Tagged: Planet Money Podcast

Higher land prices have forced Amish off the farms and into business. There are thousands of Amish run firms out there making everything from plumbing supplies to furniture.

But running an Amish business poses unique challenges. Many Amish don't connect to the electrical grid. They don't drive cars. They prize modesty, meaning traditional advertising slogans like "best," "fastest," and "greatest" are out. An Amish company has to be creative about these things.

If you have good health insurance, you've probably never even seen a full hospital bill. Count yourself lucky.

For a giant article in this week's Time, Steve Brill went line by line through a handful of bills from hospitals around the country. On today's show, he tells us about the crazy thicket of high prices and hard-to-decipher codes that he discovered, and we talk about what it means for the price of health care in America.

Two big companies have hatched a plan that could allegedly take money out of the pockets of ordinary Americans. And it's not just any money: it's our beer money.

Anheuser-Busch InBev, the biggest brewer in the world, wants to buy Grupo Modelo, the maker of Corona. The U.S. Department of Justice is suing to block the acquisition.

On today's show: The story behind the case, and what it says about monopolies, competition and government regulation.