astronomy

Planet Money

Planet Money is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Planet Money rather than just read about it. In short: Planet Money is an American podcast and blog produced by NPR that explains economic topics in a way that is aimed at a broad audience. Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson created the podcast in the early days of the 2008 financial crisis.

Key takeaways

Planet Money belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Planet Money to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Planet Money from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Planet Money is an American podcast and blog produced by NPR that explains economic topics in a way that is aimed at a broad audience. Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson created the podcast in the early days of the 2008 financial crisis. Episodes are generally 30 minutes or less stand-alone explorations of a specific concept, though the podcast has also released several series following specific projects, such as production of a t-shirt or publication of a book. As of April 2026, the podcast had released over 1,500 episodes. Some of these have been incorporated into undergraduate courses at some universities. Planet Money also releases content on their website, YouTube, and TikTok, including short-form content, and has a spinoff podcast, The Indicator.

History The podcast was created by Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson after the success of "The Giant Pool of Money," an episode they recorded for This American Life. Planet Money was launched on September 6, 2008, to cover the 2008 financial crisis in the wake of the federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In early 2020, Planet Money celebrated its 1000th episode, bringing back many former hosts and contributors to mark the occasion.

Program The length of the podcasts ranges between 6–30 minutes. Planet Money uses abridged narratives to tackle popular, complex topics like American health care or insider trading. The format aims to make economic journalism approachable to audiences interested in learning more about popular economic issues, but who do not have an academic background in economics. The episodes are typically stand-alone. The interviewees or guests range from academic experts and business professionals to general members of the North American public. Providing listeners with primary source material, the podcast's hosts contribute contextual framing and commentary. Intimate stories are used as a leading thread and use commonplace language with entertaining plots to describe abstract or complex economic and political issues. This method translates political or economic topics, once historically dependent on academic language and higher education, to stories that engage the general public. This technique engages larger and/or younger audiences, while other audiences are attracted by their coverage of popular topics within North American culture. Planet Money provides regular reports for Morning Edition and All Things Considered and occasional episodes for This American Life. Planet Money was the first to report the small print in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 that allowed deviation from the original Paulson plan. Senator Max Baucus praised the show's attempts to explain the financial crisis "in terms the average American starts to understand". Planet Money episodes have been incorporated into undergraduate microeconomics and macroeconomics courses at some universities. Planet Money was involved in an NPR series about the Wells Fargo account fraud scandal, which earned NPR a 2016 Peabody Award. The podcast also won best podcast at the 2015 RAIN Internet Radio Awards.

External projects In 2012, Planet Money asked five economists (Dean Baker, Russ Roberts, Katherine Baicker, Luigi Zingales and Robert H. Frank) from across the spectrum to put together a "No-Brainer Economic Platform". The policies were:

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Planet Money

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Planet Money claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Planet Money before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Planet Money ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Planet Money

In research: Planet Money appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Planet Money in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Planet Money is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2008 podcast debuts, American business and finance podcasts, Audio podcasts, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Planet Money outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Planet Money in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Planet Money means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Planet Money out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Planet Money in simple terms?

Why does Planet Money matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Planet Money?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Planet Money.