Episodes

  • The simple math of the big bill

    The simple math of the big bill
    Jul 4 2025
    If we think about the economic effects of President Donald Trumps big taxing and spending and domestic policy bill, we can roughly sum it up in one line. It goes something like this:

    We will make many big tax cuts permanent and pay for those tax cuts by cutting Medicaid and a few other things and also...by borrowing money.

    A lot of money.

    Even more than we've already been borrowing over the past twenty years. (And that was already a lot, too!)

    Today: simple arithmetic with profound ramifications. Tax cuts, spending cuts, and whether they balance out. (Spoiler: no.)

    We look under the hood to see how all this is calculated. And we ask: how will a bigger deficit play out for all of us, in our normal, regular lives?

    We've covered a bunch more having to do with the big taxing and spending bill and the federal debt recently on Planet Money and our short daily show The Indicator:

    - So, how's this No Tax On Tips thing gonna go?
    - A thought experiment on how to fix the national debt problem
    - The paperwork trap: A sneaky way to cut Medicaid in the 'One Big Beautiful Bill'?
    - The debt limit, the origins of the X Date, and why it all matters
    - What's a revenge tax?
    - Is the federal debt REALLY that bad?

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    32 mins
  • A thought experiment on how to fix the national debt problem

    A thought experiment on how to fix the national debt problem
    Jul 2 2025
    There's an economic fantasy you sometimes hear in D.C. It often gets trotted out when politicians are trying to add billions or trillions to the national debt. They claim that all the new spending will be worth it in the end because we will supercharge economic growth.

    This fantasy recurs again and again, because economic growth is a potent force. Over the next few decades, tiny changes in how fast our economy grows could decide the fate of the federal government — whether we can bring the massive national debt under control or whether we spiral into a fiscal crisis.

    Today on the show, we talk to three economists who have been sifting through the latest evidence. They're trying to figure out what the government could actually do to make the economy grow faster. Could we even grow fast enough to outrun our national debt?

    For a list of citations, check out our episode page.

    This episode of Planet Money was produced by Emma Peaslee with help from Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Jess Jiang. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Ko Takasugi-Czernowin. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

    Find more Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.

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

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    26 mins
  • When Trump met crypto

    When Trump met crypto
    Jun 27 2025
    In 2019, President Trump tweeted: "I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies." Today, the Trumps are all over crypto.

    There are memecoins for Trump and the first lady. They own a stablecoin, a bitcoin mining operation, and a crypto financial services company. And, at the Bitcoin 2025 conference, Trump's media group announced they're raising 2.5 billion dollars from investors to buy bitcoin.

    At that same conference, speakers included two White House advisors, two sons of the US president, the son of the U.S. Commerce Secretary, and a Trump appointee to the Securities and Exchange Commission. For a cryptocurrency built on independence from big government, this was a swerve.

    So, what happens when the President of the United States showers his love on the crypto community ... while also becoming a crypto entrepreneur himself? We follow along as Trump Inc.'s Ilya Marritz and Andrea Bernstein spend three days at the Las Vegas conference center where convicts are cheered, oversight and regulation are booed, and the separation of crypto and state no longer applies.

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    32 mins
  • Econ Battle Zone: Budget Showdown

    Econ Battle Zone: Budget Showdown
    Jun 25 2025
    Econ Battle Zone is back! On today's episode Mary Childs and Kenny Malone enter Econ Battle Stadium to throw down against reigning champion Erika Beras.

    Can Mary explain what effect extending the 2017 tax cuts will have on economic growth AND make her entire segment rhyme? Will Erika be able to overcome her fear of singing and craft a country song about the history of Medicaid? Can Kenny put together a piece about what warning signs economists look for to know whether the national debt has grown too large... but as a romantic comedy?

    Guest judges Betsey Stevenson and David Kestenbaum face a difficult choice... but only one contestant can claim the coveted Econ Battle Zone Belt.

    Artists featured in this episode: Rexx Life Raj (IG: @rexxliferaj); Merle Hazard; Alison Brown; Tristan Scroggins; Matt Coles; and Garry West.

    Special thanks to Liz Garton Scanlon, Robin Rudowitz and Sarah Rosenbaum.

    Find more     Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.

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    39 mins
  • The U.S. is the world's bribery cop. Is that about to change?

    The U.S. is the world's bribery cop. Is that about to change?
    Jun 20 2025
    The U.S. has been policing bribery all over the world for nearly half a century using a law called the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. But now, President Trump has said that this anti-corruption law is crippling American businesses. Since taking office, his administration has reduced the number of investigators, killed some cases, and changed the rules.

    In this episode, we look at the FCPA case against Glencore, a large commodity trading company, found guilty in 2022 for paying cash bribes in exchange for lucrative contracts all over the world.

    And we go back to the inception of the law, a time when using bribes to pay off foreign officials was considered "grease in the wheels" - a reasonable (if unethical) way to get business done.

    This episode was hosted by Amanda Aronczyk and Erika Beras. It was produced by Willa Rubin. It was fact-checked by Emily Crawford with help from Willa Rubin. It was edited by Marianne McCune. It was engineered by James Willetts. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

    Find more     Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.

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

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    28 mins
  • Jay & Shai's debt ceiling adventure (Update)

    Jay & Shai's debt ceiling adventure (Update)
    Jun 19 2025
    Note: A version of this episode first ran in 2023.

    Every year, the U.S. government spends more money than it takes in. In order to fund all that spending, the country takes on debt. Congress has the power to limit how much debt the U.S. takes on. Once we reach that limit, Congress has a few options so that the government keeps paying its bills: Raise the debt limit, suspend it, or eliminate it entirely.

    Which is daunting, because if lawmakers don't figure something out in time, the ramifications for the global economy could be huge.

    Shai Akabas, of the Bipartisan Policy Center, has become something of the go-to expert in calculating the exact date America would hit the wall and not be able to pay all its debts. This day is so terrifying it has a special name, the X-Date.

    Today's episode is about how Akabas and Jay Powell — long before he became chair of the Federal Reserve — worked to create a system to determine the X-Date with the hope of helping us all never reach it.

    We also have an update on this year's looming X-Date, which could arrive as soon as this summer.

    Find more Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.

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    30 mins
  • Why I joined DOGE

    Why I joined DOGE
    Jun 14 2025
    What was it like to work inside Elon Musk's DOGE? The cost-cutting initiative promised transparency, but most of its actions have been shrouded in secrecy.

    For months, there were reports of software engineers and Trump loyalists entering agencies and accessing sensitive data. DOGE also helped the Trump administration lay off thousands of government workers. NPR reporters have been trying for months to get anyone from DOGE to talk on the record. Now, Sahil Lavingia, a former DOGE staffer assigned to the Department of Veteran Affairs, is speaking.

    Today, what drew Sahil to DOGE and what he learned about the inner workings, in a way we've never heard before.

    For more on DOGE and the federal workforce:
    - The last time we shrank the federal workforce
    - Can... we still trust the monthly jobs report?
    - Can the Federal Reserve stay independent?

    This episode was hosted by Kenny Malone and Bobby Allyn. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler and Emma Peaslee. It was edited by Jess Jiang and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. It was engineered by Neal Rauch. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

    Find more     Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.

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

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    27 mins
  • Are Trump's tariffs legal?

    Are Trump's tariffs legal?
    Jun 11 2025
    When President Trump announced his sweeping new tariffs this year, many trade law experts were startled. Typically, presidents don't have the authority to impose broad tariffs with a snap of their fingers.

    But Trump's advisors have an unusual new legal theory. They say that as long as there's a national emergency of some kind, Trump may be able to create whatever tariffs he wants. This is a creative interpretation of a 1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. To justify his latest tariffs, the president declared national emergencies involving illegal immigration, the fentanyl crisis, and the trade deficit.

    But no president has ever tried to use the law in this way.

    Now, the fate of Trump's tariffs — and the creative legal theory behind them — lies with the courts. About a dozen lawsuits have challenged his tariffs, claiming that they are unlawful and possibly even unconstitutional. And some judges have started to agree.

    On today's show: What are the President's powers when it comes to tariffs? Where do they come from? What are their limits? And, what will be the fate of Trump's tariffs?

    For more on Trump's tariffs:
    - The 145% tariff already did its damage
    - Do trade deficits matter?
    - What "Made in China" actually means

    Find more Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.

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    25 mins