Prologue
This American Life producer Chana Joffe-Walt sits in for Ira Glass, because Chana has kids, two young sons. And her oldest, Jacob, has some complicated ideas about people, that Chana wants to straighten out, but doesn’t know exactly how.
Chana Joffe-Walt
Prologue
Ira Glass introduces producer Chana Joffe-Walt, who reports this week's story.
Act Three: The Talking Cure
We spend a semester in a public school in New York City called Lyons Community School. Lyons is trying to avoid suspensions, detentions and basically all other forms of traditional punishment.
Act Two: Rainy Days and Mondys
Producer Chana Joffe-Walt talks to a woman named Karen Stobbe and her husband Mondy about a plan they've recently enacted in their family. Karen's mother lives with them and she has dementia.
Act One: Jill House Rules
Earlier this year, a cheerleader named Lacy T filed a lawsuit against the Oakland Raiders for failing to pay her minimum wage. NFL cheerleaders did the same right after... cheerleaders generally make about $1,500 for the entire season.
Act Two: Unsafety Exit
Chana Joffe-Walt tells the story of a teenager named Michael. Like a lot of teenagers Michael decides to follow his dreams — and that to follow his dreams, he’s going to need to make a total change.
Act Three: Horse of a Different Color
Producer Chana Joffe-Walt talks to her 13 year old sister Maya about Maya’s most important friendship to date. In fact, it’s her first real friendship.
Prologue
Ira Glass talks with Planet Money reporter, Chana Joffe-Walt, about Hale County, Alabama — a place where one fourth of working age adults are on disability. That means the government has determined that due to a health issue, 25 percent of the adults in Hale County are unable to work, qualifying them for monthly payments and health care coverage.
Act Two: Some Like it Dot
A young idealist named Octavio Sanchez is chief of staff to the president of Honduras. He gets an idea: What if you could cure all your country's ills by just ... starting over? In one little spot, you could create a whole new, perfect city.
Prologue
Ira Glass asks guest host Alex Blumberg whether we should really care about the current European debt crisis. The answer: yes, we should, and we should WANT to care too, because this story—and it's actually the story of the Euro itself—is very surprising and dramatic.
Act One: Can the Government Move My Cheese?
Chana Joffe-Walt visits a governor who first became famous for promising hisstate he'd create jobs: Scott Walker of Wisconsin. (Yes, he's famous forsome other things since.) Walker promised 250,000 new jobs and 10,000 newbusiness in his state by the end of his first term.
ACT ONE: ONE PILL TWO PILL, RED PILL BLUE PILL
Planet Money's Chana Joffe-Walt explains why prescription drug coupons could actually be increasing how much we pay, and prevent us from even telling how much drugs cost.
Act One: The Lie That Saved Brazil
A trip to a country where the fiction that is money completely fell apart. And in this same country, through a truly incredible piece of policy making, the government tricked a 150,000,000 people into believing their money had value again.
Act One: Fire Sale in Kansas City
David and Chana buy a toxic asset, from a guy named Wit Solberg, who used to work on Wall Street and now helps small banks who've been saddled with toxic assets. Turns out...it's hard to buy a toxic asset.
Act Three: Get Rich or Die Trying
Planet Money's Chana Joffe-Walt has this story about a really ambitious million dollar idea: Getting people to see the good side of death. Planet Money is a collaboration between NPR and This American Life.