Archive for the ‘Planet Money’ Tag
Link: https://www.npr.org/2022/03/17/1087425495/tech-giants-and-tiny-dogs
Ramon van Meer’s niche business – making ramps for weiner dogs – boomed as he utilized tools from tech giants to help him grow his businesses. The Planet Money team discusses how these tech giants can help small businesses find their target audiences with marketing tools like Facebook ads. On the other hand they can also severely damage a business model by changing up an simple algorithm or rearranging their data. The volatility of these big tech firm decisions are cause for both growth and decline of such small businesses.
Original Air Date: March 18, 2022
Length: 21 minutes 43 seconds
Link: https://www.npr.org/2021/12/01/1060610393/a-locked-door-a-secret-meeting-and-the-birth-of-the-fed-classic
On this episode from Planet Money, they discuss the events and people that led the creation of the Fed, relevant in 2022 in light of the pressure the Fed is facing in as inflation continues to rise. A quick guide to J.P. Morgan’ s influence and help with founding the Fed so big bailouts no longer had to fall on his pockets.
Original Air Date: December 20, 2013
Length: 17 minutes 10 seconds
Link: https://www.npr.org/2021/10/20/1047777081/keep-calm-its-just-the-bullwhip-effect
As we already know, the whole world is struggling to get items shipped to distributors because of supply chain issues. The Beergame App, created by logistics expert Mathais Le Scaon, uses the demand of cases of beer to demonstrate the bullwhip effect, where small fluctuations in demand at the retail level cause increasing larger fluctuations up the supply chain. After participating in the game, members of tPlanet Money’s indicator team find that fixing the supply chain is no simple task.
Original Air Date: October 20, 2021
Length: 9 minutes 52 seconds
Link:https://www.npr.org/2020/10/21/926168583/hey-google-are-you-too-big
The Department of Justice has filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Google due to their alleged monopoly power over the online search and internet search ad market. The DOJ must prove in this case that Google has created this monopoly in a way that is harmful to consumers. If Google loses the case, this would allow for more competition within the market, even if the effects of this case are not seen right away.
Original Air Date: October 21, 2020
Length: 18 minutes
Link: https://www.npr.org/2020/10/13/923237556/how-vikings-launched-globalization-1-0
In the year 1000 Vikings were the first individuals from Europe to discover North America. Eventually, they discovered that indigenous individuals were already there and began exchanging goods with them. This is the first known example of a good from one area in the world was able to be traded for a good in another region. There is even evidence of some form of coin being exchanged between the two groups.
Original Air Date: October 13, 2020
Length: 9 minutes 55 seconds
Link: https://www.npr.org/2020/08/07/900273012/mask-communication
This podcast uses behavioral economics to analyze the reasons why people may refuse to wear masks. Economists believe when these individuals feel external constraints on their freedoms, they feel even less inclined to wear a mask. Behavioral economists discuss nudges/incentives that could be effective in this situation.
Original Air Date: August 7, 2020
Length: 26 minutes 26 seconds
Discussion Prompt: What are some other incentives you can think of that would influence more widespread mask wearing?
Link: http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2017/08/23/545546014/episode-652-the-hydrox-resurrection
Summary: Planet Money tells the tale of a man trying to bring back the forgotten Hydrox brand. Discussion includes close substitutes, trademarks, patents, brands, and what they communicate to consumers.
Original Air Date: September 18, 2015
Length: 19:46
Special thanks to 
@TiemesEsther for recommending this podcast
Link: http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2017/08/04/541643346/episode-787-google-is-big-is-that-bad
Summary: The Planet Money team focus on the recent European Commission decision that Google violated anti trust rules. They discuss the context of the seven year consideration of the question whether Google has too much power over the Internet. Includes consideration of how the question is viewed differently in the U.S. and how this specific case helps us think generally about issues of competition.
Original Air Date: August 4, 2017
Length: 16:42
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