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Today, Explained

The Price is Rigged

Today, Explained

Vox

News, Daily News, Politics

4.49.5K Ratings

🗓️ 16 December 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On Instacart, food brands can use buyer behavior to charge people different prices for the exact same products. It's called surveillance pricing. This episode was produced by Miles Bryan and Dustin DeSoto, edited by Jolie Myers, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Noel King. The Instacart delivery bear in Minneapolis. Photo By Jerry Holt/Star Tribune via Getty Images. Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. New Vox members get $20 off their membership right now. Transcript at ⁠vox.com/today-explained-podcast.⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

By now you know that companies will do just about anything to jack up prices on you,

0:04.5

and AI is offering them an additional itch.

0:08.5

Delta Airlines is bragging about how they're going to boost profit margins with a new AI

0:12.6

algorithm that determines how much you will personally pay for your next ticket.

0:16.5

Thanks, AI.

0:18.3

It's almost Christmas time, but when I was searching American Airlines website,

0:22.5

I'm at the screen where I'm submitting my credit card information,

0:26.2

and the flights went up over $100 a flight.

0:29.0

This is price gouging.

0:30.4

It's not dynamic pricing.

0:32.0

It's price gouging.

0:32.7

They are charging different amounts based on what they believe you will pay for your groceries.

0:40.2

Dynamic pricing, surveillance pricing, lots of terms that mean companies set prices based on what they know about you.

0:46.8

And they know a lot.

0:49.0

That's coming up on Today Explained.

0:51.4

I might not have money for food or to hang out with my friends, but I always have money for

0:56.0

candles. I always have money for candles.

1:00.1

Support for this show comes from Odu.

1:02.9

Running a business is hard enough, so why make it harder with a dozen different apps that

1:07.8

don't talk to each other?

1:09.6

Introducing Odu.

1:12.2

It's the only business software you'll ever need. It's an all-in-one fully integrated platform that makes your work easier,

...

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