Category: Series

“Sell America.” There’s new talk of how Europe could turn the economic screws on the U.S. after President Trump’s play for Greenland. Selling U.S. Treasury bonds is one way. Another is a legal tool. It’s been called the EU’s bazooka.

On today’s show, taking stock of Europe’s financial arsenal. How could America’s largest foreign lender lighten Americans’ wallets?

Planet Money wrote a book and is going on tour, come see us: tickets and tour dates here. 

Related episodes: 
Davos drama, credit card caps and tariff truths
Why Trump resurrected the Monroe Doctrine
Lunch with the man who coined TACO

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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The latest killing of a protester in Minneapolis by federal agents is reminiscent of the shooting of Vickie Weaver by a government sniper in 1992. In both cases, the government has refused to acknowledge wrongdoing and has engaged in legal coverups.

Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/latest-federal-killing-minnesota-echoes-ruby-ridge

Constitutionalism gives us the expectation of governance according to rules that everyone from those that are governed to the ones that govern are expected to obey. But what happens if those that govern exempt themselves from those rules?

Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/failure-constitutionalism-through-ages-norms-emergencies-and-administrative-state

Pakistan has had some major economic bumps as of late, including a near default in 2023. At the root: seriously low tax collection. Millions of Pakistan residents opt out of paying income taxes entirely. This is a problem a lot of lower- and middle-income countries face. On today's show, we talk about why there are so many tax dodgers in Pakistan and what the government is trying to do about it. 

Related episodes: 

Is the US pushing countries towards China?

A brief history of income taxes 


For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.  

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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The vast island of Greenland has found itself at the centre of a geopolitical crisis. But a little bit of geography can help us see the situation in a new light.

YouTuber and map expert Jay Foreman explains how Mercator maps - the maps that the vast majority of us use to understand the world - contain necessary but massive distortions and hugely exaggerate the size of the Arctic island.

So, why is making a flat map of a round globe so difficult? Why did we end up with a problematic map in the first place? And are there any alternatives?

Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Nathan Gower Series Producer: Tom Colls Editor: Richard Vadon Programme Coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound Engineer: James Beard