Planet Money

LIVE SHOW TOUR INFO HERE. New stories, live tapings, special guests, book signings and more. 

What would you build on a piece of land when all the normal rules go out the window?

On today’s show, how the Squamish Nation reclaimed a sliver of prime urban real estate and were liberated from zoning restrictions, to the consternation of their wealthy NIMBY neighbors.

We trace the 100 year saga of what might be the most interesting real estate development in North America right now: There’s a violent eviction, a tense legal battle, and a giant, tough decision for the Squamish Nation that culminates in the daring project that they’re building today.

It’s a story with lessons for every city trying to lower housing costs and build more.

This episode is adapted from Planet Money: A Guide To The Economic Forces That Shape Your Life. Pre-order before April 7 and you can get a poster. Details here. 

The working paper we mentioned on “ready-to-issue” permits in Los Angeles.

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This episode was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler with an assist from Emma Peaslee. It was edited by Jess Jiang, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer. 

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When you come across a book at a yard sale or a bookstore, you might pay more attention to the words between the covers than the physical form of the book itself. But content and the form are both crucial to a book’s success. Each book you pull off the shelf, is the product of thousands of decisions, big and small, tying together vast supply chains and armies of workers from around the world. 

On today’s episode, the second episode in our series: Planet Money sets out to actually write, design, and manufacture a book. We go spelunking deep inside the bowels of the publishing industrial complex. There will be trade wars, sunken cargo containers filled with lost cookbooks, deforestation regulations, and just a whiff of scratch and sniff. 

Related:
- Watch our book being printed: TikTok, Instagram, Spotify
- Episode 1: Inside a BOOK auction
- The laws of the office revisited 
- Series: Planet Money makes a book 

Live event info and tickets here. 

Pre-order the Planet Money book and get a free gift. / Subscribe to Planet Money+

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This episode was produced by Willa Rubin. It was edited by Jess Jiang, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer. 

Music: NPR Source Audio - “Motivation Or Mayhem,” “Missing A Deadline,” and “No Limits After All.”

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In the age of TikTok and Polymarket, it can be easy to overlook the humble book. But books are one of the most influential technologies ever invented. From “The Wealth of Nations” to “Das Kapital,” books have the power to shape whole economic systems… and everything else in our world. The market for books can determine which ideas make it to the masses. 

So when Planet Money was approached to make its own book, not only did it present an opportunity to spread the gospel of whimsical economic infotainment to new audiences everywhere, but it also presented an opportunity to get a rare peek behind the curtain of the notoriously opaque world of publishing.  

On today’s episode, the first chapter in our series on the making of a book: Planet Money sets out to land a book deal. We enter the high stakes, high school drama of the publishing industry, where literary agents try to woo powerful book editors. And we learn what happens when lofty artistic ideals meet the cold logic of the market. It’s a courtship dance with millions of dollars potentially on the line. There will be whale fights, corporate speed dating, and a literary shotgun wedding.

Related: 

- Episode 2: Our BOOK vs. the global supply chain
- Series: Planet Money makes a book 

Live event info and tickets here. 

Pre-order the Planet Money book and get a free gift. / Subscribe to Planet Money+

Listen free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.

Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.

This episode was produced by Willa Rubin with production help from Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Jess Jiang, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer. 

Music: NPR Source Audio - “Run Baby Run,” “Lay It Down,” and “Lazy Ringer.”

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The cardinal tetra is one of the most popular pet fish in the world. They look like little red and blue sequins. You've almost certainly seen them at the pet store or the fish tank at your dentist's office. They're everywhere. 

Not so long ago, most of the world's supply of cardinals came from just one place. It's a little town deep in the rainforests of Brazil, where locals still catch these fish by hand. But the business that this town has relied on for decades has come under threat. 

Recently, we hopped on a plane to see this unusual economy for ourselves — and, two different visions for how to save it. 

For more information about these fish, check out Project Piaba. 

Pre-order the Planet Money book and get a free gift. / Subscribe to Planet Money+

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This episode was hosted by Jeff Guo. It was co-reported and produced by Luis Gallo. It was edited by Marianne McCune, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Kwesi Lee. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer.

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Robby the chef has lots of endearing qualities. He can make over 5000 dishes, he’s a consistent cook, and he’s never late for work. But he’s not a human. It is a 750 lb. stainless steel robot. With a rotating wok at its center. It’s a wok-bot. 

Automation has changed many industries. But automation only started entering restaurant kitchens in the past couple decades. Which raises the question – what will robots mean for the restaurant industry? How will automation change jobs and how will it change the very food we eat?

Today on the show, we talk with a Nobel prize-winning economist, Daron Acemoglu, about when automation is complementing or displacing workers. And we decide to put this wok-bot to the test. We pit a human chef against Robby the wok-bot in a head-to-metalhead smackdown. 

Further Listening/Reading:
How AI could help rebuild the middle class 
The Big Red Button 
Check out our AI series: Planet Money makes an episode using AI
Why Nations Fail, America Edition (newsletter)
A New Way To Understand Automation (newsletter)
Get your book tour tickets here. / Pre-order the Planet Money book and get a free gift.

Subscribe to Planet Money+

Listen free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.

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This episode was hosted by Erika Beras and Justin Kramon. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Jess Jiang. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Robert Rodriguez with help from Cena Loffredo. Interpretation help from Huo Jingnan. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer.

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