In the final episode of our whale series, we learn about fecal plumes, shipping noise, and why Moby-Dick is still worth reading. (Part 3 of “Everything You Never Knew About Whaling.“)
On this episode, Nathan Goodman interviews sociologist Timothy Dunn on the militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border and its consequences for human rights. Dunn discusses how U.S. border militarization grew out of the Cold War era “low intensity conflict” doctrine and was expanded by both parties through the 1990s strategy of “prevention through deterrence.” While this policy reduced crossings in urban areas like El Paso and San Diego, it pushed migrants into deserts and mountains, ultimately contributing to thousands of migrant deaths. Dunn explains how U.S. military training and interventions in Central America fueled violence and migration, how financial institutions and drug war policies have perpetuated instability, how political entrepreneurs use crisis narratives to expand coercive power, and how programs like Operation Lone Star model a new wave of militarized enforcement. He calls for more humane immigration reforms grounded in human rights, economic realities, and the everyday resilience of immigrant communities.
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Virtual Sentiments, a podcast series from the Hayek Program, is streaming. Subscribe today and listen to season three, releasing now!
There are now nearly 12,000 satellites orbiting Earth. What does it cost to put them there, and how do they make money? Zachary Crockett launches an investigation.
For most Americans, we just lived through the highest period of inflation in our lives. And we are reminded of this every time we go grocery shopping. All over TikTok, tons of people have posted videos of how little they got for … $20. $40. $100. Most upsetting to us: an $8 box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Food prices are almost 30% higher than they were five years ago. It’s bad. And those new, higher prices aren’t going away.
At the same time, prices are no longer inflating at a wild pace. For the last two years, the rate of inflation has slowed way down. And yet, our fears or feelings that things will spiral out of control again? Those have not slowed down.
This mismatch has been giving us all the …. feelings. Inflation feelings. Infeelings.
On our latest show: we sort through our infeeltions. We talk to the economists who have studied us. We learn why our personal inflation calculators don’t always match the professional ones.
Support Planet Money, get bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening and now Summer School episodes one week early by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.
`For years, whale oil was used as lighting fuel, industrial lubricant, and the main ingredient in (yum!) margarine. Whale meat was also on a few menus. But today, demand for whale products is at a historic low. And yet some countries still have a whaling industry. We find out why. (Part 2 of “Everything You Never Knew About Whaling.”)
Tariffs are the favorite tool of our current president, but there are lots of other ways that governments insert themselves into the free exchange of goods and services. Some of these trade barriers are so insidious and have been going on for so long that it may surprise you that they even exist.
We bring you the classic story of what happens when you try to protect an American industry and end up hurting another American industry. Well intentioned plans turn into trade barriers that make our lives more expensive.
The series is hosted by Robert Smith and produced by Eric Mennel. Our project manager is Devin Mellor. This episode was edited by Planet Money Executive Producer Alex Goldmark and fact-checked by Emily Crawford.
In economics, a market is a place (even virtual) where buyers and sellers meet to exchange goods or services. Economists love markets. It's like all of our supply and demand graphs have come to life. Almost everything you buy goes through some sort of marketplace—your cup of coffee came from trading in the bean markets. Your spouse might have come from the dating marketplace on the apps. Even kids will tell you one Snickers is worth at least two Twix.
But sometimes, as we'll see today, markets can go terribly wrong; greed can run out of control; lives can be at risk. That's when the government often steps in and gives the market a little nudge to work better. Today's episode: Market Design.
The series is hosted by Robert Smith and produced by Eric Mennel. Our project manager is Devin Mellor. This episode was edited by Planet Money Executive Producer Alex Goldmark and fact-checked by Emily Crawford.
After President Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, economists and statisticians across the board were horrified. Because the firing raises the spectre of potential manipulation – and it raises the worry that, in the future, the numbers won't be as trustworthy.
So: we looked at two countries that have some experience with data manipulation. To ask what happens when governments get tempted to cook the books. And...once they cook the books... how hard is it to UN-cook them?
It's two statistical historical cautionary tales. First, we learn how Argentina tried to mask its true inflation rate, and how that effort backfired. Then, we hear about the difficult process of cleaning up the post-cooked-book mess, in Greece.
Support Planet Money, get bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening and now Summer School episodes one week early by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.
Whaling was, in the words of one scholar, “early capitalism unleashed on the high seas.” How did the U.S. come to dominate the whale market? Why did whale hunting die out here — and continue to grow elsewhere? And is that whale vomit in your perfume? (Part 1 of “Everything You Never Knew About Whaling.”)