The Economics of Everyday Things

Where is “the cloud,” anyway? It’s in a bunch of nondescript warehouses all over the country. Zachary Crockett serves up the story.

Transcribed - Published: 12 May 2025

A new thrill ride can cost an amusement park $20 million or more — but roller coasters attract customers like nothing else. Zachary Crockett must be at least this tall to host this episode.

Transcribed - Published: 5 May 2025

It takes a highly skilled stenographer — and some specialized equipment — to transcribe TV dialogue in real time at 300 words per minute. Will A.I. rewrite the script? Zachary Crockett tries to keep up.

Transcribed - Published: 28 April 2025

The ability to get into any home, car, or safe can be lucrative — but fixing locks is a tough business. Zachary Crockett gets the key information.

Transcribed - Published: 21 April 2025

Those tiny treats that predict your future may come free at the end of a Chinese meal, but they’re big business (and not Chinese). Zachary Crockett will go on a long journey.

Transcribed - Published: 14 April 2025

When you hit the slopes, you might not be thinking about water rights, controlled avalanches, and liability insurance — but someone has to. Zachary Crockett shreds the pow.

Transcribed - Published: 7 April 2025

We reach for it twice a day — without thinking about the decades of research and engineering that went into that squeezable tube of minty goo. Zachary Crockett extracts the last bit.

Transcribed - Published: 31 March 2025

When a Fortune 500 company needs a new leader, it turns to a well-connected headhunter who assesses candidates with psychological tests and mock TV interviews. Zachary Crockett activates his network.

Transcribed - Published: 24 March 2025

Security guards make malls feel safer, but what can they do when there’s trouble? Zachary Crockett observes and reports.

Transcribed - Published: 17 March 2025

How do TV producers decide how much money to give away? A little psychology and a lot of math. Zachary Crockett phones a friend.

Transcribed - Published: 10 March 2025

A fast-food burger has to taste the same — and cost the same — thousands of times a day at restaurants across the country. Zachary Crockett mans the fryer.

Transcribed - Published: 3 March 2025

American golfers lose 300 million balls a year — and all those bad swings are someone else’s business opportunity. Zachary Crockett hits the links.

Transcribed - Published: 24 February 2025

Before a guide dog can help a blind person navigate the world, it has to pass a series of tests, then go through $75,000 worth of training. Zachary Crockett sniffs around.

Transcribed - Published: 17 February 2025

Behind that 70% off sign, there’s a liquidation consultant trying to maximize retailer profits. Zachary Crockett seeks a deal.

Transcribed - Published: 10 February 2025

Picture day is an annual tradition for American families — and, for the companies that take the photos, a lucrative one. Zachary Crockett smiles for the camera.

Transcribed - Published: 3 February 2025

They're not always the nicest places to go — but for their owners, portable toilets are a lucrative revenue stream. Zachary Crockett lifts the lid.

Transcribed - Published: 27 January 2025

You can be a top model and still not get recognized on the street — as long as you keep your cuticles healthy and your moons white. Zachary Crockett points a finger.

Transcribed - Published: 20 January 2025

A watercolor of a harbor? A black-and-white photo of a pile of rocks? Some hotels are trying to do better. Zachary Crockett unpacks.

Transcribed - Published: 13 January 2025

Before beef ends up at your favorite steakhouse, it passes through the hands of a trained specialist with an encyclopedic knowledge of bovine anatomy. Zachary Crockett chews the fat.

Transcribed - Published: 6 January 2025

How did a little green nut become a billion-dollar product, lauded by celebrities in Super Bowl ads? Zachary Crockett cracks open the story.

Transcribed - Published: 30 December 2024

Once a luxury good, the soft fiber is now everywhere — which has led to a goat boom in Mongolia. Zachary Crockett tugs at the thread.

Transcribed - Published: 23 December 2024

Behind almost every character you see displayed on a page or a screen, there’s a complex — and sometimes lucrative — web of licensing deals. Zachary Crockett is just your type.

Transcribed - Published: 16 December 2024

Americans throw away 320 million books every year. How do some of them find a second life? Zachary Crockett is just browsing.

Transcribed - Published: 9 December 2024

The tradition of sending cards to loved ones was in decline — until it was rescued by a new generation. But millennials have their own ideas about what sentiments they want to convey. Zachary Crockett is thinking of you on your special day.

Transcribed - Published: 2 December 2024

It’s unreactive, lighter than air, and surprisingly important to the global economy. Zachary Crockett goes up an octave.

Transcribed - Published: 25 November 2024

How did Florida International University’s new football stadium come to be named after the rapper and singer Pitbull? Adrian Ma and Wailin Wong of The Indicator from Planet Money explain.

Transcribed - Published: 22 November 2024

Mannequins may be made out of plastic or fiberglass, but for retailers they’re pure gold. Zachary Crockett strikes a pose.

Transcribed - Published: 18 November 2024

Incarcerated people grow crops, fight wildfires, and manufacture everything from motor oil to prescription glasses — often for pennies per hour. Zachary Crockett reports from North Carolina.

Transcribed - Published: 11 November 2024

It takes millions of giant green placards to make America navigable. Where do they come from — and who pays the bill? Zachary Crockett takes the exit.

Transcribed - Published: 4 November 2024

When a zoo needs an elephant, or finds itself with three surplus penguins, it doesn’t buy or sell the animals — it asks around. Zachary Crockett rattles the cages.

Transcribed - Published: 28 October 2024

Tow-truck drivers: roadside rescuers or car confiscators? Zachary Crockett gets hooked.

Transcribed - Published: 21 October 2024

Why are these 300-year-old instruments still coveted by violinists today? And how do working musicians get their hands on multimillion-dollar antiques? Zachary Crockett is not fiddling around.

Transcribed - Published: 14 October 2024

Casinos think they can stop skilled gamblers from eking out a tiny edge at blackjack. Is that a losing bet? Zachary Crockett doubles down.

Transcribed - Published: 7 October 2024

Making money in the stock image business requires a sharp eye for trends, a very specific type of model, and a race against A.I. Zachary Crockett takes his shot.

Transcribed - Published: 30 September 2024

How does a fresh tuna get from Japan to Nebraska before it goes bad? And how does its journey show up in the price of your spicy tuna rolls? Zachary Crockett gets schooled.

Transcribed - Published: 23 September 2024

Why do millions of people pay to have one of the world’s deadliest toxins injected into their faces? Zachary Crockett looks surprised.

Transcribed - Published: 16 September 2024

Almost everyone who buys a home spends thousands of dollars on title insurance. Most of them don’t understand it, and almost none of them use it. So why does it exist? Zachary Crockett closes the deal.

Transcribed - Published: 9 September 2024

It takes fungi-sniffing dogs, back-room deals, and a guy named “The Kingpin” for the world’s most coveted morsel to end up on your plate. Zachary Crockett picks up the scent.

Transcribed - Published: 2 September 2024

Once considered noble and heroic, pigeons are now viewed as an urban nuisance — one that costs cities millions of dollars a year. Zachary Crockett tosses some crumbs.

Transcribed - Published: 26 August 2024

How do criminals turn their ill-gotten gains into taxable income? And how does law enforcement stop them? Zachary Crockett follows the money.

Transcribed - Published: 19 August 2024

Thanks to online booking platforms, the way we make reservations has changed — but a table at a hot restaurant on a Friday night is still a valuable commodity. Zachary Crockett books a four-top for 7 p.m.

Transcribed - Published: 12 August 2024

There are more firefighters than ever — and fewer fires for them to fight. So the job has changed. Zachary Crockett slides down the pole.

Transcribed - Published: 5 August 2024

How did love stories about vampires, cowboys, and wealthy dukes become the highest-grossing fiction genre in the world? Zachary Crockett gets swept away.

Transcribed - Published: 29 July 2024

Performing at a strip club can be lucrative, but it requires financial and psychological savvy — and an eye for social trends. Zachary Crockett takes a look.

Transcribed - Published: 22 July 2024

Why does treating a venomous snake bite cost as much as a house? Zachary Crockett slithers over to North Carolina to find out.

Transcribed - Published: 15 July 2024

Online companies promised to bring transparency to the mattress-buying experience. Did that work out? Zachary Crockett takes a look under the sheets.

Transcribed - Published: 8 July 2024

Channeling the voices of celebrities can be a lucrative career — one that requires empathy and discretion as well as literary chops. Zachary Crockett checks the acknowledgements.

Transcribed - Published: 1 July 2024

How did mobile kitchens become popular with hipster gourmands? And just how much money can a popular truck make from a lunch shift? Zachary Crocket drops some napkins.

Transcribed - Published: 24 June 2024

Youth baseball — long a widely accessible American pastime — has become overrun by $10,000-per-year, for-profit travel leagues. Zachary Crockett peers inside the dugout.

Transcribed - Published: 17 June 2024

Why do we use a specific kind of tree-bark tissue to seal up 70 percent of wine bottles? Zachary Crockett takes a sniff and gives the waiter a nod.

Transcribed - Published: 10 June 2024