Nick Fountain
Nick Fountain produces and reports for Planet Money. Since he joined the team in 2015, he's reported stories on pears, black pepper, ice cream, chicken, and hot dogs (twice). Come to think of it, he reports on food a whole lot. But he's also driven the world's longest yard sale, uncovered the secretive group that controls international mail, and told the story of a crazy patent scheme that involved an acting Attorney General.
Before this job, he worked at NPR's Morning Edition as a producer and director. The hours were terrible, but the work was fun: He produced interviews with world leaders, witnesses to history, musicians, authors, and directors. He also chose the music that went between stories and directed the live show. He's reported from Haiti, Mexico, and the U.K. Before NPR, he worked at WBUR Boston, KQED San Francisco, KUSP Santa Cruz, a farmers market, a fancy cabinet shop, and a baseball stadium. He's the reigning world champion of Belt Sander Racing. He's glad you asked.
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Strange unordered packages are showing up on doorsteps across the country. Often, they are the byproduct of an e-commerce scheme to influence search results rankings.
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Unordered trinkets have been arriving at homes around the country. We try to find out why.
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Planet Money joins the gold rush 170 years late. And the rules are still about the same. How did that happen?
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We ponder the price of chicken, safe haven currencies, and the cash value of coupons. Why? Because you asked.
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Five reporters go to the New York Produce Show and Conference, each on a mission.
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Bill Pennington's house floods a lot: Three times in the last three years. And every time his house floods, the government pays to help him repair the damage. Is something wrong here?
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A strong, new earthquake shook Mexico today, causing even more alarm in a country reeling from the powerful quake earlier in the week which killed hundreds. All week, thousands of volunteers raced to the sites of collapsed buildings to save those trapped in the rubble. Among them, a group of cyclists delivering aid to rescue workers.
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When casino owners started tracking a Russian gang that was beating slot machines around the world, the owners learned a lot about their own machines and the nature of random numbers.
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As long as there have been casinos, people have tried to cheat them. The latest attempt was by a group of hackers who tried to take down slot machines using math, iPhones, and a whole lot of swiping.
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Attorney Judd Burstein says the securities law probe centers on the masking of settlement payments to victims as salary and compensation to avoid disclosure of the payments and the harassment.