Of all the 6 and a half billion people in the world, what are the odds that any two people are a real match? Stories from people who know they’ve beat the odds, and the lengths they’ve gone to do it—including an American professor who sings Chinese opera for anyone who’ll listen, to get one step closer to his mate, and two kids who travel halfway around the country to find each other and become best friends.
→ This American Life episode 374: Somewhere Out There.
[audio:https://monocultured.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/374_-somewhere-out-there.mp3]Bernie Madoff woke up in jail today, after pleading guilty to 11 charges stemming from an enormous Ponzi scheme. How enormous? The most recent court documents put the figure at $65 billion. In another amazing Planet Money Radio Dramatization, Alex Blumberg, Adam Davidson and David Kestenbaum act out a Ponzi scheme of their own.
→ NPR, Planet Money: A Ponzi Drama.
[audio:https://monocultured.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/17-planet-money_-a-ponzi-drama.mp3]And two clips from Weeds. I don’t know if I look forwards to the next season, but It’s prolly worth a look.
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