Planet Money

When we stumbled upon Milk.com [http://milk.com], we were mystified. It appears to be someone’s personal website. But memorable domain names can be worth a million dollars or more. So, why is someone using this valuable internet real estate to post their resume and favorite recipes?   Back in the internet’s early days, it was easy to get a domain name. They were cheap or even free. The first people to grab them may now be holding onto assets that can sell for millions of dollars. These potential profits have attracted a unique breed of investor who buys and sells domain names, gambling on the value of everyday words.   On our latest show: What is a domain really worth? And we ask the owner of milk.com why he’s not selling — and if there’s a price that might change his mind. Planet Money is writing a book! Sign up [https://www.npr.org/2023/11/06/1209101302/the-planet-money-the-book-is-coming-soon] for updates about pre-sale special gifts and for book tour events. 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 Alex Mayyasi and Jeff Guo. It was produced by Willa Rubin and edited by Jess Jiang. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by James Willetts. 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]

The Federal Reserve has been under intense pressure from President Donald Trump as he pushes for more control over the historically independent agency. The Fed is tasked with keeping inflation and unemployment under control, and it’s supposed to be insulated from politics so it can do whatever is necessary for the economy. But Trump has been openly saying he wants interest rates to be lower. A lot lower. And on Monday, Trump posted [https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115092130707196133] a bombshell. He said that he was removing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, “for cause [https://www.npr.org/2025/08/20/nx-s1-5508276/trump-calls-for-resignation-of-fed-governor-in-latest-line-of-attack].” Lisa Cook has told NPR she intends to remain in office [https://www.npr.org/2025/08/28/nx-s1-5520674/lisa-cook-lawsuit-trump-fed], and is now suing Trump.  On today’s show: inside the Fed Board of Governors. How realistic is a plan to control monetary policy through loyalists on the Board? We hear from former Board governors to understand what the job is, and what we might be in for.  Further listening on the Fed and Fed independence: - A primer on the Federal Reserve's independence [https://www.npr.org/2025/04/23/1246593555/federal-reserve-independence] - Happy Fed Independence Day [https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2019/03/01/699546781/episode-898-happy-fed-independence-day] - The case for Fed independence in the Nixon tapes [https://www.npr.org/2025/01/10/1223918033/richard-nixon-arthur-burns-fed-independence] - A Locked Door, A Secret Meeting And The Birth Of The Fed [https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/11/11/455675540/episode-505-a-locked-door-a-secret-meeting-and-the-birth-of-the-fed] - Trump's unprecedented attack on the Fed [https://www.npr.org/2025/08/26/nx-s1-5518335/trumps-unprecedented-attack-on-the-fed] - Turkey's runaway inflation problem [https://www.npr.org/2022/04/06/1091287991/turkeys-runaway-inflation-problem]  - Should presidents have more of a say in interest rates? [https://www.npr.org/2024/08/14/1197968126/should-presidents-have-more-of-a-say-in-interest-rates] Listen 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]. 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]

Get your own personalized summer school diploma here [http://npr.org/2025/08/26/g-s1-85342/take-the-planet-money-summer-school-quiz]. Today on our final episode of Summer School 2025, [https://www.npr.org/series/1015448333/planet-money-summer-school] we will test your knowledge. We will salute the unsung heroes of government service. And we will pick our valedictorian from among you of the class of 2025.  Editorial Note: President Trump attempted to fire Lisa Cook, a Biden appointee to the Federal Reserve Board. Our daily podcast, The Indicator, has coverage on their latest episode [https://www.npr.org/2025/08/26/nx-s1-5518335/trumps-unprecedented-attack-on-the-fed]. We’ll have an episode in the Planet Money feed soon, in the meantime, here’s some background listening on why this is so important.  Years before she joined the Fed, we profiled the work of Lisa Cook. Listen here [https://www.npr.org/2020/06/12/876097416/patent-racism]. Also these:  Happy Fed Independence Day [https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2019/03/01/699546781/episode-898-happy-fed-independence-day] A primer on the Federal Reserve's independence [https://www.npr.org/2025/04/23/1246593555/federal-reserve-independence] The case for Fed independence in the Nixon tapes [https://www.npr.org/2025/01/10/1223918033/richard-nixon-arthur-burns-fed-independence] Turkey's runaway inflation problem [https://www.npr.org/2022/04/06/1091287991/turkeys-runaway-inflation-problem]  Arthur Burns: shorthand for Fed failure? [https://www.npr.org/2023/02/02/1153914311/arthur-burns-shorthand-for-fed-failure]  Should presidents have more of a say in interest rates? [https://www.npr.org/2024/08/14/1197968126/should-presidents-have-more-of-a-say-in-interest-rates] Can the Federal Reserve stay independent? [https://www.npr.org/2025/03/04/1235758702/executive-orders-federal-reserve-doge]  It's hard out there for a Fed chair [https://www.npr.org/2025/05/08/1249919772/jerome-powell-fed-reserve-job-security]  The series is hosted by Robert Smith and produced by Eric Mennel. Our project manager is Devin Mellor. This episode was edited by Planet Money Executive Producer Alex Goldmark and fact-checked by Emily Crawford. 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]. 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]

In the past couple years, demand has gone wild for drugs like Ozempic – and its cousins, Zepbound, Wegovy, and Mounjaro. For people who had never been able to lose weight before, suddenly the numbers on the scale were plummeting. And everybody wanted to get their hands on them.  Now, in most industries, if a product goes viral like this, it’s a golden ticket. And thanks to government-granted monopolies designed to encourage innovation, the big drug companies behind these blockbuster injections are currently the only ones allowed to make them. In theory, anyway.  But, what if that explosive demand backfired, opening the door to legal knock-offs? You’ve maybe seen them - copycats advertised as the same thing as Ozempic. So, what’s the difference? And just how legal are they? On today’s show - a drug that’s changing people's lives is also challenging the traditional way we buy and sell medicine. This episode was hosted by Sydney Lupkin and Jeff Guo. It was produced by James Sneed. It was edited by Marianne McCune, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Gilly Moon and Debbie Daughtry. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer. Listen 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]. 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]. Music: Source Audio - “Subtly Silly Thug,” “Got The Moves,” and “Vive le Punk” 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]

Tariffs are the favorite tool of our current president, but there are lots of other ways that governments insert themselves into the free exchange of goods and services. Some of these trade barriers are so insidious and have been going on for so long that it may surprise you that they even exist.  We bring you the classic story of what happens when you try to protect an American industry and end up hurting another American industry. Well intentioned plans turn into trade barriers that make our lives more expensive.  Check out our Summer School video cheat sheet TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@planetmoney/video/7390045174518254891]. 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]. The series is hosted by Robert Smith and produced by Eric Mennel. Our project manager is Devin Mellor. This episode was edited by Planet Money Executive Producer Alex Goldmark and fact-checked by Emily Crawford. 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]