Slate Money

In this Money Talks: How does America assert its power globally? The short answer is money. For the long answer, Felix Salmon [https://www.axios.com/authors/fsalmon] calls in authors Edward Fishman [https://www.energypolicy.columbia.edu/edward-fishman/](Chokepoints [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/726149/chokepoints-by-edward-fishman/]) and Saleha Mohsin [https://salehamohsin.com/] (Paper Soldiers [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/705364/paper-soldiers-by-saleha-mohsin/]) who both recently published books on the subject. They’ll discuss how the US dollar managed to become the world’s reserve asset, the ways it’s been weaponized in the past, and what that global status means under an “America First” president.  This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock weekly bonus episodes of Slate Money—you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Slate Money show page on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slate-money/id876523888] and Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2AgxNbNcUOckZSww9mk8mX]. Or, visit slate.com/moneyplus [https://slate.com/prudie-plus?utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=DearPrudence&utm_source=episode_summary] to get access wherever you listen.  Podcast production by Jessamine Molli and Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

This week: The US Stock Market is plummeting during Trump’s second term. Felix Salmon [https://www.axios.com/authors/fsalmon], Emily Peck [https://www.axios.com/authors/epeck], and Elizabeth Spiers [https://www.elizabethspiers.com/] explain why headlines very rarely affect the movements of the Stock Market–and discuss whether we're currently living one of those exceptions. Then, the Wall Street Journal has reported that the Trump family is in talks to invest in the US arm of crypto giant Binance [https://www.wsj.com/finance/currencies/trump-family-has-held-deal-talks-with-binance-following-crypto-exchanges-guilty-plea-05b029fa]. If true, the move would almost certainly be an attempt to buy a pardon for billionaire founder CZ, who pled guilty to violating U.S. anti-money-laundering requirements under Biden. And finally, Youtube megastar MrBeast, made popular among the Gen Alpha set for giving away fabulous prizes, is turning his fame into fortune via his candybars. Are they any good? Elizabeth will decide! In the Slate Plus episode: How many days a year should we all really spend at work? Want to hear that discussion and hear more Slate Money? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Slate Money show page on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slate-money/id876523888] and Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2AgxNbNcUOckZSww9mk8mX]. Or, visit slate.com/moneyplus [https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=Money&utm_source=episode_summary] to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Jessamine Molli and Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

This week: Trump’s tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China went into effect – only for him to turn around and suspend many of them. Felix Salmon [https://www.axios.com/authors/fsalmon], Emily Peck [https://www.axios.com/authors/epeck], and Elizabeth Spiers [https://www.elizabethspiers.com/] discuss Trump’s love of tariffs and the political effects of his trade war. Then, Egg Watch gets a whole segment this week as Chenya Roth joins to discuss the economics of egg demand and the question of if eggs even should be super cheap [https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/02/egg-prices-rising/681844/]. And finally, an elaborate scheme to buy every lottery ticket [https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-03-05/there-was-a-texas-lottery-arbitrage?sref=C3P1bRLC] and guarantee a jackpot went down in Texas. The hosts debate whether there is actually anything wrong with that.  In the Slate Plus episode: The Trump bump has become quite a slump Want to hear that discussion and hear more Slate Money? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Slate Money show page on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slate-money/id876523888] and Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2AgxNbNcUOckZSww9mk8mX]. Or, visit slate.com/moneyplus [https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=Money&utm_source=episode_summary] to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Jessamine Molli and Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

In this Money Talks: Emily Peck [https://www.axios.com/authors/epeck] is joined by journalist and author Adam Chandler [https://www.adamchandler.com/] to discuss what he discovered about how Americans think about work while writing his book 99% Perspiration [https://www.adamchandler.com/99-perspiration]. They’ll get into America's often misguided and misinformed obsession with rugged individualism, the long-term effects of de-emphasizing community, and of course, Emily in Paris.  Want to hear that discussion and hear more Slate Money? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Slate Money show page on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slate-money/id876523888] and Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2AgxNbNcUOckZSww9mk8mX]. Or, visit slate.com/moneyplus [https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=Money&utm_source=episode_summary] to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Jessamine Molli and Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

This week: Trump has proposed a $5 million “gold card” for US citizenship, suggesting that the US could sell 10 million of them to pay off the national debt. Felix Salmon [https://www.axios.com/authors/fsalmon], Emily Peck [https://www.axios.com/authors/epeck], and Elizabeth Spiers [https://www.elizabethspiers.com/] discuss the logic behind this considering the similar programs that already exist and the possible pool of candidates. Then, they discuss guest Kyle Chayka [https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/kyle-chayka]’s recent piece in the New Yorker comparing Silicon Valley invasion of the government, led by Elon Musk, to the “techno-fasiscts” of 1930s Japan [https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/techno-fascism-comes-to-america-elon-musk]. And finally, the danger of black plastic kitchen utensils was debunked after the discovery of a simple math error. But the “zombie fact” is still affecting sales [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-26/black-plastic-scare-has-steel-wood-utensils-sales-rising?srnd=homepage-americas&sref=C3P1bRLC].  In the Slate Plus episode: The $19 Strawberry and Rise of Luxury Food Want to hear that discussion and hear more Slate Money? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Slate Money show page on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slate-money/id876523888] and Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2AgxNbNcUOckZSww9mk8mX]. Or, visit slate.com/moneyplus [https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=Money&utm_source=episode_summary] to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Jessamine Molli and Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]