Planet Money

Days of our Tariffs

Tariffs. They’ve been announced, unannounced, re-announced, raised and lowered. It’s an on-going saga with billions at stake! On today’s episode, we run full-on at the twisty, turny drama of life with broad-based tariffs and tackle perhaps our most asked question: Are we, regular U.S. shoppers, feeling the tariffs yet? When we’re at the grocery store or the coffee shop, are we paying more for things because of the tariffs? We now have the data to get a very clear answer to that question. Plus, we hear a cautionary tale from our dear colleague James Sneed, who ordered a collectible doll and wound up with a surprise tariff bill at his door. Related episodes: * Are Trump's tariffs legal? [https://www.npr.org/2025/06/11/1253992700/tariffs-ieepa-trump-legal-emergencies-law]  * What is Temu? [https://www.npr.org/2024/03/22/1197958526/temu-website-app-shopping] * What "Made in China" actually means [https://www.npr.org/2025/05/07/1249592921/tariff-customs-made-in-america-china-france] Pre-order the Planet Money book and get a free gift [https://www.planetmoneybook.com/]. /  Subscribe to Planet Money+ [https://n.pr/3HlREPz] Listen free: Apple Podcasts [http://n.pr/PM-digital], Spotify [https://n.pr/3gTkQlR], the NPR app [https://n.pr/3Bkb17W] or anywhere you get podcasts. Facebook [https://n.pr/3h92GwS] / Instagram [https://n.pr/3FqLuws] / TikTok [https://n.pr/3sGZdrq] / Our weekly Newsletter [https://n.pr/3zrFvUB]. This episode was produced by Willa Rubin and edited by Jess Jiang. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez with research help from Vito Emanuel. It was engineered by Jimmy Keeley and Maggie Luthar. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer. Music: NPR Source Audio - “Mirror,” “Remorse,” “Endless,” “Secrets,” “Schmaltzy,” “Water Mirror.” Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

The obscure pool of money the US used to bail out Argentina

Last month, during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the United States had offered to functionally loan Argentina $20 billion. Despite the sums involved, this bailout required no authorization from Congress, because of the loan’s source: an obscure pool of money called the Exchange Stabilization Fund. The ESF is essentially the Treasury Department’s private slush fund.  Its history goes all the way back to the Great Depression. But, in the 90 years since its creation, it has only been used one time at this scale to bailout an emerging economy: Mexico, in 1995. That case study contains some helpful lessons that can be used to make sense of Bessent’s recent move. Will this new credit line to Argentina work out as well as it did the last time we tried it? Or will Argentina’s economic troubles hamstring the Exchange Stabilization Fund forever? Pre-order the Planet Money book and get a free gift [https://www.planetmoneybook.com/]. /  Subscribe to Planet Money+ [https://n.pr/3HlREPz] Listen free: Apple Podcasts [http://n.pr/PM-digital], Spotify [https://n.pr/3gTkQlR], the NPR app [https://n.pr/3Bkb17W] or anywhere you get podcasts. Facebook [https://n.pr/3h92GwS] / Instagram [https://n.pr/3FqLuws] / TikTok [https://n.pr/3sGZdrq] / Our weekly Newsletter [https://n.pr/3zrFvUB]. This episode was hosted by Keith Romer and Erika Beras. It was produced by Luis Gallo. It was edited by Eric Mennel and fact checked by Sierra Juarez. It was engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

Buy now, pay dearly? (update)

(Note: A version of this episode originally ran in 2022 [https://www.npr.org/2022/05/10/1097885472/buy-now-pay-dearly].) Every time you shop online and make it to the checkout screen, you see those colorful pastel buttons at the bottom. Affirm. Klarna. Afterpay. Asking: Do you want to split your payment into interest-free installments? No credit check needed. Get what you want, right now.  That temptation got shoppers like Amelia Schmarzo into some money trouble. Back in 2022, she maxed out her credit card after a month of buying now and paying later. She’s not alone. Buy now, pay later is everywhere now. And you can finance almost anything with it. Your clothes, your furniture … even your lips.  But if these companies don’t charge interest, how do they make money? In short, people buy more stuff using these services and so sellers are willing to pay up. Which makes buy now, pay later, something of a threat to credit card companies. Cue the tussle for your impulse-buying clicks.  Today on the show, we find out how the companies work, who’s most likely to use these services and who’s getting a good deal. And a warning: those little loans will soon be on your credit report.  Subscribe to Planet Money+ [https://n.pr/3HlREPz] Listen free: Apple Podcasts [http://n.pr/PM-digital], Spotify [https://n.pr/3gTkQlR], the NPR app [https://n.pr/3Bkb17W] or anywhere you get podcasts. Facebook [https://n.pr/3h92GwS] / Instagram [https://n.pr/3FqLuws] / TikTok [https://n.pr/3sGZdrq] / Our weekly Newsletter [https://n.pr/3zrFvUB]. This episode was produced by Emma Peaslee, engineered by Josh Newell and edited by Molly Messick. Our update was reported by Vito Emanuel, produced by Willa Rubin, engineered by Gilly Moon and edited by our executive producer, Alex Goldmark. Music: Universal Music Production - "Retro Funk," "Comin' Back For More," "Reactive Emotion," and "EAT." Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

A new experiment in remote work … from the inside

When people in Maine prisons started getting laptops to use in their cells for online classes and homework, it sparked this new idea. Could they have laptops in their cells to work remotely for real outside world jobs, too??? And get real outside world wages? Today on the show, we have reporting from Maine Public Radio’s Susan Sharon [https://www.mainepublic.org/people/susan-sharon] about a new experiment in prisons: remote jobs … paying fair market wages, for people who are incarcerated.  Listen to Susan’s original reporting here:  - In Maine, prisoners are thriving in remote jobs and other states are taking notice [https://www.mainepublic.org/2025-08-29/in-maine-prisoners-are-thriving-in-remote-jobs-and-other-states-are-taking-notice]  - Cracking the code: How technology and education are changing life in Maine prisons [https://www.mainepublic.org/maine/2025-08-28/cracking-the-code-how-technology-and-education-are-changing-life-in-prison]  Related episodes: - Fine and Punishment [https://www.npr.org/2021/02/02/963466410/fine-and-punishment]  - Getting Out Of Prison Sooner [https://www.npr.org/2020/07/17/892465005/getting-out-of-prison-sooner]  - The Prisoner's Solution [https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/03/13/392862778/episode-610-the-prisoners-solution]  - Paying for the Crime [https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2016/07/20/486785422/episode-713-paying-for-the-crime]  Pre-order the Planet Money book and get a free gift [https://www.planetmoneybook.com/]. /  Subscribe to Planet Money+ [https://n.pr/3HlREPz] Listen free: Apple Podcasts [http://n.pr/PM-digital], Spotify [https://n.pr/3gTkQlR], the NPR app [https://n.pr/3Bkb17W] or anywhere you get podcasts. Facebook [https://n.pr/3h92GwS] / Instagram [https://n.pr/3FqLuws] / TikTok [https://n.pr/3sGZdrq] / Our weekly Newsletter [https://n.pr/3zrFvUB]. This episode was hosted by Sarah Gonzalez with reporting from Susan Sharon. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler with reporting help from Vito Emanuel. It was edited by Jess Jiang, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Robert Rodriguez, with help from Patrick Murray. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer.  Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

Everything’s more expensive!! Pet care!! Concert tickets!! (Two Indicators)

People in the U.S. are feeling the financial squeeze, in part because of rising inflation, higher consumer prices and slowing job growth. The Indicator from Planet Money [https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510325/the-indicator-from-planet-money] is tackling a special series on the rising cost of living. Today, two stories from that series.  First, what’s making ticket prices go up? We look at the economics behind the ticket market and how “reseller bots” are wreaking all sorts of havoc. The industry is not a fan, and yet they do serve an economic function.  And… why pet care costs have surged. It comes down to unique skills, people’s love for their pets and something called the “Baumol effect [https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2019/05/the-baumol-effect.html].”  Related episodes: - The Vet Clinic Chow Down [https://www.npr.org/2021/06/22/1009137378/the-vet-clinic-chow-down] - What Do Private Equity Firms Actually Do? [https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2012/02/21/147223073/the-tuesday-podcast-what-do-private-equity-firms-actually-do]  - Kid Rock vs. The Scalpers [https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2013/06/25/195641030/episode-468-kid-rock-vs-the-scalpers] - Ticket scalpers: The real ticket masters [https://www.npr.org/2021/11/23/1058704237/ticket-scalpers-the-real-ticket-masters]  Subscribe to Planet Money+ [https://n.pr/3HlREPz]  Listen free: Apple Podcasts [http://n.pr/PM-digital], Spotify [https://n.pr/3gTkQlR], the NPR app [https://n.pr/3Bkb17W] or anywhere you get podcasts. Facebook [https://n.pr/3h92GwS] / Instagram [https://n.pr/3FqLuws] / TikTok [https://n.pr/3sGZdrq] / Our weekly Newsletter [https://n.pr/3zrFvUB].  This episode is hosted by Darian Woods, Adrian Ma, and Wailin Wong. These episodes of The Indicator were originally produced by Angel Carreras. Cooper Katz McKim produced this episode. It was engineered by Robert Rodriguez and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Kate Concannon is The Indicator’s editor. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]