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Planet Money - When Chicago pawned its parking meters

In 2008, Chicago’s budget was in a bad place. The city needed money. One way to raise money was to increase property taxes, but what politician wants to do that? So instead, Mayor Richard M. Daley’s administration looked around at the resources the city had, and thought, ‘Any of this worth anything?’ They opted to lease out the city’s metered parking system — to privatize all 36,000 of its parking meters. 

The plan: have private companies bid on operating the meters, modernizing the system, and keeping the profits for a certain number of years. In exchange, they would give Chicago a big lump sum payment. The winning bid was $1.16 billion dollars for a 75-year lease. 

Today’s episode is the story of how that bid got put together, and how it came to be hated. There are kidnapped parking meters, foot chases through City Hall, and trashbags filled with secret documents. 

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This episode was produced by Willa Rubin with help from Luis Gallo and Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Jess Jiang, fact-checked by Vito Emmanuel and engineered by Cena Loffredo and Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.

Music: NPR Source Audio - “Smoke Rings,” “Reverend,” and “Sniffin Glue.”

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PBS News Hour - World - Venezuelan opposition leader makes harrowing journey to receive Nobel Peace Prize

Nobel Peace Laureate Maria Corina Machado on Friday vowed to continue her political pursuit to create democracy in Venezuela. This week she braved an arduous journey to accept the peace prize in Oslo, Norway. Nick Schifrin speaks now with the man who helped her escape a Venezuelan government that's been hunting her for a year-and-a-half. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy
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PBS News Hour - Science - Trump’s executive order limits state regulations of artificial intelligence

President Trump has signed an executive order that would block states from enforcing laws they pass to regulate A.I., or artificial intelligence.The directive marks a big win for tech giants but will likely be challenged in the courts. Jacob Ward, founder of The Rip Current, joins Geoff Bennett to help break down the concerns and the arguments around all of this. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy
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PBS News Hour - World - Israeli settlers attack Palestinians with impunity, halting West Bank olive harvest

Israel's cabinet voted to extend legal status to 19 previously illegal settlements late last night, formalizing more control of land in the West Bank. Attacks by Jewish settlers against Palestinian communities there have increased sharply since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks in Israel. As Leila Molana-Allen tells us, the settlers' violence continues with few apparent consequences. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy
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1A - The News Roundup For December 12, 2025

Democrats were on the receiving end of some midterm election momentum this week. In Indiana, Republicans lawmakers defied intense pressure from President Donald Trump rejecting his demands for a newly gerrymandered Congressional map.

In Miami, residents elected Eileen Higgins as mayor, the first woman to hold the job in the city’s history. She’s also the first Democrat to hold the office in 28 years. And a Georgia state House seat flipped in a district Trump won by double digits.

And Congress is considering limiting the Pentagon’s travel budget after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth refused to release footage of a “double-tap” strike he ordered on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, can the United States legally seize a Venezuelan oil tanker or is it an act of “international piracy.”? What does this latest move by the Trump Administration towards Nicolas Maduro mean for escalating the ongoing pressure campaign? President Donald Trump says the vessel was taken “for a very good reason.”

Under the terms of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, 600 trucks per day carrying aid must be allowed into Gaza. This week, an analysis by the Associated Press showed an average of only 459 are crossing into the territory daily. This comes as torrential rain from Storm Byron swept across the Strip flooding overcrowded tents sheltering tens of thousands of families displaced by the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is sounding the alarm about the role China is playing in helping Russia beef up its military industry.

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The Gist - Shadi Hamid: The Left Should Learn to Love American Power

Shadi Hamid joins to discuss his new book, The Case for American Power, arguing that progressives' retreat from global engagement is a mistake. He contends that while the Left often views U.S. hegemony as intrinsically immoral—citing the legacy of Iraq and the tragedy in Gaza—the alternative of withdrawal often leads to greater atrocities, such as the unchecked devastation in Syria. Hamid makes the case that moral righteousness without power is toothless, and that ceding the global stage to bad actors or rival superpowers creates a more dangerous world. Plus, Mike critiques the Sunday show trend of grilling Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the price of bananas and Tonka trucks, arguing that "gotcha" questions about specific items ignore the reality of inflation as a composite number.

Produced by Corey Wara

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WSJ What’s News - What’s Behind Wall Street’s Bumper Year

P.M. Edition for Dec. 12. Leaders of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup shared numbers that show that their banks’ Wall Street operations are on track to have one of their best years ever. WSJ Wall Street editor David Benoit discusses what’s driving it. Plus, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, President Trump says he’s considering Kevin Warsh or Kevin Hassett to lead the Federal Reserve starting next year. And why have politicians, who just a few years ago were sounding the alarm about climate change, softened their warnings? We hear from WSJ chief economics commentator Greg Ip about what’s behind the shift. Alex Ossola hosts.


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CrowdScience - Can you play the guitar underwater?

Smashing up guitars is a classic rock star activity, but how about drowning them? 7-year-old listener Cornelius has set CrowdScience a challenge: to find out what happens if you play a guitar underwater. Could this be the next avant-garde music sensation?

Host and amateur musician Caroline Steel tackles Cornelius’ question with the help of one increasingly soggy guitar. The UK’s National Physical Laboratory is our first port of call, with a guitar-sized water tank at the ready, and acoustic scientists Dr Freya Malcher and Ben Ford helping tackle our questions.

Since an acoustic guitar’s sound is amplified by its internal chamber, what happens as that chamber starts to fill with water? How about if the whole guitar - strings, body and all - is submerged? What difference does it make if our ears are listening above or below the water? And can special water-adapted microphones help us explore this unusual question, before our guitar disintegrates?

Our guitar then heads off on tour to Denmark, where the band Between Music have teased out questions just like these for their underwater music project, Aquasonic. We talk to violinist and Innovative Director Robert Karlsson, and singer Nanna Bech, who also plays a unique subaquatic instrument. With their help, we discover how to get the best out of a submerged guitar, and find out whether other instruments are better suited to the life aquatic. Presenter: Caroline Steel

Producers: Cathy Edwards and Florian Bohr

Editor: Ben Motley

National Physical Laboratory: Underwater Acoustics - https://www.npl.co.uk/research/underwater-acoustics

Between Music: Aquasonic - https://www.betweenmusic.dk/aquasonic

Photo – Caroline Steel and Nanna Bech in an Aquasonic aquarium playing a guitar. Copyright BBC.