Planet Money

There is an economics blogcast that I plan to use as a current events supplement for my introductory macro courses. Planet Money is a multimedia project from NPR that covers the global economy without the use of a lot of econtalk. Planet Money is a social website (podcasts, blogs, twittering) that is aimed at folks who are relatively new to the world of economics. Explaining economic jargon is a key component of its mission.

Incorporated within the Planet Money blog are regularly updated podcasts which feature interviews and analysis from economists, reporters, and even regular folks concerning the top econ stories of the day. Podcast conversations are often interrupted to explain economic terminology.

You can also interact with the Planet Money staff in real time, thanks to their Twitter feed, and/or join the Planet Money Facebook group

Simon Johnson and James Kwak at Baseline Scenario have started collaboration with Planet Money to supply introductory articles on important topics in economics. For example there is an article on the National Debt for Beginners.

Planet Money is charmingly open educational blogcast that explains the challenges facing the economy in a way that any interested person can understand. It is consistently among the top podcast downloads on i-Tunes.