Category: 3-EconSometimeCommentary

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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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.

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On this episode of the Hayek Program Podcast, Peter Boettke reflects on the lessons he’s learned throughout his academic career, focusing on what it takes to succeed after graduate school. Boettke encourages graduates to: value the scientific pursuit of truth and scholarship; cultivate a sense of awe, wonderment, surprise, and appreciation; and to be curious. He cautions against prioritizing cleverness over clarity and emphasizes the need to continually adapt and adjust. Persistence and hard work pays off. Try to pursue ideas, not people. Don’t be inept and don’t be lazy. Pay attention to details. Be a productive member of your department. Produce research that is genuinely interesting and of intrinsic value to your academic peers. Try to be a life changing professor. Work with good people who challenge you and find that network which insists on lifelong learning, one where you can harshly criticize one another then go have a beer together.

Boettke highlights the ongoing work of the liberal project, arguing that liberalism is not a fixed doctrine, it’s an emancipatory project. Liberalism begins with a very strong recognition of oppression, but it brings a promise of deliverance. Because language and problems change over time, liberalism must be restated in the language and concepts of successive generations. He argues that the worst thing that can happen to a good cause is not to be artfully criticized, but to be ineptly defended.

Peter Boettke is a Distinguished University Professor of Economics and Philosophy at George Mason University and Director of the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He has published numerous books including The Socialist Calculation Debate: Theory, History, and Contemporary Relevance (2024), Money and the Rule of Law: Generality and Predictability in Monetary Institutions (2021), Living Economics: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (2012), and Challenging Institutional Analysis and Development: The Bloomington School (2009).

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!

Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgram

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In medicine, failure can be catastrophic. It can also produce discoveries that save millions of lives. Tales from the front line, the lab, and the I.T. department. (Part two of a four-part series.)

The post How to Succeed at Failing, Part 2: Life and Death (Update) appeared first on Freakonomics.

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Where is “the cloud,” anyway? It’s in a bunch of nondescript warehouses all over the country. Zachary Crockett serves up the story.

 

• SOURCES: 
  • Chris Kimm, senior vice president of global customer care and customer experience at Equinix.
  • Raul Martynek, C.E.O. of DataBank.
  • Clayton Rosati, associate professor of geography at Bowling Green State University.

 

• RESOURCES:
  • "How Data Center Alley Is Changing Northern Virginia," by Mac Carey (Oxford American, 2025).
  • "Noisy, Hungry Data Centers Are Catching Communities by Surprise," by Sean Patrick Cooper (The New York Times, 2024).
  • "As Data Centers for AI Strain the Power Grid, Bills Rise for Everyday Customers," by Evan Halper and Caroline O'Donovan (The Washington Post, 2024).
  • "Data Plantation: Northern Virginia and the Territorialization of Digital Civilization in 'The Internet Capital of the World'," by Clayton Rosati, Aju James, and Kathryne Metcalf (Online Media and Global Communication, 2023).
  • "A New Front in the Water Wars: Your Internet Use," by Shannon Osaka (The Washington Post, 2023).

 

• EXTRAS:
  • "Why Is It So Hard (and Expensive) to Build Anything in America?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
  • Data Center Map.

 

For decades, dollars have been the world's common financial language. Central banks everywhere hold dollars as a way to safely store their wealth. Countries, businesses, and people use it to trade; around 90% of all foreign exchange transactions involve dollars. It's the world's money, the world's "reserve currency."

But what if that is changing? What if the world stops seeing the dollar as safe?

Today on the show, what is a "reserve currency"? Why is it the dollar? And if the dollar falls from favor, what will replace it?

This episode of Planet Money was produced by Emma Peaslee with help from James Sneed. It was edited by Marianne McCune with fact checking help from Sierra Juarez. It was engineered by Kwesi Lee. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.

The Dollar Trap by Eswar Prasad
Exorbitant Privilege by Barry Eichengreen
Our Dollar. Your Problem by Ken Rogoff

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