Planet Money Summer School

Planet Money is of my all-time favorite podcasts. I have listened to every episode in their back catalog and for years I have donated to NPR just because of them. For me it his the perfect balance of fun (just look at that pig Latin on the diploma I earned) and informative, history and current events. I love the wacky stunts they pull like trying to sell Christmas trees or developing a comic book character. One of the best things they have done recently is their Planet Money Summer School program. I recommend Planet Money whenever I can, especially the summer school episodes, to any undecided listeners

The main reason I recommend the summer school episodes is their generality. The regular Planet Money episodes often focus on a particular topic. You may not care about Kid Rock or concert tickets, but the episode is still great. But it can be overwhelming to search hundreds of episodes to find something that sticks out to you. The summer school episodes are more broad and mostly cover big topics like inflation or macroeconomics. They discuss topics you would learn in Econ 101 your freshman year. They might not be as interesting as food spoilage dates, all of us can use a regular refresher on the big ideas that underpin our entire economy.

For teachers, Planet Money has gone the extra mile and has provided resources to use in the classroom. I do not teach economics but I know what a pain it can be to find good materials. Planet Money provides the vocabulary, teachers’ guides, comprehension and discussion questions, to use with selected episodes. Any educator knows that students complex learn more effectively when the ideas are presented with real life examples and uses.