The year NYC went broke
The episode examines New York City's 1975 fiscal crisis, when years of accounting gimmicks and reliance on short-term debt led the city to the brink of default and inability to pay basic municipal workers. Through interviews with key participants like Steve Clifford and Donna Shalala, it details how the true scale of the hidden deficit was uncovered, how the Municipal Assistance Corporation (MAC) and an emergency control board were created, and how unions, real estate interests, the state, and ultimately the federal government were pressured into a shared-sacrifice bailout. The story traces the painful austerity and structural reforms that eventually restored the city's credibility and became a playbook for later municipal debt crises.
648. The Merger You Never Knew You Wanted
Host Stephen Dubner explores an ostensibly "absurd" idea: merging the NFL with NCAA football (and possibly the NBA with NCAA basketball) and introducing promotion and relegation, using it as a lens to examine the economics and governance of big-time American sports. The episode details how college sports historically exploited unpaid athletes, the legal and economic changes brought by NIL and antitrust litigation, and how this evolution makes top-tier college sports increasingly similar to professional leagues. It also examines the NFL's cartel-like power, antitrust exemptions, public stadium subsidies, and why a more open, competitive system might address problems like tanking and entrenched inequality.