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?
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Today
Chuck Barris: Game Show Host and CIA Assassin?
Chuck Barris created game show classics like The Dating Game and The Gong Show. However, his memoir claims his prolific career was all a cover for his classified missions as a CIA assassin. The agency says his claim is 100% false, but as Barris notes, "Have you ever heard the CIA ... Show More
51m 42s
Aug 26
Conspiracy of Silence: The Town That Killed Ken Rex McElroy
1981, Skidmore, Missouri. Ken McElroy, the “bully of Nodaway County,” is gunned down in the street – in broad daylight, and in front of his wife and an untold number of witnesses. Despite multiple investigations and grand juries, nobody has ever been indicted in the case, thanks ... Show More
47m 54s
Aug 19
Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and the Laurel Canyon Conspiracy
In the 1960s, a new musical revolution emerged from Laurel Canyon, California. Bands like The Beach Boys, The Doors, and Crosby, Stills & Nash sang hit songs protesting the Vietnam War. However, while these tunes spoke to war protesting "hippies," some believe that they were crea ... Show More
56m 23s
Sep 2023
Why are we still buying diamonds?
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
54m 33s
Jul 2020
Diamond Wars | The Future of the Diamond Industry | 8
Today we conclude our Diamond Wars series. These precious stones are known to be undeniably beautiful, rare and a symbol of luxury. But diamonds have also been associated with war, human rights abuses and death. In response, consumers these days are demanding more transparency ab ... Show More
20m 49s
May 2020
Diamonds: Articles of Interest #11
<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
31m 20s
Feb 2020
How Do Wine, Cars, and Clothes Defy Economics?
With most goods and services, as their price goes up, demand goes down -- but not so with luxury items from diamonds to college educations. Learn how Veblen goods work in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnys ... Show More
6m 29s