Category: 3-EconSometimeCommentary

On this episode, Erwin Dekker chats with Director Tomasz Agencki on the making of "Notes on the Margin" (2024), a full length documentary on the life and legacy of Carl Menger, founder of Austrian economics. Despite limited archival material and conflicting accounts, Agencki crafts a visually rich story highlighting Menger’s intellectual journey and reformist spirit.

Tomasz Agencki is a freedom-focused movie maker who travels around the world to cooperate with like-minded creators. Agencki has over 15 years of experience in film and tv production, directs and films many of his own documentaries, and is a professional audiobook voice artist. Watch Agencki's “How Sweden Quit Smoking” (2024) or find his other works here.

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Virtual Sentiments, a podcast series from the Hayek Program, is streaming. Subscribe today and listen to season three, releasing now!

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These glistening round gemstones have come a long way since your grandmother's time, but procuring them is still a lot of work. The world is Zachary Crockett’s oyster.

 

• SOURCES:
  • Jeremy Shepherd, C.E.O. of Pearl Paradise.
  • James Brown, owner of Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm.

 

• RESOURCES:
  • "Pearls Have Acquired a New Luster Among Young Designers," by Victoria Gomelsky (New York Times, 2024).
  • "The Value of Pearls: A Historical Review and Current Trends," by Akitsugu Sato and Laurent Cartier (GemGuide, 2022).
  • "From Single Source to Global Free Market: The Transformation of The Cultured Pearl Industry," by Russell Shor (Gems & Geology, 2007).

 

You might have seen these texts before. The scam starts innocently enough. Maybe it's a "Long time no see" or "Hello" or "How are you." For investigative reporter Zeke Faux it was – "Hi David, I'm Vicky Ho. Don't you remember me?"

Many people ignore them. But Zeke responded. He wanted to get scammed. This led him on a journey halfway around the world to find out who is sending him random wrong number texts and why. After you hear this story, you'll never look at these messages the same way again.

To hear the full episode check out Search Engine's website.

Search Engine was created by P.J. Vogt and Sruthi Pinnamaneni. This episode was produced by Garrott Graham and Noah John. It was fact-checked by Sean Merchant. Theme, original composition, and mixing by Armin Bazarian. Search Engine's executive producers are Jenna Weiss-Berman and Leah Reis-Dennis.

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Just beneath the surface of the global economy, there is a hidden layer of dealmakers for whom war, chaos, and sanctions can be a great business opportunity. Javier Blas and Jack Farchy, the authors of The World for Sale, help us shine a light on the shadowy realm of commodity traders.

The post The Most Powerful People You’ve Never Heard Of appeared first on Freakonomics.

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Lately we've noticed that something we think about all the time here at Planet Money is having a viral moment: recession indicators!

From the more practical (like sales for lipstick going up and men's underwear going down) to the absurd and nonsensical (like babysitter buns coming back into style?) — people are posting to social media every little sign they see that a recession is coming. And we LOVE it. Because between the trade war and the tariffs and the stock market, there has been a lot of economic uncertainty over the last few months and we want to talk about it, too.

Today on the show — we dig into the slightly wonkier indicators that economists look at when they're trying to answer the question behind the viral internet trend: Is a recession coming?

This episode of Planet Money was produced by James Sneed. It was edited by Marianne McCune, fact-checked by Sarah McClure, and engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.

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

Music: Source Audio - "The Shirt Still Fits," "Chameleon Panther Style," and "Nighthawk."

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Everyone makes mistakes. How do we learn from them? Lessons from the classroom, the Air Force, and the world’s deadliest infectious disease. (Part four of a four-part series.)

The post How to Succeed at Failing, Part 4: Extreme Resiliency (Update) appeared first on Freakonomics.

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Youth baseball — long a widely accessible American pastime — has become overrun by $10,000-per-year, for-profit travel leagues. Zachary Crockett peers inside the dugout.

 

• SOURCES:
  • Linda Flanagan, author.
  • Nick Mackenzie, future New York Yankees shortstop.
  • R.J. Mackenzie, physical education teacher and baseball dad.
  • John Miller, journalist and baseball coach.

 

• RESOURCES:
  • "The Cost of Youth Baseball Is Getting Absurd," by Adam Minter (Bloomberg, 2024).
  • "Perfect Game Sees Prosperity Thanks To New Investments In Youth Sports," by Wayne G. McDonnell, Jr. (Forbes, 2024).
  • "How America Sold Out Little League Baseball," by John W. Miller (America Magazine, 2022).
  • "In Youth Sports, Talent Helps but Money Rules," by Roman Stubbs (The Washington Post, 2022).
  • Take Back the Game: How Money and Mania Are Ruining Kids Sports and Why It Matters, by Linda Flanagan (2022).
  • "State of Youth Sports: Parents, Policymakers Better Appreciate Physical Activity, Face Barriers to Help Kids Play," by Jon Solomon (The Aspen Institute, 2022).

 

• EXTRA:
  • Take Back the Game: How Money and Mania Are Ruining Kids Sports and Why It Matters, by Linda Flanagan (2022).

 

Even though the 145% tariff on Chinese imports only lasted a month, it already inflicted its scars on the economy. Global trade is just not something you can turn off and on like that.

Some companies got really unlucky. Like those whose goods arrived at U.S. ports before the pause. If a medium size company had a million dollars worth of goods imported, they had to pay an extra million and a half dollars on top of that – just for the tariff.

Today we are bringing you a portrait of this unfathomably high tariff. What a month of 145% tariffs looked like and felt like for three people in the global economy whose lives were all affected and still will be. The ones who got lucky and the ones who got really unlucky.

This episode of Planet Money was produced by Emma Peaslee and edited by Jess Jiang. It was engineered by Jimmy Keeley and fact-checked by Willa Rubin. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.

Check out the live cargo map here.

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 - "Bass Talks," "Bassline Motion," and "What Da Funk"

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Giving up can be painful. That’s why we need to talk about it. Today: stories about glitchy apps, leaky paint cans, broken sculptures — and a quest for the perfect bowl of ramen. (Part three of a four-part series.)

The post How to Succeed at Failing, Part 3: Grit vs. Quit (Update) appeared first on Freakonomics.

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The U.S. exports billions of dollars worth of agricultural products each year — things like soybeans, corn and pork. And over the last month, these exports have been caught up in a trade war.

U.S. farmers have been collateral damage in a trade war before. In 2018, President Trump put tariffs on a bunch of Chinese products including flatscreen TVs, medical devices and batteries. But China matched those tariffs with their own retaliatory tariffs. They put tariffs on a lot of U.S. agricultural products they'd been buying, like soybeans, sorghum, and livestock. That choice looked strategic. Hitting these products with tariffs hurt Trump's voter base and might help China in a negotiation. And in some cases, China could find affordable alternative options from other countries.

Today on the show: what happened in 2018, how the government prevented some U.S. farms from going bankrupt, and what was lost even after the trade war ended.

This episode was produced by Sylvie Douglis and edited by Jess Jiang. It was engineered by Robert Rodriguez and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. 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.

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