As oil prices drop, consider this!

Today Kai Ryssdal and guest host Samantha Fields answer questions from listeners about negative GDP growth and how the global helium shortage will affect the balloon market. Plus, how to *not* handle an inflation crisis, carnival revenue sharing and some big thoughts on whether the decreasing cost of oil is good news or bad news.

Here’s everything we talked about on the show today:

This definition of negative growth from Investopedia
This graph from the WorldBank showing U.S. GDP since the 1960s
“With helium in short supply, scientists are worried” from Marketplace
“The ongoing problems of the helium shortage” from Peak Scientific
“Helium shortage grounds weather balloons in Denver” from 9News
“5 things to know about the inflation crisis during the ’70s” from Marketplace
“Gerald Ford responded to an inflation crisis with a voluntary public campaign. It was a disaster.” from The Washington Post

Got a question you’d like us to answer? Email us at [email protected] or leave us a voice message at (508) 827-6278 or (508) U-B-SMART.