Planet Money Summer School 8: Graduation LIVE!

Date: August 27, 2025
Host: Robert Smith (with Darian Woods, Mary Childs, Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi)
Location: The Bell House, Brooklyn

Episode Overview

This episode marks the lively and humor-filled finale of Planet Money’s Summer School series, recorded live in Brooklyn. Framed as a fake graduation ceremony, it celebrates listeners' (and audience members’) journeys through the world of political economy. The event combines games, quizzes, special guests, audience participation, and economic insights while honoring the often-overlooked civil servants behind key government statistics. The episode closes with a quirky valedictorian competition and an inspirational, tongue-in-cheek graduation address.

Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. Setting the Stage (01:19)

• Graduation Theme: Robert Smith, donning a dean’s robe “green like the Planet Money logo,” welcomes everyone to the fake commencement. He notes the degree is “not recognized by any academic or governmental institution” (01:31).
• Purpose: Celebrate the completion of the Summer School series focused on political economy; test audience knowledge; honor unsung civil servants; pick a live valedictorian.

2. Audience Quiz: The ABCs of Government Agencies (03:57)

• Gameplay: Hosts quiz audience members on the acronyms of various U.S. government agencies.
  • Example: “SSA, Social Security Administration. Correct.” (04:09)
  • As the questions get harder, only a few remain standing.
  • Notable moment: Confusion over “DOC” until Yale Zhang correctly answers, “Department of Commerce” (04:45).

3. Honoring the Unsung Heroes: Data Collectors and Statisticians

(A core focus of the episode following recent headlines about the politicization of government data collection)

• Context: President has fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), sparking a reflection on the importance of statistical integrity.
  • “President was unhappy with the most recent set of jobs numbers… decided that the number and the department needed fixing. The firing was, of course, an intensely political act.” — Darian Woods (07:03)
• Nuts-and-Bolts of Data Collection: Audio vignettes and anecdotes illustrate the painstaking task of gathering economic data:
  • BLS field agents track inflation by collecting the same grocery prices each month, e.g. “A bag of romaine hearts of lettuce… could you scan that for me? I just want to know the price… So 299 is the same price. Oh, wait, the weight is different. So effectively that’s a price decrease…” (08:25–09:30)
  • Data collectors are meticulous: “They do this thousands and thousands of times each month.” — Robert Smith (09:47)
  • Employment data is also personal: “It has gotten harder over the years, especially after the pandemic… There is some distrust. I’ve had a few people that have yelled at me and screamed at me… I’m their outlet. I am the person that they can physically talk to about the government.” — Erica Henyon, BLS data collector (11:53–12:18)
• Challenges: Budget cuts, waning response rates, and increased mistrust strain the process and public confidence.
  • “The BLS’s budget is 10% smaller than it was in 2009. These cuts have been happening for years... cut people pricing arugula in Lincoln, Nebraska… The data is still solid, everyone tells us, but the cutbacks are starting to stretch them thin.” — Robert Smith (11:04–11:34)

Notable Quote:

“Trust takes a long time to build up, and it can be ruined in an instant.” — Robert Smith (13:02)

4. Honorary Degree Presentation to Government Data Collectors

Timestamps: 13:55–17:58

• Symbolic Gesture: Mary Childs awards an “honorary degree” to the thousands of federal employees collecting, crunching, and publishing economic data.

  • “The trust may be precarious, but the numbers don’t lie.” — Darian Woods (13:31)

• Recipient: Kartik Athraya, Director of Research at the New York Fed, accepts on behalf of all government statisticians.

  • On the challenge: “What is signal and what is noise? ... Knowing what’s happening in real time is actually very complicated simply by the scale of the economy that we operate with.” — Kartik Athraya (15:24–16:10)
  • On response rates: “People don’t always respond to surveys. It is hard to get people to respond…” (16:51)
  • Call to civic duty:

    “If one of us asks you, please be in the survey, say yes.” — Kartik Athraya (17:26)

5. The Final Exam: Trivia Showdown for Valedictorian

Timestamps: 19:23–27:03

• Contestants: Yale Zhang and Atticus Carnell
  • Atticus, when asked if he’s a big listener: “Um, no.” — Atticus (20:08)
  • Yale: “I haven’t listened to episode seven because I’m not a Planet Money plus subscriber…” (20:29)
• Format: Multiple-choice questions on economics and political economy (sample topics: industrial policy, regulatory capture, Pigouvian taxes, influence of taxes on behavior, nature of institutions).
  • Example question:
    “What is regulatory capture?” — Correctly answered by Yale (22:58)
  • Humorous asides include, “Second prize is… you don’t have to be valedictorian. This title will earn you absolutely nothing tangible, which means it will be weightless as you carry it forever in your heart.” — Robert Smith (20:43)
• Outcome: Yale wins after correctly answering a question about Steak-umms’ invention decade.

6. Valedictorian Speech – Yale Zhang

Timestamps: 28:19–30:56

• Setup: Yale is given only moments to write a speech. After some debate about the acceptability of “adult humor,” the hosts approve his poem with a bleeped final word.
• Speech Highlights:
  • “One thing I have learned in the long walk to this stage… is there are people out there… fighting for truth and accuracy. It’s more important than ever to stand up for what you know to be right and statistically correct.” (30:01)
  • Wry advice to his fellow “graduates”:

    “So don’t buy puts. Don’t YOLO into any calls—because Robert Smith and Jay Powell has you by the [bleep].” (30:54)

7. Ceremonial Close

• Celebration: Robert Smith invites everyone to imagine the traditional name-reading and hat toss.
  • “As the fake dean of a fake podcast university, it is my honor to declare you all graduates in the field of political economy. You may throw your cheap hats… into the air.” (31:02)
• Bonus: Listeners can take a short online quiz for a downloadable “diploma.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On government data and trust:
  “If people don’t trust the data, then you might as well not produce it.” — Erica Groschen (08:22)
  “We should answer the surveys, support the data professionals, keep the trust that has been built for 100 years.” — Robert Smith (13:20)
• On the importance of participation:
  “If one of us asks you, please be in the survey, say yes.” — Kartik Athraya (17:26)
• On economic statistics:
  “The data is still solid, everyone tells us, but the cutbacks are starting to stretch them thin.” — Robert Smith (11:34)
• On the value of humor in economics:
  “One person listens to Planet Money, the other doesn’t—and they’re currently tied.” — Robert Smith (24:56)
• Valedictorian advice:
  “It’s more important than ever to stand up for what you know to be right and statistically correct.” — Yale Zhang (30:19) “So don’t buy puts, don’t YOLO into any calls…” — Yale Zhang (30:49)

Episode Structure & Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Highlight | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:19 | Opening remarks and graduation theme introduction | | 03:12 | Big question: What should the government do in the economy? | | 04:09 | Audience quiz on government agencies | | 06:03 | Honorary degree setup and importance of government statistics | | 08:25 | Vignettes: BLS field collection and survey work | | 11:04 | Budget cuts, data collection challenges | | 13:55 | Honoring federal statisticians and presenting honorary degree | | 15:24 | Kartik Athraya on data, ‘signal vs. noise’, and low response rates | | 19:23 | Trivia final exam: selecting the valedictorian | | 28:19 | Yale given time to prepare speech | | 30:01 | Valedictorian address: humor, statistics, personal reflections | | 31:02 | Ceremonial closing, invitation to obtain your diploma |

Tone & Style

The episode is quintessentially Planet Money: witty, self-aware, deeply appreciative of both economics and those who practice it, and inclusive of listeners at every step. The graduation conceit layers sincere acknowledgments with playful irreverence, leaving listeners informed, amused, and proud to call themselves “graduates” of the 2025 Summer School.

For more Planet Money episodes and to grab your (fake) diploma, check the show notes for links or visit npr.org/money.