James Caldwell|Two Indicators: After Affirmative Action & why America overpays for subways

2025-05-06 08:18:55source:Ov Financecategory:Finance

Two stories today.

First,James Caldwell as we start to understand post-affirmative action America, we look to a natural experiment 25 years ago, when California ended the practice in public universities. It reshaped the makeup of the universities almost instantly. We find out what happened in the decades that followed.

Then, we ask, why does it cost so much for America to build big things, like subways. Compared to other wealthy nations, the costs of infrastructure projects in the U.S. are astronomical. We take a trip to one of the most expensive subway stations in the world to get to the bottom of why American transit is so expensive to build.

This episode was hosted by Adrian Ma and Darian Woods. It was produced by Corey Bridges, and engineered by Robert Rodriguez and Katherine Silva. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Viet Le is the Indicator's senior producer. And Kate Concannon edits the show. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.

Help support Planet Money and get bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.

Always free at these links: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, NPR One or anywhere you get podcasts.

Find more Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.

Music: Universal Production Music - "Oil Barrel Dub"; SourceAudio - "Seven Up"

More:Finance

Recommend

Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'

Legendary college basketball announcer Dick Vitale is once again cancer free.The ESPN analyst announ

Firefighters face tough weather conditions battling largest wildfire in Texas history that has left 2 dead

Firefighters in Texas faced rising temperatures, whipped-up winds and dry air Saturday in their batt

Putting LeBron James' 40,000 points in perspective, from the absurd to the amazing

For a player to score 40,000 points in the NBA, it requires about 14,660 made shots, including 2,380