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Planet Money

Planet Money

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Wanna see a trick? Give us any topic and we can tie it back to the economy. At Planet Money, we explore the forces that shape our lives and bring you along for the ride. Don't just understand the economy – understand the world.

Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Planet Money.Copyright 2015-2026 NPR - For Personal Use Only Economics Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Can World Cup mania grow MLS in the U.S.?

    Can World Cup mania grow MLS in the U.S.?
    Jul 17 2026
    As the World Cup comes to a close, so does a massive real-time experiment happening just around the edges. Major League Soccer – the top men’s professional soccer league in the U.S. and Canada – has been scrambling to take advantage of this once-in-a-generation opportunity when average American sports fans suddenly cared a lot about soccer.

    In between World Cup matches, NPR Sports Correspondent Becky Sullivan has been following Major League Soccer executives as they try to figure out how best to get a foot in the door with sports fans in the U.S.

    In this episode, we tag along to see if U.S. and Canadian professional soccer can harness 2026 for the mythical World Cup bump in soccer interest. What strategies are teams using? And does it stand a chance to work?

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    This episode of Planet Money was hosted by Becky Sullivan and Kenny Malone. It was produced by James Sneed with an assist from Sam Yellowhorse Kesler and edited by Jess Jiang. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Annlie Huang. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer.

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    26 mins
  • Can the Trump administration make college cheaper?

    Can the Trump administration make college cheaper?
    Jul 1 2026
    Will limiting how much students can borrow force schools to lower their prices?

    The Department of Education thinks so. It has a new plan to bring down tuition costs. Starting today, July 1st, it’s going to cap how much it’s willing to loan to graduate students.

    You read that right. To reduce the burden of school…the plan is to give students less money to pay for school.

    This plan is, in part, based on an idea that’s been floating around higher education circles for decades: The Bennett Hypothesis, which claims there’s a direct relationship between student borrowing and tuition prices. And therefore, if the Department of Education — the biggest student loan provider in the country — limits how much students can take out, then schools will have no choice but to charge students less.

    This hypothesis was floated roughly 40 years ago...without evidence. But now, as the Trump administration rolls out their Bennettian plan, we have decades of data to see how true this hypothesis is.

    Today on the show: NPR Education Correspondent Cory Turner explains this theory, and what the new plan influenced by it will mean for borrowers this fall.

    Other notes:

    • Bill Bennett: “Our Greedy Colleges”
    • Cory Turner: "July 1 brings big student loan changes. Here's what you need to know"
    • The Indicator: "What you should know about your student loans"

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    • Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life
    • Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletter
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    This episode was hosted by Cory Turner and Kenny Malone. It was produced by Willa Rubin and edited by Marianne McCune. It was fact-checked by Charlotte Isidore and engineered by Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.

    Music: NPR Source Audio - “Morning Chorus,” “Belle Mar,” and “The Sky Was Orange.”

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    29 mins
  • How to win a penalty shootout (with game theory)

    How to win a penalty shootout (with game theory)
    Jul 3 2026
    Lionel Messi is arguably the greatest soccer scorer of all time. But when it comes to penalty kicks, Messi is merely average. Why? Maybe the answer involves game theory.

    According to game theory, there’s an optimal strategy for taking penalty kicks. This strategy involves an idea that was once somewhat controversial in economics — that is, until economists started studying soccer players in real life.

    On today's show, we kick it over to the hosts of the Soccernomics podcast to explain how game theory has changed soccer, and how soccer has changed game theory.

    Watch the penalty shootout between Manchester United and Chelsea in the Champions League final in 2008.

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    Read:
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    Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletter
    Our weekly Indicator round-up newsletter

    Follow:
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    TikTok
    YouTube
    Facebook

    This episode of Planet Money was produced by Emma Peaslee with help from James Sneed. It was edited by Jess Jiang. It was fact checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Annlie Huang. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.

    The Soccernomics episode was originally hosted by Ashish Malhotra, Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski and sound designed by Alex Roldan.

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    18 mins
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Love the show. it has got too political at some point, but it still has great episodes.

Facts, not only opinions.

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