{"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":"Vacation and why Americans take so little","slug":"vacation-and-why-americans-take-so-little","published_at":"2026-05-20T07:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/planet-money-551334/vacation-and-why-americans-take-so-little","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/planet-money-551334","url":"https://www.npr.org/2026/05/20/nx-s1-5827074/vacation-holiday-europe-time-off","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/bb26e4f6-4d59-42da-aff7-ebebdf22f325/audio/128/default.mp3?awCollectionId=43b5acee-463e-4612-95ad-d2596d9dd337&awEpisodeId=bb26e4f6-4d59-42da-aff7-ebebdf22f325&feed=hvWWWzRv&t=podcast&e=nx-s1-5827074&p=510289&d=1509&size=24157710","summary":"Do you work more for more money? Or work less for more time? For some, this is the ultimate economic choice. Every single worker in the European Union is guaranteed four weeks of paid vacation. No matter how long they’ve been at a company. No matter how low paying the job is. Vacation is a right. In fact, all but one of the richest countries in the world guarantees paid vacation, except: the U.S. According to a 2019 study , people in Japan get 10 paid vacation days and 15 paid holidays; in Australia it’s 20 paid vacation days and 8 paid holidays; and in Spain it’s 25 paid vacation days and 14 paid holidays. And it’s not just a rich country thing: Mexico, Afghanistan, Thailand, Tanzania - they all guarantee paid vacation from work, at least in the formal job sector. In the U.S: Zero paid vacation days and zero paid holidays. So, why is the United States the outlier? We go to several labor economists and historians, to find out what makes Americans different from Europeans. It’s a winding journey, so maybe put in a request for some paid time off and take a listen! Note: This episode originally ran in 2023 . Some articles we mention in this episode: “ No Vacation Nation ” “ Study: A Record 768 Million U.S. Vacation Days Went Unused in ‘18, Opportunity Cost in the Billions ” “ Why the US is one of only a few countries with no paid time off ” This episode was hosted by Sarah Gonzalez, produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler, edited by Jess Jiang, engineered by Maggie Luthar, and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer. Book info. / Subscribe to Planet Money+ Listen free: Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Google Podcasts , NPR One or anywhere you get podcasts. Find more Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter . See pcm.adswizz.c…","meta_description":"Do you work more for more money? Or work less for more time? For some, this is the ultimate economic choice. Every single worker in the European Union is…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1509,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/planet-money-551334/episodes/vacation-and-why-americans-take-so-little/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/vacation-and-why-americans-take-so-little.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}