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Luis F Garcia
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Luis F Garcia

James Sneed

Associate Producer, Planet Money

James Sneed began his career at NPR as Planet Money's Winter 2020 intern. Previous to that, Sneed worked at KBOO Community Radio and attended the Transom Story Workshop. His other professional experience includes Open Signal Media Center, KSMoCA and MASS MoCA. Currently, Sneed is an associate producer with Planet Money where he has produced stories about a comic book character from the public domain, the business of Black joy and the Christmas tree market — as well as reported on the racial wealth gap, the NCAA at the Supreme Court and why the New York Mets don't always Mets everything up... necessarily.

Story Archive

Wednesday

Why is everyone talking about Musk's money?
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Planet Money

Why is everyone talking about Musk's money?

We've lived amongst Elon Musk headlines for so long now that it's easy to forget just how much he sounds like a sci-fi character. He runs a space company and wants to colonize mars. He also runs a company that just implanted a computer chip into a human brain. And he believes there's a pretty high probability everything is a simulation and we are living inside of it.

Why is everyone talking about Musk's money?

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Friday

Economy

One man's trash: A look at the hot commodities of the 'junk economy'

Planet Money spends a day with a San Francisco junkman as he makes a living off of other people’s trash. We learn about the scrap metals commodities markets and the second lives of random objects.

One man's trash: A look at the hot commodities of the 'junk economy'

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Friday

The junkyard economist

Junkman Jon Rolston has spent the last two decades clearing out houses and offices of their junk. In that time, he's become a kind of trash savant. James Sneed/NPR hide caption

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James Sneed/NPR

Planet Money

The junkyard economist

On today's episode, we ride through the streets of San Francisco with a long-time junkman, Jon Rolston.

The junkyard economist

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Friday

The case of the stolen masks

The photo that helped the amateur art detectives locate the stolen Bhairav masks on display in the museums. Anil Chandra Shrestha hide caption

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Anil Chandra Shrestha

Planet Money

The case of the stolen masks

About thirty years ago, Yagya Kumar Pradhan woke up to the news that the temple he and his clan used had been broken into. The temple had been ransacked. And someone had stolen two holy Bhairav masks. Yagya says they had been in his family for more than five hundred years – since the 16th century.

The case of the stolen masks

Listen · 18:56
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Friday

FTX and the Serengeti of bankruptcy
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Planet Money

FTX and the Serengeti of bankruptcy

For the last year and a half, the story of FTX has focused largely on the crimes and punishment of Sam Bankman-Fried. But in the background, the actual customers he left behind have been caught in a financial feeding frenzy over the remains of the company.

FTX and the Serengeti of bankruptcy

Listen · 25:27
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Friday

The billion dollar war behind U.S. rum

Captain Morgan, one of the largest rum brands in the world, operates a mega-distillery in St. Croix, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. And this distillery is at the heart of a years-long billion-dollar conflict known as The Rum Wars. James Sneed/NPR hide caption

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James Sneed/NPR

Planet Money

The billion dollar war behind U.S. rum

When you buy a bottle of rum in the United States, by law nearly all the federal taxes on that rum must be sent to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It's an unusual system that Congress designed decades ago to help fund these two U.S. territories. In 2021 alone, these rum tax payments added up to more than $700 million.

The billion dollar war behind U.S. rum

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Friday

Shopping for parental benefits around the world
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Planet Money

Shopping for parental benefits around the world

It is so expensive to have a kid in the United States. The U.S. is one of just a handful of countries worldwide with no federal paid parental leave; it offers functionally no public childcare (and private childcare is wildly expensive); and women can expect their pay to take a hit after becoming a parent. (Incidentally, men's wages tend to rise after becoming fathers.)

Shopping for parental benefits around the world

Listen · 29:33
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Friday

Econ Battle Zone: Disinflation Confrontation
Jack Corbett/NPR

Planet Money

Econ Battle Zone: Disinflation Confrontation

After very high inflation, the United States is finally feeling some relief in the form of "disinflation." But, why exactly has inflation slowed down?

Econ Battle Zone: Disinflation Confrontation

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Friday

The case of the serial sinking Spanish ships
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Planet Money

The case of the serial sinking Spanish ships

Picture the Pacific Ocean of the 16th century. Spanish Galleons sail the wide open seas, carrying precious cargo like silver, porcelain, and textiles. The waters are dangerous; ship logs show concerns over pirates. But pirates are not to blame for a mysterious event that keeps happening.

The case of the serial sinking Spanish ships

Listen · 26:13
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Friday

Wednesday

Wednesday

A very Planet Money Thanksgiving

Planet Money hosts a Thanksgiving feast - of food and economics. Sam Yellowhorse Kesler/NPR hide caption

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Sam Yellowhorse Kesler/NPR

Planet Money

A very Planet Money Thanksgiving

Here at Planet Money, Thanksgiving is not just a time to feast on turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casseroles and pie(s). It's also a time to feast on economics. Today, we host a very Planet Money Thanksgiving feast, and solve a few economic questions along the way.

A very Planet Money Thanksgiving

Listen · 26:30
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Friday

All you can eat economics
Bridget Bennett/Alex Wong/Getty Images

Planet Money

All you can eat economics

You might expect to find economic concepts in the pages of an economics textbook. But you know where you can really see a lot of economic concepts in action? Buffets.

All you can eat economics

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Friday

A trucker hat mystery, the curse of September and other listener questions
William Thomas Cain/Nati Harnik/Getty Images/AP

Planet Money

A trucker hat mystery, the curse of September and other listener questions

Ba-dee-yah! Say do you remember? Ba-dee-yah! Questions in September!

A trucker hat mystery, the curse of September and other listener questions

Listen · 26:35
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Friday

How to launder $600 million on the internet
Rick Bowmer/Associated Press

Planet Money

How to launder $600 million on the internet

Erin Plante is a private detective who specializes in chasing down stolen cryptocurrency. In March of 2022, she got the biggest assignment of her career: Hackers had broken into an online game called Axie Infinity and made off with over $600 million worth of digital money.

How to launder $600 million on the internet

Listen · 26:26
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Wednesday

Fall football — or the fall of football?
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Analysis

Code Switch

Fall football — or the fall of football?

This week, the NFL is gearing up for the start of its 104th season. But as this new chapter begins, we're looking at some of the league's old problems with race and diversity — ones that have implications for the coaches, the players, and the fans.

Fall football — or the fall of football?

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Friday

The secret entrance that sidesteps Hollywood picket lines

LEFT: Bill Wolkoff is a strike captain for the Writers Guild of America, coordinating the picket at the Television City lot. Prior to the strike, Wolkoff wrote for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. RIGHT: Sara Bibel is a writer picketing at Television City. She spent 13 years working at The Young and the Restless. Dave Blanchard/NPR hide caption

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Dave Blanchard/NPR

Planet Money

The secret entrance that sidesteps Hollywood picket lines

Across Hollywood right now, writers and actors are picketing in front of studio lots. They're walking back and forth, holding up signs demanding concessions on things like pay, how many writers work on projects, and the use of AI in TV and movies.

The secret entrance that sidesteps Hollywood picket lines

Listen · 21:57
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Friday

Planet Money Paper Club
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Planet Money

Planet Money Paper Club

We here at Planet Money love economics papers. And that is also the case for so many of the economists we speak with. For them, new research can explain something they have always wondered about, or make them see something they have never noticed before. And it inspires their own work.

Planet Money Paper Club

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Friday

Surprise, you just signed a contract! How hidden contracts took over the internet

Mouse Cursor Clicking Accept for Terms and Conditions Agreement. 3D illustration ninefotostudio/Shutterstock hide caption

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ninefotostudio/Shutterstock

Planet Money

Surprise, you just signed a contract! How hidden contracts took over the internet

When you make an account online or install an app, you are probably entering into a legally enforceable contract. Even if you never signed anything. These days, we enter into these contracts so often, it can feel like no big deal.

Surprise, you just signed a contract! How hidden contracts took over the internet

Listen · 23:37
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Friday

How randomized trials and the town of Busia, Kenya changed economics
CHRISTINE OLSSON/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Ima

Planet Money

How randomized trials and the town of Busia, Kenya changed economics

In the early 90s, when a young economist named Michael Kremer finished his PhD, there had been a few economic studies based on randomized trials. But they were rare. In part because randomized trials – in which you recruit two statistically identical groups, choose one of them to get a treatment, and then compare what happens to each group – are expensive, and they take a lot of time.

How randomized trials and the town of Busia, Kenya changed economics

Listen · 24:43
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Friday

Wednesday

The hidden history of race and the tax code

It may not seem like it at first, but race is also a part of our taxes and who gets audited. LA Johnson/Getty/design by NPR hide caption

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LA Johnson/Getty/design by NPR

Planet Money

The hidden history of race and the tax code

This past January, researchers uncovered that Black taxpayers are three to five times as likely to be audited as everyone else. One likely reason for this is that the IRS disproportionately audits lower-income earners who claim a tax benefit called the earned income tax credit. And this, says law professor Dorothy Brown, is just one example of the many ways that race is woven through our tax system, its history, and its enforcement.

The hidden history of race and the tax code

Listen · 24:53
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Wednesday

WTF does race have to do with taxes?

It may not seem like it at first, but race is also a part of our taxes and who gets audited. LA Johnson/Getty/design by NPR hide caption

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LA Johnson/Getty/design by NPR

Code Switch

WTF does race have to do with taxes?

You finally get through the confusing, stressful work of doing your taxes only to hear back from the IRS: you're being audited. And it turns out that your race plays a big role in whether you get that letter, how much you might owe the IRS, which tax breaks you can get, and even which benefits you can claim.

WTF does race have to do with taxes?

Listen · 30:05
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Friday

Planet Money Records Vol. 3: Making a hit
Sasha Fominskaya/NPR

Planet Money

Planet Money Records Vol. 3: Making a hit

Since we started Planet Money Records and released the 47-year-old song "Inflation," the song has taken off. It recently hit 1 million streams on Spotify. And we now have a full line of merch — including a limited edition vinyl record; a colorful, neon hoodie; and 70s-inspired stickers — n.pr/shopplanetmoney.

Planet Money Records Vol. 3: Making a hit

Listen · 29:31
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