David Kestenbaum
David Kestenbaum is a correspondent for NPR, covering science, energy issues and, most recently, the global economy for NPR's multimedia project Planet Money. David has been a science correspondent for NPR since 1999. He came to journalism the usual way — by getting a Ph.D. in physics first.
In his years at NPR, David has covered science's discoveries and its darker side, including the Northeast blackout, the anthrax attacks and the collapse of the New Orleans levees. He has also reported on energy issues, particularly nuclear and climate change.
David has won awards from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
David worked briefly on the show This American Life, and set up a radio journalism program in Cambodia on a Fulbright fellowship. He also teaches a journalism class at Johns Hopkins University.
David holds a bachelor's of science degree in physics from Yale University and a doctorate in physics from Harvard University.
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The Fed created the money after the financial crisis to try to help the economy, but the money could eventually create inflation or cause bubbles. (This piece initially aired on Oct. 23, 2015 on ATC.)
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You can spend millions on lobbyists or ads to influence the presidential election, but it is mostly illegal to bet on who will win the White House. But centuries ago, people bet on the papal election.
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A group of cancer doctors is trying to create a database on cancer drugs. It would give a score for each drug, reflecting how well the drug works. It would also list how much the drug costs.
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It's been 7 years since the financial crisis nearly took down the global economy. Our Planet Money team wondered what the next big mess might be, so they asked three economists for their thoughts.
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When young people go to casinos, they aren't playing slot machines. Our Planet Money team talks to a man who thinks he can make slot machines that younger people will want to play.
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The online furniture company Wayfair is now one of the most shorted stocks. Our Planet Money team talks to its CEO about what it's like to be running a company when investors are betting on your fall.
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Greece has been renegotiating its bailout deal with the European Union. The man guiding the country is new finance minister Yanis Varoufakis. A few years ago he was working for a video game company.
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Most people don't bet that stocks will fall in value, and we wondered why. So we decided to short something ourselves. -
David Kestenbaum of NPR's Planet Money tells the story of the first stock ever shorted. It's a tale of intrigue, lies, sabotage and a life of exile.
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Our Planet Money team has a story about a man who realized at the time that he was the only person in the world with his job. It was a job selling something almost no one wanted.
