Podcast's of the Week

Planet Money: The Internet and Music
I was very disappointed in the lack of imagination shown on the part of the music experts in this story. They insisted that the internet was not going to work for music and would only help those lucky few. The only problem is that they were trying to tie it into the current label based industry, an industry that does not seem to be the preferred or sustainable method.

Why does it need to continue that way? Do retailers still use large swaths of middle men and warehouses or did they develop just in time delivery systems to cut cost? Do companies still need to be locate
Labels need to be consultants, which I think Alex touches on briefly at the end of the podcast.

Planet Money: Do We Need the IMF?
Why was the IMF created? What does it do? Do we need it? Look no further.

Short answer: We don't know
Long answer: If it didn't exist we would not create it but since it does we might as well use it.

Fresh Air does Area 51
Looking for a definitive history of Area 51? Then look no further. Want borderline crack-pot theories based on anonymous sources? Also look no further.

Podcast's of the Week

This American Life reports that government's don't create jobs, at best they add minimal value to jobs being added by the private sector all ready and at worst they rob future investments in high end job growth to subsidize low wage jobs now (AKA you need to invest in education to really win the future).

Oh and they like to poach jobs from eachother.


Planet Money does a great, and short, history of US debt dating back to Hamilton. Well worth your 20 minutes.

It's All Politics for this week features Ron Elving giving probably the best explanation as to how voters choose between an incumbent President and a challenger. I will be co-opting it from now on.

Charles Barkley is on the BS Report and in only the way Charles can do he makes America (or that specific part of America) look really stupid for disliking gay people.