Somebody Has to Pick the Stocks

When we go to buy something – online, on our phones, in person, doesn't matter – there’s an entire invisible infrastructure behind whatever price we see. Companies have dedicated data scientists who use our zip codes, computer type, browsing history, cursor movements, SO much information, to determine how much they can charge us, how much we are willing to pay. On the consumer side, basically nobody likes it. So how did it get to this, and what can we do about it? In part it’s because our technological capabilities have advanced at a faster rate than our social structures, rules and laws. Stephanie Nguyen was Chief Technologist at the Federal Trade Commission from 2021 to 2025, where she worked on cases against companies who were surveillance-pricing us unfairly. She unpacks how companies are spying on us, when that crosses a line, and what changes we’re starting to see as consumers fight back.

Critical minerals and rare earths – special rocks – do everything from make our cars go to treat cancer. But the vast majority of production, processing, and manufacturing largely happens in or is controlled by China. For decades, we didn't think that was a problem. Plus, mines were dirty and dangerous and we preferred that they be located elsewhere. But in recent years, as global trade has turned from a tool of diplomacy to a weapon, we and every other country realized that it’s probably suboptimal to cede these literally-critical elements. Mining economist Gracelin Baskaran loves these rocks, and tells us what makes them so important, why the US was so lackadaisical about them, and what we’re doing about it now.

Over a decade ago, Eric Zwick got assigned an unusual project at the U.S. Treasury: Find out how much tax businesses were paying. But the data was a mess, so Eric and two friends helped comb through it and, in doing so, got to build a topographic map of business activity and profitability in America. And it suddenly revealed a class of people who had been hard to see before: the “everywhere millionaires,” or the “stealthy wealthy.” People who built an amazing amount of wealth selling things like cars, $5 electric toothbrushes, and seamless gutters. He tells us about these everywhere millionaires, the policies that helped them get so rich, and how this revelation helped reshape his understanding of the U.S. Further Reading/Listening Owen Zidar & Eric Zwick - The Everywhere Millionaire Planet Money - My Favorite Tax Loophole

When novelist Min Jin Lee writes a book, she goes deep. She spends years researching, interviewing relevant people whose experiences and jobs will comprise her characters and plot. In her new book American Hagwon, she threw herself into the intense schooling and education systems, and extracted lessons that are sincerely useful, which she unpacks in this episode, including: a focus on achievement obscures the point of learning; community is how to survive; karma is real, just be patient; and how – unprompted! – it all goes back to bond markets.

Being a country’s central banker is a technical job. But, just like high school, if you are a popular central banker, it pays off. Aditi Sahasrabuddhe is a political scientist at Brown University, and has researched just how much it pays to be popular. It’s the kind of question that the field of economics largely neglects. Aditi looks at central-bank-likeability through the manifestation of swap lines, currency exchanges made available between two economies. These become especially important in a moment of crisis, and a close connection between central bankers can mean the difference between an economy that sinks and one that swims. Further Reading: Aditi Sahasrabuddhe: Banker’s Trust Liaquat Ahamed: Lords of Finance Financial Times: Swap lines are geopolitical infrastructure Financial Times: A less independent Fed raises risks to a key crisis tool Financial Times: Will the Fed continue to assume its global responsibilities?