Alex Goldmark

How important is Fed Independence?

Are you suddenly more curious about what happens with a president pressures the Federal Reserve? Historically, it ends up causing inflation. Anyway here’s a playlist of Planet Money episodes

open.spotify.com/playlist/41P...

We answer the question: are AI data centers making power bills go up for the rest of us. Yes. But of course it’s more complicated than that. Listen:

A primer on the Federal Reserve's independence : Planet Money President Donald Trump has been loudly critical of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for years now. Since January, the President has accused him of playing politics by keeping interest rates high. T...

Now’s a good time to share one of several recent @planetmoney.bsky.social episodes about the importance of Federal Reserve independence from partisan electoral politics.
www.npr.org/2025/04/23/1...

End of an era. @davejorgenson.bsky.social leaving. His farewell video here with a helluva montage at the end like going back in time through the evolution of short form news video delight. www.instagram.com/reel/DMivCtN... 🫡

Govt 1: Why Are Some Countries Rich and Some Countries Poor? (Institutions) : Planet Money Summer School Government. The Big G. We like to imagine the free market and the invisible hand as being independent from political influence. But Nobel laureate, Simon Johnson, says that influence has been there ...

Why are some countries rich and others poor? How do institutions drive prosperity — or inequality? @simonhrjohnson.bsky.social unpacks these questions and more on this week's @planetmoney.bsky.social episode.

www.npr.org/2026/01/01/1...

We bought a garment made by factory workers in the U.S. A basic purple sports bra. We tell you how many people it took to make it, how much workers got paid to work on it … and whether garment manufacturing is a job Americans want – or even know how – to do.

buff.ly/rx2yzeA

Come out this Weds night to UCB Theatre for an election recap show with a stacked panel: @rachelholliday.bsky.social (THE CITY), @alexgoldmark.bsky.social (Planet Money), and Peter Grosz (Veep, Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!) Tickets: ucbcomedy.com/show/not-in-...

In which you hear the tale of me and Liza fixing our own microwave bc repair is possible if you are determined enough.

Covering tariffs: What journalists need to know | Shorenstein Center Join The Journalist’s Resource and Econofact for an hourlong, on-the-record webinar about the future of tariffs in 2025, days before the second Trump administration begins.

Doing a webinar today on how to cover tariffs with people way smarter than me. Online at noon ET w/ @shorensteinctr.bsky.social and @econofact.bsky.social Doug Irwin and Lydia Cox.

shorensteincenter.org/new-event/co...

If there are any California homeowners out there with FAIR plan coverage who want to talk about your experience for The Indicator, please get in touch! wwong@npr.org

I got back in front of the mic for this one: How George Soros Broke the British Pound.

Proud of this latest piece. It’s part 2. Give em both a read would ya?

The great German land lottery : Planet Money Every ten years, a group of German farmers gather in the communal farm fields of the Osing for the Osingverlosung, a ritual dating back centuries. Osing refers to the area. And verlosung means "lottery," as in a land lottery. All of the land in this communal land is randomly reassigned to farmers who commit to farming it for the next decade.Hundreds of years ago, a community in Germany came up with their own, unique solution for how to best allocate scarce resources. For this community, the lottery is a way to try and make the system of land allotment more fair and avoid conflict.Today on the show, we go to the lottery and follow along as every farmer has a shot at getting the perfect piece of land — or the absolute worst piece of land! And we see what we can learn from this living, medieval tradition that tries to balance fairness and efficiency.This episode was hosted by Erika Beras and Emma Peaslee. It was produced by Emma Peaslee. It was edited by Jess Jiang. Reporting help from Sofia Shchukina. It was fact checked by Sierra Juarez. It was engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.

I’m a German microeconomist and got my PhD from a uni in Franconia. I have to admit, I’m feeling a bit ashamed that I’d never heard of the "Osing Land Lottery" before. This NPR podcast is absolutely brilliant—such a great way to learn about efficiency and fairness.
www.npr.org/2024/11/15/1...

Economics Explained starter pack. We made the cut. Woot woot. go.bsky.app/CZHyXZy

We do transcripts for every episode. It’s in the website. Sadly not as clear as it could be. Click the three dots in the top right.

Every ten years, a group of German farmers gather in the communal farm fields of the Osing for the Osingverlosung, a land lottery dating back centuries. All of the communal land is randomly reassigned to farmers, who commit to farming it for the next decade.

https://buff.ly/4eBwCJW

The quick history of how fireworks became big business. https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2023/07/04/1184798951/the-explosive-growth-of-the-fireworks-market

What I’m working on: how to try and make AI language models actually do journalism style sourcing. Holler if you have ideas to help. https://medium.com/jsk-class-of-2023/can-we-build-an-ai-chatbot-for-journalism-79ffe39e053e