Who decides which snacks are in your office’s vending machine? How much is a suburban elm tree worth, and to whom? How did Girl Scout Cookies become a billion-dollar business? In bite-sized episodes, journalist Zachary Crockett looks at quotidian things and finds amazing stories.
Listen here or follow The Economics of Everyday Things on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. We also provide transcripts, show notes, and links to research for each episode.
Who makes the stacks of fake cash used in movies — and how do they stay clear of counterfeit law? Zachary Crockett follows the fake money.
How do you turn an empty house into a buyer’s dream home? Zachary Crockett pulls back the curtain.
How does America’s cutest sales force get billions of Thin Mints, Samoas, and Tagalongs into our hands every year? Zachary Crockett digs in.
The most popular song of the 20th century — and a key part of a ubiquitous American ritual — was also the subject of a years-long legal battle. Zachary Crockett blows out the candles.
Does anyone ever win the giant teddy bear? Zachary Crockett steps right up.
Most sports bars rarely screen women’s games. Zachary Crockett taps into the strategy of one woman who changed the channel.
Only the finest restaurants have a chance to bask in their glow. Sometimes, it’s a bit too bright. Zachary Crockett squints at the menu.
Once America’s favorite recreational activity, bowling has been in the gutter for decades. But some surviving alleys are resetting the pins. Zachary Crockett laces up.
Vanity plates might be 2KUL4U, but in the Blue Hen State, low-digit plates command high-digit prices. Zachary Crockett sums up a big market in a small state.
One creature’s trash is another’s cash. Zachary Crockett flushes out the numbers with a man who found profit in pee.
How do they emerge from the Upper Cretaceous period to end up in natural-history museums and private collections? Zachary Crockett digs for answers.
We’re not sure what that creature cavorting on the sidelines is — but it doesn’t come cheap. Zachary Crockett gets the ballpark figures on everyone’s favorite ballpark figures.
Hotel guests adore those cute little soaps, but is it just a one-night stand? Zachary Crockett discovers what happens when we love ’em and leave ’em.
Can a hit single from four decades ago still pay the bills? Zachary Crockett f-f-f-finds out.
How does America’s cutest sales force get billions of Thin Mints, Samoas, and Tagalongs into our hands every year? Zachary Crockett digs in.
In our first episode, host Zachary Crockett sidles up to the pump to ask: Who owns your local gas station, and where do their profits really come from?
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