Category: 3-EconSometimeCommentary

The trip that changed Tigran Gambaryan's life forever was supposed to be short — just a few days. When he flew to Nigeria in February of 2024, he didn't even check a bag. Tigran is a former IRS Special Agent. He made his name investigating high-profile dark web and cryptocurrency cases. Some colleagues called him the 'Crypto Wizard' because of his pioneering work tracing crypto transactions for law enforcement. Since 2021, he's worked at the world's largest crypto exchange, Binance.

Tigran was in Nigeria as a sort of envoy. He was supposed to meet with government officials and show them that Binance – and crypto itself – was safe, reliable, and law-abiding.

One of the most important meetings was at the headquarters of the Office of the National Security Advisor. He says officials there made him wait hours. And when officials finally came into the room, they accused Binance of a host of crimes and of tanking the Nigerian economy. They then told Tigran that they weren't going to let him leave Nigeria until they were satisfied that Binance was going to remedy the situation.

On today's show, in a collaboration with Click Here from Recorded Future News, we hear about Tigran's eight month detention in Nigeria. In his first recorded interview after his release, he shares details about his captivity, how he survived one of Nigeria's most infamous prisons, and how he got out.

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Behind that 70% off sign, there’s a liquidation consultant trying to maximize retailer profits. Zachary Crockett seeks a deal.

 

• SOURCES:
  • Bradley Snyder, executive managing director at Tiger Group.
  • Zac Rogers, associate professor of supply chain management at Colorado State University

 

• RESOURCES:
  • "What Went Wrong: The Demise of Toys R Us," by Angie Basiouny (Knowledge at Wharton, 2018)
  • "Retail apocalypse 2024: All the once-popular stores and restaurants that shuttered locations this year," by Sarah Bregel (Forbes, 2024)
  • "BBB Tip: Avoid bogus bargains at going out of business sales" by Better Business Bureau (2024)
  • "There’s a science and art to running a going-out-of-business sale. (And business is booming.)" by Courtney Reagan (CNBC, 2018)

 

• EXTRAS:
  • "I don't wanna grow up: The first day of the end of our childhoods," by Mike Higdon (Reno Gazette-Journal, 2018)

 

 

The San Jose was a marvel of 17th century technology. The Spanish galleon weighed more than a thousand tons, was made of wood reinforced with iron, and featured three masts and 64 cannons. In its cargo were gold, silver, silk and porcelain. But in 1708, it sank after a battle with an English ship near what is now Colombia.

For centuries, the shipwreck was the stuff of legends, until 2015 when underwater investigators found what they believed to be the San Jose's wreckage. The treasure on board this ship could be worth billions of dollars. But who owns it? Today on the show, four groups stake their claims to the wreck of the San Jose. Those claims reveal a lot about who has a say over the bottom of the sea and how we can begin to untangle the complicated legacy of colonialism.

This episode of Planet Money was hosted by Erika Beras and Mary Childs. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler with reporting help from Willa Rubin and edited by Keith Romer. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Neil Rauch with help from Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

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Americans spend more on scratch lottery tickets per year than on pizza. More than all Coca-Cola products. Yet the scratch ticket as a consumer item has only existed for fifty years. Not so long ago, the idea of an instant lottery, of gambling with a little sheet of paper, was strange. Scary, even.

So, how did scratch lotteries go from an idea that states wanted nothing to do with, to a commonplace item? It started in a small, super-liberal, once-puritanical state: Massachusetts. Adults there now spend – on average – $1,037 every year on lottery tickets – mostly scratch tickets. On today's episode, a collaboration with GBH's podcast Scratch & Win, we hear the story of... the scratch-off lottery ticket!

This episode was hosted by Ian Coss and Kenny Malone. Scratch & Win from GBH is produced by Isabel Hibbard and edited by Lacy Roberts. The executive producer is Devin Maverick Robins. Our version of the podcast was produced by James Sneed. It was edited by Alex Goldmark, engineered by Valentina Rodríguez Sánchez, and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

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On this episode of the Hayek Program Podcast, Kwame Anthony Appiah delivers a keynote lecture at the 2023 Markets & Society conference, exploring the historical and philosophical complexities of cultural property. Using examples from classical literature, African history, and global museum debates, he critiques modern repatriation efforts for oversimplifying ownership claims. Appiah argues that the ownership and heritage of cultural artifacts are historically complex, traceable through ancestry, territory, and identity. This complexity often creates contradictions in restitution debates. Instead of a narrow focus on repatriation, Appiah advocates for a more nuanced, cosmopolitan approach to heritage and museum collections.

Kwame Anthony Appiah is a Professor of Philosophy and Law at New York University, the Laurance S. Rockefeller University Professor of Philosophy, and the University Center for Human Values Emeritus at Princeton University. He earned his BA and PhD from the University of Cambridge and has since taught at numerous renowned universities, including Yale, Cornell, Duke, Harvard, Princeton, and NYU.

Appiah has published widely on literary and cultural studies with a focus on African and African American culture, ethics, and identity, including his most recent book, The Lies That Bind: Rethinking Identity (Liveright Publishing 2018). For his work, he has also received many awards, including the National Humanities Medal. His work on cosmopolitanism, identity, and heritage takes a nuanced and practical approach, embracing the particularities and challenges of living within a complicated social context. He also helps others understand and tackle everyday challenges through his advice column, The Ethicist at New York Times.

This lecture has been published in the Markets & Society Journal, Volume 1 Issue 1, as "Whose Heritage? Preservation, Possession, and Peoples." Learn more about the Markets & Society conference and journal here.

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

Picture day is an annual tradition for American families — and, for the companies that take the photos, a lucrative one. Zachary Crockett smiles for the camera.

 

• SOURCES:
  • Ken Murphy, C.E.O. of Lifetouch
  • Jeremy McColm, senior manager of photography at Lifetouch

 

• RESOURCES:
  • "The money and stress and failed hairdos of school picture day," by Kaitlyn Tiffany (Vox, 2019)
  • "The School Photo Industry Is a Master Class in Drama," by David Gauvey Herbert (New York Times, 2019)
  • "With Lifetouch Acquisition, Shutterfly Claims Leadership In Picture Memories Market," by Pamela Danziger (Forbes, 2018)
  • "Exclusive School Photography Agreement" (Vernon Public School District, 2019)

 

• EXTRAS:
  • "Money Schools Earn From Student Portraits Varies Widely," by Scott MacFarlane, Rick Yarborough, and Jeff Piper (NBC News Washington, 2016)

On Monday, the stock market went into a tizzy over a new AI model from Chinese company DeepSeek. It seemed to be just as powerful as many of its American competitors, but its makers claimed to have made it far more cheaply, using far less computing power than similar AI apps like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. In one day, hundreds of billions of dollars were wiped off the valuations of companies related to AI.

This week, investors seemed suddenly to change their minds about what our AI future would look like and which companies will (or won't) profit from it. Will we really need all those high-end computer chips, after all? What about power plants to provide electricity for all the energy-hungry AI data centers?

On today's show – how DeepSeek might have changed the economics of artificial intelligence forever.

This episode was produced by Willa Rubin with an assist from James Sneed. It was edited by Keith Romer and engineered by Neil Tevault. Research help from Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

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When it comes to solar and wind power, renewable energy has always had a caveat: it can only run when the wind blows or the sun shines.

The idea of a battery was floated around to make renewables available 24/7. For years, it existed as an expensive, little-used technology. Then in 2021, it took off.

In this episode, we explore how this new energy market works in two states: California and Texas.

In California, there is now enough grid-scale battery storage to power millions of homes — at least for a few hours — and it's growing fast. What does this success mean for the grid, and how did the state support it?

Then, we visit Texas, whose approach is more free-market rodeo. The state has the second-most battery storage capacity in the U.S. And in Texas, their system was recently put to the test. So, can these large-scale batteries can help prevent blackouts?

These two stories come from our sister show The Indicator, which recently reported a series about the electric battery market.

Today's show was hosted by Cooper Katz McKim, Darian Woods and Wailin Wong. The original Indicator episodes were produced by Cooper Katz McKim and Corey Bridges, and edited by Kate Concannon. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Jimmy Keeley and Neil Tevault. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

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They're not always the nicest places to go — but for their owners, portable toilets are a lucrative revenue stream. Zachary Crockett lifts the lid.

 

• SOURCES:
  • Ron Inman, vice president of Honey Bucket
  • Veronica Crosier, executive director of Portable Sanitation Association International

 

• RESOURCES:
  • "Providing Toilets for 39,000 Runners," by John Branch (New York Times, 2008)
  • "Platinum Equity-owned United Site Services weighs $4B sale – Reuters," by Pam Rosacia (S&P Global, 2021)
  • "Renting Portable Units," by Portable Sanitation Association International
  • PolyJohn History

 

• EXTRAS:
  • "The Porta-Potty King of New York City Faces a Threat to His Throne," by David Gauvey Herbert (Intelligencer, 2019)

After being sworn into office, President Trump signed a whole host of executive actions and orders that affirm his campaign promise to crack down on immigration.

Trump's border czar has said Chicago is at the top of the list of places to be targeted. The city is expecting immigration raids, detentions and deportations. In the Little Village neighborhood, where the majority of residents are Mexican or of Mexican descent, people are on edge as they await what's next.

Beyond the many people personally affected, past research suggests everyone could feel the impacts of mass deportation.

On this episode of Planet Money we visit Little Village to see how the new administration is already having an impact. And then, we hear from an economist who looks to a recent chapter in mass deportation for insight into what the future could hold.

Today's episode was hosted by Erika Beras and Amanda Aronczyk. It was produced by Willa Rubin with an assist from Emma Peaslee. It was edited by Kenny Malone, engineered by Cena Loffredo and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.

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

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