Stacey Vanek Smith

Nothing has been normal about this presidential election — including ad spending. Donald Trump early on spent no money. Now he and Hillary Clinton have been targeting some unusual places.

The fracking boom in America kicked off almost by accident. An engineer worried about losing his job kept experimenting until he hit on a technique that changed the world.

NPR's Planet Money team follows the oil they bought on the final part of its journey — into someone's gas tank.

NPR's "Planet Money" team embarked on a quest to buy, transport and refine crude oil. The team learns that you have to be as savvy as possible because oil prices go up — and down.

After buying 100 barrels of crude oil and delivering it to a pipeline, NPR's Planet Money team goes to a refinery to see it turned into gasoline.

NPR's Planet Money team embarked on a quest to buy, transport and refine crude oil, and met all the people who make gasoline possible.

NPR's Planet Money team embarks on a quest to buy, transport and refine crude oil. We'll meet all the people who make our gasoline possible.

Sellers on Amazon find their products being resold on eBay without permission for a markup, with middlemen capitalizing on the efficiency of online shopping to make an extra buck.

NPR's Planet Money team explores which is better for actually getting work done: an open office or cubicles. A maker of office furniture explains why many clients now want to go back to the cubicle.

Open office plans have become common. Our Planet Money teams has the story of the man who came up with the idea to tear down cubicle walls, and why he thought it was a good idea.

Cable companies cried out that turning their package deal offerings into a menu of options could lead to financial ruin. But unbundling, as they call it, may be a path to even more profit.

Countries are finding big money in an unlikely source — selling citizenship. The Planet Money team goes to the tiny island nation that started the trend to see what happens when passports become an export product like anything else.

Planet Money tries to find out how low oil prices will change Saudi Arabia economically and culturally.

The price of oil has been on a downward dive for a couple of years. This has been great for some businesses and not so for others. One industry hit especially hard is the recycling business.

There are luxury goods, and then there is the Birkin bag from the French company Hermes. It has been an elusive status symbol for 30 years, but it is also always mysteriously out of stock.

NPR explores how ISIS gets its money and why that makes it so hard to turn off the money spigot. We examine how ISIS makes up its budget and manages it through its tax system, fees and the antiquities smuggling strategies.

Our Planet Money team examines the financial life within ISIS territory. When members of the Islamic State take control of a town, they also take control of its businesses and its economy.

When we drive, fly or walk, we contribute to carbon emissions that cause global warming. One solution often cited is to pay to heal the harm by underwriting the cost of planting a tree.