Radiolab

More Money Less Problems


Listen Later

Back in March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was just beginning and the shelter-in-place orders brought the economy to a screeching halt, a quirky-but-clever idea to save the economy made its way up to some of the highest levels of government. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib proposed an ambitious relief bill to keep the country’s metaphorical lights on: recurring payments to people to help them stay afloat during the crisis. And the way Congress would pay for it? By minting two platinum $1 trillion coins. (You read that right). 
In this episode, we take a jaunt through the evolution of our currency, from the gold-backed bills of the 19th century, to the most powerful computer at the Federal Reserve. And we chase an idea that torpedoes what we thought was a fundamental law of economics. Can we actually just print more money? 
This episode was reported by Becca Bressler and was produced by Becca Bressler and Simon Adler.
Special thanks to Carlos Mucha, Warren Mosler, David Cay Johnston, Alex Goldmark, Bryant Urstadt, and Amanda Aronczyk. 
To learn more about these ideas check out: 
Stephanie Kelton's book The Deficit Myth
Jacob Goldstein's book Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing and the Planet Money podcast
Betsey Stevenson's podcast Think Like an Economist 
This website for more about #MintTheCoin
And for a fun quick read, check out this WIRED article about the surprising origin of the trillion dollar coin.
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

RadiolabBy WNYC Studios

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

41,877 ratings


More shows like Radiolab

View all
Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,069 Listeners

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

38,628 Listeners

This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

90,749 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,152 Listeners

The Moth by The Moth

The Moth

27,321 Listeners

Snap Judgment by Snap Judgment and PRX

Snap Judgment

11,518 Listeners

Planet Money by NPR

Planet Money

30,959 Listeners

Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,137 Listeners

99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,166 Listeners

TED Radio Hour by NPR

TED Radio Hour

22,088 Listeners

Invisibilia by NPR

Invisibilia

21,683 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,491 Listeners

Science Vs by Spotify Studios

Science Vs

12,021 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

111,165 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

15,937 Listeners

Dolly Parton's America by WNYC Studios & OSM Audio

Dolly Parton's America

16,346 Listeners

The Other Latif by WNYC Studios

The Other Latif

465 Listeners

Radiolab for Kids by WNYC

Radiolab for Kids

1,007 Listeners