Radio Archive by Contributor

Alex Blumberg

As a producer, Alex was the driving force behind The Fix Is In (168), The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar (352) and Act V (218, with Jack Hitt). It was his obsession with mortgage-backed securities that led us to The Giant Pool of Money (355) and all the Planet Money shows that came after.

  • Pre K-O.

    477: Getting Away With It 10.19.2012

    Producer Alex Blumberg tells the story of how Oklahoma, against huge odds, came to have the ...Economics • Education

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  • Death Takes a Policy.

    473: Loopholes 08.24.2012

    An estate attorney in Rhode Island discovers the investor's Holy Grail: a financial scheme that ...Death • Economics • Legal System

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  • The Postcard Always Rings Twice.

    463: Mortal Vs. Venial 04.27.2012

    Producer Alex Blumberg tells the story of Jeff Smith, a former Missouri State Senator who spent ...Crime • Government • Politics

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  • The Hamster Wheel.

    461: Take the Money and Run for Office 03.30.2012

    Planet Money's Alex Blumberg and NPR Congressional correspondent Andrea Seabrook take a tour ...Business • Economics • Government

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  • Prologue.

    455: Continental Breakup 01.20.2012

    Ira Glass asks guest host Alex Blumberg whether we should really care about the current ...Economics

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  • Chinese Checkmate.

    448: Adventure! 10.07.2011

    Some adventures you seek out on purpose, and others hunt you down. Producer Alex Blumberg tells ...Crime • Criminal Justice • Jobs/Employment

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  • Act One.

    441: When Patents Attack! 07.22.2011

    NPR reporter Laura Sydell and This American Life producer/Planet Money co-host Alex Blumberg ...Business • Legal System

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  • Act Two.

    441: When Patents Attack! 07.22.2011

    Laura and Alex continue their story about Intellectual Ventures and the practice of patent ...Business • Legal System • Technology

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  • Weekend At Bernanke's.

    423: The Invention of Money 01.07.2011

    Though the name of the Federal Reserve includes the word "federal," it's not actually part of ...Economics • Government

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  • Foul Play.

    415: Crybabies 09.24.2010

    Ira with This American Life producer Alex Blumberg, about a kind of institutionalized crybabying ...Sports

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  • If You Were Stranded on a Desert Island and Could Only Bring One Economic Plan...

    410: Social Contract 06.18.2010

    Why is it that Barbados and Jamaica faced almost identical financial crises, but now Jamaica is ...Business • Economics • Government

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  • Eat My Shorts.

    405: Inside Job 04.09.2010

    A hedge fund named Magnetar comes up with an elaborate plan to make money. It sponsors the ...Economics • Housing • Music

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  • Alex's Dad's Story.

    400: Stories Pitched by Our Parents 02.12.2010

    Corporate Personhood. (6 minutes) Web bonus: in the broadcast, we interrupt Alex's story in the ...Business • Fathers

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  • Funny You Don't Look Two-ish.

    397: 2010 01.01.2010

    Adam Davidson and Alex Blumberg from our Planet Money team report on economic forecasts for 2010 ...Business • Economics

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  • Let's Take Your Medical History.

    392: Someone Else's Money 10.16.2009

    Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson recount how four accidental steps led to enacting the very ...Health Care/Medicine • Jobs/Employment

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  • Spring 2008.

    390: Return To The Giant Pool of Money 09.25.2009

    We replay sections from the original "Giant Pool of Money," in which This American Life producer ...Economics • Housing • Jobs/Employment

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  • Fall 2009.

    390: Return To The Giant Pool of Money 09.25.2009

    We catch back up with the people we met in 2008, to see how they've fared over the last 18 ...Business • Economics • Housing

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  • Don’t Stop ‘til You Get Enough.

    384: Fall Guy 06.26.2009

    Planet Money's Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson talk to Ira about the lawsuit phase of the ...Business • Economics • Legal System

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  • Investigation Report #2.

    382: The Watchmen 06.05.2009

    Alex Blumberg and NPR correspondent (and "Planet Money" reporter) Dave Kestenbaum examine what ...Business • Economics • Government

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  • The Collapse Of The Us Banking System Explained In Just 39 Minutes.

    375: Bad Bank 02.27.2009

    Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson tackle a very tough subject: Trying to explain exactly what a ...Economics

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  • Prologue.

    374: Somewhere Out There 02.13.2009

    NPR reporter David Kestenbaum tells host Ira Glass about the time, when he was doing graduate ...Romance • Science

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  • Act Four Fifteen Trillion Dollar Dismal Science Experiment.

    373: The New Boss 01.30.2009

    Our crack economics duo, Producer Alex Blumberg and NPR International Economics Correspondent ...Economics • Government • History

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  • The Not-for-profit Motive.

    366: A Better Mousetrap 2008 10.10.2008

    To deal with the financial crisis, our own government has also had to reinvent itself, with ...Economics • Government

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  • The Day The Market Died.

    365: Another Frightening Show About the Economy 10.03.2008

    Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson recount the 36-hour period, two weeks ago, when the credit ...Business • Economics

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  • Out Of The Hedges And Into The Woods.

    365: Another Frightening Show About the Economy 10.03.2008

    One more confusing financial product that's bringing down the global economy. And one of way to ...Business • Economics

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  • Now You Sec Me, Now You Don't.

    363: Enforcers 09.12.2008

    TAL producer Alex Blumberg reports on a peculiar Wall Street practice with a dirty-sounding ...Business • Economics

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  • Act One.

    355: The Giant Pool of Money 05.09.2008

    This American Life producer Alex Blumberg teams up with NPR's Adam Davidson for the entire hour ...Business • Economics • Government

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  • Act Two.

    355: The Giant Pool of Money 05.09.2008

    Alex and Adam's story continues. (23 minutes)Business • Economics • Government

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  • Ich... bin... ein... mophead.

    351: Return to Childhood 2008 03.07.2008

    This American Life producer Alex Blumberg sets out to find a woman named Susan Jordan, who ...Childhood • Teenagers

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  • Commandment Six. You Shall Not Murder.

    332: The Ten Commandments 05.04.2007

    TAL producer Alex Blumberg talks to Lt. Col. Lyn Brown, a U.S. Army Reserve chaplain who served ...Iraq • Religion • War

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  • Show Me The Annuity.

    329: Nice Work If You Can Get It 04.06.2007

    This American Life producer Alex Blumberg talks with Ed Ugel, who had a very unusual dream job: ...Gambling • Jobs/Employment • Personal Finance

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  • Bully's Pulpit.

    325: Houses of Ill Repute 02.02.2007

    There's probably no house more famous for the bad behavior of its denizens than the U.S. House ...Government • Politics

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  • Truth, Damn Truth And Statistics.

    320: What's In A Number? — 2006 Edition 11.03.2006

    Two years ago, a John Hopkins University study published in The Lancet estimated the number of ...Death • Family • Iraq

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  • The War This Time.

    320: What's In A Number? — 2006 Edition 11.03.2006

    The Lancet's new study of deaths in Iraq, by the same research team that did the earlier study, ...Death • Family • Iraq

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  • The Hills Have Eyes.

    319: And the Call Was Coming from the Basement 10.27.2006

    Some of the scariest stories happen when fluffy, innocent creatures turn murderously evil. This ...Animals • Health Care/Medicine

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  • Prologue.

    316: The Cat Came Back 08.18.2006

    Host Ira Glass talks with producer Alex Blumberg and his parents about a bad dog they once had, ...Animals • Funny • Music

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  • Truth, Damn Truth, And Statistics.

    300: What's In A Number? 10.28.2005

    About a year ago, a John Hopkins University study in the British medical journal The Lancet ...Iraq • War

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  • Forgotten, But Not Lost.

    296: After the Flood 09.09.2005

    To find out more about the bridge Denise talked about in act one and the armed police who ...Natural Disasters • Police

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  • Social Studies Lesson.

    296: After the Flood 09.09.2005

    We compare Fox TV talk show host Bill O'Reilly's ideas about the hurricane's aftermath with ...Economics • Natural Disasters • Television

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  • Dewey Decibel System.

    294: Image Makers 08.05.2005

    Alex Blumberg tells the story of an audacious act of rebranding done by a group of people who ...Advertising/Marketing • Music • Teenagers

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  • Small Thoughts In Big Brains.

    293: A Little Bit of Knowledge 07.22.2005

    This American Life producer Alex Blumberg investigates a little-studied phenomenon: Children who ...Childhood

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  • Right And Righter.

    272: Big Tent 09.10.2004

    A visit to one of the many states where the GOP has been picking up strength, to see why and ...Politics

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  • Government Science.

    265: Fake Science 05.21.2004

    The Union of Concerned Scientists has issued a report condemning the Bush Administration for ...Government • Science

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  • I've Got A Secret I've Been Hiding From You.

    258: Leaving the Fold 01.30.2004

    This American Life producer Alex Blumberg tells the true story of Jerry Springer's life before ...Politics • Television

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  • Detroit Is In The House.

    250: The Annoying Gap Between Theory...and Practice 11.07.2003

    Alex Blumberg spends three days with Michigan state representative Steve Tobocman. He ran for ...Economics • Politics

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  • Prologue.

    238: Lost in Translation 05.30.2003

    Host Ira Glass talks with producer Alex Blumberg about going on a date with a woman from Russia. ...Romance

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  • Stock Making Sense.

    236: My Two Cents 04.11.2003

    Producer Alex Blumberg bought a stock on a tip in 1997. By 1998 it was worthless. And now, in ...Business • Economics

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  • Show Me The Monet.

    224: Middlemen 10.25.2002

    You can't do a program about middlemen without a story about business. In this act, we hear from ...Retail/Commerce • Sports

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  • Prologue.

    220: Testosterone 08.30.2002

    This American Life producer Alex Blumberg explains that he wanted to do this show because of his ...Health Care/Medicine • Science

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  • Does Size Matter If You're Talking About A Cross?

    202: Faith 12.21.2001

    Josh Noel reports with Alex Blumberg from Groom, Texas, 45 minutes east of Amarillo, on the ...Religion

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  • Toto, I Don't Think We're In Vietnam Anymore.

    196: Rashomon 10.05.2001

    U.S. special operations forces will lead the first part of the coming war we're all bracing for. ...History • Military

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  • Ich... Bin... Ein... Mophead.

    180: Return to Childhood 03.23.2001

    Producer Alex Blumberg sets out to find a woman named Susan Jordan, who babysat him and his ...Childhood • Jobs/Employment • siblings

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  • The Family That Flees Together, Trees Together.

    177: American Limbo 02.09.2001

    The Jarvis family, a group of eight, goes on the run from the law—for seven years. They live on ...Children • Crime • Drugs

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  • Self-deception.

    173: Three Kinds of Deception 12.15.2000

    Producer Alex Blumberg tells the story of an ex-con-turned-actor named Richie Castellano. After ...Business • Economics • Film/Film Making

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  • What We Talk About When We Talk About The Issues.

    171: Election 11.03.2000

    The 2000 election season was strange in that many of the issues that the candidates debated most ...Education • Government • Health Care/Medicine

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  • She Said, She Said.

    159: Mother's Day 05.12.2000

    Producer Alex Blumberg conducts an investigation, perhaps the first ever, into this American ...Children • Family • Mothers

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  • Pay No Attention To The Man Behind The Mosh Pit.

    151: Primary 01.28.2000

    Alex Blumberg tells the story of citizens who feel perfectly connected to their candidate of ...Politics • Teenagers

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  • Faster Than A Speeding Bullet.

    141: Invisible Worlds 10.01.1999

    Producer Alex Blumberg with people who listen in on the invisible world on the nether reaches of ...Technology

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  • When Businesses Act Like Humans.

    115: First Day 11.13.1998

    Then Chicago-radio-listener and writer Alex Blumberg (he's now one of our producers) tells the ...Business • Music

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  • 33 Million Dollar Box.

    91: Escape the Box 01.30.1998

    Barry Miller, a Cincinnati millionaire who robbed a bank — and was caught. Alex Blumberg ...Crime • Criminal Justice

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