The Indicator from Planet Money (NPR)

Surprisingly stable chicken meat prices, a lawsuit threat against the Gulf of Mexico's name change, and the Trump administration's false claims about Social Security beyond the grave are all under the microscope on this edition of Indicators of the Week.

Related episodes:
What the cluck is happening with egg prices?
What does the next era of Social Security look like?
The fight for a legendary shipwreck's treasure

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Today's jobs report shows a slight rise in unemployment to 4%. And some frustrated job seekers are growing tired of applying for job after job with no replies, sometimes asking whether the listings are even real. And this isn't just vexing for applicants. It's also haunting economists when trying to figure out how much slack there is in the labor market, and whether interest rates should be raised or lowered. Today on the show: the rise of ghost jobs. Where they're happening and why.

Related episodes:
Not too hot, not too cold: a 'Goldilocks' jobs report
The Beigie Awards: From Ghosting to Coasting

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What's going on with the FAIR plan in a post-Eaton and Palisades fires California? What's the backstory to the frozen Consumer Financial Protection Bureau? And why are the two tech bros very publicly going at it?

Indicators of the Week explains!

Related episodes:
How a consumer watchdog's power became a liability

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The story of a man who started buying and selling stocks as a hobby ... and got seriously addicted. We also speak with a neuroeconomist about the human brain on day trading.

Related episodes:
The young trolls of Wall Street are growing up
Invest like a Congress member

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The U.S. labor market continues its hot streak, adding 303,000 jobs last month — more than expected. Many of these jobs will require a four-year degree despite a push among some employers to eliminate these requirements. On today's show, we look at the state of the job market for people without a four-year college degree.

Related episodes:
The lopsided market for higher ed
Enough with bachelor's degrees
The cost of student debt
Failing college

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Indicators of the Week unpacks numbers from the news. This week, we delve into what President Trump's first AI announcement reveals about the economics of the industry, a Chinese company's answer to OpenAI, and the reason why Prince Harry may have settled with Rupert Murdoch's media empire.

Related listening:
Is AI overrated or underrated? (Apple / Spotify)
AI creates, transforms and destroys... jobs

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It's Indicators of the Week — our weekly look under the hood of our global economy. Today we look at why cocoa prices are soaring, whether India's electoral bonds are bad for democracy and how a typo sent Lyft shares (briefly) soaring.

Related:
Cocoa prices hit a 47-year high before Valentine's Day
Can India become the next high-tech hub? (Apple / Spotify)
Lyft going public: The dual-class share dilemma
Big donors and pay-to-play politics

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Today, we're sharing an episode of a podcast that we've enjoyed, and think you will, too! It's called The Economics of Everyday Things. It's made by the Freakonomics Radio Network and on each of its episodes, host Zachary Crockett uncovers the hidden stories behind ordinary things! Stock photos, girl scout cookies, and cashmere sweaters, you name it.

In this episode, you're about to hear Zachary crack the lid open on ... the humble pizza box.

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It's Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at interesting numbers from the news.

On today's show, we have potential cuts ahead for Medicaid, Starbucks goes back to basics and gold card immigration.

Related episodes:
How Magic Johnson's Starbucks created new neighborhood businesses (Apple / Spotify)
What's missing in the immigration debate (Apple / Spotify)

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Rupert Murdoch took an Australia paper in Adelaide and turned it into one of the most influential media empires in the world. The question of who will run it after he's gone though is the subject of speculation both in reality and on the HBO fictional series "Succession." Now, a small probate court in Nevada will weigh in on that very question.

Today, how did the drama come to be? And what will the decision mean for the future of Fox, one of the most influential networks, on the planet and our political discourse?

Related episodes:
Dollar v. world / Taylor Swift v. FTX / Fox v. Dominion (Apple / Spotify)

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On this Indicators of the Week, we take you to a Manhattan bar to watch NVIDIA's latest earnings reports. Plus, how publishers are trying to keep their books in Florida school libraries and what private equity is doing in Football.

Related episodes:
The tower of NVIDIA (Apple / Spotify)
What do private equity firms actually do?

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2024 was a wild year for the U.S. economy: The economy did well in terms of inflation and unemployment, but vibes ruled the roost. (Mostly didn't feel great!) Additionally, Bitcoin went to the moon and some wacky stuff was happening with unemployment and job opening rates, showing that we might have achieved an economic soft landing.

So ... which of these economic stories defined the year?

Our hosts from Planet Money and The Indicator duke it out in ... Family Feud!

Tell us who you think won today's episode by submitting your vote to Planet Money's Instagram or email us with "Family Feud" in the subject line.

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Related Episodes:
Is the financial media making us miserable about the economy?
What's behind Bitcoin's bullrun?
What the Beveridge curve tells us about jobs

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For decades, the Dominican Republic's economy has been growing at a remarkably steady pace. The Caribbean nation of 11 million people is today considered a middle-income nation, but the International Monetary Fund projects it could become an advanced economy within the next 40 years.

Today on the show, we uncover the reasons behind the Dominican Republic's economic success and whether or not these benefits are being felt widely in the country.

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Last week, Vladimir Putin vowed to make new nuclear weapons and consider placing them close to NATO countries. Meanwhile, here in the US, the government boosted its nuclear weapon spending by 18% between 2022 and 2023.

The world is closer to nuclear war than it's been in at least forty years.

Today on the show: The game theory of nuclear war. When can mathematical models help us, and when can they lead us astray ... even to the brink of destruction?

Guest Kelly Clancy's book is Playing With Reality: How Games Have Shaped Our World.

Related Episodes:
How to get Russia to pay Ukraine
Congressional game theory

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Between the Trump administration wanting to change how GDP is calculated and DOGE accessing sensitive government information, statistical agencies are under the microscope. Can we still trust official numbers like the monthly jobs report? A former Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner shares her worries about the future integrity of government data.

Related episodes:
Behind the scenes of Jobs Friday

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Many men in America don't feel like they're doing as well as their fathers. But what does the data say? Today on the show, we speak to Richard Reeves from the American Institute for Boys and Men about what's really going on with men's wages and what potential solutions could look like.

Related episodes:
Jobs Friday: Why apprenticeships could make a comeback
Getting more men into so-called pink-collar jobs

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The Southern California wildfires are devastating large swathes of Los Angeles, destroying homes and businesses and displacing thousands. In the state's strained insurance system, homeowners who can't get fire coverage from traditional insurers are left with just one option—the FAIR Plan.

Today on the show, we explain how the FAIR Plan works and the existential problems it now faces as the wildfires put new pressure on California's insurance market.

Related episodes:
When insurers can't get insurance

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If you've ever passed through airport customs overseas and been refunded a VAT — or value added tax — for souvenirs, you've benefited from the VAT system. But President Trump says VAT is unfair to the U.S. On today's episode, we learn what VAT is and what it isn't.

Related episodes:
What's so bad about a trade deficit? (Apple / Spotify)
Tarrified! We check in on businesses (Apple / Spotify)
Why there's no referee for the trade war (Apple / Spotify)

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The latest inflation numbers are in. This month's Consumer Price Index, or the CPI, is ... well, good and bad news for renters.

Shelter prices went up over the last year, but at a slower pace. Shelter makes up nearly a third of the CPI.

Today's episode: Rent. Where is it high? Where is it low? What exactly is "coffee milk"? The Indicator tours the U.S. to bring you the answers.

Related Episodes:
When mortgage rates are too low to give up
How do you measure inflation?
The lawsuit that could shake up the rental market

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According to a government report released this week, Congress has until 2033 to fix Social Security before retirees receive an automatic benefit cut of about 21%. This is a more optimistic estimate from a previous report that stated the Social Security Trust Fund would run dry sooner, but it still paints a grim picture for a program that millions of retirees rely on.

Today, NPR's Chief Economics Correspondent joins the show to explain what exactly lawmakers can do to fix Social Security and why proposed solutions might be easier said than done.

Related episodes:
What would it take to fix retirement? (Apple / Spotify)

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President Donald Trump's proposal that the United States take "ownership" of Greenland has raised a lot of eyebrows. Can the U.S. just buy itself this big territory? Is that a thing? Turns out if you look at U.S. history, it's absolutely a thing.

Today on the show: how massive land deals called "sovereignty purchases" have shaped the country we live in today, and why the idea of the U.S. buying Greenland is a lot more complicated than it would have been in the past.

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Indicators of the Week is back. This time, an in-depth look at what Biden's massive tariffs on Chinese imports might mean for inflation and jobs. After that, why it may soon become easier to become a certified public accountant, addressing that nagging CPA shortage.

Related Episodes:
If the world had no accountants (Apple / Spotify)
The surprising leader in EVs (Apple / Spotify)
How electric vehicles got their juice (Apple / Spotify)

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Employees at video game companies are known for working long hours to meet product launch deadlines. This pressure, known in the industry as crunch, has only gotten more intense as games have grown more complex. Mounting layoffs in the growing industry have only made things worse on the labor front, inspiring some workers to take matters into their own hands.

Today, in the next installment of our series on the business of video games, we speak to several workers in the industry about their experiences with crunch and why they feel unionization is the key to preserving their careers.

Related episodes:
Forever games: the economics of the live service model (Apple / Spotify)
Designing for disability: how video games become more accessible (Apple / Spotify)
The boom and bust of esports (Apple / Spotify)

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Since 2020, grocery prices have shot up. If you're looking to save a buck, it's often more affordable to shop for groceries at a big retailer like Walmart. But some smaller grocers say those low prices are the result of an unfair playing field—and they're looking to a little-used antitrust law from the 1930s as a solution. Today, we consider the Robinson-Patman Act and whether reviving it could bring consumers some relief.

Related episodes:
Grocery delivery wars (Apple / Spotify)
Feeling inflation in the grocery store (Apple / Spotify)

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We visit a local egg farm and talk to an industry analyst to get to the bottom of why the prices of eggs are soaring so quickly and when they might come back to earth.

Related episodes:
Egg Prices: States Cry Foul
Indicators of the Week: tips, eggs and whisky
Go ask ALICE about grocery prices

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President-elect Donald Trump made a lot of economic promises on the campaign trail, but none as sweeping as his plan to enact tariffs. Trump believes taxing imports from other countries will help reduce the U.S. trade deficit and raise money for things like tax cuts. Today on the show, how might these tariffs work and will they work? Or is everything about to get more expensive?

Find more of Kyla Scanlon's work on YouTube and TikTok.

Related episodes:
What are Trump's economic plans (Apple / Spotify)
Why tariffs are SO back (Apple / Spotify)
Trade wars and talent shortages (Apple / Spotify)
A brief history of tariffs

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President Donald Trump had promised new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China. However, after negotiations with both Mexico and Canada on Monday tariffs against those countries are paused for at least a month. He said tariffs are not a negotiating tool, but he's used them as one as recently as January in a dispute with Colombia. Today, we dissect the game theory behind Trump's use of tariffs.

Related episodes:
Canada's key resource against Trump's potential trade war (Apple / Spotify)
How tariffs have been used throughout US History (Apple / Spotify)
The game theory that led to nuclear standoffs (Apple / Spotify)

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"Shadow fleet" refers to the collective of ships used by countries that have sanctions against them, like Russia, to transport commodities around the world. These ships pose threats to global and environmental security because they skirt international maritime law. So what can be done about them?

Today on the show, we explain what exactly makes the shadow fleet so dangerous and why there are surprisingly limited options for how to deal with these problem ships.

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Influence. The ability to persuade, motivate, or connect with other people. It's one of these skills that's hard to measure, but incredibly important in the office. However, some would argue that we often misunderstand how influence works.

Today on the show, we talk to Steve Martin, Faculty Director of Behavioral Science at Columbia Business School, about the unspoken rules of influence in the workplace.

Steve is author of a recently published book titled, "Influence at Work".

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Indicators of the Week is back! This week, we've got indicators about oil gluts, big bucks for Ukraine and fewer bucks at Starbucks. (Apologies for the slurping.)

Related episodes:
How to get Russia to pay Ukraine
An oil boom, a property slump and dental deflation

ICYMI, preorder our new Indicator t-shirt at the NPR shop. For more ways to support our show, sign up for Planet Money+ where you'll get sponsor-free listening, bonus episodes, and access to even more Indicator merch.

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The majority of European members of NATO are not spending as much on defense as they agreed to. But that may change as the European Union considers a move to a "war economy." Today, we examine what that means and what barriers to a "war economy" look like.

Related episodes:
The Military Industry ... It's Complex
Are we overpaying for military equipment? (Apple Podcasts / Spotify)
Can Just-In-Time handle a new era of war? (Apple Podcasts / Spotify)
How to transform a war economy for peacetime (Apple Podcasts / Spotify)

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Children of U.S. military families, a.k.a. brats, are known for their adaptability when relocating to new neighborhoods and schools every few years. This migratory population became the basis for brand new research on how the neighborhood you grew up in affects your economic success later in life. Today on the show, how a place influences your financial destiny.

Related episodes:
Chasing the American Dream at Outback Steakhouse (Apple / Spotify)
The secret to upward mobility: Friends

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College campuses nationwide are erupting with protests against Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza. A consistent theme among these actions: a call for university endowment "divestment."

Today, we unpack what that means and how divestment would work. Plus, we hear from an expert who explains why divestment might not have the effect that many believe.

Related episodes:
Why Israel uses diaspora bonds (Apple / Spotify)
How much of your tax dollars are going to Israel and Ukraine (Apple / Spotify)

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Uncertainty. That's the word-of-the-moment with tariffs, market swings and lots of economic volatility. It's also showing up in the Federal Reserve's latest Beige Book, featuring anecdotes across the U.S. economy. On our latest edition of the Beigies, what can a farmer from the Mississippi Delta tell us about uncertainty?

Related episodes:
How USAID cuts hurt farmers (Apple / Spotify)
Why Trump's potential tariffs are making business owners anxious (Apple / Spotify)

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Boeing continues to struggle. Safety concerns, a door blowing off mid-flight, a labor strike, impending layoffs ... and that's just the past year.

What's gone wrong at Boeing? For many observers, the mistake was shifting focus from engineering to financial engineering.

Today on the show we explain what financial engineering is and why this cultural change at Boeing may have led to the company's current problems.

Related Episodes:
Help Wanted at Boeing
Boeing's woes, Bilt jilts, and the Indicator's stock rally

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Mardi Gras is in full swing. It's a crucial time for the New Orleans' economy, but the celebrations are cast behind the shadow of the recent terrorist attack. Today on the show, we talk about how terrorism impacts tourism and why some places recover faster than others.

Related episodes:
Do dollar store bans work (Apple / Spotify)

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Gaming provides entertainment and community for billions of people worldwide. However, video games haven't always been accessible to those with disabilities. But this is changing. Today we explain how accessibility has become an increasingly important priority for game developers and how advocates pushed them to this point.

This piece originally aired April 23, 2024.

Related episodes:
Forever games: the economics of the live service model (Apple / Spotify)
The Indicator's video game series

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The job security of government employees has been in the spotlight since President Trump took office with big plans to slash the federal workforce. About 2 million employees were given an offer to quit their jobs. The government says those who resign can collect pay and benefits through September without working. But is this offer even legal?

Today on the show, an employment lawyer shares his concerns about the government's offer. And we talk to some of those federal workers about making this critical decision during an uncertain time.

Related episodes:
Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment (Apple / Spotify)

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In 2012, Karam Shaar had to leave his home country of Syria due to the civil war. But he still wanted to make a difference. Through his economic analysis, he uncovered concerning patterns about how the Assad regime and its cronies were siphoning money from humanitarian aid. Today on the show, the story of how one Syrian exile contributed to the resistance while on the other side of the world.

Related episodes:
The cost of a dollar in Ukraine (Apple / Spotify)

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Indicators of the Week is BACK! This week we're doing something just a little bit different. You see, it's the same 'ol Indicators of the Week you're used to, but as a nod to last night's presidential debate, this time, it's debate style.

On today's episode, your candidates argue over who has the best Indicator of the Week: the links discovered between health care prices and layoffs, stress-tested banks, and ... cow burps?

Related Episodes:
Time to make banks more stressed?
The Cows Are Taking All The Land

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Renewable energy, when it comes to solar and wind power, has always had a caveat: it can only run when the wind blows or the sun shines. The idea of a battery was floated around to make renewables available 24/7. For years, it existed as an expensive, little-used technology. And then in 2021, it took off.

In California, there is now enough grid-scale battery storage to power millions of homes, at least for a few hours, and it's growing fast. How did that happen, and what does the newfound success mean for the grid?

This week, we dig into three stories about grid-scale battery storage. Today, we go on-the-ground to California, where batteries first took off in the U.S.

Related episodes:
Rooftop solar's dark side (Apple / Spotify)
How EV batteries tore apart Michigan (Update) (Apple / Spotify)
How China became solar royalty (Apple / Spotify)
Wind boom, wind bust (Two windicators) (Apple / Spotify)

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Globalization, as we once knew it, is dead ... well, that's according to the UK's new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves.

Chancellor Reeves has run the UK Treasury since July 2024. She's facing an economic backdrop familiar to many countries: hollowed-out industrial towns; climate change; global wars and conflicts.

Today on the show: Our conversation with Chancellor Reeves on her visit this week to the US. What she thinks went wrong with globalization, and the new economic map she's coursing.

Related Episodes:
From Brexit to Regrexit

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On Indicators of the Week, we cover the numbers in the news that you should know about. This week, we cover an encouraging trend for global wealth, closing Mexico's tariff loophole and the European nation bucking the trend of shorter work weeks.

Related episodes:
Why tariffs are SO back (Apple / Spotify)

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Are the promises made by AI boosters mostly hype, or are we actually underappreciating the transformative potential of AI?

This week, The Indicator hosts a two-part debate on the hype around generative AI. Today, the second episode: Despite the tech world's love affair with the technology, is AI overrated?

Related episodes:
Is AI underrated? (Apple / Spotify)

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For years, rich nations have sent money to lower-income countries to help deal with the impacts of climate change. But it turns out, these wealthy nations are finding creative ways to funnel some of that financing back into their own economies. Today, we look at how the climate crisis is reviving a debate over how money should flow from rich to less-rich nations.

Related:
A program meant to help developing nations fight climate change is funneling billions of dollars back to rich countries
A countdown to climate action (Apple / Spotify)
Gambling, literally, on climate change (Apple / Spotify)
Blue bonds: A market solution to the climate crisis? (Apple / Spotify)
Why a debt tsunami is coming for the global economy (Apple / Spotify)

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It's been two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the right to an abortion, triggering a parade of restrictions and bans in conservative-led states. Today on the show, how the medical labor force is changing post-Roe and why graduating medical students, from OB-GYNs to pediatricians, are avoiding training in states with abortion bans.

Related listening:
What's the cure for America's doctor shortage?
KFF: Medical Residents Are Increasingly Avoiding Abortion Ban States

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President-elect Donald Trump's administration picks are shaping up to be a very affluent bunch. If all are confirmed, Trump's incoming administration would be the wealthiest in the nation's history with a combined net worth upwards of $300 billion.

Today on the show, we talk to a few experts about how massive amounts of wealth in high levels of government can impact policy.

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Even with falling interest rates in recent weeks, mortgage rates are still higher than you'd expect.

Mortgage interest rates are usually a little less than two percentage points higher than what you would get on a 10-year Treasury bond. But for the last couple of years that difference has been noticeably higher: 2.6% at the moment. New borrowers have been paying potentially thousands of dollars extra each year on their mortgages.

Today on the show, how mortgage interest rates work and why they're currently out of whack ... with new borrowers footing the bill.

Related Episodes:
Are both rents AND interest rates too dang high?
How mortgage rates get made
The rat under the Fed's hat
AP Macro gets a makeover

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Indicators of the Week is a show dedicated to highlighting some of the most interesting numbers in the news. Today, we break down our favorite indicators in Google's antitrust defeat, the currency trade in Japan that jolted global markets and another way of creating an Olympic medal tally.

Related episodes:
Is Google search getting worse? (Apple / Spotify)
Why the Olympics cost so much (Apple / Spotify)

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In 2023, The Federal Reserve and other banking regulators announced they were making changes to how they grade banks on servicing local communities. This all stems from a 1977 law called the Community Reinvestment Act, which was designed to encourage banks to better meet the needs of moderate and low-income borrowers. However, major banking trade groups weren't too excited about the new rules and filed a lawsuit against the banking regulators last week.

Today on the show, we explain the history of racist housing policies in the United States and how that history informs the banks' fight with the government today.

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It's time for The Indicator Quiz! We test you, dear listener, on your knowledge of topics that we've covered on The Indicator.

Today's quiz is an economic smorgasbord, ranging from the WWE to the silver tsunami.

Play along with us and see how you do!

Are you interested in being a contestant on our next Indicator Quiz? Email us your name and phone number at indicator@npr.org and put "Indicator Quiz" in the subject line.

Related episodes:
AI Tupac, sin taxes, and a soon-to-be college sophomore (Apple / Spotify)

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Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

CORRECTION: In this episode we referred to WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) and PCE (Personal consumption expenditures) as acronyms, which is incorrect; they are initialisms, a type of abbreviation that uses the first letters of words in a phrase but, unlike acronyms, is spoken with the individual letters.

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The Maldives is a small island nation struggling with a heavy debt load. Its borrowing includes $500 million worth of something called sukuk. These are bond-like investments that don't pay interest, to be in line with Islamic law. Today on the show, we explain how sukuk works, how it fits into the larger world of Islamic finance and what might happen if the Maldives can't pay back its debt.

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Even after Monday's pause on military aid to Ukraine following the Oval Office blow-up, it looks like a minerals deal between the U.S. and Ukraine is back on the table. We dive into what this potential deal would actually look like and whether Ukraine's minerals really live up to the hype.

Related episodes:
An end to China's rare earth monopoly? (Apple / Spotify)
The cost of a dollar in Ukraine (Apple / Spotify)

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We are back to answer your questions that you, our listeners, have been sending. On today's show, is chicken actually getting cheaper? Why doesn't the Federal Reserve use different interest rates around the country? And: is election spending an indicator of economic health?

If you have a question you'd like us to answer, email us at indicator@npr.org.

Related episodes:
Can an old law bring down grocery prices? (Apple / Spotify)
How political campaigns raise millions through unwitting donors
How mortgage rates get made
The rat under the Feds hat (Apple / Spotify)
The interest-ing world of interest rates (Apple / Spotify)

ICYMI, preorder our new Indicator t-shirt at the NPR shop. For more ways to support our show, sign up for Planet Money+ where you'll get sponsor-free listening, bonus episodes, and access to even more Indicator merch!

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The ties between U.S. foreign aid and American agriculture run deep — or at least used to. The U.S. International Agency for Development, or USAID, is the largest provider of humanitarian food aid in the world. Much of that aid comes from U.S. farmers, whose corn, wheat and rice is sold in bulk to the government for USAID's programs. What happens now if those programs end?

Link to Jordan Schermerhorn's research of USAID ties by state.

Related episodes:
The gutting of USAID (Apple / Spotify)
A 'Fork in the Road' for federal employees (Apple / Spotify)
Trump threatens the grim trigger (Apple / Spotify)

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The Federal Reserve's last Beige Book of 2024 is like Spotify Wrapped but for the economy. There's a little bit of everything inside — labor markets, inflation and even natural disasters. On today's show, we spotlight Western North Carolina's challenging recovery after Hurricane Helene, and check in with an Asheville malt manufacturer on the impact to local businesses.

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Reclassing, when a student repeats an academic year by choice, is a popular way for kids trying to land a spot in a top college athletics program. But it can also come with some heavy costs. Today on the show, we explore the reclassing phenomenon and pressures kids and their parents face in a competitive environment for young athletes.

Related episodes:
Should schools be paying their college athletes? (Apple / Spotify)
The monetization of college sports (Apple / Spotify)

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SpaceX is capping off a busy 2024, with more than 100 rocket launches, including its vaunted Starship. NPR Science Correspondent Geoff Brumfiel attended the November launch of Starship alongside SpaceX founder Elon Musk and president-elect Donald Trump. He spoke with NPR's Short Wave about the environmental impact of these launches in south Texas — and what a second Trump administration could mean for the company.

Related episode:
Elon's giant rocket

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Last week, President Biden placed tariffs on a slew of Chinese goods. When Donald Trump was president, he did the same. Regardless of who wins the election, the US is gearing up for heavy tariffs on imports in 2024. But this is far from the first time the economic tool has been in style.

Today, a brief history of US tariffs: how they came into fashion, fell out of fashion, are now back again and why economists aren't too happy about it.

Related Episodes:
Trade wars and talent shortages (Apple / Spotify)
The surprising leader in EVs (Apple / Spotify)
A brief history of tariffs
Worst. Tariffs. Ever.

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Yesterday we looked at Donald Trump's key economic proposals for a second term. On today's show, we do the same for Kamala Harris, examining the Democratic nominee's plans for taxes, housing and grocery store prices.

Related episodes:
What are Trump's economic plans? (Apple / Spotify)
Three Kamala Harris indicators (Apple / Spotify)
Bad economics, smart politics (Apple / Spotify)
How much do presidents ACTUALLY influence the economy? (Apple / Spotify)
When Uncle Sam stops paying the childcare bill (Apple / Spotify)

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Sandwiched between a burger joint and an oyster bar in New York City hangs a daunting image: The National Debt Clock. And that debt number? It just keeps ticking up. How deep in the hole are we? Nearly a hundred percent of gross domestic product. And counting. Today on the show, the federal debt. Is it time to freak out? Or is there nothing to see here?

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What happens when small town politics collide with the climate crisis? And how do hazard maps—maps that show which homes in your neighborhood are at risk of getting destroyed or damaged by a natural disaster—come into play? On today's episode, how some people—from Indiana to Oregon to Alaska—are facing some very real concerns about insurance and the ability to sell their houses.

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On Indicators of the Week, we look at a huge projected tax shortfall, the price of copper and the afterlife of Napster, the peer-to-peer file-sharing service that refuses to die.

Related episodes:
A new-ish gold rush and other indicators (Apple / Spotify)
Can the Federal Reserve stay independent (Apple / Spotify)

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In the not-so-distant past, serving as someone's job reference meant answering a few questions over the phone. Nowadays, that process is often more involved, with prospective employers asking references for written responses or to fill out a form online. What's behind this shift? On today's show, we check in on reference checks, and ask whether they still matter.

Related episodes:
Ghost jobs (Apple / Spotify)

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It's highs and lows in this edition of Indicators of the Week! The surprisingly high amount of electricity needed for artificial intelligence, basketball star Caitlin Clark's surprisingly low base salary, plus a potential crackdown on the ticketing company everyone loves to hate (possibly because of those high fees).

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We are back to answer YOUR listener questions. This time, we answer why bananas can be considered the 'unbothered fruit', what a flat income tax would actually look like, and how extended-hours stock trading works. If you have your own question about the economy, please email us at indicator@npr.org.

Related episodes:
My Favorite Tax Loophole (Apple / Spotify)
The cautionary tale of a recovering day trading addict (Apple / Spotify)
So imPORTant: Bananas, frogs, and... Bob's?? (Apple / Spotify)

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Penny for your thoughts? Today we open our mail bag to hear from Indicator listeners. A college graduate tells us about their job search, a researcher discusses why products advertised as 'simple' may not be so straightforward, and another listener thinks the debate over Fed independence is a little more nuanced than we let on.

Heard something on the show you liked (or didn't)? Have an insight to share about the economy? Send us an email: indicator@npr.org!

Related episodes:
Should presidents have more say in interest rates? (Apple / Spotify)
We grade Fed Chair Jerome Powell (Apple / Spotify)
Trade wars and talent shortages (Apple / Spotify)
If the world had no accountants (Apple / Spotify)
The case for inflation

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Last night, after years on cable, WWE's flagship show, Monday Night Raw, made its debut on Netflix. It's another example of live sports programming making the move to streaming as more people abandon cable television.

Today on the show, we talk to a TV analyst about what Netflix's increasing investments in live sports means for the war between streamers and cable companies.

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Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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Unlimited paid time off may sound like a nice perk, but it's not always what it appears. Employers aren't typically obligated to pay out unused vacation balances when a worker leaves, and it can be hard for workers to understand just how much time they can actually take off.

And yet ... endless leave?? It doesn't sound so bad.

Today on the show, is unlimited paid time off really a benefit? We try to figure out whether it works.

Related episodes:
Vacation, and why the U.S. takes so little of it (Apple / Spotify)
The 28-Hour Work Week

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Indicators of the week is back! This time, we explore why oil and gas companies are pulling in record profits, whether bad commercial property debt is likely to spark a financial crisis and how much a lost tooth goes for in this economy.

Related Episodes
What could break next? (Apple / Spotify)

What's really happening with the Evergrande liquidation (Apple / Spotify)

How an empty office becomes a home

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The Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to issue new rules this week on how companies disclose their greenhouse gas emissions. This is part of a broader movement for more environmentally and socially conscious financial options, known as ESG investing. Today on the show, what the proposed climate disclosure rule says, why it's so controversial, and if it passes, what that'll mean for investors and the stock market.

Related episodes:
The OG of ESGs (Apple / Spotify)

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It's Jobs Friday and all eyes are on government workers. Will the Trump administration's layoffs finally show up in the latest jobs report? Today on the show, we look at the numbers for federal workers and who's trying to hire them.

Related listening:
Can ... we still trust the monthly jobs report (Apple / Spotify)
The last time we shrank the federal workforce (Apple / Spotify)
A 'Fork in the Road' for federal employees (Apple / Spotify)
How local government is propping up the U.S. labor market

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Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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Brands trying to be your best bud. Generational labels. Gendered double standards.

Today on the show: three advertising experts bring their three pet peeves in advertisements.

Related episodes:
How to make an ad memorable (Apple / Spotify)
J. Screwed
The Gender Gap Series: The Problem With The Pink Tax

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Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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In 1880, the Chinese were the biggest group of immigrants in the western U.S. But Sinophobic sentiments crystallized into racist policies and eventually the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The rationale was that banning Chinese laborers would boost job opportunities for U.S.-born workers. Today, an economist explains how the Chinese exclusion laws affected the economies of western states and what it says about our current debate over immigration and jobs.

Read the working paper co-authored by Nancy Qian.

A digital scan of the photo album in the California Historical Society's collections is available here.

For more on this period of history, check out At America's Gates: Chinese Immigration during the Exclusion Era, 1882-1943 by Erika Lee.

Related episodes:
What's missing in the immigration debate (Apple / Spotify)

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Bad Bunny's new album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS laments how Puerto Rico is changing. We look at whether tax breaks to newcomers contributed.

Related episodes:
The battle for Puerto Rico's beaches
We Set Up An Offshore Company In A Tax Haven

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Back in 2016, the economy of Mozambique tipped into crisis. The culprit was a government corruption scandal linked to more than $1 billion that officials borrowed in secret.

This was a high-profile example of hidden debt, but it's far from the only example. In fact, this kind of secret borrowing is a large and common problem among countries.

Today on the show, a pair of economists share their new research on hidden debt and how it affects everyday people.

Related Episodes:
Why a debt tsunami is coming for the global economy
What looks like a bond and acts like a bond but isn't a bond?

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Does breaking the law ... make financial sense? Paying future fines and settlements at the risk of harm to people and the environment? Some legal scholars argue that's just the cost of doing business.Today, we ask whether a company's duty is to the law ... or to its shareholders.

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Is 2024 the year the music festival died? Festivals are getting canceled left and right, from Northern California to Florida to Virginia.

Big name festivals that used to sell out in minutes struggled to sell tickets this year, too, like Burning Man and Coachella.

And it's not just America. By one count, over 60 music festivals were canceled in the UK this year alone. In Australia, so many festivals were canceled that one newspaper there recently asked, are the nation's music festivals extinct?

Today on the show, the music festival recession. What's behind it and is it temporary or a permanent cultural shift?

Related Episodes:
Live Music Industry Blues
The Economics of Music Festivals

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By now, you've heard a lot about how the U.S.-China trade war is affecting American consumers, businesses and the stock market. But how is the trade war being felt in China? Today on the show, two of NPR's in-house China experts, Emily Feng and John Ruwitch, explain the view from China.

Related episodes:
What might save China's economy (Apple / Spotify)
Tarrified! We check in on businesses (Apple / Spotify)

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Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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A freshly re-inaugurated President Trump is reportedly considering making his first moves on tariffs: a 10% tariff on Chinese imports and a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, both of which he says could start as early as next week.

If the U.S. slaps tariffs on foreign products, U.S companies that import foreign goods, and their customers, will bear the cost. But, before any of that happens, businesses can also face a less tangible cost—uncertainty.

Today on the show, we hear from a couple business owners who experienced Trump's first trade war. And we'll learn how the uncertainty from tariffs, or just the threat of them, can have ripple effects throughout the economy.

Related episodes:
How Trump's tariffs plan might work
Trump's contradictory trade policies

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It's Jobs Friday and the jobs report is in! There's more jobs! ... but not as many as expected. And there's a teensy bit more unemployment and slower wage growth. But there's an upside ... Plus, healthcare is growing like gangbusters and how immigrants affect American-born workers.

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The U.S. wants to become a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. That will mean a lot of new generation from renewable energy. It also means more transmission networks are needed to bring it onto the grid.

But there's a debate over how that new transmission should be built — between a competitive or monopoly approach. Today, we look at why competition is so divisive and why each side thinks they should build the next generation of transmission infrastructure.

Related Listening:
Texas' new power grid problem (Apple / Spotify)
Green energy gridlock (Apple / Spotify)

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Egypt's economy is facing its worst crisis in decades. The situation could further destabilize the Middle East if it goes unresolved. Now, the International Monetary Fund is working with Egyptian leadership to figure out another deal for a multi-billion dollar loan ... but will it be enough? Today, we look at how Egypt has fallen into economic crisis and whether its economy is too big to fail.

Related episodes:
What could convince Egypt to take in Gaza's refugees? (Apple / Spotify)

Red Sea tensions spell trouble for global supply chains (Apple / Spotify)

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The United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, has funneled humanitarian aid to countries around the globe for over six decades. Today on the show, people familiar with USAID's work describe the fall-out from the Trump administration's sudden dismantling of the agency, and what that means for the country's longstanding use of foreign aid to advance American national security and economic goals.

Related episodes:
A 'Fork in the Road' for federal employees (Apple / Spotify)
Trump threatens the grim trigger (Apple / Spotify)
Why are some nations richer?

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Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.


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There is a LOT of economic news happening at the moment (it all happens, so very much of it, all the time), so we wanted to give you an idea of what we here at The Indicator are keeping tabs on.

Today on the show, we look ahead to: countries coughing up money for climate change at COP29, how confident are home builders feeling right now, and ... is US manufacturing REALLY in decline?

Related Episodes:
A countdown to climate action
Why aren't more people taking on the trades?
Do polluters pay, or do they get paid?

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Peak 65 is here. More than 4 million Americans will turn 65 each year between 2024 and 2027, representing the largest retirement surge in history. Years ago, older Americans could count on Social Security. But today there is some uncertainty on the program's solvency in the next decade plus. Now, many are entering their golden years with financial insecurity. Today on the show, how did Social Security become a thing? And what could the safety net for the Peak 65 generation and beyond look like?

James Chappel's book: Golden Years: How Americans Invented and Reinvented Old AgeGolden Years: How Americans Invented and Reinvented Old Age

Related episodes:
Iceberg ahead for Social Security (Apple / Spotify)
What would it take to fix retirement? (Apple / Spotify)
Social Insecurity

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Welcome to another edition of Indicators of the Week! On today's show, the large downward revision to jobs numbers, the awkward release of that news and a survey that asks U.S. workers for the minimum salary they would accept a new job for.

Related listening:
Getting more men into so-called pink collar jobs (Apple / Spotify)
Do I need a four-year degree? (Apple / Spotify)
Indicator exploder: jobs and inflation
Our 2023 Valentines

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A recent survey found that nearly half of all Americans say they could not live without GPS in their car. The American economy couldn't live without GPS, either! Clocks on Wall Street, commercial fishermen, and of course, your Lyft driver, all rely on satellite navigation services.

An outage in those services, however, would cripple the U.S. economy. A study found that an outage could cost at least $1 billion a day ... and we don't have a backup.

Today on the show, we explain who owns GPS and why we don't have a Plan B if it fails.

Related Episodes:
The Military Industry ... It's Complex
Why the FTC is cracking down on location data brokers

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The Beigie Awards are back to recognize the regional Federal Reserve Bank with the best Beige Book entry. This time, we shine a spotlight on one entry that explains how some businesses are feeling the impacts of higher for longer interest rates.

Related episodes:
The interest-ing world of interest rates (Apple / Spotify)
The Beigie Awards: Why banks are going on a "loan diet" (Apple / Spotify)
Where are interest rates going?

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Indicators of the Week is back, where we dig into three economic snapshots from the global economy. This week, we are exploring consumers' ever so slightly improved perception of the economy, what's going on with carbon offsets, and why China is sending some pandas to U.S. zoos.

Related Episodes:
Actors back. Pandas gone. WeBankrupt. (Apple / Spotify)
How Red Lobster got cooked and other indicators (Apple / Spotify)
Emission Impossible (Apple / Spotify)

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It's time for ... Indicators of the Week! It is our show where we talk about fascinating numbers from the news. On today's episode, America's small GDP increase, a big assist from China's government to its lower income residents, and a high-grossing, centuries-old Monkey King.

Related Episodes:
How Red Lobster got cooked and other indicators
China's luxury liquor indicator

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In 2019, Philip Esformes went on trial for one of the biggest Medicare fraud cases in history. His longtime family rabbi said Philip Esformes was an upstanding citizen ... when he lived in Chicago.

Malcolm Gladwell was fascinated by this case and the prospect of a city changing a man. He covers this in his forthcoming book Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering.

Today on the show: How Miami became known as the capital of Medicare fraud. We learn what went wrong in South Florida and what it says about how places may change our behavior.

Related Episodes:
Book drama, NVIDIA hype, and private equity Football
How Pitbull got his name on a college football stadium

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Events like the recent dock worker's strike and hurricanes sparked panic buying among American shoppers. Today, a logistics expert helps us craft a shopper's guide for how to navigate a supply chain crisis.

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The Trump administration has some nits to pick with government spending: They don't think it should be counted as part of the country's GDP, that it should be counted separately.

In today's episode, we look at why government spending is part of the U.S.'s GDP and we speculate why Trump's administration might want to take it out ... and what that could mean.

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The name Charles Ponzi immediately recalls the financial scheme that bears his name. But what of the man who helped expose Ponzi's scheme? Today on the show, the incredible, little known story of Simon Swig, who upended Boston's financial and banking world in the early 20th century before crossing paths with the notorious scammer.

Related episodes:
Charles Ponzi's scheme

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Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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There have now been a few major vinyl booms. And unbeknownst to many, a small village in the Czech Republic has been responsible for manufacturing a large number of these albums. On today's show, how this dominant player became a problem for its competitors in the U.S.

Related episodes:
Rumor has it Adele broke the vinyl supply chain
'Let's Get It On' ... in court (Update) (Apple / Spotify)

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The current economic upheaval has lots of us scrambling for our glossaries and history books.

Today on the show, the editor-in-chief of Investopedia walks us through three vocab terms — spanning topics from tariff history to market volatility — that are spiking on the website lately.

Related listening:
Did Trump enable insider trading? (Apple / Spotify)
What's a moneyline bet anyway? (Apple / Spotify)
Why tariffs are SO back (Apple / Spotify)

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Like several aspects of the travel economy, renting a car is more expensive than it was before the pandemic. Today on the show, we explore the great reset happening in the U.S. rental car industry that's kept prices elevated, left fleets leaner, and customers frustrated.

Related episodes:
The semiconductor shortage (still)
Offloading EVs, vacating offices and reaping windfalls

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Maybe you've heard these things on social media, in the news, and take them as fact: More than half of the adults in the US live paycheck to paycheck, the trade deficit is always bad, and making the super wealthy pay their fair share will fix everything.
Well, the truth isn't so simple. Today on the show: economic mythbusting. We take three factoids about the American economy and run them through the fact checkers.
Related episodes:
Is the federal debt REALLY that bad? (Apple/Spotify)
Is the financial media making us miserable about the economy? (Apple/Spotify)
ICYMI, preorder our new Indicator t-shirt at the NPR shop. For more ways to support our show, sign up for Planet Money+ where you'll get sponsor-free listening, bonus episodes, and access to even more Indicator merch!
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It's that time of year when we want to lie on a beach and lose ourselves in a good book. Today on the show, three summer reading recs that got our hosts thinking about economics. Remember, anything read on the beach is, in fact, a "beach read."

Books recommended in this episode:
• Exit West by Mohsin Hamid (B&N, Bookshop)
• Everything Is Predictable: How Bayesian Statistics Explain Our World by Tom Chivers (B&N, Bookshop)
• Range: Why Generalist Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein (B&N, Bookshop)

Related episodes:
How Asimov's 'Foundation' has inspired economists (Apple / Spotify)
The carbon coin: A novel idea
Beach reads for econ nerds

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