Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life

A New York Times Bestseller

From the world’s leading economics podcast comes an irresistible guide to the hidden world of everyday economics.

Hello, and welcome to Planet Money! Millions of listeners trust the world’s leading economics podcast to explain the mysterious inner workings of the global economy and the forces that affect nearly every decision we make. Through expert research and delightful stories the Planet Money hosts help everyone see the world like an economist.

For their first-ever book, longtime contributor Alex Mayyasi and the hosts of NPR's Planet Money present brand new stories and insights gathered from more than a decade of reporting that reveal ways AI might help you or replace you, demystify dating markets, and show how pro sports’ "dumbest" contract holds the secret to building wealth. Taking readers on adventures to a smartphone factory in Patagonia, a raisin cartel in California, and an Indigenous reserve in Canada that might just have a solution for the housing crisis, Planet Money shows how economics shapes our world, and how we can harness key principles to make our own lives a little richer.

100 full-color illustrations

Alex Mayyasi is the host of the new podcast Gastronomics, about the business of food, and a longtime contributor to Planet Money whose writing has been published in The Atlantic, Smithsonian, and Washington Post. A former editor of Priceonomics, he launched Gastro Obscura, which won two James Beard Awards and published the New York Times best-selling book Gastro Obscura. He lives in Colorado.

Planet Money has won multiple Peabody, Murrow, and duPont-Columbia Awards for its innovative audio storytelling. Planet Money’s cohosts include Amanda Aronczyk, Erika Beras, Mary Childs, Nick Fountain, Sarah Gonzalez, Jeff Guo, Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi, Adrian Ma, Kenny Malone, Wailin Wong, and Darian Woods.

Alex Goldmark is the Executive Producer of NPR’s Planet Money.