What will AI look like in 2026? Is the hype a bubble or a tech revolution that will transform everything? This episode, the global politics shaping the future of AI and what it means for you. Guests include tech entrepreneur Alvin Wang Graylin, NPR tech reporter John Ruwitch, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in conversation with TED’s Chris Anderson.
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Welcome to the inaugural Planet Money Pop Culture Draft! In today’s episode (a Planet Money+ episode we’re releasing into the main feed) we’re gonna go back to the year 1999. Three hosts, Kenny Malone, Wailin Wong, and Jeff Guo, go head to head and each drafts a “team” of economic pop culture. So a movie, a song, and a wild card pick that best represents the Planet Money spirit!
It could be a movie related to business or maybe a song about money … as long as it came out in 1999! Listen to hear each of them make the case for why their team should be crowned the winner!
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This episode was hosted by Kenny Malone, Wailin Wong, and Jeff Guo. It was produced by Viet Le and edited by Planet Money’s executive producer Alex Goldmark.
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Why has Acquired — seemingly against all odds — “worked”? It’s a puzzling question: episodes are four hours long, they come out infrequently, and they usually don’t have guests or video. Hardly the standard-issue playbook for podcasting success! And yet well over a million smart, curious and exceedingly busy humans share their (your!) valuable time with us every month. Why? This is the exact paradox that has been rolling around in the head of Michael Lewis (yes, that Michael Lewis) since he found the show earlier this year.
So we asked Michael to be our guest “interlocutor” and share what he thinks is going on here, while we share ten lessons we’ve stolen (graciously) from companies we’ve studied and brought into Acquired itself. He takes us through the entire Acquired journey: how we started, why we’ve never hired anyone or raised money, how we pick episodes, what our business model actually is, why we focus on quality and enjoyment over maximizing enterprise value, and ultimately why we’re all — you, him, us — kindred spirits together. Oh, and just for fun, we recorded this episode where another special journey began — the garage where Google was founded.
Thank you for an incredible decade together… here’s to the next one!
Sponsors:
Thank-yous:
- First, to Google for loaning us the garage. The sawhorse table desk, PC and CRT monitor on display in the background were all Google originals courtesy of the Google Founders Collection at the Computer History Museum. So cool!
- Second, to our friends at Shep Films for helping us seriously up our game on production quality this episode!
Our Favorite Michael Lewis Books:
Carve Outs:
- Books:
- Podcasts:
- Video:
- Video Games:
- Products:
- Parenting:
More Acquired!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.
In 2008, Chicago’s budget was in a bad place. The city needed money. One way to raise money was to increase property taxes, but what politician wants to do that? So instead, Mayor Richard M. Daley’s administration looked around at the resources the city had, and thought, ‘Any of this worth anything?’ They opted to lease out the city’s metered parking system — to privatize all 36,000 of its parking meters.
The plan: have private companies bid on operating the meters, modernizing the system, and keeping the profits for a certain number of years. In exchange, they would give Chicago a big lump sum payment. The winning bid was $1.16 billion dollars for a 75-year lease.
Today’s episode is the story of how that bid got put together, and how it came to be hated. There are kidnapped parking meters, foot chases through City Hall, and trash bags filled with secret documents.
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This episode was produced by Willa Rubin with help from Luis Gallo and Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Jess Jiang, fact-checked by Vito Emanuel and engineered by Cena Loffredo and Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.
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Former ISS program manager and Axiom Space co-founder Michael Suffredini reflects on the ambitious path to building the International Space Station and the lessons learned from a decade of leadership. HWHAP 405.
From our favorite songs to our own voices, we’re surrounded by sound all day. But how does all this noise affect our emotions and behavior? This hour, TED speakers explore how sound shapes our lives. Guests include musician and professor of songwriting Scarlet Keys, AI CEO Pierre Barreau, voice expert Rebecca Kleinberger and musician Snow Raven.
(Original Broadcast Date: February 21, 2025)
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Before his passing, conductor Robert Franz guided us through the first movement of Dvorák’s “New World Symphony” using his four essential tools for listening—rhythm, melody, texture and visuals. As the year comes to a close, Manoush Zomorodi shares one of her favorite TED Radio Hour+ episodes.
Robert Franz was also featured in episode, “How we experience time.”
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From nuclear fission to GPS to the internet, it’s common knowledge that many of the most resource intensive technologies of the last century got their start as military R&D projects in government-funded labs. But as Avery Trufelman explains in her fashion history podcast, Articles of Interest, the influence of the US military is, in many ways, even more intimate than that, shaping much of the clothing we all wear everyday.
On today’s show, a tale of Army surplus economics. How military designs trickled down from the soldiers on the front lines to the hippies on the war protest line to the yuppies in line at Banana Republic. And why some of your favorite outdoor brands may just be moonlighting as U.S. military suppliers, while keeping it as under the radar as they can.
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This episode of Planet Money was produced by Luis Gallo, edited by Jess Jiang, fact checked by Yasmine Alsayyad, and engineered by Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer.
Articles of Interest is produced by Avery Trufelman, edited by Alison Beringer, fact checked by Yasmine Alsayyad, and engineered by Jocelyn Gonzalez.
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A few years ago, the Jamaican government started making an unusual financial bet. It went to investors around the world asking if they’d like to wager on the chances a major hurricane would hit the island in the next couple of years.
In finance terms, these kinds of wagers are called “catastrophe bonds.” They’re a way to get investors to share the risk of a major disaster, whether that’s a Japanese earthquake, a California wildfire, or a Jamaican hurricane.
This market for catastrophe has gotten really hot lately. And it’s changing the way that insurance works for all of us.
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This episode was produced by Willa Rubin and edited by Marianne McCune. It was engineered by Jimmy Keeley and Kwesi Lee. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez and Vito Emanuel. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.
Music: Universal Music Production – “Lagos to London,” “Sleazy Does It,” “The Sundown Set.”
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The CHAPEA Mission 2 crew discusses their backgrounds and preparations for their upcoming yearlong analog Mars mission inside the Mars Dune Alpha habitat at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. HWHAP 404.
