#153 Planet Money: Why Is A Corporation A Person?




Planet Money show

Summary: Last week on This American Life, our own Alex Blumberg had a story about corporate personhood. The idea was actually pitched by Alex's dad, who was pretty upset about the recent Supreme Court ruling that essentially said: "Hey, giant companies are like people. So they get to spend money on political campaigns just like you and me." It was Alex's father's dream that motivated him to the bottom of this issue. He wanted Alex to call up Exxon Mobil and say: "Who do you think you are?" Alex's story went on the radio-- but halfway through the crew over at TAL cut it off. They thought it was too boring. We here at PM felt otherwise. Apparently you did too. We got lots of emails and tweets from listeners asking for the rest of the story. So today, we bring you Alex's full story on corporations as people. We also check back in with his dad.