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.
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NPR's Book of the Day - In ‘Back After This,’ a podcast host tries to find love
NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour host Linda Holmes knows a thing or two about audio. She leans into this knowledge in her latest novel, in which a podcast producer, Cecily Foster, gets the opportunity to host her own show. The catch? The podcast is about her love life, and she has to embark on 20 first dates set up by an influencer. In today's episode, Holmes speaks with NPR's Asma Khalid about the tropes of romantic comedy, and what it means to love your work and your craft without tying all your passions to one job.
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The Indicator from Planet Money - Is the Panama Canal a rip-off?
Who pays to use the Panama Canal and how much? These questions are part of the tensions between the U.S. and Panama after President Trump threatened to take over the canal. We look at the global shipping lane's fee structure in light of the president's claim that the U.S. is getting ripped off.
Related episodes:
A drought, a jam, a canal — Panama!
Add to cart: Greenland (Apple / Spotify)
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Fact-checking by Lilly Quiroz. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
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Related episodes:
A drought, a jam, a canal — Panama!
Add to cart: Greenland (Apple / Spotify)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Fact-checking by Lilly Quiroz. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
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Hayek Program Podcast - Shruti Rajagopalan and Chris Coyne on War, Conflict, and the Quest for a Stable Peace
On this special crossover episode, Ideas of India podcast host, Shruti Rajagopalan, interviews Christopher J. Coyne on the economics of conflict and peace, the history of the U.S. security state, the US intervention in Afghanistan, domestic consequences of militarism abroad, and much more!
For the full length transcript and for more episodes like this, check out the Ideas of India podcast page.
Shruti Rajagopalan is a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center and a Fellow at the Classical Liberal Institute at New York University School of Law. She leads the India political economy research program and Emergent Ventures India at Mercatus and hosts the Ideas of India podcast.
Christopher J. Coyne is Associate Director of the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, Professor of Economics at George Mason University, and Director of the Initiative for the Study of a Stable Peace (ISSP).
If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.
Virtual Sentiments, a podcast series from the Hayek Program, is streaming. Subscribe today and listen to season three, releasing now!
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CC Music: Twisterium
Ologies with Alie Ward - Reality TV Sociology (‘TRASH’ TV) with Danielle Lindemann
Nude strangers. Icy roads. Brain rot. True love. Class warfare. Queer visibility. Scripted ad libs. Sociologist, professor, author of the book “True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us,” and straight up Reality TV Sociologist, Dr. Danielle Lindemann studies human behavior through the lens of pop culture and reality TV. Dr. Lindemann lays out the history of the medium, the complexities of why we watch, the effect on society at large, who signs up to be on these shows, how our reactions change to it over time, political consequences of reality TV, and what these shows can teach us about ourselves and each other. Also: the Jackie & Shadow show.
Visit Dr. Lindemann’s website and follow her on Bluesky
Buy her books including True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us on Bookshop.org or Amazon
A donation went to the Pedro Zamora Scholarship
More episode sources and links
Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes
Other episodes you may enjoy: FIELD TRIP: A Hollywood Visit to the Writers Guild Strike Line, Phonology (LINGUISTICS), Kalology (BEAUTY STANDARDS), Matrimoniology (MARRIAGE), Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME), Fanthropology (FANDOMS)
Transcripts and bleeped episodes
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Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee
Managing Director: Susan Hale
Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth
Transcripts by Aveline Malek
Website by Kelly R. Dwyer
Theme song by Nick Thorburn
What Next | Daily News and Analysis - The True Cost of Slashing the Government
Republicans have been talking about cutting the size of the government down for decades. Now that the Trump administration is following through on those plans, the process is laying bare just how much pain this budget hacking is going to inflict on Americans and people across the globe.
Guest:
Jeffrey Okoro, executive director for CFK Africa, a non-profit focusing on public health and financial opportunities based in Nairobi, Kenya.
Hannah Smith-Brubaker, farmer in central Pennsylvania and executive director of Pasa, a non-profit working with farmers on sustainability.
Vincent Pinti, law and public-policy graduate student at the University of Michigan.
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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther.
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Cato Daily Podcast - The White House’s Confused & Chilling Message on AI Regulation
In Europe, Vice President J.D. Vance issued speech-threatening and trade-restricting demands for future American AI systems. Matt Mittlesteadt comments.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What Could Go Right? - The Return to Trumplandia
Welcome to Season 7!
This week, Zachary Karabell and Emma Varvaloucas discuss the duality of news, focusing on the positive amidst the negative. They explore the impact of the Trump administration on American politics, the importance of understanding diverse voter perspectives, and the role of information in shaping political decisions. The conversation emphasizes the disconnect between government actions and daily life, advocating for a deeper engagement with local politics. They explore the dynamics of democracy, accountability, and the influence of the Trump administration, emphasizing the need for vigilance and active participation in governance. The discussion also touches on the global perspective of American politics, highlighting the resilience of international communities and the complexities of global interrelations.
What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and The Podglomerate.
For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.org
Watch the podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/theprogressnetwork
And follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrk
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Engines of Our Ingenuity - The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2841: Imagine the Big Bangs
Episode: 2841 Multiple Big Bangs and Multiple Universes; The Fantastical Multi-Reality of Multiverse. Today, we imagine the Big Bangs.
The Government Huddle with Brian Chidester - 171: The One with the Former Deputy CIO of the Commonwealth of Virginia
Dan Wolf, former Deputy CIO of the Commonwealth of Virginia and Director of State Programs at the Alliance for Digital Innovation joins the show to unpack the evolving landscape of government modernization at the state and local levels. We also discuss the barriers to cloud adoption, how procurement reform can accelerate modernization, and the impact of accessibility mandates on state digital services and why compliance is driving cloud migration.