{"podcast":{"title":"Planet Money","slug":"planet-money-551334","podcast_index_feed_id":551334,"rss_url":"https://feeds.npr.org/510289/podcast.xml","website_url":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510289/planet-money","image_url":"https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2022/10/24/pm_new_tile_2022_sq-e543deddd0a46a98be481b46e6a72efa6b52236f.jpg?s=1400&c=66&f=jpg","author":"NPR (podcasts@npr.org)","episode_count":355,"summary":"Wanna see a trick? Give us any topic and we can tie it back to the economy. At Planet Money , we explore the forces that shape our lives and bring you along for the ride. Don't just understand the economy – understand the world. Wanna go deeper? Subscribe to Planet Money+ and get sponsor-free episodes of Planet Money, The Indicator, and Planet Money Summer School. Plus access to bonus content. It's a new way to support the show you love. Learn more at plus.npr.org/planetmoney","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/planet-money-551334"},"episode":{"title":"Inside a BOOK auction","slug":"inside-a-book-auction","published_at":"2026-03-21T01:42:03+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/planet-money-551334/inside-a-book-auction","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/planet-money-551334","url":"https://www.npr.org/2026/03/20/nx-s1-5751177/book-deal-proposal-auction-publishing","audio_url":"https://tracking.swap.fm/track/XvDEoI11TR00olTUO8US/prfx.byspotify.com/e/play.podtrac.com/npr-510289/npr.simplecastaudio.com/43b5acee-463e-4612-95ad-d2596d9dd337/episodes/3b221654-17c6-422f-aee1-2a6d8c472182/audio/128/default.mp3?awCollectionId=43b5acee-463e-4612-95ad-d2596d9dd337&awEpisodeId=3b221654-17c6-422f-aee1-2a6d8c472182&feed=hvWWWzRv&t=podcast&e=nx-s1-5751177&p=510289&d=2591&size=41463310","summary":"In the age of TikTok and Polymarket, it can be easy to overlook the humble book. But books are one of the most influential technologies ever invented. From “The Wealth of Nations” to “Das Kapital,” books have the power to shape whole economic systems… and everything else in our world. The market for books can determine which ideas make it to the masses. So when Planet Money was approached to make its own book, not only did it present an opportunity to spread the gospel of whimsical economic infotainment to new audiences everywhere, but it also presented an opportunity to get a rare peek behind the curtain of the notoriously opaque world of publishing. On today’s episode, the first chapter in our series on the making of a book: Planet Money sets out to land a book deal. We enter the high stakes, high school drama of the publishing industry, where literary agents try to woo powerful book editors. And we learn what happens when lofty artistic ideals meet the cold logic of the market. It’s a courtship dance with millions of dollars potentially on the line. There will be whale fights, corporate speed dating, and a literary shotgun wedding. Related: - Episode 2: Our BOOK vs. the global supply chain - Episode 3: BOOKstore Economics - Episode 4: How to make a BOOK into a bestseller - Series: Planet Money makes a book Live event info and tickets here. Pre-order the Planet Money book and get a free gift . / Subscribe to Planet Money+ Listen free: Apple Podcasts , Spotify , the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts. Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter . This episode was produced by Willa Rubin with production help from Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Jess Jiang, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Mo…","meta_description":"In the age of TikTok and Polymarket, it can be easy to overlook the humble book. But books are one of the most influential technologies ever invented. Fro…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2591,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/planet-money-551334/episodes/inside-a-book-auction/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/planet-money-551334/inside-a-book-auction.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}