Keith Romer
Keith Romer has been a contributing reporter for Planet Money since 2015. He has reported stories on risk-pooling among poker players, whether it's legal to write a spin-off of the children's book Goodnight Moon and the time one man cornered the American market in onions. Sometimes on the show, he sings.
Romer has also worked as a producer and story editor at ESPN's 30 for 30 Podcast where he reported on WNBA players who played overseas for a former KGB spy and — more gamblers — the World Series of Poker that launched the international poker boom. His work has also appeared in The New Yorker and Rolling Stone.
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Charlie Shrem went to prison for his involvement in Bitcoin trading. Now he's out and part of the next evolution of Bitcoin's future, investments that trade using Bitcoin's underlying technology.
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It's illegal for casinos in Nevada to take bets from out of state. But that didn't stop one subsidiary of a Wall Street firm from trying.
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There's an art and a science to running a business that has to pay out money, like a casino or insurance firm. See how game shows craft the appearance of risk while trying to limit it.
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Our reporter wanted to write a prequel to Goodnight Moon. He ended up on the phone with lawyers.
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When the federal government gives out social benefits such as food stamps, if you qualify, you get them. But housing vouchers are often distributed through a lottery.
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Employers often rule out applicants with felony convictions. Data show when the military made an exception and allowed people with felony convictions to enlist, they performed better than their peers.
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Big league poker tournaments put millions of dollars at stake for the players. But behind the scenes there is another money game going on, something of a mini-Wall Street.
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Each year thousands of people don't pay the taxes they owe. They claim all kinds of reasons from penury to protest. The Planet Money team brings us the story of Larry Williams who decided he just shouldn't have to pay his taxes anymore.
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There's an adage that says all press is good press. Our "Planet Money" team tests the theory by talking to authors who have had their books panned in The New York Times.
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Not everything can be sold like a box of cereal with a price tag on the side. If something needs to be sold right away, an auction might be the right approach. For buyers, auctions can be a great chance at a bargain, but only if they are wise to the tricks of the trade. Planet Money goes to an auction to scout out techniques.