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The end of (an incomplete and kinda random) history of the economic world

Do you feel the chill in the air? Summer is coming to a close. And that means it’s time for the grand season finale to our beloved Planet Money Summer School.

Catch up on our series from this season (or any past season for that matter).

Planet Money Summer School tackled economic history this season.

We visited a remote island in the Pacific Ocean where one form of currency was giant circular stones so we could understand the origins and definitions of money.

We headed to Sicily and explored how the bubonic plague actually empowered workers. A brutal lesson in supply and demand of labor power, but with lessons for organizing today.

We time-traveled back to the 1600s and went to the Netherlands to see how financiers created the first stocks and bonds.

We explained why there were 8,000 different forms of currency circulating in the United States in the early 1800s, and how that contributed to financial panics and the creation of a central bank.

We looked at 250 years of foreign trade and how thinking about trade policy shifted over time.

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A Quiz To Earn A (Not Real) Degree In Economic History

In each episode this season, we covered core economic concepts that will be part of an eight-question quiz. If you take it and pass, you can earn a completely official and totally not fake at all Planet Money diploma in Economic History.

Some of the concepts you can study up on by listening to this season’s episodes:

In episode 1, which looked at the origins of money, we learned about the three attributes that define what money is: medium of exchange, store of value, and unit of account.

In episode 2, we heard about labor supply, labor demand, and capital labor substitution.

In episode 3, we looked at important concepts in finance, including liquidity, limited liability, perpetual life, and short-selling.

In episode 4, we learned about financial panics, boom-and-bust cycles, and how a critical function of central banks is to be a “lender of last resort.”

In episode 5, which explored 250 years of trade history, we reviewed protectionism, tariffs, and comparative advantage.

In episode 6, which looked at how nations grow rich, we looked at the increasingly popular idea that countries should pursue “industrial policy.”

In episode 7, when looking back at the Great Depression, we learned about the gold standard, fiat currency, the New Deal, and Keynesian economics.

Review these concepts by listening to our episodes, and take our quiz here. Get a good score, and you can earn a Planet Money degree. Print it out. Put it on your refrigerator, or show your boss and demand a raise for your extracurricular learning (okay, maybe not).

Our season finale of Planet Money Summer School will be published today (Wednesday, August 28th).

Spoiler Alert: We will be having a very special graduation ceremony with some big (and long dead) economists, including Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes. Tune in!

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On Our Podcasts

The trade fraud detective — When David Rashid took over US autoparts maker Plews and Edelmann, the company was losing business to its Chinese rival, Qingdao Sunsong. Both companies make power steering hoses, but Sunsong was offering its hoses to retailers at a much lower price. Listen here

The hidden world behind your new "banking" app — You might have seen ads for online banking services that seem to offer a lot of great stuff — accounts you can open in minutes and without a minimum balance or monthly fees. The ads seem to say: "These aren't your parents' boring old banks." But the truth is: Even though they might resemble banks, they aren't. Listen here

A food fight over free school lunch — The ascendance of Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz has made the topic of free school lunch a political flashpoint. Over the past several years, several states—including Walz's home state of Minnesota—have created free school lunch programs, to the dismay of some House Republicans who believe government subsidies should go only to needy students. The Indicator has the story. Listen here

Also on The Indicator: How much would you do this job for? And other indicators; Biden's beef with bad customer service; What is the deal with car rentals?; So, how's this No Tax On Tips thing gonna go?; and Is endless vacation a scam?

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Great minds assemble to bid farewell to Planet Money Summer School 2024

The end of (an incomplete and kinda random) history of the economic world

A Quiz To Earn A (Not Real) Degree In Economic History

Get Bonus Content

On Our Podcasts

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The White House plan to stop companies from wasting our time

The Economic Mind of Tim Walz

Ten Reasons Why AI May Be Overrated

Ozempic's Economic Side Effect

The Economic Mind of JD Vance

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