Inside a BOOK auction

In the age of TikTok and Polymarket, it can be easy to overlook the humble book. But books are one of the most influential technologies ever invented. From “The Wealth of Nations” to “Das Kapital,” books have the power to shape whole economic systems… and everything else in our world. The market for books can determine which ideas make it to the masses. So when Planet Money was approached to make its own book, not only did it present an opportunity to spread the gospel of whimsical economic infotainment to new audiences everywhere, but it also presented an opportunity to get a rare peek behind the curtain of the notoriously opaque world of publishing. On today’s episode, the first chapter in our series on the making of a book: Planet Money sets out to land a book deal. We enter the high stakes, high school drama of the publishing industry, where literary agents try to woo powerful book editors. And we learn what happens when lofty artistic ideals meet the cold logic of the market. It’s a courtship dance with millions of dollars potentially on the line. There will be whale fights, corporate speed dating, and a literary shotgun wedding. Related: - Episode 2: Our BOOK vs. the global supply chain - Episode 3: BOOKstore Economics - Episode 4: How to make a BOOK into a bestseller - Series: Planet Money makes a book Live event info and tickets here. Pre-order the Planet Money book and get a free gift . /

You can listen to Inside a BOOK auction online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Inside a BOOK auction is an episode from Planet Money by NPR.

This episode is 43:11 long.

This episode was published on Mar 21, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Planet Money when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.