Planet Money Summer School Govt 8: Graduation LIVE!
Aug 27, 2025
Celebrate the end of a vibrant summer school with a mock graduation full of quizzes and audience engagement! Discover the challenges of collecting accurate government statistics in a humorous twist. Listen as a representative from the New York Federal Reserve shares insights on economic signals and the importance of public participation. Delve into Argentina's surprising industrial policies and Uganda's social media tax. Finally, enjoy the comedic ceremony featuring valedictorian Yale Zhang, complete with a fun rhyming poem!
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Fed Independence Matters
- Federal Reserve independence is vital and under threat when political actors pressure appointments and firings.
- Planet Money links recent attempts to remove Fed officials to historic examples showing why independence matters.
Grocery Shopper Builds Inflation Data
- George Mincinello prices specific grocery items month after month to track inflation and notices changes like package weight.
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics repeats thousands of such checks each month to build official inflation measures.
Jobs Data Built On Repeated Calls
- Erica Hennion calls the same businesses repeatedly to compile payroll and jobs data, building familiarity and trust.
- She sometimes endures hostility but remains the human contact for respondents who later apologize.
