Robert Smith

Robert Smith appears in the following:

NPR's Planet Money Team Sets Out To Buy A Vintage Superhero

Thursday, March 11, 2021

The Planet Money team discovered an old superhero languishing in the public domain, a superhero that seems perfect for a radio network. Could NPR rescue him?

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Why Christmas Trees Are So Expensive?

Thursday, December 17, 2020

To figure out why evergreens are so costly this year, the Planet Money team decided to get into the tree business. NPR shares what they've found.

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Episode 609: The Curse Of The Black Lotus

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

How the card game Magic: The Gathering deflated a speculative bubble.

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Episode 539: What's A Penny Worth?

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

We try to figure out what makes cents.

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Episode 533: Why Car Safety Is A Trade Barrier

Wednesday, December 05, 2018

The U.S. and Europe just can't agree on car safety standards. That puts car companies in a weird position, makes car cost more and just seems kind of random and wasteful.

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Episode 468: Kid Rock Vs. The Scalpers

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

We talk to Kid Rock about how he tried to cut scalpers out of the business, then compare that to what Taylor Swift did.

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Episode 676: The First Lottery & How To Beat The Odds

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

The first lottery was a royal affair with poems, golden flatware and invited criminals. Also, how someone won the lottery over and over.

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Episode 453: What Causes What?

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

We try to tell the difference between correlation and causation.

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Episode 657: The Tale Of The Onion King

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

How one man took the onion market hostage.

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Episode 444: New Jersey Wine

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Today on the show: Could New Jersey become the next Napa?

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How Economists Fought Back Against Senegal's Septic Cartel

Friday, July 27, 2018

Competition between companies is supposed to keep prices down, but if companies stop competing and start colluding, how do you stop it? In this case economists used text messages and clever design.

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Episode 855: The Poop Cartel

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

What happens when a group of economists applies the number one rule of economics... to number two?

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Episode 472: The One-Page Plan To Fix Global Warming ... Revisited

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Tax carbon emissions. That's basically the whole plan. What's the hold up?

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Episode 700: Peanuts And Cracker Jack

Tuesday, July 03, 2018

It takes strategy and skill to sell snacks at a baseball game. Meet the hot dog vending legend of Fenway Park.

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The Beautiful Indicator

Monday, June 25, 2018

Team Indicator takes on the World Cup. We drink, we cheer, we watch the game and, of course, we bring our economic indicators.

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Episode 848: The World's Biggest Battery

Friday, June 15, 2018

California has a ton of solar power. But as soon as night falls, it's gone. Today on the show: How to bottle the sun.

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Episode 844: Nice Game

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

In game theory, sometimes the best way to win, is to lose.

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Episode 643: The Taxi King

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Gene Freidman built a taxi empire. We visited him before he was in legal trouble.

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Episode 842: Showdown at the WTO

Friday, May 18, 2018

The World Trade Organization: Can't live with it, hard to crush your trade opponents without it.

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A Look At Where Those Duty Free Shops In Airports Got Started

Friday, May 18, 2018

The origin story for those duty free shops in airports go back to a port town in Ireland trying to cash in on the early days of air travel. Since then, the bargains have become much harder to believe in.

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