The Indicator from Planet Money
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The Indicator from Planet Money
A bite-sized show about big ideas. From the people who make Planet Money, The Indicator helps you make sense of what's happening in today's economy. It's a quick hit of insight into money, work, and business. Monday through Friday, in 10 minutes or less.
Episodi recenti
532 episodi
Why Google fell behind in the AI race
When it comes to AI, Google’s Gemini does not have the same household recognition that Claude and ChatGPT do. One big explanation: the innovator’s dil...
Cracking down on egg prices
Too much news, there’s just too much news. Today on the show, we tackle three big stories we’re following: Venezuela’s ever-increasing debt problem, t...
We're in a renter's market (believe it or not)
Depends on where you live, but renters have a lot of power right now in the United States. What’s behind this trend and how might you be able to take...
Why the US is losing the drone war
The US defense industry is struggling to keep up with the revolution in cheap drones vs. expensive reusable military equipment.
Today on...
Obama's new Presidential Center and his tricky relationship with the South Side
How do residents of the South Side of Chicago feel about their new neighbor: the Obama Presidential Center? A mixture of pride and excitement, tempere...
Does the new Fed chair care about jobs?
Last month, new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh presided over his first interest rate decision and press conference … but he didn't talk much about maximum empl...
Why Trump wants to rip up his own trade deal
During President Donald Trump’s first term, he touted the USMCA as the largest and most fair trade deal ever achieved. So why is he now talking about...
What Iran teaches us about why wars start
If war is so costly, why do we keep fighting them? We dig into the wars in Iran, Ukraine and Gaza to understand the incentives that lead countries int...
What you should know about your student loans
For many of the 43 million Americans with federal student loans, July 1 is a day to mark on the calendar. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act is introd...
GLP-1 and women, the AI office boom, and RTO: CEO ego?
It’s Indicators of the Week (now on YouTube!).
On today’s episode: The effect of GLP-1s on women and the workplace; NYC’s once flailing o...
AI is pumping out books. Are they any good?
Are all these AI books any good? And by good, we mean are people willing to buy them — not whether the prose is singing. We talk to two researchers wh...
How stock options made him an overnight millionaire
In 2019, Juan Hernandez was laid off from SpaceX. Luckily, he still had the opportunity to buy $50K - $60K of the company’s stock and, years later, it...
Why the $250 bill would be good … For criminals!
A plan to create a new $250—with President Donald Trump’s face on it—has created a lot of pushback. Who probably won’t be pushing back, though? Crimin...
An urban planner, infinite scroll, and … what is a public good?
It’s time for The Indicator Quiz! We test you, dear listener, on your knowledge of topics that we’ve covered on The Indicator. For today's quiz show,...
How your phone keeps you scrolling ... even when you want to stop
You pick up your phone to do one quick task, and suddenly 20 minutes have flown by without you even noticing. How do apps do that to you? Today on the...
Are we in a new era of permanently higher prices?
Inflation is at a three-year high. That’s a problem for the Fed. Yet, under the leadership of new chair Kevin Warsh, it opted yesterday not to hike in...
Is gambling the reason we have pro sports?
To hear author David Bockino tell it, gambling has always been a key ingredient of pro sports in the U.S.—it’s as American as apple pie. Bockino is th...
Your American Dream is pending review
The Trump Administration recently announced changes to how would-be immigrants get green cards. And it’s causing a lot of confusion, fear and even pan...
Community colleges are kind of underrated
Community college is an increasingly popular hack for those who want to change their career. Here’s what you should know about this gateway to economi...
Inflation is bad, work from home sad, FIFA World Cup tix NOT deal to be had
It’s Indicators of the Week (now on YouTube!). It’s our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.
On t...
The SpaceX IPO drama explained
What the SpaceX IPO, the largest ever, reveals about big tech, the NASDAQ and more big IPOs to come. Sure it will make Elon Musk a trillionaire, but w...
Should we tax AI?
Should we tax AI? The AI race has made a lot of people richer … but most of those gains seem to have gone to the wealthy while everyday workers aren't...
U OK, UK?
In the United Kingdom, young people are out of work, government borrowing costs are high, and the nation is burning through PM’s like yesterday’s left...
The fired labor economist who couldn't get unemployment
A top labor economist encounters the endlessly frustrating labyrinth of filing for unemployment after getting fired by President Trump. Why are unempl...
Who should new grads boo more? AI or remote work?
Is AI really to blame for young people finding it hard to land first jobs? Is Black unemployment a leading indicator for the rest of the economy? Here...
Equinomics, bag fees, and leftover campaign dollars
Our listeners have QUESTIONS about the economy. And we have answers. Today on the show, we look at why horse breeding might be slowing down, why airli...
Can the internet be reclaimed from Big Tech?
Why one former senior advisor of the FTC thinks a libertarian myth of the internet has given Big Tech too much power.
Fact checking by Vi...
Why boardinghouses could make a comeback
There is a burgeoning effort across the U.S. to revive boardinghouses, aka single room occupancy units or SROs, as a solution to the housing crisis. B...
How AI is clogging the courtroom
AI has made it infinitely easier for anyone who can’t afford a lawyer, can’t get one, or doesn't want one to file a lawsuit and pro se cases are skyro...
Obsession, the most fun job in China, and a new green card policy
It’s Indicators of the Week (now on YouTube!). It’s our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.
On t...
Saudi’s LIV golf exit is just the start
Is Saudi Arabia no longer a golf state? The Saudi sovereign wealth fund poured billions into culture and sports in the last decade, none more high pro...
What the movies teach us about recessions, memestocks and gold
The Indicator hosts Adrian Ma and Wailin Wong discuss their favorite econ and business movies.
Fact checking by Sierra Juarez.
Who’s behind that shell company? We may never know
Why is a law to reign in shell companies getting shelved by the Trump administration? The Corporate Transparency Act had bipartisan support, until it...
Game of 'roids, trader Trump, and searching for Shakira's tax residence
Diving deep into President Trump’s many stock trades, a peptide business posing as a sporting event and a new breakthrough in Shakira’s ongoing tax dr...
So ... how long until these oil prices get REALLY bad
The US-Israel War in Iran is almost three months in and oil prices have risen, but they’re not catastrophic … yet. Why isn't the price of oil even hig...
It's come to this: Human certification in the age of AI slop
In an era of AI slop, we find out how some artists are seeking out human verification for their work. Plus, we prove our own episode is 100% human-mad...
Why GLP-1s aren't lowering employers' costs
The vast majority of employer health plans do not cover GLP-1s for weight loss. But roughly 20% do, many believing it will help their bottom line. Per...
Taiwan arms sales, Board of Trade, and Chinamaxxing
Unpacking Donald Trump’s trip to China: arms sales to Taiwan, the Board of Trade proposal and China’s growing soft power.
Fact checking...
GameStop rejected, a troubling loan trend, and no to pre-IPO AI shares
On today’s Indicators of the Week: the Gamestop and eBay romance that never was, more and more people are taking out loans for everyday things, and no...
How Trump's central bank beef could hurt the economy
A new documentary from Frontline PBS, called “The President vs. the Fed”, helps us make sense of the unprecedented power struggle between the world’s...