The Indicator from Planet Money - Invest like a Congress member (Encore)

There are some new funds that track stock trading by members of Congress and their family. So we thought, why don't we get in on that?

Today on the show, we crack open the Planet Money Investment Jar to learn more about how our political leaders play the market, investing in funds tracking Democratic and Republican stock trades.

Whether Congressional stock trading should be limited is a hotly debated matter. So to test whether lawmakers are beating the market, Dartmouth College economist Bruce Sacerdote and his co-authors pitted lawmakers' stock picks against reindeer at a Christmas-styled theme park.

Trust us for this ride! It'll all make sense with some intriguing results.

This piece originally aired June 18, 2024.

Related listening:
Stock traders are trying to beat the market — by copying lawmakers
WTF is a Bitcoin ETF?(Apple / Spotify)
Planet Money's Toxic Asset
Planet Money Summer School: Investing

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More or Less: Behind the Stats - Numbers of the year 2024

It?s that time of year again, the time when we ask some of our favourite statistically-inclined people for their numbers of the year. We present them to you - from falling birth rates in India to children saved by vaccines.

Contributors: RukminiS, Data for India Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, Cambridge University, Hannah Ritchie, Our World in Data.

Presenter: Charlotte McDonald Producers: Lizzy McNeill and Vicky Baker Series Producer: Tom Colls Editor: Richard Vadon Sound Engineer: Donald McDonald and Rod Farquhar

The Indicator from Planet Money - Half a billion people need reading glasses. Why can’t they get them? (Encore)

If you need some reading glasses in the United States, you don't have to break the bank to pick some up. That's important for older folks who need a little extra magnification. But in some parts of the world, people who need readers don't have that privilege. Today on the show, we'll find out why that is and learn the economic solution to the reading glasses shortage.

This piece originally aired October 9, 2024.

Related episodes:
Two indicators: supply chain solutions (Apple / Spotify)

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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