Jacob Goldstein
Jacob Goldstein is an NPR correspondent and co-host of the Planet Money podcast. He is the author of the book Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing.
Goldstein's interest in technology and the changing nature of work has led him to stories on UPS, the Luddites and the history of light. His aversion to paying retail has led him to stories on Costco, Spirit Airlines and index funds.
He also contributed to the Planet Money T-shirt and oil projects, and to an episode of This American Life that asked: What is money? Ira Glass called it "the most stoner question" ever posed on the show.
Before coming to NPR, Goldstein was a staff writer at the Wall Street Journal, the Miami Herald, and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. He has also written for the New York Times Magazine. He has a bachelor's degree in English from Stanford and a master's in journalism from Columbia.
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Members of our "Planet Money" team recently got into the oil business. They learned one of the most basic questions about the business is: who sets the price of oil? Speculators are often blamed.
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Economists call it the social cost of carbon. A single number that is supposed to reflect all of the costs society incurs when people burn fossil fuels. That number is now part of federal regulations, and some industries aren't happy.
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Atlanta company SoftWear is trying to create a robot that can sew. If the project succeeds, it could have a huge effect on the global economy, and clothing manufacturing could return to the U.S.
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Many developed countries are issuing bonds at negative interest rates. That means people are buying them expecting to get paid back less than they invested. Why then are people buying them?
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In the campaign leading up to the Brexit vote, economist Tim Harford played the role of independent fact checker. Now that it has passed, he's letting out some strong feelings.
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The MacArthur Foundation wants to give away $100 million to a single project. This is part of a growing belief in the philanthropy world that piecemeal solutions aren't as effective as huge bets might be. But bigger bets can be risky.
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A large spice company recently started putting less pepper in its tins — and leaving empty space at the top of the tin. There's a technical term for that empty space: "non-functional slack fill."
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Our "Planet Money" team introduces us to a delightfully precise man who helped design the 1040 tax form.
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Many of the lines on tax forms like the 1040 seem oddly specific. Some are for farmers, some for divorcees, some for servicemen and women. Behind each of those we can see the process that shapes our tax code. NPR looks at one line — for performing artists — and how it came to be.
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Eight years ago, Warren Buffett made a $1 million bet with some hedge fund managers. We learn what the bet tells us about one of the most important questions in investing.