The following videos are ones that I show regularly in my principles of microeconomics course. While one or two videos may not be shown depending on time, most of these make an appearance throughout the semester.
Lesson 1 (Introduction, Foundations, & Models)
Moscow on the Hudson — Coffee Aisle
Parks & Rec — Asthmas Induced Sunsets
Along Came Polly — Stabbing the Pillows
Parks & Rec — Ron Swanson on Capitalism
How to Make Everything — A $1500 Chicken Sandwich in Only 6 Months
Super Troopers — Free Hot Dog
Lesson 2 (Demand & Supply)
Seinfeld — The Note (Shifts vs Movements)
The Big Bang Theory — Electricity & Cable
AT&T — We Want More Commercial
The Office — Princess Unicorn (Part 2)
Lesson 3 (Labor Markets)
Moneyball — Breaking Biases
Buzzfeed — Jose vs Joe
Lesson 4 (Economic Efficiency)
Just Go With It — Negotiation Scene
Lesson 5 (Elasticity)
Jingle All the Way — Elasticity of TurboMan
The Wire — String Bell Learns Economics
The Simpsons — Bart Gets an Elephant
TIME — Nutella Riots
Marginal Revolution University — Elasticity & Slave Redemption
Lesson 6 (Price Controls & Quotas)
NYC Debate — Rent is Too Damn High
John Stossel — Rent Control in NYC
College Humor — Apartment Hunting in NYC
Chris Rock — Bullet Control
Saturday Night Live — Minimum Wage
KXLY — Teen Unemployment
Bloomberg — The Value of a Medallion
Lesson 7 (Taxes & Tax Policy)
ieaTV — Art Laffer Explains the Laffer Curve
Lesson 8 (Externalities & Types of Goods)
Above Average — Everyone’s Upstairs Neighbor
Axe Commercial — Pros & Cons
Colbert Report — Cashmere Externalities
US Bank — Unobstructed View
TED — How to Solve Traffic Jams
Adam Ruins Everything — Trophy Hunting
Lesson 9 (International Trade)
Brad Paisley — American Saturday Night
King of the Hill — Mowing While Intoxicated
Human Powered Ferris Wheel
Construction in Thailand
PBS New Hour — Clinton on TTP
Vox — China’s Panda Diplomacy
CNBC — The New Trade Deal (USMCA)
60 Minutes — Trump on NAFTA
ReasonTV — McCain on NAFTA
We The Economy — Globalization
Lesson 10 (Production & Costs)
The Big Bang Theory — Penny Blossoms
Seinfeld — Bottle Arbitrage
The Office — Fixed vs Variable Cost Pricing
Lesson 11 (Perfect Competition)
The Simpsons — Mr. Plow
Two and a Half Men — Massage Competition
I Love Lucy — 5 Cent Hamburgers
Lesson 12 (Monopoly)
Adam Ruins Everything — Engagement Rings
Adam Ruins Everything — Eyeglass Monopoly
The Office — Princess Unicorn
Seinfeld — Soup Nazi
Lesson 13 (Monopolistic Competition)
Superior Donuts — Food Truck Competition
Mediocre Films — Deluxe Hugs
Lesson 14 (Oligopoly)
The League — Colluding to Split the Body
Lesson 15 (Pricing Strategy)
Paper Moon — Selling Bibles
Always Sunny — One Rock
The Toys That Made Us — Two Part Tariffs for Barbie
Lesson 16 (Game Theory)
Golden Balls — Split or Steal
Golden Balls — Coordination
Footloose — Chicken with Tractors
A Beautiful Mind — Ignoring the Blonde
Princess Bride — Battle of Wits
The Big Bang Theory — Desk Wars: Tit for Tat
ABC News — Lost in New York
TED — Hoteling Model
Survivor — 21 Flags
Lesson 17 (Consumer Choice & Behavioral)
Numb3rs — Ultimatum Game
The Big Bang Theory — Sheldon & Rationality
The Big Bang Theory — Sunk Costs & Ringtones
Blackish — Gift Giving
Jerry Seinfeld — Morning Guy
Modern Family — Greeting Card Jackpot
Moneyball — I Hate Losing