by Brittney Melton

July 26, 2026

Good morning. This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service downlisted the razorback sucker from "endangered" to "threatened," the Justice Department dropped the subpoenas it filed demanding grand jury testimony from New York Times journalists, and the Kansas City Chiefs revealed the design for their $3 billion domed stadium.

Study abroad from home

by Sophia Paliza-Carre, Summer School producer

When I came on as the producer for this year’s edition of Planet Money Summer School, I was excited to hear the theme was international economics. As someone with a lot of family abroad, I’ve had endless after-dinner conversations comparing why the grass is greener in one place or another. Why do some countries have better healthcare, worse roads, cheaper wine or seemingly permanently terrible exchange rates? We’d boast and complain, but the big underlying question here is: What is another country doing (or not doing) that we’re missing out on?

Planet Money Summer School photo showing a stack of books next to a suitcase, with the locations included in the series.

NPR

That’s the expansive question — with a big economic twist — that we aim to answer in this year’s Planet Money Summer School: World Tour. If you haven’t heard it before, Summer School is an annual series that pairs excerpts from the Planet Money archives with current commentary from guest professors. They'll explain the biggest, most fundamental ideas in economics. It’s more like having a riveting, happy hour discussion with all your smartest friends than a college lecture.

This year, we’re going on a study abroad trip. For eight weeks, you'll join us across seven continents as we go digging for the radical experiments and bold initiatives other countries are conducting to untangle thorny economic problems. At each stop, our professor slash local guide will reveal takeaways we can bring home in our carry-on to better our economic lives.

Our team had more than 15 years of reporting to dive into for inspiration. Summer School was first devised in 2020, to showcase some of our all-time favorite stories while also talking directly about the biggest ideas. Since it was summer, the Planet Money team tried to make each episode feel like a beach read for your ears. Past seasons have looked at economic history, micro and macroeconomics and investing. There’s even an MBA series for those of you with the entrepreneurial itch. Previous episodes have covered everything from the origin of money to the operational challenge of delivering roses for Valentine’s Day.

In this seventh season, there are echoes of that past. In the first episode of World Tour, we invite on Professor Justin Wolfers, who was featured on the first-ever episode of Summer School. As an Aussie, he’s the perfect guide to take us inside Australia's clever but controversial system of selling and buying water rights. We also meet a New Zealand economist and jazz musician who invented an influential way to battle inflation that’s taken off across the world.

Throughout the tour, we’ll stop in places that are experimenting with solutions. In Kenya, we’ll visit the small town that changed the game in developmental economics and became the place to study huge problems like how to best direct aid and prevent HIV transmission.

We'll also lay over in places that will teach us which economic pitfalls to avoid. In China, we’ll see the massive growth that can happen when you run an economy like an engineer, but also the potential downsides — like being left with too many bridges and not enough desirable jobs. Then we’ll head to Norway to learn how discovering oil can actually tank your economy if you’re not careful. Tune in on July 29 to see how the country was able to beat the dreaded resource curse.

At the end of this grand tour, as with past editions of Summer School, we end with a (fun!) quiz. If you complete it, you’ll receive a special Planet Money diploma — suitable for framing, LinkedIn bios, refrigerators and amusing your friends. If you’re looking for bonus points, catch up on our old seasons and quizzes to do a little cramming.

Check out our series so far on the app of your choice, as well as some fun videos about inflation and unemployment. You can follow along for more videos on our Planet Money Tiktok. And stay tuned for more! We’re hitting all seven continents before Labor Day, every Wednesday, in the Planet Money feed or sign up for either of Planet Money’s two newsletters. The Indicator has a link roundup of thoughtful economic stories and why they matter, and join 150,000 other readers of our main Planet Money newsletter for long-form analysis about a different fascinating corner of the economy every Tuesday. We call it “just the right amount of economics, sent weekly.”

Check out more great reads from the NPR network you may have missed:

➡️ Nursing is the largest healthcare profession in the U.S., yet only about one in eight nurses are men. The low number is still double what it was a couple of decades ago. As opportunities in traditionally male-dominated fields like manufacturing and software engineering decline, schools like the University of Alabama at Birmingham have made efforts to recruit men into nursing, a career that has emerged as a stable alternative and a reliable pathway to achieving a middle-class lifestyle.
➡️ Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent two months into President Trump's second term. His mother, Rachel Reyes, says she's still waiting for justice. Since Martinez's death, immigration agents have shot at civilians in 29 additional instances, resulting in at least seven fatalities, according to a nonprofit focused on gun violence. Reyes says she finds it difficult to witness history repeating itself as she continues to seek accountability.
➡️ A new reality TV show is emerging in the nation's capital. Well, not literally — but people have been following updates about the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as if it were this summer's hottest reality TV star. The 104-year-old pool was originally set for a two-week, $2 million facelift. But those plans have since blossomed into a monthslong drama, sparking a wave of memes and becoming a favorite topic of conversation and a brief escape from serious global issues. Washington, D.C., bloggers and influencers have jumped into the political storytelling, sharing near-daily updates. Depending on who you follow, the drama can depict a varying reality about what is happening with the construction.
➡️ This month, NPR's Newsmakers podcast sat down with three influential voices who have made headlines: Pastor Doug Wilson, comedian Bill Maher and former President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden. Catch up with these stories and more here.

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Pod Club

Tracee Ellis Ross smiles off to the side. Her name appears in white on the left side of the frame.

NPR

Thanks for tuning in last week to the TED Radio Hour episode that explores the newest cutting-edge technologies and simple, everyday habits that help us monitor and understand our health. The Up First newsletter asked subscribers to share their best habits for monitoring their health. NPR listener Russ Versaggi says, “Maintain positive thoughts throughout your life and whenever a negative thought enters your mind, quickly remind yourself of the loving, healing thoughts of your savior and how grateful you are for having him and trusting him with your life.”

Today, we’re listening to Wild Card with Rachel Martin. Actress Tracee Ellis Ross from the hit show Black-ish joins the podcast to talk to Martin about the pivotal decisions she has made, what it was like growing up with Diana Ross as her mom, and the power of a good dog. Listen to the episode or read the transcript.

In the episode, Ross asks, “Are you willing to be responsible for your own happiness?” After listening, let us know what that means to you by clicking here. Your response could appear in next week's Sunday newsletter.

Love podcasts? For handpicked episode recommendations every week, check out Pod Club — a newsletter written FOR podcast fans BY podcast fans. Subscribe here!

And, on this week's episode of The Sunday Story from Up First, NPR’s Joseph Shapiro and Colorado Public Radio’s Stephanie Wolf explore the history of the disability rights movement. The discussion covers the protests that achieved accessible public transit as well as the ongoing fight to safeguard the hard-won right to live independently.

How It Started

The words "Sunday Puzzle" over a white background. The name "Will Shortz" is under the Sunday Puzzle title, etched into red dice.

NPR

It's time for the Sunday Puzzle! For this week’s on-air challenge, you will answer each clue with a word that starts with the same first two letters as the clue. For example, if you are provided with the hint, “Planetoid beyond Neptune,” the answer would be “PLUTO.” Test your skills here. Check the page later to hear the answers, or catch them live on Weekend Edition at 8:41 a.m. ET.

This week's online challenge comes from Evan Kalish, of Bayside, N.Y. There is a set of five five-letter words that vary by just their middle letter. If the middle is any letter from K through O, it makes a common word. However, no other letter can go in the middle to complete a word. What words are these? Submit your answer here, and you could win a chance to play next Sunday's on-air puzzle.

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