Planet Money

Windell Curole spent decades working to protect his community in southern Louisiana from the destructive flooding caused by hurricanes. His local office in South Lafourche partnered with the federal government's Army Corps of Engineers to build a massive ring of earthen mounds – also known as levees – to keep the floodwaters at bay. But after Hurricane Katrina called into question the integrity of those levees, Windell decided to take a gamble that put him at odds with his partners in the Army Corps. He decided that the best thing he could do to protect his community was to go rogue and build his levees as tall as possible as quickly as possible, without federal permission. On today's show, what the story of Windell's levee can teach us about how the federal government calculates and manages the risk of natural disasters, and how those calculations can look a lot different to the people staring straight into the eye of the storm. This episode was hosted by Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi and Mary Childs. It was produced by Emma Peaslee and edited by Jess Jiang. It was fact checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Valentine Rodriguez Sanchez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer. Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts [http://n.pr/PM-digital] or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney [https://n.pr/3HlREPz]. 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]

As people learn more about Donald Trump's pick for Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, one story comes up over and over: a legendary trade that he played a small part in while he worked at George Soros' hedge fund in the 1990s. In 1992, Soros' fund set its sights on the British pound, betting that some time in the fall of that year, the pound would plummet in value. Opposing them in this trade was the Bank of England, which was determined to keep its currency stable. The financial battle that followed was intense and proved to be a watershed moment in the balance of power between markets and governments. On today's show, we speak to Robert Johnson, a former managing director at Soros' fund, for a blow-by-blow account of those fateful days in 1992. This episode was hosted by Keith Romer and Alex Goldmark. It was produced by Willa Rubin and edited by Martina Castro. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer. Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts [http://n.pr/PM-digital] or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney [https://n.pr/3HlREPz]. Always free at these links: Apple Podcasts [http://n.pr/PM-digital], Spotify [https://n.pr/3gTkQlR], the NPR app [https://n.pr/3Bkb17W] or anywhere you get podcasts. Find more Planet Money: Facebook [https://n.pr/3h92GwS] / Instagram [https://n.pr/3FqLuws] / TikTok [https://n.pr/3sGZdrq] / Our weekly Newsletter [https://n.pr/3zrFvUB]. 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 dreaded data breach notification... It tells you your personal data's been compromised and suggests steps you can take to minimize the potential harm. On today's episode, Kenny Malone pulls out a data breach letter he received and goes over what it recommends with Amanda Aronczyk. Amanda recently did a show [https://www.npr.org/2024/10/30/1211165444/ticketmaster-snowflake-data-breach-hack] about the legal and illegal markets for data and tells us how useful these steps actually are. It's news you can use to protect yourself, whether or not you've been part of a data breach! This normally would be a bonus episode just for Planet Money+ listeners. With this being the season of giving, we're sharing this one with everyone! To hear more bonus content like this, regular episodes sponsor-free, and support the work of NPR, sign up for Planet Money+ at plus.npr.org [http://plus.npr.org]. Related links: Data Breach Response: A Guide for Business [https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/data-breach-response-guide-business] (FTC) Have you been affected by a data breach? [https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2022/10/have-you-been-affected-data-breach-read] (FTC) Your Technology Is Tracking You. Take These Steps For Better Online Privacy [https://www.npr.org/2020/10/09/922262686/your-technology-is-tracking-you-take-these-steps-for-better-online-privacy] (Life Kit) What happens after you get scammed? Can you get your money back? [https://www.npr.org/2024/05/29/1197959145/social-engineering-scam-phantom-hacker-fbi] (Planet Money) Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons [https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/podcast/] (cybersecurity and privacy podcast) DeleteMe [https://joindeleteme.com/how-we-work/] (personal data removal service) Experian [https://www.experian.com/] (credit bureau) TransUnion [https://www.transunion.com/] (credit bureau) Equifax [https://www.equifax.com/] (credit bureau) Always free at these links: Apple Podcasts [http://n.pr/PM-digital], Spotify [https://n.pr/3gTkQlR], the NPR app [https://n.pr/3Bkb17W] or anywhere you get podcasts. Find more Planet Money: Facebook [https://n.pr/3h92GwS] / Instagram [https://n.pr/3FqLuws] / TikTok [https://n.pr/3sGZdrq] / Our weekly Newsletter [https://n.pr/3zrFvUB]. 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]

You probably own a chair or a table or a sofa. And you probably think you know why you bought it. Because it was comfy. Or blue. Or the right price. But what if the style, the color, the cost, maybe even whether you would like it, were choices made for you years before you even thought about buying that piece of furniture. Today on the show: The city that makes or breaks the furniture world. We travel to High Point, North Carolina and meet the people who make the bets – on whether or not you'll want that comfy blue couch. This episode was hosted by Amanda Aronczyk and Erika Beras. It was produced by James Sneed with help from Willa Rubin. It was edited by Jess Jiang, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer. Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts [http://n.pr/PM-digital] or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney [https://n.pr/3HlREPz]. 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 couple years ago, Gina Leto, a real estate developer, bought a property with her business partner. The process went like it usually did: Lots of paperwork; a virtual closing. Pretty cut-and-dry. Gina and her partner started building a house on the property. But $800,000 into the construction process, Gina got a troubling call from her lawyer. There was something wrong. At first, Gina thought the house had burned down. It turned out that the situation was... maybe worse. On today's show: Buying land seems pretty secure, right? There's so much paperwork and verification along the way. But a messy system of how titles are sold, transferred and documented makes a perfect entry point for a new kind of criminal: Title Pirates. Today's episode was hosted by Erika Beras and Jeff Guo. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Liza Yeager. Fact-checking by Sarah McClure. Engineering by Valentina Rodríguez Sánchez. Planet Money's executive producer is Alex Goldmark. Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts [http://n.pr/PM-digital] or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney [https://n.pr/3HlREPz]. 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]