Category: Television

The Today Show – What is the Internet?

In this clip from The Today Show in 1994, the hosts puzzle over a then-emerging concept: the internet. They debate the purpose of the “@” symbol, question how the internet works, and ask, “What is the internet, anyway?”—a moment that seems almost surreal today.

This is a powerful reminder of how quickly technology reshapes the economy. It can be used to introduce students to the idea of structural change in the labor market and how technological progress creates entirely new industries, jobs, and skills. Many of today’s careers didn’t exist just a few decades ago, and this moment in broadcast history captures how disorienting that change can be in real time.

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Psych – If You’re So Smart, Then Why Don’t You Know Game Theory?

Two teenagers are suspected of involvement in a murder they previously predicted. When police investigators attempt to scare them into confessing, the teens confidently point out that the detectives clearly don’t understand game theory or the prisoner’s dilemma. Rather than pressuring them together, the detectives could have separated them and offered each a plea deal for confessing first. That strategy would have created incentives for both to confess, revealing the truth.

Thanks to Mati Rogers for submitting the clip!

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Friends – A Selfless Good Deed

Phoebe and Joey engage in a spirited debate about whether any good deed is truly selfless. Joey argues that all good deeds ultimately make the person feel good, so they’re not entirely altruistic. Meanwhile, Phoebe insists that true selflessness is possible. As the conversation unfolds, the discussion centers on motivations and emotional payoffs.

This clip is an engaging way to introduce utility maximization. Joey’s argument that people help others because it makes them feel good offers a humorous entry point into the idea that individuals make choices to maximize their own utility, even when the actions appear altruistic. It also sets the stage for deeper classroom discussions about rationality, behavioral economics, and how utility functions may include emotional satisfaction, not just material outcomes.

Thanks to Charlie Ben-Nathan for the clip submission!

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Saturday Night Live – Check to Check Business News

In this Saturday Night Live sketch, Jon Hamm and Ego Nwodim play anchors on a business news channel that shifts its focus to “regular folks” living paycheck to paycheck. As they report on economic trends, the news ticker at the bottom highlights relatable, everyday financial decisions—like switching to store-brand cereal or cutting back on name-brand toothpaste.

This sketch is a humorous way to introduce the concept of inferior goods—products whose demand increases when income falls. It’s a great clip for helping students connect abstract economic terms to real-world behavior, especially when discussing how different income groups respond to economic downturns.

Thanks to Brian Lynch for the submission!

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The Tom Green Show – Undercutters Pizza

In this sketch from the Tom Green Show, the host engages in an unconventional experiment where he shadows a pizza delivery driver. As the driver delivers orders, Green attempts to undercut the original pizza company by offering the customers a cheaper pizza from his makeshift, mobile operation, Undercutters Pizza. Despite the lower prices, customers react negatively, some even threatening violence if he doesn’t leave their property. In real markets, firms often vie for customers by offering lower prices for substitutable products.

Thanks to Kevin Carlson for the clip submission!

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The Simpsons – A Trillion Dollar Bill

Earlier in the episode, Homer is arrested for tax evasion, but trikes a deal with the FBI to work undercover in exchange for immunity. His goal? Gain access to a trillion-dollar bill held by Mr. Burns. Instead of turning him in, Homer helps Mr. Burns escape to Cuba, where they attempt to purchase the island from Fidel Castro using the bill. However, Castro tricks them and refuses to return the bill, leaving Homer, Burns, and Smithers stranded on a raft.

The trillion-dollar bill exemplifies a massive fiscal stimulus potential, but its misuse by Mr. Burns and Castro highlights corruption, inefficiency, and redistribution issues. Castro was close to calling off Communism because it was underfunded, but the trillion-dollar bill brought Cuba back from the brink of defeat.

Thanks to Brian O’Roark for the clip recommendation!

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The Simpsons – Ten Commandments

The opening scene of this episode from The Simpsons features a parody of the 1956 film The Ten Commandments. Homer the Thief is the local thief at Mt. Sinai in 1220 B.C. His job in the town is to steal. Moses then comes to say the Ten Commandments, and as soon as he says: “You shall not steal”, Homer realizes that he has just lost his job.

The Ten Commandments provided a foundational set of rules intended to govern personal behavior and social interactions among the Israelites. From an economic perspective, laws and regulations serve a similar purpose: they provide a framework within which economic activities can be conducted in an orderly and predictable manner. Just as the Ten Commandments sought to create a moral and social order, modern economic laws and regulations aim to ensure fair trade, protect property rights, prevent fraud, and promote market efficiency.

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Blacklist – VSL & Ethics

A CEO (Digby) kills a 12-year-old in a hit-and-run, but there is a witness. This is where “The Ethicist” comes in. He offers to eliminate the witness because statistically, her life is worth less than the CEO’s life. Klepper summarizes the concept of the value of statistical life (VSL) and how he uses that to determine who he will murder. Whoever he determines has a more valuable contribution to the world is who gets to live.

Thanks to Alfredo Paloyo for the clip suggestion!

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Ted Lasso – Common Knowledge

Warning: this scene does contain explicit language

In this scene, Beard and Roy are trying to decide how to use their new star player in a match against a former coach from their team, who is familiar with their tactics and players. This creates a common knowledge problem because both Beard and Roy need to make a decision based on what they think the other person knows, what they think the other person thinks they know, and so on.

The problem is that neither Beard nor Roy can be certain about what Nate is thinking or planning, and this uncertainty can make it difficult to make the best decision for the team. In other words, they need to have common knowledge of each other’s intentions and strategies in order to make an informed decision. This common knowledge problem is an example of how information asymmetry can create challenges in decision-making.

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The Good Place – The Trolley Problem (Part 2)

The veil of ignorance is a hypothetical situation created by philosopher John Rawls to help illustrate how self-interest and ego impacted decision-makers at the highest level. Rawls wanted to find a way to create a more just society by exposing individual biases that may create injustice. The veil of ignorance is a way to expose students to their own biases and illustrate how their personal experiences and self-interest may shape the way they view the world and others around them. Under the veil of ignorance decisions about justice and the allocation of resources are made by a person who does not know what position they may have in society.

The Trolley Problem is used to demonstrate the role the veil of ignorance plays in decision-making. Students are asked if they would save five people from a speeding car if they had to push one person in front of the car. They are then asked to remove the veil of ignorance and see how they would react if someone they loved were in the group of five people who would be hit, or if someone they loved would be pushed in front of the car to save the five other people. This unlikely scenario is meant to reinforce how self-interest and personal experience can impact the decision-making process.

Thanks to Jamie Wagner for the clip recommendation and summary!

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