Hear ye, hear ye! Bridget and Ryan have received this question from listener Perry: “How do companies get on the stock market?” which the pair intend to answer while spending the day at the Renaissance Fair. With a wizard as their guide, they discover that taking a company public on the stock market is a lot like a Renaissance-Fair styled obstacle course with three paths to the finish line! Plus, get ready to meet the world’s boniest insult comic.

Tips for grown-ups listening to “Million Bazillion” with kids

Money Talks

After listening to the episode, try out these related conversation starters with your kids:

1. If you had your own company and wanted to get listed on the stock market, what path would you take? IPO, SPAC or direct listing? Why?

2. Have you heard of SpaceX? Open AI? Anthropic? What do you know about these companies and their efforts to go public? Do you think you’d like to own a piece of this company?

3. Is there a company you wish you owned a piece of?

4. Would you rather try to buy a company’s stock on the day they first start trading or wait and see how they do before deciding to buy?

5. *Bonus* Not-So-Random Question: If money had a mascot, what would it be?

Tip Jar

Want to keep the learning going? Start here:

• Listen to this “Million Bazillion” episode to learn more about how stocks make money.

• And if you want to dig even deeper, you can visit this lesson from “Million Bazillion Academy” all about the stock market.

• This episode looked at the ways companies can make money when they go public. To learn about other ways companies do business, listen to this “Million Bazillion” episode about how a company can buy another company.

• One phrase you might have heard people say about the stock market, is that we are in a ‘bull market or a bear market’. And “Million Bazillion” has explained that in a past episode for you, too!

• Grownups, if you want to learn more about the stock market, check out this archive of “Marketplace” stories on the topic.

Gimme 5

Knock knock, who’s there? We hope it’s you! We love hearing from you, and if you have any money jokes, poems, or questions for Ryan and Bridget to answer, send them our way using this online form.