How Do Wine, Cars, and Clothes Defy Econ...

These marine invertebrates can solve puzzles, use tools, and camouflage themselves by changing their very skin -- yet they live only three to five years, and die after mating. Learn more about octopuses in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://animals.ho ... Show More

Iron processing is a benchmark of civilization for good reason -- this metal makes a lot of technology possible. Learn about the history and science of refining iron and steel in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/iron.htmSee o ... Show More

In the mid-1900s, Dorothy Kilgallen was a famous journalist and popular media personality -- but her investigation into the deaths of President Kennedy and his assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, may have gotten her killed, too. Learn about the alledged organized crime coverup Kilgallen ... Show More

They’re shiny rocks that we’ve somehow agreed embody romance and eternity. But diamonds, it turns out, are not as rare as we think. And these days, they can be made in a lab. So why do we continue to spend so much money on them? This week, the story of a century-long, internation ... Show More

<p>Diamonds represent value, in all its multiple meanings: values, as in ethics, and value as in actual price. But what are these rocks actually worth? The ethics and costs of diamond rings have shifted with society, from their artificial scarcity perpetuated by DeBeers to their ... Show More

Diamonds are considered one of the world’s most valuable gemstones. But what if their prices are high due to brilliant marketing and supply monopoly tactics, not because of their rarity? And if that’s the case, are diamonds just a run-of-the-mill gemstone? Learn more about your a ... Show More

"Just because you are insecure about your pricing and value does not mean you should take that from them." Today, Alex (@AlexHormozi) discusses the importance of selling expensive items and how it relates to people's desire to buy and own expensive things. He also provides a pric ... Show More

The Veblen effect, more commonly known as the snobbery effect, can easily be summed up as the fact that we, as humans, like or want to buy objects, not because we need them or because we especially like them, but simply because of their price. Yep, because they’re expensive. This ... Show More

As part of this month’s Econ Extra Credit series, we’ll look at a study about how likely drivers were to stop for a pedestrian waiting at a crosswalk. Turns out, the nicer the car, the less likely it was to stop. What can we learn about how wealth — or the lack of it — impacts ou ... Show More

The world of status symbols and all their various manifestations (“quiet luxury,” “stealth wealth,” and even conspicuous dressing down as a backhanded sign of prestige) has operated in a more or less predictable way over the course of history—until now. Amy X. Wang, whose reporti ... Show More

Is investing in gold just like it looks in the late-night infomercials? Not exactly. Today, Nicole explains how it works and whether you should buy. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.