Darian Woods
Darian Woods is a reporter and producer for The Indicator from Planet Money. He blends economics, journalism, and an ear for audio to tell stories that explain the global economy. He's reported on the time the world got together and solved a climate crisis, vaccine intellectual property explained through cake baking, and how Kit Kat bars reveal hidden economic forces.
Before NPR, Woods worked as an adviser to the Secretary of the New Zealand Treasury. He has an honors degree in economics from the University of Canterbury and a Master of Public Policy from UC Berkeley.
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With inflation over 8.5%, it's perhaps time for a long-ignored investment option to shine: the I-bond. It's a U.S. Treasury savings bond, and its interest payments are linked to inflation.
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China has enforced strict regulations on its tech platforms over the past year. But this crackdown has sparked such instability in financial markets that the government may be having second thoughts.
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Throughout the pandemic, music venues have had to close across the country. Many owners believed their business insurance would help. But, it turns out, their policies weren't designed for COVID-19.
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Green energy, like wind or solar power, is one solution to fighting climate change. But sometimes it's environmental laws that get in the way of building the infrastructure to produce it.
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There's a crisis in elder care: not enough nurses and nurse aids to provide for the needs of older folks. Some economists believe immigration can help.
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Russia faces exclusion from a key bank messaging system known as SWIFT. We walk through what it is, why it's important, and what a ban of Russia from the system could mean for its economy.
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The McDonald's Arch Deluxe is one of the most infamous product failures in history. In his new book, The Voltage Effect, economist John List says it's an example of a good idea failing to scale up.
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Uber's CEO Travis Kalanick grew the company fast, but a venture capitalist wanted him out due to scandals. What ensued was a story about the tug-of-war between venture capital and founders in tech.
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As Russia places troops on the Ukrainian border, there's a financial nuclear weapon that Europe and the U.S. can use: ban Russia from the system most banks use to transfer money internationally.
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The shortest route to get a ship from Asia to the U.S. is through America's West Coast ports. But given the pileup there, some ships are going the long way through eastern Canada into the Great Lakes.