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A former coal miner's take on the declining industry

Jun 23, 2017
It's a small part of Kentucky's economy, but it plays a big role in politics.
Courtesy of Gary Bentley

Churchill Downs: More than just the Kentucky Derby

May 5, 2017
Horse racing’s Triple Crown kicks off Saturday with the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. It’s been a good year for the racetrack’s parent company, whose stock has risen 30 percent, double last year’s gains in the S&P 500. These days though, Churchill Downs Inc. doesn’t really resemble a racetrack company. Click the audio player above […]
A view of last year's Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.
Andy Lyons/Getty Images

The parallels between American and German politics

Dec 23, 2016
Germany's coal country could support a far-right party.
A coal mine in Jaenschwalde, Germany. 
Sean Gallup/Getty Images

A Nobel prize for economic theory you can understand

Oct 10, 2016
Contract theory is all about putting incentives in the right place
IT Professor Bengt Holmstrom during a press conference at MIT announcing his shared Nobel Prize in Economics with Harvard Professor Oliver Hart on October 10, 2016 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Holmstrom and Hart won the prize for their work on contract theory. 
Scott Eisen/Getty Images

Weekly Wrap: The jobs report "Goldilocks Number"

Sep 2, 2016
Linette Lopez and John Carney join Kai Ryssdal for the Weekly Wrap.

Princeton economist awarded 2015 Nobel prize

Oct 12, 2015
Scottish-born Angus Deaton is known as a fierce critic of how poverty is measured.
"There are still 700 million people who are poor," Princeton economist Angus Deaton said at a press conference after his Nobel Prize was announced Monday.
JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

John Nash's 'beautiful' contribution to economics

May 25, 2015
Mathematician's game theory work benefited business, politics and social science.

Weighing the economics of airing a live car chase

May 8, 2015
Balancing the demand for drama and the potential danger.
Motorists wave as police cars pursue the Ford Bronco (white, R) driven by Al Cowlings, carrying fugitive murder suspect O.J. Simpson, on a 90-minute slow-speed car chase June 17, 1994 on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles, California.
Getty Images/ MIKE NELSON / Staff