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Mince pies are a centuries-old Christmas tradition. And this year, a six-year-old boy in England won the most expensive mince pie in the world. A London pie maker raffled it off. To make the $4,7000 dessert, he used rare ingredients. And, buried in the holiday treat was a solid platinum coin worth nearly $1,000.

A string of Jehovah's Witnesses have been convicted since Russia's Supreme Court banned the Christian denomination as an "extremist organization" in 2017.

This week brings mystery writer P.D. James' homage to Jane Austen, a comic novel from Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel, a mountain climbing disaster story from Jim Davidson and Kevin Vaughan, and Mimi Alford's tale of her affair with President John F. Kennedy.

The lawsuit arrives as U.S. renters continue to struggle. The latest figures show that half of American renters spent more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities in 2022, an all-time high.

In softcover fiction, Mark Helprin sets a romance against the backdrop of midcentury New York, and Ian Frazier presents the journals of a mother who swears an extremely blue streak. In softcover nonfiction, Yael Kohen collects an oral history of women in comedy, and Jon Ronson gathers some funny stories of his own.

Tech billionaire Michael Dell and his wife Susan have pledged $6.25 billion to fund so-called "Trump Accounts." The investment accounts would be available to children in low-income zip codes.

Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann talks with NPR's Ailsa Chang about the evidence presented by the Jan. 6 committee and the difficulties in prosecuting a former president.

Chair Bennie Thompson said members haven't decided how many referrals to issue. "We have not made a decision as to who," he said, "but we have made decisions that criminal referrals will happen."

The bear was lost along a trail in Glacier National Park. Months later a family friend spotted it in a ranger's truck. The ranger who had found it said he just couldn't bear to throw Teddy away.

Episodes each Wednesday through labor day. Find all the episodes from this season here. And past seasons here. And follow along on TikTok here for video Summer School. In the middle of the twentieth century, China and its neighbors in East Asia were poor, mostly rural economies. China had been wrecked by a brutal civil war. Taiwan became the home of people fleeing from that conflict. Japan and Korea were rebuilding after their own wars. And then in the later half of the twentieth century, they started their comeback. The governments made some explicit choices that unleashed the power of individual incentives and free market forces and lifted millions of people out of poverty. We focus specifically on China and Taiwan during this time, when they showed a burst of economic progress rarely seen on this globe. Why then? Why there? Can other nations copy that? We'll try to find out. This series is hosted by Robert Smith and produced by Audrey Dilling. Our project manager is Devin Mellor. This episode was edited by Planet Money Executive Producer Alex Goldmark and fact-checked by Sofia Shchukina. Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.