When Uncle Sam owned banks and factories

The quintessential American economic myth is that the free market picks winners and losers. But the federal government has long had a role in this equation, from the current administration all the way back to the Great Depression. Today on the show, we uncover the history of the country's national investment bank, which shaped the relationship between the government and the market in ways that are still felt today. Check out Chris Hughes Substack Related episodes: The day Russia adopted the free market ( Apple / Spotify ) Giant vacuums and other government climate bets ( Apple / Spotify ) For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org . Fact-checking by Julia Ritchey. Music by Drop Electric . Find us: TikTok , Instagram , Facebook , Newsletter . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy