Market manipulation is an age-old issue. People trying to make money off unsuspecting investors by artificially influencing the price of a stock, say. But what happens when the one manipulating markets isn't human?
This week on The Indicator from Planet Money, we bring you five episodes digging into the evolving business of crime. Today on the show, we hear how AI could spell mischief for the markets, and why the law is already behind in preventing it.
Over the past 20 years, the number of college applications filed to top schools has exploded. And while most American colleges accept most applicants, many parents and students hold tightly to the idea that prestige matters. In his new book Dream School: Finding the College That’s Right For You, journalist and higher education expert Jeff Selingo argues elite schools aren’t always the best. In today’s episode, Selingo speaks with NPR’s Michel Martin about why he wants to give parents permission to think more broadly about higher education.
To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday
Eliana Johnson joins the podcast today to talk about the unprecedented attack-dog performance on Tuesday in a Senate hearing by Attorney General Pam Bondi, who decided to treat her oversight committee as though they were enemies whom she had every right to attack in personal terms. Is this a new model going forward? And what's this with the idea that a Harvard professor shooting a gun near a synagogue was just hunting rats? Give a listen.
In Patricia Lockwood’s latest novel, the protagonist is an author named Patricia. Will There Ever Be Another You documents a four-year period of disorientation, disassociation and confusion after Patricia becomes severely ill. The story is based on Lockwood’s own experience with brain fog and other symptoms after becoming sick with Covid-19 in March 2020. In today’s episode, the real-life author talks with NPR’s Ari Shapiro about embodying confusion as she wrote about it.
To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday
In the midst of the Great Depression, the City of St. Louis wanted to create a monument to the city’s role in the westward expansion of the United States and general waterfront improvement.
It took thirty years, but they eventually created their monument with the assistance of the Federal Government. When it was completed, it was a structure like no other on Earth.
It was a 660-foot-tall freestanding stainless steel arch. It required innovations not just in design and architecture, but in materials, construction, and even elevators.
Learn more about the Gateway Arch, how and why it was built, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
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There’s a serious high-stakes policy fight at the heart of this.
The Democrats didn’t pick a fight over authoritarianism or tariffs or masked immigration agents in the streets. They picked one over health care. And the issue here is very real. Huge health insurance subsidies passed under President Joe Biden are set to expire at the end of this year, threatening to make health care premiums skyrocket and kick millions off their insurance.
Neera Tanden was one of the architects of the Affordable Care Act and has worked in Democratic policymaking for decades. She is the president of the Center for American Progress and was a director of Biden’s Domestic Policy Council. I asked her on the show to lay out the policy stakes of the shutdown and what a deal might look like.
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Rollin Hu. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris and Kate Sinclair. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Marie Cascione, Annie Galvin, Kristin Lin, Jack McCordick, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.
Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week:
The Daily Mail says that over half of the UK population live in households that get more in benefits than they pay in tax - is it true?
Do some billionaires earn more in a night than the population of Bournemouth earns in a year? New Green leader Zack Polanski seems to think so - we scrutinise the figures.
Are older generations getting smarter?
Have 77% of Gen-Z brought a parent along to a job interview? Really?
If you’ve seen a number you think we should take a look at, email the team: moreorless@bbc.co.uk
Presenter: Tim Harford
Reporter: Lizzy McNeill
Producer: Nathan Gower
Series producer: Tom Colls
Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
Sound mix: Duncan Hannant
Editor: Richard Vadon
The Sinaloa Cartel made the bulk of its money on cocaine. But cartels are diversifying into new operations including things like wildlife trafficking. Think sharks, jaguars, capybaras. The result is something called “narco-degradation.” On today’s show, we look at what’s driving cartels beyond drugs and how this is wreaking havoc on ecosystems in Central America.
