Link: http://www.marketplace.org/2016/03/21/world/venezuela-hot-dog
Summary: Marketplace breaks down the complexities of the Venezuelan economy using the local pepito as a metaphor to explore inflation and the impacts of an oil-dependent economy.
Original Air Date: March 23, 2016
Length: 3 minutes 16 seconds
Link: http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/11/06/455055023/episode-662-omg-tpp
Summary: In this podcast, the Planet Money team investigates the much anticipated Trans-Pacific Partnership and discusses some of the highlights in the bill’s nearly six thousand pages.
Original Air Date: November 7, 2015
Length: 22 minutes 9 seconds
Link: http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/06/19/415804477/episode-634-worst-case-scenario
Summary: The Planet Money team investigate current problems in our economy that could create the next economic crisis.
Original Air Date: July 19, 2015
Length: 16 mins
Link: http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/09/09/438948679/episode-649-china-china-china
Summary: In this podcast, the Planet Money team attempt to decipher why economic news about China is so popular in the media and if the indicators are something we should worry about including the stock market and economic growth.
Original Air Date: September 9, 2015
Length: 17 minutes 9 seconds
Summary: The Nigerian Internet hosts many ads for stolen oil, inspiring the question: how? Why? Nigeria has one of the top oil reserves, and it is controlled by the government. They lose about $10 million a day from oil theft. This podcast dissects how they get away with it.
Original Air Date: October 29, 2014
Length: 19 minutes 30 seconds
Discussion Question: The podcasts says that this problem is for the Nigerian government to solve. Should it be an international issue?
Prompt: The podcast does not reflect on the legally sold oil, and the effect the stolen oil has on that market. Write how you think the stolen oil would change the market for legal crude oil in the international arena, paying specific attention to the quantity and the prices.
Summary: Return on Investment (ROI) analyzes at the most efficient way to spend money. An example given is the difference between curing malaria and HIV/AIDS. To cure malaria, it would cost about $1,000 per person, while it would cost ten times that to cure HIV/AIDS, and it is decided that they would rather save 10 people from malaria before they save one from HIV/AIDS. The United Nations, with their Millennium Development Goals coming to a close, will be looking to set new goals in 2015, to be completed by 2030. One of the issued they will focus on is how they are setting goals, and how to be more efficient with the help of the Return on Investment analysis.
Original Air Date: October 2, 2014
Length: 43 minutes 34 seconds
Prompt / Discussion: You are a member of the United Nations, and are put in charge of coming up with new development goals for 2015. You have $100 billion to invest in various development aid. Discuss how you would prioritize between an important, expensive goal (such as getting all kids into school, which was one of the Millennium Development Goals), and something that might not be seen as highly important, but cost effective.
Link: http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2015/04/10/398811199/episode-616-how-solar-got-cheap
Summary: Solar power is becoming increasingly popular. The main reason is not due to environmental awareness but because of a market glut and a need to clear inventory.
Original Air Date: April 10, 2015
Length: 16 minutes
Summary: In this podcast tariffs are examined, showing both their positive and negative affects on economies. Also mentioned is the Harmonized Tariff Schedule which gages how much each import is to be taxed
Original Air Date: December 12, 2013
Length: 5 minutes 20 seconds
Link: http://www.marketplace.org/topics/sustainability/boom-and-bust-story-crop-called-guar
Summary: Guar is a small bean, and it had a recent rise and fall in the marketplace. Besides being an additive to thicken many foods, it’s also used in fracking. When fracking took off, the price of guar rose. As the price increased, Texas farmers started growing a lot of it, until Pakistan and India–which grow 98% of the guar combined–caught up to the demand. As a result, oil companies stopped hoarding it, and the prices dropped. The Texas farmers were left without buyers, and caused a chain reaction of bankruptcy.
Original Air Date: October 9, 2014
Length: 2 minutes 47 seconds
Link: http://www.marketplace.org/topics/sustainability/what-could-slow-uss-surging-oil-output-low-prices
Summary: The oil the United States has been pumping has been getting less and less profitable. In North America, oil comes from fracking shale, and after the first initial output, oil companies have to drill deeper and deeper to get to the oil, causing it to be more expensive to access. However, the price of oil is dropping worldwide, and that could mean that the United States could be out of the oil industry, simply because it costs too much to produce.
Original Air Date: October 10, 2014
Length: 2 minutes
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