Episodes

  • The last time we shrank the federal workforce

    The last time we shrank the federal workforce
    Mar 12 2025
    If you cut every single federal job President Donald Trump wants to cut, how much money would that save?

    A president has tried to massively shrink the size of the federal government before. It was in the 90s, under a Democrat.

    Today on the show: Where they found waste the last time we really looked. (Hint: it wasn't jobs.) And why the pace of firings under Trump might start to slow down.

    For more:
    - Lessons for the Future of Government Reform
    - Is government too big? Reflections on the size and composition of today's federal government
    - Creating a Government That Works Better and Costs Less

    This episode of Planet Money was produced by Willa Rubin. It was edited by Jess Jiang and engineered by Jimmy Keeley. We had fact-checking help from Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer. Special thanks to Ben Zipperer.

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

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

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

    Music: Audio Network - "West Green Road," "Raise Up," and "Blue and Green."

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    27 mins
  • How to start a bank

    How to start a bank
    Mar 7 2025
    In some ways, starting a bank is a lot like starting any other business. Who will you hire? Where will you be located? What color will the couches be? But it's also way more complicated. There are tons of regulations on banks–and you can understand why. Lots of new businesses fail. But if a bank fails, it can have ripple effects for the entire economy.

    Today on the show, a baby bank is born. We go along for the ride from idea to ribbon cutting as a community bank gets off the ground.

    This episode of Planet Money was produced by Emma Peaslee and edited by Katie Mingle. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.

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

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

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

    Music: NPR Source Audio- "Numbers Game," "Smoke and Mirrors," and "Lets Start A Movement"

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    26 mins
  • The Parable of Peanut the Memecoin

    The Parable of Peanut the Memecoin
    Mar 5 2025
    Memecoins are having a moment. Everyone from Hawk Tuah to President Donald Trump to animal influencers like Moo Deng the pygmy hippo have been turned into cryptocurrency. But what are the costs of all the hype?

    On today's show — a modern parable. How an orphaned baby rodent became a world famous animal influencer, became a political martyr, and was finally transmuted into a billion dollar cryptocurrency. It's a tale about how a chance encounter can lead to fame and fortune. But also how all that can spin wildly out of control in this brave, new – kind of terrifying – attention economy we're all living in.

    This episode was hosted by Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi and Nic Neves. This episode was produced by James Sneed. It was edited by Jess Jiang. Fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. And engineered by Jimmy Keeley. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

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

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

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

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    35 mins
  • The Memecoin Casino

    The Memecoin Casino
    Feb 28 2025
    What do Moo Deng the pygmy hippo, social media sensation Hawk Tuah, and the President of the United States all have in common? They've all inspired highly valuable, highly volatile memecoins.

    The humble memecoin began as a sort of satirical send up of speculation in the crypto world. But it was a joke that soon became very real. In the decade since the launch of Dogecoin in 2013, a series of cultural shifts and technological leaps enabled an explosion in the number of new memecoins. And this memecoin explosion has not only minted millionaires but also led to hordes of unlucky investors and untold scams.

    On today's show, what's in a memecoin? How they went from a one-off joke to a speculative frenzy worth tens of billions of dollars? And who are the winners and losers in this brazen new market? wow such tease many listens

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

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

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

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    28 mins
  • The controversy over Tyson Foods' hiring of asylum seekers

    The controversy over Tyson Foods' hiring of asylum seekers
    Feb 27 2025
    Last year, Tyson Foods shuttered a meat processing plant in Perry, Iowa. The company said it made the decision because the plant was old and inefficient. But the closure was devastating for the residents of Perry. The plant had employed some 1200 workers in a town with a population of only 8000.

    At the same time, Tyson was also busy hiring workers elsewhere. It was working with a non-profit group that helps connect companies with asylum seekers and refugees looking for work. Tyson ultimately hired hundreds of new workers through this partnership.

    Was this just a coincidence? Or were these two stories actually one story - a story about one of the country's biggest meat processors forcing out American workers and replacing them with migrants? On today's show we take a look at the controversy surrounding Tyson's hiring moves and how things look from the perspective of the workers themselves.

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

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

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

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    25 mins
  • The rise and fall of Long Term Capital Management

    The rise and fall of Long Term Capital Management
    Feb 22 2025
    There's this cautionary tale, in the finance world, that nearly any trader can tell you. It's about placing too much confidence in math and models. It's the story of Long Term Capital Management.

    The story begins back in the 90s. A group of math nerds figured out how to use a mathematical model to identify opportunities in the market, tiny price discrepancies, that they could bet big on. Those bets turned into big profits, for them and their clients. They were the toast of Wall Street; it looked like they'd solved the puzzle of risk-taking. But their overconfidence in their strategy led to one of the biggest financial implosions in U.S. history, and destabilized the entire market.

    On today's show, what happens when perfect math meets the mess of human nature? And what did we learn (and what did we not learn) from the legendary tale of Long Term Capital Management?

    This episode of Planet Money was hosted by Mary Childs and Jeff Guo. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler and edited by Jess Jiang. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.

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

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

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

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    28 mins
  • Can the president override Congress on spending?

    Can the president override Congress on spending?
    Feb 19 2025
    So the president can't spend more money than Congress has agreed and voted to spend. But can the president spend less money than Congress wants?

    It all comes down to something called "impoundment" and the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which controls when and how a president can take away money Congress has appropriated.

    President Trump followed the Impoundment Control Act rules back in 2018. But now, in his second term, he's saying he thinks that law is unconstitutional.

    On this episode: the history of impoundment, from Thomas Jefferson to Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. And what constitutional scholars and judges are saying after Trump attempted to dismantle a federal agency and freeze trillions in federal funding that goes to states for everything from new school buses to public health research.

    We've got more about impoundment in the latest Planet Money newsletter.

    Check out The Indicator's episodes on     the gutting of USAID and how American farmers are affected in USAID cuts. And, our previous episode on the big government money pipe that's being closely watched right now.

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

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

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

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    22 mins
  • 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.

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

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

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

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    26 mins