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.
-
At the beginning of the personal computer era, a student in Boston dreamed up the first electronic spreadsheet. It was a $99 piece of software that changed whole industries — and created a new worldview.
-
How Sunk Cost Fallacy Applies To LoveMegan McArdle spent years in a doomed relationship. The reason, she says: She fell victim to a common economic fallacy. Our Planet Money team has a love story with an economic idea at its heart.
-
Hernando de Soto wanted to figure out why his country, Peru, was stuck in poverty. His answer transformed poor countries around the world.
-
There's a new movement to get professional poker players to give a share of their winnings to charity — but most charities don't make the cut. Our Planet Money team explains why.
-
Making Electronics Cheaper Requires Detective WorkConsumer electronics get cheaper year after year. Our Planet Money team visited a company called Monoprice, where employees spend their days trying to figure out how to make stuff get cheaper.
-
Not all debt collectors work at banks or big, corporate agencies. Many work at small, storefront shops. At least one worked in a former karate studio. -
Bedbugs, Lava And Bowling Balls: Inside My Homeowners Insurance PolicyWhat the fine print in my policy says about how insurance works. -
A new SuperPAC aims to reduce the influence of big money in politics — and it's starting by raising millions of dollars, in part from wealthy donors.
-
At the movies, a ticket to a sold-out blockbuster costs the same as a ticket to a bomb playing in an empty theater. Jacob Goldstein of the Planet Money team finds out why.
-
Simple wooden pallets make transporting items, loading and unloading easier. Our Planet Money team dives deep into the pallet world to see how this ubiquitous item is changing.
