planet money

The Chicken Tax (Classic)

Note: This episode originally ran in 2015.

German families in the 60s loved tasty, cheap American-raised chicken that was suddenly coming in after the war. And Americans were loving fun, cheap Volkswagen Beetles. This arrangement was too good to last.

Today on the show, how a trade dispute over frozen chicken parts changed the American auto industry as we know it.

This episode was reported by Robert Smith and Sonari Glinton. It was produced by Frances Harlow.

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