What the movies teach us about recessions, memestocks and gold

Summary

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Podcast Summary: "What the movies teach us about recessions, memestocks and gold"

The Indicator from Planet Money | May 27, 2026
Hosts: Adrian Ma & Waylon Wong | Guest Host: Rob Schmitz

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Episode Overview

In this episode, hosts Adrian Ma and Waylon Wong join colleague Rob Schmitz to explore how movies—both serious and fun—help audiences understand complex business, financial, and economic topics. With recommendations ranging from whistleblowing dramas to memestock comedies and unconventional economic heists, the hosts discuss how Hollywood brings financial storytelling to life, even for those uninterested in business.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What Makes for a Great Economics Movie?

• Dual Appeal:
  • Movies like The Big Short and Inside Job excel by being both informative and entertaining—"nerdy" and "fun" at the same time.
  • As Adrian Ma notes, "these movies...are so factual and so nerdy, but then it's like jazz hands...they just like, they make you laugh, they surprise you, and they keep you engrossed in the action." (05:24)
• Character Focus Over Technical Detail:
  • Waylon Wong highlights that as trading and finance have become less visually dramatic, focusing on characters and their stories is what makes films about money compelling:

    “The best movies about money don't sweat the details so much about the technical nuances...You really have to focus in on characters and on some more kind of fundamental human stuff that makes a movie tick.” (06:27)

2. Serious Picks: Movies That Explain the Mechanics

• Waylon Wong's Picks:
  • The Insider (1999)
    • Explores corporate whistleblowing, big tobacco, and journalism—how media, politics, and corporate interests intersect.
    • “It's about corporate whistleblowing, it's about big tobacco, it's about journalism and the intersection of big corporate interests, politics and media. And it's a true story. It really happened in the 90s.” (03:00)
  • It's a Wonderful Life
    • Features one of the most famous on-screen bank run scenes, immortalizing concepts like fractional reserve banking:

      “When George gives that famous speech about, oh, I can't give you your money back because it's in so and so's house...he's actually explaining something called fractional reserve banking.” (03:58)

• Adrian Ma's Picks:
  • The Big Short
    • Dramatizes the 2008 financial crisis, making complex topics clear and engrossing.
    • “It’s basically a dramatization of the 2008 financial crisis. Like people who were players in it, the dynamics that led to it, the sort of financial chicanery that triggered this whole debacle.” (04:14)
  • Inside Job
    • Documentary that pairs well with The Big Short, offering a non-fictional account of the 2008 crisis.
    • Both films achieve the feat of "making horrendously complex" financial governance and jargon understandable. (04:35)

3. Fun and Unexpected Economics Movies

• Waylon's "Serious but Fun" Choice:

  • Dumb Money
    • Focuses on the Gamestop memestock frenzy and retail investors:
    • “It's about the whole Gamestop situation when you had all these people on Wall Street Bets...trying to bring down a bunch of hedge funds.” (07:19)

• Waylon's Non-Serious Pick:

  • Die Hard With a Vengeance
    • The plot centers around an audacious Federal Reserve gold heist:
    • “Jeremy Irons is trying to steal the gold from the vault at the Federal Reserve bank in New York City...That's an economics movie.” (07:53)

• Adrian’s Non-Serious Selections:

  • Brandy Melville (Documentary)
    • Examines the economics and impact of the fast fashion industry:
    • “It really opened my eyes to just how kind of bent the fast fashion industry is in terms of its economic and environmental impact.” (08:39)
  • American Factory
    • A look at culture clash and economics when a Chinese glass company reopens a shuttered American auto plant;
    • “It's a really fascinating portrait into the people at different levels of the company, how they are dealing with this change, the sort of conflicting feelings...it is like literally the fabric of our lives and livelihoods.” (09:15)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• The Hollywood Factor:
  • “I think there's a lot of news and entertainment that's either like we're going to be nerdy or we're going to be fun, but somehow they managed to do both.” – Adrian Ma (05:24)
• Human Stories in Economics:
  • “Business is more than just money and numbers. It is like literally the fabric of our lives and livelihoods.” – Adrian Ma (09:15)
• On Fractional Reserve Banking:
  • “You're thinking of this place all wrong. As if I had the money back in a safe. The money's not here. Well, your money's in Joe's house. That's right next to yours.” – It's a Wonderful Life quote (03:50, Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey)
• On Making Complex Finance Understandable:
  • “They take something that was just so horrendously complex—the financial regulations and the mortgage bubble and mortgage backed securities, collateralized debt obligations, credit default swaps...and they actually make it make sense.” – Adrian Ma (04:35)

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Important Timestamps

• 02:42 – Waylon's picks: The Insider and It's a Wonderful Life
• 04:11 – Adrian discusses The Big Short and Inside Job
• 06:03 – The shift from cinematic trading floors to character-driven stories
• 07:02 – Recommendations for those not interested in business/finance films
• 08:16 – Adrian's documentary picks: Brandy Melville and American Factory

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Conclusion

This engaging episode highlights how movies help translate intricate financial crises, principles, and industry issues into compelling narratives. Combining approachable humor with real economic lessons, the hosts deliver a watchlist that offers insight for both economics enthusiasts and movie fans alike.

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Transcript

[A]

Npr. This is the Indicator from Planet Money. I'm Adrienne Ma.

[B]

And I'm Waylon Wong. And today we are going to the movies.

[A]

That is right. Recently we were asked to go on NPR's news program all Things Considered to talk about our favorite films about business and economics.

[B]

We come to this place for learning.

[A]

Adrian Somehow getting incredibly nerdy just feels right in a place like this.

[B]

Cinema. If you are hungry for more econ tinged entertainment, we have Rex. This conversation is hosted by our colleague Rob Schmitz and after the break he takes it from there.

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[E]

Even for those who don't know a thing about business or finance, that has not stopped Hollywood from trying to teach us what it takes to make millions. But how do these movies go down with people who actually cover business and finance for a living? So Waylon, I'll start with you. You've covered business, finance and the economy for years and I hear you are a big movie fan. What are your favorite films in this genre?

[B]

Okay, I know everyone was expecting me to say like Trading Places, but I'm gonna zag. I'm gonna say the Insider. This is from 1999. Michael Mann movie starring Russell Crowe, Al Pacino.

[A]

You go public and 30 million people hear what you gotta say.

[E]

Nothing, I mean nothing, will ever be the same again.

[B]

It is about corporate whistleblowing it's about big tobacco, it's about journalism and the intersection of big corporate interests, politics and media. And it's a true story. It really happened in the 90s. It's the other movie I will throw in here is It's a Wonderful Life. This is your classic Frank Capra movie about George Bailey.

[A]

You see George, you really had a wonderful life.

[B]

And actually econ professors talk about this movie in class because George Bailey, Jimmy Stewart, he works at a building in loan, which is similar to a bank. And there's an iconic scene in the movie where there is a classic bank run. So it's one of like the most famous depictions of a bank run. And then when George gets gives that famous speech about, oh, I can't give you your money back because it's in so and so's house and so and so's house.

[A]

You're thinking of this place all wrong. As if I had the money back in a safe. The money's not here. Well, your money's in Joe's house. That's right next to yours.

[B]

He's actually explaining something called fractional reserve banking, which is fundamental about how our financial system works, even if you don't know that's happening to you.

[E]

Okay, Adrian, let's turn to you.

[A]

Well, one of them is definitely the Big Short.

[B]

Love the Big Short.

[A]

And for folks who haven't seen it, it's BAS, basically a dramatization of the 2008 financial crisis. Like people who were players in it, the dynamics that led to it, the sort of financial chicanery that triggered this whole debacle.

[E]

You're saying that at 8% the bonds fail and we are already at 4%?

[A]

That's right.

[E]

If they go to 8, it's Armageddon.

[A]

Yeah, that's right. And the sort of non dramatized counterpart that I would pair with it is Inside Job, which is a documentary about the 2008 financial crisis. Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs, Lehman, they knew what was happening. What do you think about selling? And what I love about both of these movies is they take something that was just so horrendously complex. You know, the financial regulations and the mortgage bubble and mortgage backed securities, collateralized debt obligations, credit default swaps, all this sort of like jumble of financial jargon and they actually make it make sense.

[E]

Oh my gosh, you guys are giving me flashbacks. This is like ptsd. You know, we were naming all of our favorite films in this genre. What are some of the common threads from these films that makes them so good?

[A]

I think there's a lot of news and entertainment that's either like we're going to be nerdy or we're going to be fun, but somehow they managed to do both. And it kind of reminds me of a thing that, like the Planet Money executive producer Alex Goldmark has said about Planet Money, which is like our show is basically two facts plus jazz hands, right? And these movies, the big short inside jab are so factual and so nerdy, but then it's like jazz hands, you know, and they just like, they make you laugh, they surprise you, and they keep you engrossed in the action.

[E]

Waylon, how about for you?

[B]

I think that a lot of the way that money works, especially today, is, is the opposite of cinematic, right? We no longer have open pit trading where people are running around a trading floor yelling and waving their arms around and, you know, throwing ticker tape around hysterically. And so now that it's just a bunch of people sitting at their computers or at a Bloomberg terminal clicking around, that's actually incredibly boring. And it's just not visually interesting. So I think that the best movies about money don't sweat the details so much about the technical nuances of exactly how trading works. So I think you really have to focus in on characters and on some more kind of fundamental human stuff that makes a movie tick.

[E]

If you're going to tell someone who thinks, hey, I'm just not interested in business stories or Wall street or any of this stuff, what movies would you point them to get them maybe into these types of topics? Waylon.

[B]

Okay, I have like a non serious suggestion and then a serious suggestion. My serious suggestion is the movie Dumb Money, which came out just a few years ago.

[A]

Yo, what up, everybody? Roaring Kitty here. I'm going to pick a stock and talk about why I think it's interesting. And that stock is Gamestop.

[B]

It's about the whole Gamestop situation when you had all these people on Wall street bets. The Reddit sub Reddit, you know, it's trying to bring down a bunch of hedge funds that were going short on the company. Gamestop.

[E]

Wait, that's your serious film?

[B]

That's like my serious answer because it's actually about, you know, like a business sound that serious.

[E]

Okay, so what is your. What is your fun. What is your fun film?

[B]

My non serious suggestion is Die Hard With a Vengeance.

[C]

Should have seen it coming a mile away.

[A]

This was never about revenge. Not a damn heist.

[B]

Jeremy Irons is trying to steal the gold from the vault at the Federal Reserve bank in New York City. Because did you know that foreign governments store their gold reserves at the Federal Reserve? So that's an economics movie.

[E]

Excellent.

[B]

Wow.

[E]

Thank you so much. Jeremy Irons, stealing everyone's gold. How about you?

[A]

I guess I'll follow Whalen's example and do a non serious example. My non serious suggestion is this documentary, Brandy Hellville.

[B]

Oh, man.

[A]

Which is about a fast fashion brand.

[B]

I heard about Brandy first when I was in seventh grade. Everyone was wearing it at school. I walked into the store and I bought the star necklace. I felt so cool and accepted.

[A]

I'm not a fashionable person and I am not like the age demographic of the Brandy Melville brand. But it really opened my eyes to just how kind of bent the fast fashion industry is in terms of its economic and environmental impact. The other one I'm going to say is a documentary called American Factory, which is.

[E]

I've seen that. That's fantastic.

[B]

They refer to us as the foreigners. People just want. They want to feel like they're in America working, not like when they walk in the door that they've left America and they're now in China.

[A]

It's about a factory that used to be a General Motors plant. It closed down in 2008. And then a couple years later a Chinese company called Fuya, which makes glass, buys the facility. They open it back up and now it's a facility run with Chinese managers and American assembly line workers. And it's a really fascinating portrait into the people at different levels of the company, how they are dealing with this change, the sort of conflicting feelings of like, well, some are glad to have a job, but there's some cultural clash. And I think both of these movies, they sort of get at the idea that business is more than just money and numbers. It is like literally the fabric of our lives and livelihoods.

[B]

Thank you for talking econ movies with us, Rob Schmitz. And thanks to Weekend All Things Considered producer Mark Rivers and editor Adam Raney. This episode was produced by Angel Carreras and engineered by Jimmy Keeley. It was fact checked by Cierra Juarez. Kat Kinkannon is our editor and the indicator is a production of npr.

[D]

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