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The Free Economics Course For Your Ears

Planet Money Summer School is back! This season, our free economics course for your ears is heading out on a time-traveling vacation through the history of the world. Along the way, you’ll learn valuable lessons from history that explain how we got to the bewildering economy we have today.

Every Wednesday until Labor Day, we’ll tackle the biggest questions in economics. In summers past, we’ve covered Econ 101, investing skills and business strategy. This summer, we’ll look back to the origins of our economic way of life.

We’ll head to a tiny island in Micronesia to get to the bottom of the question: what is money? (And find the answer at the bottom of the sea).

We’ll take up arms at an English factory to rage against the Industrial Revolution.

We track down the first attempt at short selling on the very first stock in the Netherlands.

We'll look back at a time in America when you could pay for your drink using one of 8,000 kinds of money.

We’ll travel with the Vikings and fight mythical creatures to get scarce cinnamon.

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Along the way we’ll be guided by real economic historians who will help us understand how these events shape the way money works in the world today and in your life, whether you’re wondering if it makes sense to invest or save, make a big purchase or not, or understand why the things you use every day were made across the world.

Everything we take for granted today in the economy had a start somewhere. When you hear about automation taking people’s jobs, or banks collapsing, or inflation surging, or strange new forms of money, or another round of tariffs, you can be the one to say, “I know why this is happening! We have been here before.”

As always, at the end of the series you can earn an official* Planet Money Summer School diploma certifying you as an unofficial expert on the economic history of the world. But to get it, you’ll have to pass the quiz. Study up by listening every Wednesday in the Planet Money feed.

Or check out our cheat sheet (short TikTok videos) with some key economic lessons from history. Search for Planet Money on TikTok or Instagram.

If you can’t get enough Summer School, we’ve got four previous seasons waiting for you. There’s Intro to Econ, Investing, Macroeconomics, and MBA. Catch up on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

*The Planet Money diploma is not recognized by any institution of higher learning. Suitable for framing and uploading to LinkedIn. Planet Money is not responsible for subsequent embarrassment or mirth.

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Subscribe to Planet Money+ for bonus episodes with behind the scenes takes, extended interviews, and extra facts we couldn’t fit into the main show. Plus, it’s ad free. You’ll get The Indicator and Planet Money Summer School too - all while supporting our nerdy, ambitious journalism. Learn more at Plus.npr.org/PlanetMoney.

On Our Podcasts

Summer School 1: An Economic History of the World — Planet Money Summer School is back for eight weeks. Join as we travel back in time to find the origins of our economic way of life. Today we ask surprisingly hard question: What is money? And where did it come from? We travel to a remote island in the Pacific Ocean for the answer. Then we'll visit France in the year 1714, where a man on the lam tries to revolutionize the country's entire monetary system, and comes impressively close to the modern economy we have today, before it all falls apart. Check out our Summer School video cheat sheet on the origins of money at the Planet Money TikTok. Listen here

How flying got so bad (or did it?) — We often hear that air travel is worse than it's ever been. Gone are the days when airplanes touted piano bars and meat carving stations — or even free meals. Instead we're crammed into tiny seats and fighting for overhead space. Listen here

How much do presidents ACTUALLY influence the economy? — Voters have a bleak outlook on the economy right now, and many are pointing the finger at President Biden. At the same time, many voters have a rosy view of the economy when Donald Trump was president. But how much credit or blame should a president get for the economy? And how do partisan politics play into our perception of the economy's performance? The Indicator has the story. Listen here

Also on The Indicator: An asylum seeker's long road to a work permit, What military brats tell us about social mobility, and The young trolls of Wall Street are growing up

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Summer School returns with an economic history of the world

The Free Economics Course For Your Ears

Get Bonus Content

On Our Podcasts

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