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Beyond the manosphere: Supporting boys and men in the real world

The debate about masculinity has reached a fever pitch. But Richard Reeves says we must move past the culture wars and look at the facts. This hour, a thoughtful approach to supporting boys and men.

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The leaked tapes that show how the rich avoid taxes

Tax avoidance — that is, legally reducing your tax bill — is as American as apple pie. But the line between tax avoidance and tax evasion is often a grey one. 

On today’s show, a collaboration with Tax Notes, we listen in on the secret tapes that show how the wealthiest Americans avoid taxes. 

We trace the lifecycle of a tax loophole: how it was born (in Malta), how it grew, how the Feds cracked down, and how the industry came to its rescue — with the help of one high-ranking Trump administration official.  

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This episode was produced by Luis Gallo and Emma Peaslee and edited by Marianne McCune. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Cena Loffredo and Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer.

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The giant factory town that might be a giant mistake

How does a poor country become a rich country? There’s a simple blueprint — or at least, that’s what many economists used to believe. But over the years, a lot of rapidly developing economies have stalled out. These countries aren’t poor anymore, but they’re not rich either. They’re stuck in the middle. The World Bank calls this problem the “middle income trap.”

And if there’s a poster child for the middle income trap, many would point to Brazil. For a time, Brazil had one of the fastest growing economies in the world. On today’s show, we head to Brazil to understand why the old blueprint for economic development might not work so well anymore.

The story starts in the Amazon rainforest. With an audacious plan to industrialize the country as fast as possible.

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This episode of Planet Money was hosted by Jeff Guo. It was produced by James Sneed and Luis Gallo. It was edited by Marianne McCune, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, translation help from Sarah Robbins. It was engineered by Robert Rodriguez and Jimmy Keeley. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.

A very, very special thanks to Carrie Kahn and Valdemar Geo from NPR’s Rio bureau. Also to Otaviano Canuto and Denis Minev.

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CHAPEA 2: Audio Log 2

The CHAPEA 2 crew shares the latest updates after four months into their simulated Mars mission, including life inside the habitat, holiday celebrations, off-duty activities, and the latest band update. NASA experts discuss how CHAPEA simulates Mars spacewalks on Earth. Episode 423

What we’ll eat on a warmer planet

From the farm, to the lab, to our tables, what we eat and how it’s grown is changing. Agriculture contributes to global warming and is being transformed by it. This hour, a glimpse into the future of food.

Guests include chef and policy advisor Sam Kass, farmers Jim Whitaker and Jessica Whitaker Allen, biotechnologist Isha Datar and artist Sam Van Aken.

Original broadcast date: July 5, 2024.

TED Radio Hour+ listeners now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and deeper conversations with Manoush. By signing up for Plus, you directly support our work and public media, so all your episodes (like this one!) come to you without sponsor breaks. Learn more at plus.npr.org/ted

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Vacation and why Americans take so little

Do you work more for more money? Or work less for more time? For some, this is the ultimate economic choice. 

Every single worker in the European Union is guaranteed four weeks of paid vacation. No matter how long they’ve been at a company. No matter how low paying the job is. Vacation is a right. 

In fact, all but one of the richest countries in the world guarantees paid vacation, except: the U.S. 

According to a 2019 study, people in Japan get 10 paid vacation days and 15 paid holidays; in Australia it’s 20 paid vacation days and 8 paid holidays; and in Spain it’s 25 paid vacation days and 14 paid holidays. 

And it’s not just a rich country thing: Mexico, Afghanistan, Thailand, Tanzania – they all guarantee paid vacation from work, at least in the formal job sector. 

In the U.S: Zero paid vacation days and zero paid holidays. 

So, why is the United States the outlier? We go to several labor economists and historians, to find out what makes Americans different from Europeans. It’s a winding journey, so maybe put in a request for some paid time off and take a listen!

Note: This episode originally ran in 2023.

Some articles we mention in this episode:

“No Vacation Nation”
“Study: A Record 768 Million U.S. Vacation Days Went Unused in ‘18, Opportunity Cost in the Billions”
“Why the US is one of only a few countries with no paid time off”

This episode was hosted by Sarah Gonzalez, produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler, edited by Jess Jiang, engineered by Maggie Luthar, and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer. 

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Vanguard

Vanguard is the most effective vehicle ever created for participating in the fruits of American capitalism. Today it’s the single largest equity owner of the majority of corporations in the S&P 500, on behalf of 50 million clients (including, likely, many of you). And yet Vanguard itself is essentially a communist organization — it has no shareholders, makes no profits, and operates more like REI than Fidelity. If you own a Vanguard fund, you own a piece of the firm itself. Any excess margin instead gets returned to clients in the form of lower fees, which since 1975 have added up to roughly five hundred billion dollars transferred out of Wall Street managers’ pockets and into retail investors’ savings accounts. And oh yeah, it all started as a cockamamie revenge plot by a guy who’d just been fired by his partners. Today we tell the story of communist capitalism at its finest — Vanguard.

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Many thanks to our fantastic Spring ’26 Season partners:

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Carve Outs:

More Acquired:

00:00:00 Start
00:00:41 Intro
00:05:30 Jack Bogle’s Early Life & Family Ruin (1929)
00:12:34 Princeton Thesis & Mutual Funds Emerge (1949-1951)
00:27:20 Joining Wellington Management (1951)
00:30:38 The Go-Go Years & Fidelity’s Ascent (1958-1965)
00:40:36 Jack Takes the Reins & The Ivest Merger (1965)
00:46:04 The Go-Go Bust & Jack’s Crisis of Conscience (1970-1973)
00:53:28 Jack is Fired: The Genesis of Vanguard (1974)
01:13:03 The Journal Article That Inspired It All (1974-1976)
01:35:02 Building the Fund & Early Struggles (1976-1981)
01:44:32 The Rise of Indexing & Vanguard’s Growth (1988-1992)
01:49:06 Jack’s Health & The CEO Transition (1995-1996)
02:00:06 The ETF Debate & Jack’s Second Firing (1999)
02:24:18 The 2008 Financial Crisis: Vanguard’s Moment
02:30:46 The Warren Buffett Bet (2008-2019)
02:41:28 Fidelity & BlackRock’s Resurgence (Post-2008)
02:52:04 Salim Ramji: Vanguard’s First Outside CEO
03:04:43 Wellington’s Comeback & Mutual Ownership
03:08:23 Analysis
03:30:58 Quintessence
03:39:35 Carve-Outs + Outro

‍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.

887: Two Is One, One Is None!

One family faces the Trump administration’s ban on trans people serving in the military, and responds with a surprising secret weapon.

Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.

  • Prologue: Geirid and Chrissy are extreme planners. But about a year ago, they were confronted with a situation that even they had no idea how to plan for. (4 minutes)
  • Act One: Geirid and Chrissy make an “in case of emergency, break glass” spreadsheet and get some big news. (14 minutes)
  • Act Two: Geirid and Chrissy have less than a month to make a life-changing decision. The government gives them two options, and they try to find a third. (21 minutes)
  • Act Three: A short story from Rachel Khong: Two people have a very consequential choice to make, given to them by God. (15 minutes)

Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

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Jerome Powell and the Future of Fed Independence

If you have a credit card, hope to buy a house, or just want stable grocery prices – let’s talk about the future of Fed independence!

It’s impossibly important for the Federal Reserve to steer monetary policy without political interference – an ideal pushed to its brink during Jerome Powell’s time as Fed Chair.

Powell’s Fed faced a once-in-a-century pandemic, oversaw the economy as inflation spiked to about 9 percent … went back down to nearly 2 percent … and has started to go back up as the U.S. has gone to war and continued to try and implement the most comprehensive tariffs since the early 1900s.

But perhaps Powell will be best remembered as a target – of angry tweets, speeches, and ultimately a criminal investigation, by the very president who nominated him in the first place.

On Powell’s last day as chair, we ask where his story fits into the sweep of history. We’ll hear from someone who was on the Fed Board when Powell was appointed … and when President Trump started to pressure Powell. Plus, we learn what to watch for to see if Fed Independence is crumbling – or holding – as a new Fed Chair nominated by President Trump takes office.

Recommend Listening:

– Happy Fed Independence Day
– The case for Fed independence in the Nixon tapes
– A primer on the Federal Reserve’s independence
– Trump’s unprecedented attack on the Fed
– Should presidents have more of a say in interest rates?
– Lisa Cook and the fight for the Fed
– What happens to central banks under pressure?

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This episode was hosted by Kenny Malone and Erika Beras. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler, edited by Jess Jiang, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Robert Rodriguez and Cena Loffredo. Planet Money’s executive producer is Alex Goldmark. 

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The Artemis Accords

NASA’s Kathleen Karika and Kim Hurst discuss how the Artemis Accords are helping shape a safe, peaceful, and prosperous future for lunar exploration and beyond.