NPR.

So it has been a very confusing and very chaotic couple of months in Congress.

No doubt.

They couldn't even pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which the president...

Core infrastructure legislation hostage.

legislation was basically hold one hostage over the other.

There is an enormous infrastructure bill for things like ports and highways, and there

is also a social spending bill, which proposes things like cheaper prescriptions and an expanded

child tax credit.

And as politicians argue among themselves, we've seen redrafts, voting delays, and a lot

of frustration in Congress.

All or nothing policy demands.

Making this process quite difficult, you know, there was a...

It is really not playing fair.

So all of this sounds very chaotic and, you know, just sort of like the big mire of politics.

But there is actually a science underneath all of this.

The golden threads of logic do run through this tapestry of seemingly endless debate.

There is an academic field, which is often used in economics that can actually help explain

what each side is doing in these tussles over the spending bills.

And it is...

Game Theory.

Hello and welcome to Planet Money.

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