait hours. And when officials finally came into the room, they accused Binance of a host of crimes and of tanking the Nigerian economy. They then told Tigran that they weren't going to let him leave Nigeria until they were satisfied that Binance was going to remedy the situation.

    On today's show, in a collaboration with Click Here from Recorded Future News, we hear about Tigran's eight month detention in Nigeria. In his first recorded interview after his release, he shares details about his captivity, how he survived one of Nigeria's most infamous prisons, and how he got out.

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    23 mins
  • The fight for a legendary shipwreck's treasure

    The fight for a legendary shipwreck's treasure
    Feb 7 2025
    The San Jose was a marvel of 17th century technology. The Spanish galleon weighed more than a thousand tons, was made of wood reinforced with iron, and featured three masts and 64 cannons. In its cargo were gold, silver, silk and porcelain. But in 1708, it sank after a battle with an English ship near what is now Colombia.

    For centuries, the shipwreck was the stuff of legends, until 2015 when underwater investigators found what they believed to be the San Jose's wreckage. The treasure on board this ship could be worth billions of dollars. But who owns it? Today on the show, four groups stake their claims to the wreck of the San Jose. Those claims reveal a lot about who has a say over the bottom of the sea and how we can begin to untangle the complicated legacy of colonialism.

    This episode of Planet Money was hosted by Erika Beras and Mary Childs. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler with reporting help from Willa Rubin and edited by Keith Romer. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Neil Rauch with help from Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

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    23 mins
  • How the scratch off lottery changed America

    How the scratch off lottery changed America
    Feb 5 2025
    Americans spend more on scratch lottery tickets per year than on pizza. More than all Coca-Cola products. Yet the scratch ticket as a consumer item has only existed for fifty years. Not so long ago, the idea of an instant lottery, of gambling with a little sheet of paper, was strange. Scary, even.

    So, how did scratch lotteries go from an idea that states wanted nothing to do with, to a commonplace item? It started in a small, super-liberal, once-puritanical state: Massachusetts. Adults there now spend – on average – $1,037 every year on lottery tickets – mostly scratch tickets. On today's episode, a collaboration with GBH's podcast Scratch & Win, we hear the story of... the scratch-off lottery ticket!

    This episode was hosted by Ian Coss and Kenny Malone. Scratch & Win from GBH is produced by Isabel Hibbard and edited by Lacy Roberts. The executive producer is Devin Maverick Robins. Our version of the podcast was produced by James Sneed. It was edited by Alex Goldmark, engineered by Valentina Rodríguez Sánchez, and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

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    30 mins
  • How DeepSeek changed the market's mind

    How DeepSeek changed the market's mind
    Feb 1 2025
    On Monday, the stock market went into a tizzy over a new AI model from Chinese company DeepSeek. It seemed to be just as powerful as many of its American competitors, but its makers claimed to have made it far more cheaply, using far less computing power than similar AI apps like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. In one day, hundreds of billions of dollars were wiped off the valuations of companies related to AI.

    This week, investors seemed suddenly to change their minds about what our AI future would look like and which companies will (or won't) profit from it. Will we really need all those high-end computer chips, after all? What about power plants to provide electricity for all the energy-hungry AI data centers?

    On today's show – how DeepSeek might have changed the economics of artificial intelligence forever.

    This episode was produced by Willa Rubin with an assist from James Sneed. It was edited by Keith Romer and engineered by Neil Tevault. Research help from Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

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    27 mins
  • Re-imagining the energy grid ... through batteries (Two Indicators)

    Re-imagining the energy grid ... through batteries (Two Indicators)
    Jan 29 2025
    When it comes to solar and wind power, renewable energy has always had a caveat: it can only run when the wind blows or the sun shines.

    The idea of a battery was floated around to make renewables available 24/7. For years, it existed as an expensive, little-used technology. Then in 2021, it took off.

    In this episode, we explore how this new energy market works in two states: California and Texas.

    In California, there is now enough grid-scale battery storage to power millions of homes — at least for a few hours — and it's growing fast. What does this success mean for the grid, and how did the state support it?

    Then, we visit Texas, whose approach is more free-market rodeo. The state has the second-most battery storage capacity in the U.S. And in Texas, their system was recently put to the test. So, can these large-scale batteries can help prevent blackouts?

    These two stories come from our sister show The Indicator, which recently reported a series about the electric battery market.

    Today's show was hosted by Cooper Katz McKim, Darian Woods and Wailin Wong. The original Indicator episodes were produced by Cooper Katz McKim and Corey Bridges, and edited by Kate Concannon. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Jimmy Keeley and Neil Tevault. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

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    18 mins
  • The "chilling effect" of deportations

    The "chilling effect" of deportations
    Jan 25 2025
    After being sworn into office, President Trump signed a whole host of executive actions and orders that affirm his campaign promise to crack down on immigration.

    Trump's border czar has said Chicago is at the top of the list of places to be targeted. The city is expecting immigration raids, detentions and deportations. In the Little Village neighborhood, where the majority of residents are Mexican or of Mexican descent, people are on edge as they await what's next.

    Beyond the many people personally affected, past research suggests everyone could feel the impacts of mass deportation.

    On this episode of Planet Money we visit Little Village to see how the new administration is already having an impact. And then, we hear from an economist who looks to a recent chapter in mass deportation for insight into what the future could hold.

    Today's episode was hosted by Erika Beras and Amanda Aronczyk. It was produced by Willa Rubin with an assist from Emma Peaslee. It was edited by Kenny Malone, engineered by Cena Loffredo and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.

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    23 mins
  • After the fires

    After the fires
    Jan 23 2025
    The fires in Los Angeles are almost out. Residents are starting to trickle back into their burned-out neighborhoods. When they get to their houses, they face a series of almost impossible questions: Do we want to live here amongst all this destruction? And if we do, how do we even start?

    Today, we meet a father and son from Altadena who are confronting those choices. We pass through the National Guard checkpoints and enter the burn zone, where we see for ourselves all the challenges waiting for residents who want to rebuild. And we talk with an insurance adjuster about how the industry tries to value people's homes — and all of their possessions — after they have been reduced to rubble.

    For more on the California wildfires, check out our newsletter. We spoke with an economist who survived Oakland's wildfires in 1991 and has big ideas for how to rescue California from its insurance doom spiral.

    This episode of     Planet Money was hosted by Sarah Gonzalez and Nick Fountain. It was produced by James Sneed and edited by Keith Romer. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Neil Tevault with help from Gilly Moon. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

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    25 mins