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4 weeks ago | 
npr.org | Jeff Guo |Sarah Gonzalez |James Sneed |Keith Romer
Planet Money buys a mystery diamond Download Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1240892101/1268476830" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> The Planet Money mystery diamond Sarah Gonzalez/Sarah Gonzalez hide caption toggle caption Sarah Gonzalez/Sarah Gonzalez The Planet Money mystery diamond Sarah Gonzalez/Sarah Gonzalez The deal seemed too good to be true.
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1 month ago | 
npr.org | Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi |Nic Neves |Jess Jiang |James Sneed
The Parable of Peanut the Memecoin Download Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1235939360/1267423581" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Peanut the squirrel. (Photo by Mark Longo) Mark Longo/Mark Longo hide caption toggle caption Mark Longo/Mark Longo Peanut the squirrel. (Photo by Mark Longo) Mark Longo/Mark Longo Memecoins are having a moment.
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2 months ago | 
npr.org | Kenny Malone |Ian Coss |Alex Goldmark |James Sneed
How the scratch off lottery changed America Download Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1229744816/1265889656" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Americans spend more on scratch lottery tickets per year than on pizza. More than all Coca-Cola products. Yet the scratch ticket as a consumer item has only existed for fifty years.
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Jan 22, 2025 | 
npr.org | Sarah Gonzalez |Keith Romer |James Sneed
Firefighters work the scene as an apartment building burns during the Eaton fire in the Altadena area of Los Angeles county, California on January 8, 2025. Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images Firefighters work the scene as an apartment building burns during the Eaton fire in the Altadena area of Los Angeles county, California on January 8, 2025.
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Nov 27, 2024 | 
npr.org | Amanda Aronczyk |Erika Beras |Jess Jiang |James Sneed
Why you bought your couchYou 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.
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Nov 1, 2024 | 
npr.org | Kenny Malone |Chris Arnold |Quil Lawrence |Meg Cramer |James Sneed
Ray and Becky Queen live in rural Oklahoma with their kids (and chickens). The Queens were able to buy that home with a VA loan because of Ray's service in the Army. During COVID, the Queens – like millions of other Americans – needed help from emergency forbearance. They were told they could pause home payments for up to a year and then pick up again making affordable mortgage payments with no problems. That's what happened for most American homeowners who took forbearance.
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Oct 18, 2024 | 
npr.org | Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi |Jeff Guo |Jess Jiang |James Sneed
Over the past two decades, there's been a sort of tectonic economic shift happening under our feet. More and more companies have switched from selling goods one by one to selling services, available as a subscription. These days everything from razor blades to meal kits to car washes have become subscriptions. But all that convenience has also come with a dark side – some companies have designed their offerings to be as easy as possible to sign up for and also as difficult as possible to cancel.
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May 31, 2024 | 
laist.com | Erika Beras |James Sneed
In these challenging times, the need for reliable local reporting has never been greater. Put a value on the impact of our year-round coverage. Help us continue to highlight LA stories, hold the powerful accountable, and amplify community voices. Your support keeps our reporting free for all to use. Stand with us today. Monthly Donation One-Time Donation
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May 24, 2024 | 
npr.org | Erika Beras |James Sneed |Jess Jiang
Junkman Jon Rolston has spent the last two decades clearing out houses and offices of their junk. In that time, he's become a kind of trash savant. James Sneed/NPR hide caption toggle caption James Sneed/NPR Junkman Jon Rolston has spent the last two decades clearing out houses and offices of their junk. In that time, he's become a kind of trash savant. James Sneed/NPR On today's episode, we ride through the streets of San Francisco with a long-time junkman, Jon Rolston.
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Apr 26, 2024 | 
npr.org | Erika Beras |Jess Jiang |James Sneed
About thirty years ago, Yagya Kumar Pradhan woke up to the news that the temple he and his clan used had been broken into. The temple had been ransacked. And someone had stolen two holy Bhairav masks. Yagya says they had been in his family for more than five hundred years - since the 16th century. Yagya is a kind of Hindu priest for his clan. And he says, these Bhairav masks were very holy. People made offerings to them during Dashaun, a festival held in the fall.
