Category: 3-EconSometimeCommentary

In 1975, New York City ran out of money. For a decade it had managed to pay for its hundreds of thousands of city employees and robust social services by taking on billions of dollars in debt. But eventually investors were no longer willing to lend the city any more money. New York teetered on the edge of bankruptcy — the city shuttered more than a dozen firehouses, teachers went on strike and garbage piled up in the streets.

Rescuing the city required the cooperation of the state of New York, the banks, the city workers unions, giant property owners and … the White House. But President Gerald Ford was adamantly opposed to bailing out NYC, prompting the famous New York Daily News headline — “Ford to City: Drop Dead.”

On today’s show, the story of a group of private citizens who were deputized by the state of New York to try to save the city’s finances. Led by investment banker Felix Rohatyn, the group had to put together a grand bargain that everyone would be willing to agree to, and to come up with the billions of dollars the city needed to survive.

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Today’s episode of Planet Money was hosted by Keith Romer and Nick Fountain. It was produced by James Sneed with help from Sam Yellowhorse Kesler and Julia Ritchey. It was edited by Jess Jiang, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Debbie Daughtry and Cena Loffredo. Our executive producer is Alex Goldmark.

Special Thanks: Denis Coleman, David Schleicher, Liall Clarke, Kevin Hennigan and everyone at Classical King FM in Seattle.

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On this episode, Chris Coyne and Peter Boettke explore the life and legacy of economist Kenneth E. Boulding, Boettke's former professor and mentor. Boettke recalls his experiences in Boulding's Great Books in Economics course and their conversations outside of class about peace, economics, and poetry. The conversation outlines Boulding’s path from studying chemistry at Oxford and an unusually early publication in the Economic Journal to his formative time in Chicago with Frank Knight and his later academic years. Coyne and Boettke discuss why no “Boulding school” emerged, how Boulding's ideas can and are still inspiring new research on institutions, civil society, and peace, and more.

This is the first episode in a short series of episodes that will feature a collection of authors who contributed to the volume 1, issue 2 of the Markets & Society Journal or to a forthcoming special issue from The Review of Austrian Economics.

Dr. Peter Boettke is Director of the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, the BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and a Distinguished University Professor of Economics and Philosophy at George Mason University. He has published numerous books, including The Historical Path to Liberty and Human Progress (Universidad Francisco Marroquín Press, 2025) coauthored with Rosolino Candela, The Socialist Calculation Debate: Theory, History, and Contemporary Relevance (Cambridge University Press, 2024) coauthored with Rosolino Candela and Tegan Truitt, and The Struggle for a Better World (Mercatus Center, 2021).

Show Notes:

• Kenneth Boulding’s article, “After Samuelson, Who needs Smith?” (History of Political Economy, 1971)
• James Buchanan’s article, “What Should Economists Do?” (SEJ, 1964)
• Frank Knight’s article, “The Theory of Investment Once More: Mr. Boulding and the Austrians” (QJE, 1935)
• Kenneth Boulding’s book, The Image (University of Michigan Press, 1969)
• Kenneth Boulding's AEA address, "Economics as a Moral Science" (The American Economic Review, 1969)
• Kenneth Boulding’s book, Stable Peace (University of Texas Press, 1978)
• Kenneth Boulding’s book, Three Faces of Power (SAGE Publications, 1990)
• Albert Hirschman’s book, Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States (Harvard University Press, 1972)
• Raghuram Rajan’s book, The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State Leave the Community Behind (Penguin Press, 2020)
• Center for Research on Conflict Resolution
• Journal of Conflict Resolution

**This episode was recorded September 10, 2025.

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In a sport that generates more than $3.5 billion a year, teams compete in cars that cost $70 million to develop and build — and a split-second to crash. Zachary Crockett assesses the damage.

 

• SOURCES:
  • Steve Cripps, chief financial officer at Williams Racing.

 

• RESOURCES:
  • "Everything you need to know about F1 – Drivers, teams, cars, circuits and more," (Formula 1, 2025).
  • "How Williams, F1’s ultimate underdog, found success — and might again," by Madeline Coleman (New York Times, 2025).
  • "How fast do F1 cars go?" by Amanda Clark (Red Bull, 2024).
  • "Aerodynamics in Formula 1 | F1 Explained," (Formula 1 Youtube, 2024), 
  • "Williams Racing," (Formula One History).

 

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The U.S. government spends a ton of money, on everything from Medicare to roads to defense. In fact, it spends way more than it takes in. So…it borrows money, in the bond market. By selling U.S. Treasurys, basically IOUs with periodic interest payments. And for decades, people have loved to invest in Treasurys, for their safety and security. 

But lately, Treasurys have started to look riskier. 

In part because, in recent years, there’s a new buyer at the table: hedge funds, those loosely-regulated financial companies that invest on behalf of institutions and wealthy clients. They have started doing a special trade called the “Treasury basis trade.” And, depending on who you talk to, this trade could destabilize our entire financial system. Or help the U.S. government borrow more money. Or both. 

On the latest episode: how and why are hedge funds getting into Treasurys? We follow how a Treasury travels from the nest into the hands of hedge funds. And we speak to someone from one of those hedge funds, about what they’re doing and why.

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This episode was hosted by Mary Childs and Kenny Malone. It was produced by Willa Rubin and edited by Marianne McCune. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Jimmy Keeley and Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is our Executive Producer. 

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Soccer leagues around the world use a promotion-and-relegation system to reward the best teams and punish the worst. We ask whether American sports fans would enjoy a similar system. (Part two of a two-part series.)

The post Should Ohio State (and Michigan, and Clemson) Join the N.F.L.? appeared first on Freakonomics.

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Our sister show, The Indicator, is chronicling the evolving business of crime for its Vice Week series. Today, we bring to you two cases of crime in the age of AI. 

First, cybercriminals are using our own voices against us. Audio deepfake scams are picking up against individuals but also against businesses. We hear from a bank on how they’re adapting defenses, and find out how the new defenses are a game of AI vs AI. 

Then, we move over to the stock market to witness AI market manipulation. A new breed of trading bots behave differently. They could collude with each other, even without human involvement or instruction, so researchers are asking how to think about blame, and regulation in a world of more sophisticated trading bots. That’s assuming regulators could even keep up with the tech in the first place. 

Indicator Vice Series 
Head to The Indicator from Planet Money podcast feed for the latest on the Indicator Vice Series including an episode on data breaches . If you don’t already subscribe, check it out. Each episode explains one slice of the economy connected to the news recently, always in 10 minutes or less. 

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This episode is hosted by Darian Woods, Adrian Ma, and Wailin Wong. These episodes of The Indicator were originally produced by Cooper Katz McKim and engineered by Robert Rodriguez. They were fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Kate Concannon is The Indicator’s editor. Alex Goldmark is the Executive Producer. 

Music: NPR Source Audio - “Diamond High” 

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The world’s oldest advertising medium has reconfigured itself for the digital age. Zachary Crockett looks up.

 

• SOURCES:
  • Anna Bager, president and C.E.O. of the Out-of-Home Advertising Association of America.
  • Dan Levi, chief marketing officer at Clear Channel Outdoor.

 

• RESOURCES:
  • "Advertising Proves Resilient Amidst Economic Uncertainty," (Magna Global, 2025).
  • "Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. Reports Results for the First Quarter of 2025," (Clear Channel Investor Relations, 2025).
  • "The Bigger, The Bolder: Outdoor Advertising," by Judy Gonyeau (Journal of Antiques and Collectibles, 2024).
  • "How Digital Billboards Target Passersby (Hint: It's Cellphone Data)," by Karen Duffin (NPR, 2020).
  • "The hottest advertising trend of 2018? Billboards." by Zachary Crockett (The Hustle, 2019).
  • "Model Legislation for Banning Billboards," (Scenic America).

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It’s here! It’s free to download and playtest! It’s the Planet Money game! (Download here.)

• Download and playtest the game go here 
• Sign up for the 11/1 virtual AMA event and get updates about the game
• Submit your feedback on the game
• Watch the how-to video with Kenny and Elan for playtest instructions

In this episode, the story of how we arrived here. Ride along as our game-making partners at Exploding Kittens help us turn our (sometimes wild) economics game ideas into the next blockbuster game. It’s a behind the scenes look at how to design a game from scratch — a game that is somehow filled with economics, impossible to put down, but does not feel like you’re cramming for school. Which is… harder than we thought.

After months of trying to find the perfect balance of ideas and entertainment, the Planet Money game is ready for our next phase. And that’s where you come in, listeners! We need you to playtest the Planet Money game to help us perfect it.

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This episode was hosted by Kenny Malone and Erika Beras. It was produced by James Sneed with help from Emma Peaslee and edited by Jess Jiang. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer.

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The N.F.L. is a powerful cartel with imperial desires. College football is about to undergo a financial reckoning. So maybe they should team up? (Part one of a two-part series.)

The post The Merger You Never Knew You Wanted appeared first on Freakonomics.

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On this episode, Chandran Kukathas delivers a lecture at the Mercatus Center on capitalism, human nature, and the meaning of life.

Kukathas argues that capitalism is less a fixed system than a constantly evolving set of rules and relationships, shaped by our restless desire to transform the world. He shows how politics, rent-seeking, and shifting definitions of capital are woven into its fabric, making it impossible to separate “pure markets” from the social and political contexts in which they operate.

Kukathas challenges both critics and defenders who treat capitalism as the source of every social ill or success, urging instead a sober recognition of human limits, the diversity of our ends, and the case for modest, freedom-preserving reforms.

Dr. Chandran Kukathas is Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Political Science at School of Social Sciences at Singapore Management University and a Distinguished Affiliated Fellow at the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center. He is the author of many books, including Dialogues on Immigration and the Open Society (Routledge, 2025) and The Liberal Archipelago: A Theory of Diversity and Freedom (Oxford University Press, 2007).

Show Notes:

• Thomas Hobbes’ book, Leviathan
• G.A. Cohen’s book, Why Not Socialism?
• Elijah Millgram’s book, The Great Endarkment
• Alasdair MacIntyre’s book, After Virtue

**This lecture was recorded August 13, 2025.

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.

Check out our other podcast from the Hayek Program! Virtual Sentiments is a podcast in which political theorist Kristen Collins interviews scholars and practitioners grappling with pressing problems in political economy with an eye to the past. Subscribe today!

Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgram

Follow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatus

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