Our BOOK vs. the global supply chain
26 March 2026·47 min
When you come across a book at a yard sale or a bookstore, you might pay more attention to the words between the covers than the physical form of the book…
Also available on
Show notes
When you come across a book at a yard sale or a bookstore, you might pay more attention to the words between the covers than the physical form of the book itself. But content and the form are both crucial to a book’s success. Each book you pull off the shelf, is the product of thousands of decisions, big and small, tying together vast supply chains and armies of workers from around the world.
On today’s episode, the second episode in our series: Planet Money sets out to actually write, design, and manufacture a book. We go spelunking deep inside the bowels of the publishing industrial complex. There will be trade wars, sunken cargo containers filled with lost cookbooks, deforestation regulations, and just a whiff of scratch and sniff.
Related:
- Watch our book being printed: TikTok, Instagram, Spotify
- Episode 1: Inside a BOOK auction
- The laws of the office revisited
- Series: Planet Money makes a book
Live event info and tickets here.
Pre-order the Planet Money book and get a free gift. / Subscribe to Planet Money+
Listen free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.
Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.
This episode was produced by Willa Rubin. It was edited by Jess Jiang, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.
Music: NPR Source Audio - “Motivation Or Mayhem,” “Missing A Deadline,” and “No Limits After All.”
To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy
On today’s episode, the second episode in our series: Planet Money sets out to actually write, design, and manufacture a book. We go spelunking deep inside the bowels of the publishing industrial complex. There will be trade wars, sunken cargo containers filled with lost cookbooks, deforestation regulations, and just a whiff of scratch and sniff.
Related:
- Watch our book being printed: TikTok, Instagram, Spotify
- Episode 1: Inside a BOOK auction
- The laws of the office revisited
- Series: Planet Money makes a book
Live event info and tickets here.
Pre-order the Planet Money book and get a free gift. / Subscribe to Planet Money+
Listen free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.
Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.
This episode was produced by Willa Rubin. It was edited by Jess Jiang, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.
Music: NPR Source Audio - “Motivation Or Mayhem,” “Missing A Deadline,” and “No Limits After All.”
To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy
Share this episode
From the host
Is your organisation telling the right story?
I offer a free 20-minute conversation called the Story Session. I'll look at how your organisation is currently telling its story, identify the one story you should be telling but aren't, and give you a concrete idea for what to do about it.
No charge. No preparation. No obligation. If that's you, or if you know someone it might be for, I'd love to hear from you.
Book a Story Session[STORY_SESSION_URL pending]