Engines of Our Ingenuity - The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1495: The Chauffer Problem
Episode: 1495 The new technological elite: chauffeurs then, computer experts today. Today, we learn to drive our own cars -- and manage our own computers.
Engines of Our Ingenuity - The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1494: X-Ray Hair Removal
Episode: 1494 The strange persistence of X-ray hair removal. Today, we kill ourselves to remove hair.
Engines of Our Ingenuity - The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1492: Necessity in the Siege of Paris
Episode: 1492 Necessity and invention during the 1870 siege of Paris. Today, necessity, invention, and the Siege of Paris.
More or Less - The shocking world of US health costs
A loyal listener wrote in to question this claim made by neuroscientist Dr Daniel Levitin: "Here in the US valium in a pharmacy might be $3 that same pill in a hospital setting might be $750."
Our listener was shocked at how one pill can cost 250 x more in a hospital setting than in a pharmacy. But can it? Sort of.
We turned to Elisabeth Rosenthal to take us on a dive into the frankly shocking world of US Health costs.
Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Lizzy McNeill Series Producer: Tom Colls Editor: Richard Vadon Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound Mix: Neil Churchill
Audio Mises Wire - Inflation and the Intergenerational Housing Rivalry
Instead of market competition, inflation forces young and old into rivalrous competition for housing.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/inflation-and-intergenerational-housing-rivalry
The Indicator from Planet Money - Tariffs. Consumer sentiment. Cape Ratio. Pick The Indicator of The Year!
2025 was a wild year for the U.S. economy. Tariffs transformed the global economy, consumer sentiment hit near-historic lows, and the stock market hit scary, spooky, blood-curdling new heights! So … which of these economic stories defined the year?
Our hosts from Planet Money and The Indicator duke it out during our annual … Family Feud!
Tell us who you think has THE indicator of the year by emailing us at indicator@npr.org. Put “Family Feud” in the subject line.
Related episodes:
The Indicators of this year and next
This indicator hasn’t flashed this red since the dot-com bubble
What would it mean to actually refund the tariffs?
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 Corey Bridges. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Our hosts from Planet Money and The Indicator duke it out during our annual … Family Feud!
Tell us who you think has THE indicator of the year by emailing us at indicator@npr.org. Put “Family Feud” in the subject line.
Related episodes:
The Indicators of this year and next
This indicator hasn’t flashed this red since the dot-com bubble
What would it mean to actually refund the tariffs?
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 Corey Bridges. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Engines of Our Ingenuity - The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1491: Orpheus
Episode: 1491 In which business schools study a leaderless orchestra. Today, we have no leader.
Audio Mises Wire - November’s Weak Jobs Report Pushes the Fed Toward More Monetary Stimulus
If employment reports continue to show growing economic stagnation, calls for more monetary inflation and government spending will only grow.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/novembers-weak-jobs-report-pushes-fed-toward-more-monetary-stimulus
Curious City - Krampus is coming: The Christmas demon’s Chicago connection
On the morning of St. Nicholas Day, good kids rush downstairs to see what kind of gifts might be in their shoes. The bad kids? Unfortunately they might get a visit from Krampus, an ancient monster that has naughty children praying for a lump of coal instead.
The origins of this half-goat, half-man folklore character date back centuries, largely to German-speaking countries in Europe. But these days, Krampus is more popular than ever — especially in America, with parades, festivals, Hollywood horror films, Ocean Spray commercials and endless amounts of merchandise. That popularity is largely attributed to Chicagoan Monte Beauchamp, who first published images of Krampus in his alternative comic magazine, Blab!, in 2000.
“I can't believe what's taken place since I introduced Krampus in the pages of Blab! Magazine, which led to a book, and then from there it just exploded,” Beauchamp told Curious City.
In our last episode, we looked at a long-running holiday tradition in Chicago, Goodman Theatre’s rendition of “A Christmas Carol.” In today’s episode, we explore the origins of this very different kind of Christmas tradition and its curious local connection.
The Indicator from Planet Money - Catching up with a fired federal worker, a shrimper and a fraudster
After a firehose of economic news in 2025, we wanted to check back on some of the people we’ve heard from on our show. Today, we check in with a former federal employee caught in the Trump administration's wood chipper, a Louisiana shrimper on Trump’s tariffs and an update on a financial aid scam.
Related episodes:
Why do shrimpers like tariffs?
What’s the long-term cost of federal layoffs?
A big bank’s mistake, explained
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
NPR Privacy Policy