It’s the start of a brand-new season, and Bridget and Ryan visit a local school for a Career Day assembly. When hunger strikes, they get caught up in an underground, “black market” snack operation that gets them into a bit of trouble. Today, we’ll learn all about the black market, what it is, why some people turn to black markets to buy the things they want or need, and some potential consequences.
After you listen to the episode, here are some questions you can ask kids about black markets:
What is a black market?
True or false: All black markets sell illegal stuff.
What are some examples of black markets?
Why do black markets exist?
What are some other words people use to describe a black market?
(Scroll down or click here for the answers!)
If you and your kids want to learn more about black markets, here’s some extra material you might find helpful:
Samuel and Ellie were inspired to send us this question after reading the book “Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze” by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis.
If you want to learn more about how economists think about the black market, check out this video from CrashCourse: “The Underground Economy: Crash Course Economics #32.”
Here’s the story of a real-life black market for school snacks: “What a Researcher Learned From One School’s Underground Snack Market.” (This one is written for grown-ups.)
For a real-life example of a black market, check out this Marketplace story about one for rare desert plants: “Cactus poachers are picking the Texas desert clean of rare species.”
Thanks for listening to this episode. Do your kids still have questions about black markets or anything else related to money? Send them to us using this online form.
Buying and selling things in a way that’s against the rules.
False.
Answers will vary. May include snacks, drugs, weapons, clothing, sneakers.
Answers will vary. May include to sell illegal items or to avoid taxes and government regulations.
They might use terms such as “underground economy,” “illicit market,” “illegal trade” and more.
This episode is sponsored by Greenlight. (For a limited time, get $10 when you sign up for a Greenlight account at greenlight.com/MILLION).
Million Bazillion: S4 E1 Black Markets Script/Transcript
Note: Marketplace podcasts are meant to be heard, with emphasis, tone and audio elements a transcript can’t capture. Scripts may contain errors. Please check the corresponding audio before quoting it.
(SFX: SCHOOL ASSEMBLY AMBIENCE, RUSTLING AND TALKING KIDS)
TEACHER: Attention South Bay 6th graders! Have we got a great Career Day for you today! We have a really cool lineup of speakers, including some local firefighters coming to the stage in a minute!
(SFX: KIDS APPLAUD AND CHEER EXCITEDLY)
TEACHER: But first up, two podcasters from the world of public radio…
(SFX: SLIGHT APPLAUSE)
KID #1: [SHOUTING] What’s radio?
TEACHER: Please welcome the hosts of Million Bazillion!
(SFX: REGULAR TYPE APPLAUSE OVERLAPPING WITH OUR THEME)
–Theme Music– (WITH REVERB TO MAKE IT LIVE-SOUNDING)
BRIDGET: Hey, kids! I’m Bridget!
RYAN: And I’m Ryan!
BRIDGET: And we help dollars make more cents!
RYAN: We’re here to answer the questions that YOU…have about money.
KID #1 [SHOUTING]: Why do stores put things on sale?
KID #2: [SHOUTING] Why do different countries use different money????
PRINCIPAL: [SHOUTING] Can you explain rental arbitrage?!
RYAN: Ooh, woah, those are some tough questions and that last one definitely came from an adult. How bout we share a pre-recorded question that we’ve prepared an answer for!
(SFX: BUTTON PRESSED ON BOOM BOX)
TAPE – Hi Million Bazillion, I’m Samuel. And I’m Ellie. And our question is, what is a black market?
BRIDGET: Thanks for that wonderful question, Samuel and Ellie! So first you have to understand what a “market” is. Markets can be defined as a location at which people buy things. Or sell things. Maybe they could trade things. I think that would count too. Therefore, when we talk about a black market, we mean a place where people buy or sell things they’re not supposed to.
RYAN: Hey, enough hard facts. Am I right? To pep this up a bit, I’ll be setting off these fireworks I purchased illegally-
BRIDGET: Ryan, you can’t use fireworks indoors!
RYAN: Oh, don’t worry. It’s gonna be cool! Sit back and watch the sparks fly!
(SFX: PATRIOTIC MUSIC, FIREWORKS ALL POP AT ONCE)
BRIDGET: The fireworks all went off at once!
RYAN: Wow! Who would’ve guessed the fireworks I bought from a guy at the bus stop wouldn’t work right?
BRIDGET: Firefighters, can you help us?!
FIREFIGHTER: It’s ok, we got this!
(SFX: FIRE EXTINGUISHERS PUTTING OUT FIRE)
FIREFIGHTER: We’ve contained the fire. Nothing to worry about, kids.
(SFX: KIDS APPLAUD, SHOUT “WOW!” ASTOUNDEDLY)
RYAN: Thank goodness you were here!
FIREFIGHTER: It’s okay, firefighters do stuff like this every day.
–MILLION BAZILLION THEME MUSIC–
(SFX: SCHOOL CAFETERIA AMBIENCE)
RYAN: How do you think that went? I had an idea for next time, which is maybe we shouldn’t do the fireworks.
BRIDGET: Yeah, no, that was terrible. I need a snack.
(SFX: COINS IN VENDING MACHINE
BRIDGET: Ugh, but the vending machine in this cafeteria has a terrible selection. Dried prunes? Roasted beet rollups? Aloe vera gel?
(SFX: BANGING LOUDER ON VENDING MACHINE)
BRIDGET: Gimme that snack! (INCREASINGLY MAD) Ugh. What kinda school is this without any of my favorite snacks and their machine doesn’t even work! I can’t believe we came all the way here for you to almost burn down the gym so we could be upstaged by firefighters. And what have firefighters ever done that’s so great- besides constantly put their lives in danger to protect us? UGH!
RYAN: Bridget, I’m sensing an unusually bad mood from you.
BRIDGET: I’m sorry. I get this way when my blood sugar is low and I need a snack and the VENDING MACHINE ATE MY DOLLAR!
(SFX: BANGING ON VENDING MACHINE)
BRIDGET: Oww, my hand! I HATE having a hand!
DASH: Pssst. You want some snacks?
RYAN: Huh? Who are you, kid?
DASH: You can call me Dash.
RYAN: Dash. Wow, very cool name.
DASH: I’m a 6th-grader here. And I’ve started up, let’s call it a little extracurricular business to complement my academic studies. I sell snacks out of my backpack at half vending machine prices. And I’ve got the good stuff that the principal won’t let us put in the vending machines: Can I interest you in some Chompion Brand Pizza-flavored Chips.
BRIDGET: Wait, you got pizza flavored chips? Get out, those are my favorite! ! How much you want for ‘em?
DASH: 50 cents a bag.
(SFX: COINS CLANKING)
RYAN: Bridget, are we sure it’s okay to buy non-vending machine snacks here? Some schools have rules against that and this seems like it might be some kind of illegal black market operation, like Samuel and Ellie asked about.
BRIDGET: Look, I am REALLY hungry, okay?? And, we can talk more about black markets after I house these chips! How else are Samuel and Ellie going to get the answer to their question?
(SFX: SNACK BAG OPENING)
RYAN: Ok, we’re gonna pause for a little snack attack, but don’t give us no flak, Jack, cause we’ll be right back.
-Asking random kids some NOT SO random questions-
ANNOUNCER: And now it’s time for asking random kids some not so random questions. Today’s question is: in a coin toss, do you usually choose heads or tails and why?
RANDOM KIDS: Tails, because my brother always picks heads. Heads because I think they’re lucky. Heads because people don’t have tails. Tails because they are pretty. I usually choose tails because they have cool pictures on them. I choose heads because it’s on my face. Heads because I think it lands on heads more often. Tails because I guess it just lands on that more.
ANNOUNCER: That was William in Pittstown, New Jersey, Roena in Louisville Kentucky, Mickey and Joshua from Denver, Aaron and Rafi from New York, Elliot in Saudi Arabia, and Aylah from Springfield, Ohio.
PART 1:
(SFX: CAFETERIA AMBIENCE)
BRIDGET: (EATING SNACK) Ok, we’re back thanks to the snacks provided by our new friend here- uh, what was your name again?
RYAN: Bridget, it’s Dash. How could you forget such a cool name!?
DASH: Don’t mention it, happy to help.
BRIDGET: My blood sugar is restored, I’m feeling like normal Bridget again, so let’s get into answering today’s question.
RYAN: Yes, today’s question is- what is a black market?
(MUSIC: EXPLAINER TYPE MUSIC)
DASH: I mean, that’s easy, I can answer that! A black market is a way to buy something that’s against the rules. And it’s usually done in secret so that the people who make the rules can’t stop it.
BRIDGET: Okay well, that’s a pretty good answer, you must have already learned about black markets in class.
DASH: Uh, yeah. Class…
RYAN: So a black market sells illegal stuff?
DASH: Sometimes. But some black markets are for selling legal stuff in an illegal way.. Like, snacks aren’t illegal. But like you said, in some schools, buying them in bulk and reselling them out of your backpack IS against the rules.
HALL MONITOR: What’s that I hear about “against the rules”?
DASH: Oh, no. It’s the hall monitor, Zosia. Mind your own business, Zosia. I’m just having a private conversation with my friends here.
RYAN: We’re your friends? You really mean that, Dash?
ZOSIA: Ok, what-ever. But I’m onto you. The eyes of Zosia the Hall Monitor see all. Hehehe.
RYAN: (LIKE “NEWMAN”) Zosia!
(SFX: SUSPENSEFUL STING)
BRIDGET: What does she mean when she says she’s “on to you?”
DASH: My snack operation might be…kinda…not exactly…well it’s a black market snack operation, okay!
BRIDGET: (BIGGER GASP) You’re a black market snacket-eer?? I feel so betrayed! And now we’ve broken the school rules! Oh no, WE could get in trouble now!! Whenever I break the rules, I get itchy bumps all my skin, it’s like the worst hives ever! Ahhh!
RYAN: Oooo, I’ve always wanted a cool outlaw nickname. How ‘bout something original like “Maverick”?
BRIDGET: I think that one’s taken.
DASH: Don’t worry about it. This school hasn’t caught me yet! I’m always one step ahead!
RYAN: So, wait. Is a black market an actual store? Like with shopping carts and cashiers and checkstands and automatic doors that sometimes don’t open and you smack into them?
DASH: No, you don’t need a physical store. Black markets can exist anywhere. Online. In the shadows. In the west hall, where there’s that weird smell. Any place away from the prying eyes of the teachers or Zosia, the Hall MonitorHall Monitor.
PRINCIPAL (OVER INTERCOM): Attention students, this is your Principal. We’ve received a report of illegal snack trading happening inside the cafeteria. Please stay seated until we can find the culprit.
(MUSIC: EXCITING CHASE SEQUENCE MUSIC)
DASH: Oh no, Zosia told on us! We gotta get out of here before they find us and shut me down! Follow me!
RYAN: Let’s get out of here Bridget! We’re on the lamb!
(SFX: CHAIRS SQUEAKING AGAINST THE FLOOR)
BRIDGET: We have no choice but to go with Dash, because we too are rulebreakers!! And now I’m starting to get itchy!!
TEACHER: (IN DISTANCE) Hey, you! Come back here with those illegal snacks!
BRIDGET: Dash, where are we going? Ugh, I HATE breaking the rules, even if I didn’t know I was breaking them!
DASH: We need to go someplace they’ll never look for us! The Media Center! They’ll never find us there!
(SFX: LIBRARY DOOR OPENING. HOLLOW ECHOEY SOUND LIKE A TOMB THAT HASN’T BEEN OPENED IN YEARS)
RYAN: Wow, you weren’t kidding. There’s no one here.
DASH: This Media room is where the school stores all its old film projectors, microfiche, VCRs, tube TVs.
BRIDGET: Wow, look at this old cart and TV/VCR combo. This reminds me of getting to watch a movie in class whenever the teacher had a headache.
RYAN: Hey look, it’s an old film on black markets. [READING] “Business in the Shadows” Ooh, this looks really good, what a find! I bet this would tell us all about real life black markets. If only one of us knew how to thread a projector.
DASH: Let me try.
(SFX: FILM LOADING INTO PROJECTOR)
RYAN: Wow, I knew kids were good with tech nowadays, but not film projector tech!
DASH: I shoot all my TikToks on 35 millemeter. No big deal.
RYAN: Wow, just when I thought Dash couldn’t get any cooler.
BRIDGET: Let’s play it and see…
(SFX: PROJECTOR TURNS ON. WARBLY, SCRATCHY SOUND ON THE FOLLOWING)
(SFX: EDUCATION FILM MUSIC)
NARRATOR: (WARBLY) South Bay Educational Films Incorporated Presents,The Black Markets: Business IN THE SHADOWS. Copyright 1972.
(SFX: EDUCATIONAL FILM SCARY STING)
NARRATOR: In the world of business, anything that can be sold, will be sold. In most parts of the world, the government has rules around what you can buy and how you can buy it. If people can’t get what they want or need by following the rules, an illegal economy will spring up. This is often done in the shadows, where the black market gets its nickname. Black market, like a shadow!
DASH: Let me just fast forward here to the good stuff.
(SFX: FAST FORWARD NOISE)
NARRATOR: In the United States during World War Two, some foodstuffs were saved for the army so there was rationing at home. The government said regular citizens could only buy certain amounts of things like sugar and coffee and flour. So people turned to black markets when they wanted or needed to buy more. Black markets didn’t limit how much you could buy.
RYAN: OH, I see, so black markets are actually not so bad!
BRIDGET: What? No, I think they’re still bad! But maybe a little more complicated than we thought? Oh man, is it itchy in here or just me? The stress of being on the run is giving me the worst hives I’ve ever had! Does anyone have any anti-itch cream? In your backpack maybe?
(SFX: ITCHING)
(SFX: DOOR KICK DOWN OPEN)
ZOSIA: I saw Dash and those Million Bazillion hosts running this way!
RYAN: (WHISPERS) Oh no, it’s Zosia!
(SFX: FOOTSTEPS SWARMING)
ZOSIA: You’ll surely find them in here.
FBI G-MAN: (INTO MEGAPHONE) This is Agent Blick Harris. I’m with the Black Market division of the FBI. Come out and surrender immediately! The FBI takes the sale and purchase of unauthorized snacks very seriously! In fact, it’s our number one priority at the moment!
(MUSIC: Suspenseful music)
RYAN: Oh man, are we gonna make it out of this without getting caught and arrested?
BRIDGET: I hate to say it, but this is the perfect time for a break.
RYAN: Take a break? Now??? But why?
BRIDGET: (WHISPERS) Because it would make for a good cliffhanger!
RYAN: Oh yeah, right. We’ll be right back.
PART 2:
(MUSIC: SUSPENSEFUL STING)
(SFX: SEARCH PARTY SOUNDS, POLICE DOGS, ETC)
FBI G-MAN: (INTO MEGAPHONE) This is your last chance to surrender and confess to the sale and purchase of snacks, both savory and sugary, on the black market!
BRIDGET: Oh no! What are we gonna do? Should we just surrender??
DASH: Surrender? Never!
BRIDGET: Ahhh, these hives are so ITCHY!!
DASH: Follow me, through this forgotten side door, I know a place we might be able to hide!
(SFX: FOOTSTEPS THROUGH HOLLOW CORRIDORS)
RYAN: Wow, look at this secret corridor! I feel like we’re in a Dan Brown novel.
BRIDGET: Have you ever read a Dan Brown novel?
RYAN: No. But my dad has.
DASH: (WHISPERS) We should be able to hide here for a while, under the gymnasium bleachers.
(SFX: GYMNASIUM ASSEMBLY AMBIENCE IN THE BACKGROUND)
RYAN: (WHISPERS) I don’t get it! Why are they after us? I thought Black Markets weren’t so bad! And I also thought Black Markets were like supermarkets with shopping carts!
BRIDGET: What? No! We already covered that! Black markets aren’t real stores. It’s just another way to say “illegal economy.”
(SFX: ECHOEY MIC)
FBI G-MAN: (CLEARS THROAT, INTO MIC) Hello, I’m FBI Agent Blick Harris and I’m here to tell you kids about the danger of Black Markets.
BRIDGET: (WHISPERS) Hey, that’s the FBI agent who’s chasing us!
RYAN: (WHISPERS) He gets to do the Career Day assembly too? What’s going on?
FBI G-MAN: (INTO MIC) You may think that black markets are a place for a harmless, tax-free exchange of goods and services. But consider this. Black markets have a darker side. They are a place people buy and sell really bad, no-good, stuff. Things like drugs, weapons, and other things so bad they shouldn’t be brought up on at a kids assembly.
RYAN: (WHISPERS) Ok, good to know. But I’m not gonna buy any illegal stuff on the black market, so what do I care?
FBI G-MAN: I know what you’re saying. “I’m not going to buy anything illegal on the black market. I just want to buy cheap tickets and sneakers and knock-off handbags.” But what if I told you that black markets are unregulated?
RYAN: (WHISPERS) I would say I don’t know what “unregulated” means.
BRIDGET: (WHISPERS) Regulations are rules businesses have to follow to make sure their products are what they say they are and are safe for the rest of us. UN-regulated means there’s no one checking to make sure those rules are being followed.
FBI G-MAN: You might end up buying tickets to a game that doesn’t exist, makeup that damages your skin, sneakers that fall apart after one day, medicine that makes you sick. And on the black market, you have no way of getting your money back. These kinds of faulty goods are all over the black market.
BRIDGET: But not in your snack pile, right Dash?
DASH: Uhh, I have something to confess. You know those Chompion Brand Pizza- flavored Chips. I sold you?
BRIDGET: Yeah?
DASH: Those weren’t Chompion Brand. They’re actually Kregger Knockoff Brand Pizza Flavored chips!
(SFX: DRAMATIC STING)
BRIDGET: WHAT?? Dash, that brand has basil dust in it, and I’m allergic to basil!! These aren’t stress hives, I’m having a minor allergic reaction!!
DASH: I didn’t know! I swear I didn’t know!
FBI G-MAN: And another thing. Unregulated products can be made in unregulated ways too. Maybe the factory making the sports team t-shirts for the black market isn’t paying their workers according to the rules! Maybe they didn’t even get permission from the sports team to make those shirts in the first place!
RYAN: That’s rulebreaking on top of rulebreaking! And in this case, two wrongs don’t make a right, it just makes things wronger and wronger!
FBI G-MAN: At the FBI, we once shut down a factory making bandaids that wouldn’t stick. Can you imagine the problems with nonsticking bandaids??
DASH: The time when I need a bandaid is exactly the time when I DON’T need a non sticking bandaid!
FBI G-MAN: And to top it all off, like the sickly sweet cherry on top…those black market sellers might be using the money they make to break even more laws. Doing illegal things. Bad stuff.
DASH: Wow, I never thought of it that way.
FBI G-MAN: And now time for a little song I’ve prepared.
(SFX: CHEESY “THE GREATEST LOVE OF ALL” TYPE MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT)
DASH: Oh no.
FBI G-MAN: (CLEARS THROAT, SINGS) The children of the future will show us the way-
DASH: Alright, let’s make a run for it while the FBI guy is singing!
BRIDGET: Wait, no, Dash!
(SFX: SHOES SQUEAKING ACROSS THE GYM FLOOR)
(SFX: LOUD WHISTLE BLOWING, MUSIC STOPS)
ZOSIA: Stop the assembly! I see them! Dash and those illegal snack-eating podcasters!
RYAN: (LIKE SEINFELD’S “NEWMAN”) Zosia!
(MUSIC: SUSPENSEFUL CHASE MUSIC)
DASH: Run!
(SFX: MULTIPLE RUNNING FOOTSTEPS)
BRIDGET: (OUT OF BREATH) This is a big campus!
DASH: (OUT OF BREATH) Yeah, small class sizes too!
BRIDGET: Is this like a Montessori school?
DASH: It’s actually a performing arts magnet.
BRIDGET: Oh makes sense. Is it competitive? Did you have to interview?
RYAN: Stop talking about schools, you two! They’re gonna catch us!
(SFX: MUSIC REACHES CLIMAX)
FBI G-MAN: That’s it. You’re cornered, Dash. It’s checkmate for you! Your black market dealings are over! This is gonna be a huge feather in my cap at the FBI! I might get my own cubicle after this!
(MUSIC: SUSPENSEFUL STANDOFF MUSIC)
BRIDGET: Please Sir! We didn’t know!! We swear! I just wanted a pizza flavored snack that wasn’t available in your broken vending machines!! And now I need an antihistamine and a nap!!
RYAN: Dash! You gotta make a dash for it! Take the snacks and dash away! Dash as far as you can! If you can make it to Canada, you can live like a king on that stash, Dash!
(MUSIC BUILDS TO SUSPENSFUL CLIMAX AND SILENT DROP OFF)
DASH: And have to look over my shoulder the rest of my life? Nahhh. I’ll give up here.
FBI G-MAN: You made the right decision.
RYAN: When are you slimy feds gonna go after the REAL bad guys?
BRIDGET: What’s Dash’s punishment gonna be?
FBI G-MAN: I’m not gonna lie. The punishment at this school is severe. Dash is going to have to write a poem about their crimes and read it to the class.
DASH: Ugh, the worst!
FBI G-MAN: Let this be a lesson to all your listeners, black market crime doesn’t pay.
BRIDGET: Yes, no one out there should get involved in black market trading.
RYAN: And if you do, don’t get caught.
BRIDGET: Ryan!
RYAN: Sorry. Let’s take a break and we’ll be right back.
-Money joke-
AVA: Hi I’m Ava from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and it’s time for a money joke. Ready? What did the duck say after he went shopping? Put it on my bill. Get it? Bill! If you have a joke about money you would like to share with us, let us know. We’re at millionbazillion@marketplace.org. Thank you!
PART 3:
(SFX: SCHOOL OFFICE AMBIENCE PHONES RING, MURMURS, ETC)
FBI G-MAN: And who were your other accomplices in the illegal snack operation?
DASH: Sorry, I’m not giving you any other names. I’m not a snitch.
RYAN: (MOUTH FULL OF SNACKS) Leave Dash Alone!
BRIDGET: (MOUTH FULL OF SNACKS) What are we eating? Are these the school snacks or the black market snacks?
RYAN: Eh, I’m not sure. .
BRIDGET: Can you pass the anti itch cream? Better safe than sorry.
RYAN: Alright, let’s sum up this pup and get outta here.
BRIDGET: Okay well, Samuel and Ellie wanted to know, “what is a black market?” On one hand, the definition is easy. A market is a place to buy something, in person or online. When people want or need something that’s against the rules for them to have, a black market might pop up to help them get it. Maybe it’s for something that doesn’t seem so bad, , like for some pizza flavored chips when you’re really hungry. But buying things we’re not supposed to can get complicated fast.
RYAN: Yeah, there’s no guarantee that we’re buying something from a person who has the right to sell it. Or that the thing we’re buying is safe. There’s no one to turn to if what we bought doesn’t work. It could be difficult to get our money back or worse, we could get hurt.
BRIDGET: Tell me about it. Black markets make it possible for really harmful things to be bought and sold, things that as a society, we agree we don’t want people to have. But we know sometimes, like during a war, people do turn to them to get what they need to survive. It’s important that our laws and rules keep us safe.
RYAN: We also probably don’t want to give our money to people who break the rules every day. Who knows what other laws and rules they might break with the dollars we gave them. Black markets only survive if we buy from them. And boy, Bridget and I are sure sorry we played a role in one here at South Bay School. But I think we can all agree, the number one most important thing we learned is that black markets are not actual grocery stores with cashiers.
FBI G-MAN: Well Dash, time to get to work on your poem of regret.
BRIDGET: Sorry this turned out the way it did for you, Dash.
(SFX: MELANCHOLY WESTERN MUSIC)
DASH: Aw, heck, it’s alright. It’s all part of being an outlaw. I ‘spose when I finish this detention, I’ll rethink my course in life. Maybe enter a more honorable line of work, like you.
RYAN: Oh, Dash. You mean you might want to host your own money podcast one day?
DASH: Not you! I was talking about those firefighters over there.
FIREFIGHTER:(off mic) Heck yeah, Dash! We’d love to have you aboard our ol’ fire engine one day!
(SFX: FIRE ENGINE EAR HONK)
RYAN/BRIDGET: Ugh, firefighters!
–Theme Music-
RYAN: That’s all we have to say about that, thanks for listening to this episode of Million Bazillion. Next week’s episode is going to answer the question, “What. Is. Insurance??”
BRIDGET: Ooh, yes! But if you want to know more about black markets, check out the tip sheet for this episode at our website, marketplace.org/million. You can also sign up for our newsletter so those tip sheets come straight to your email inbox whenever we have a new episode!
RYAN: Million Bazillion is brought to you by Marketplace, from American Public Media. This episode was written and hosted by (me) Ryan Perez. Bridget Bodnar is the senior producer and co-host.
BRIDGET: Special thanks to the smart folks who helped us figure out how to answer Samuel and Ellie’s question: Damon Jones at the University of Chicago…Jeong Min Kim at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Louise Shelley, at George Mason University, Paul Steege at Villanova. And thanks to our colleagues at Marketplace here, Sabri Ben-Achour, Jennifer Pak, and Janet Nguyen.
RYAN: And we are very grateful to the voicing talents of Kimberly Adams, Sabri Ben Achour, Domenica Cappello, Francesca Levy, Nzoi N’Gouamba, Ava Rosenbaum, and Isaac!
BRIDGET: Million Bazillion’s producer is Marissa Cabrera. Jasmine Romero is our editor. Chris Julin is our sound designer with mixing from Bekah Wineman. Our theme music was created by Wonderly.
RYAN: Bridget is also the director of podcasts at Marketplace now. Francesca Levy is the Executive Director of Digital. Neal Scarbrough is the VP and General Manager.
BRIDGET: Million Bazillion is funded in part by the Sy Syms Foundation, partnering with organizations and people working for a better and more just future since 1985. And special thanks to The Ranzetta Family Charitable Fund and Next Gen Personal Finance for providing the start up funding for this podcast, and continuing to support Marketplace in our work to make younger audiences smarter about the economy.
RYAN: If Million Bazillion is helping your family have important conversations about money, consider making a one-time donation today at marketplace.org/givemillion, and thanks for your support.
The Ranzetta Family Charitable Fund and Next Gen Personal Finance, supports Marketplace’s work to make younger audiences smarter about the economy. Next Gen Personal Finance is a non-profit that believes all students benefit from having a financial education before they cross the stage at high school graduation.
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The Sy Syms Foundation: Partnering with organizations and people working for a better and more just future since 1985.
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