MONEY The True Story of a Made-Up Thing

In this well-researched examination of all aspects of money, the host of an NPR personal finance podcast offers a primer on where it came from, how it works today, and where it's going. His brisk performance is easy to understand and fun to hear. Goldstein's broad grasp of his topic expresses itself in snappy vignettes full of colorful personalities that keep the momentum going. With casual confidence, he opens with the origins of money--beads and 43-pound coins--emphasizing that whatever form money takes, it has value only when people agree it does. From the gold standard to the rise of capital markets and macroeconomics, no aspect of this ubiquitous necessity eludes his curiosity. He closes with an illuminating look at banking, credit cards, and digital currencies like Bitcoin. T.W. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2021]