The Indicator from Planet Money
A little show about big ideas. From the people who make Planet Money, The Indicator helps you make sense of what's happening today. It's a quick hit of insight into work, business, the economy, and everything else. Listen weekday afternoons.
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The most expensive banana in the world and other indicators
Bond vigilantes. Who they are, what they want, and how you'll know they're coming
How Magic Johnson's Starbucks created new neighborhood businesses
How to shop during a crisis
A fraught climate change conference, how are US home builders doing, and more
The Economics of Everyday Things: Pizza (Box) Time!
23andMe's financial troubles, Paul vs. Tyson and Bitcoin to the moon
Who's powering nuclear energy's comeback?
Why the government's flood insurance program is underwater
Why this former banking regulator is writing kids books
What's a weather forecast worth?
Stocks jump, the temperamental peso, and other election aftermath indicators
The story behind Cuba's economic dysfunction
America's economy is the envy of the world. Will it stay that way?
Why Midwest crop farmers are having a logistics problem
Why the US government is buying more apples than ever before
Cool, cool, cooling jobs
The U.S. once banned Chinese immigrants — and it paid an economic price
What's missing in the immigration debate
What happens when Social Security runs out of money?
What looks like a bond and acts like a bond but isn't a bond?
An economist answers your questions on love
Trying to fix the dating app backlash
How American heiresses became Dollar Princesses
Why the publishing industry is hot (and bothered) for romance
It's Love Week! How the TV holiday rom-com got so successful
Reversing shrinkflation (via potato chips) and other indicators
Rebranding 'the world's most dangerous private army'
Can the yield curve still predict recessions?
Why are some nations richer?
The cost of living, lead pipe removal, and a more expensive Mega Millions
The trouble with water discounts
Half a billion people need reading glasses. Why can't they get them?
The year the music festival died
Why the name Taft-Hartley got airplay during the dockworkers' brief strike
Does unemployment whiplash mean recession?
Champagne. Neapolitan pizza. Now döner kebabs?
Are we about to lose TikTok? Like actually tho?
Is an American sovereign wealth fund such a bad idea?
Mail bag! Grad jobs, simplified branding and central bank independence
America's small GDP bump, China's big stimulus dispersal, and a Monkey King
What does the next era of Social Security look like?
Are pharmacy benefit managers driving up drug prices? (Update)
How to pass on a global media empire
Could you live without GPS? It's OK, the economy can't, either
The Fed cut rates ... now what? (featuring: Sasquatch)
What are Harris' economic plans?
What are Trump's economic plans?
Behind the Tiny Desk and other listener questions
Bad economics, smart politics
The return of Fyre Festival and other indicators
The DOJ's case against Apple
Overtourism ho! The Barcelona cruise dilemma
I will PAY YOU to take my natural gas
How Medicare fraud became Miami's vice
Why aren't more people taking on the trades?
How Pitbull got his name on a college football stadium
How Japan is trying to solve the problem of shrinking villages
Want to get ahead in youth sports? Try staying back a year.
Let's party like it's NVIDIA earnings report day!
The Olympian to influencer pipeline
How mortgage interest rates work (and why they're currently out of whack)
How China became solar royalty
A food fight over free school lunch
How much would you do this job for? And other indicators
Biden's beef with bad customer service
What is the deal with car rentals?
So, how's this No Tax On Tips thing gonna go?
Is endless vacation a scam?
Mortgage applications, China's housing and ... Carrie Bradshaw?
Why big banks aren't interested in your savings account
Should presidents have more of a say in interest rates?
The Denver basic income experiment
Beach reads with a side of economics
Google's monopoly, gold medals and gasping markets
You can't spell Olympics without IP
Is the UK open for business?
The debate at the heart of new electricity transmission
Markets have a bad case of the Mondays
Getting more men into so-called pink-collar jobs
Why the Olympics cost so much
Are both rents AND interest rates too dang high?
Test your knowledge of NVIDIA, ChatGPT and...Peppa Pig?
How insurance is affecting the cost of childcare
Peacock, potassium and other Paris Olympics Indicators
Is AI overrated?
Is AI underrated?
The curious rise of novelty popcorn buckets
Three Kamala Harris Indicators
Bankruptcy, basketball, and bringing the dollar down
Goodbye, Chevron. Hello, lawsuits!
The conservative roots behind the Chevron doctrine
Why the EU can regulate big tech faster
China's luxury liquor indicator
Greece allows a 6-day work week and other indicators
An asylum seeker's long road to a work permit
How much do presidents ACTUALLY influence the economy?
What military brats tell us about social mobility
The young trolls of Wall Street are growing up
One of the hottest jobs in AI right now: 'types-question guy'
The game theory that led to nuclear standoffs
The economic implications of Europe's jolt right
How the end of Roe is reshaping the medical workforce
Indicators of the Week: Debate Edition
Do polluters pay, or do they get paid?
What's going to happen to the Trump tax cuts?
Tracking the underground bike theft economy
The tower of NVIDIA
Boeing's woes, Bilt jilts, and the Indicator's stock rally
A captive market: The high price of prison phone calls
Invest like a Congress member
Spud spat
Oil gluts, Russian bucks, and Starbucks
Is Google search getting worse?
Has the Fed lost the dot plot?
Is the 'border crisis' actually a 'labor market crisis?'
Is chicken getting cheap? And other questions
Ghost jobs
Why California's high speed rail was always going to blow out
Why the U.S. helps pay for Israel's military
Common economic myths, debunked
Unveiling our mascot's new name and merch!
The cutest indicator in the world
Indicator Quiz: May Edition
Using anecdotes to predict recessions
Can dental therapists fill the gap in oral care?
How Red Lobster got cooked and other indicators
Why tariffs are SO back
How Fortnite brought Google to its knees
AI Tupac and the murky legality of digital necromancy
Building generational wealth in rural America
Trade wars and talent shortages
How the Dominican Republic became Latin America's economic superstar
The highs and lows of US rents
The "Winner Take All" problem
Is 'government crypto' a good idea?
A new gold rush and other indicators
Iceberg ahead for Social Security
Why Venezuela is no longer in freefall
Hazard maps: The curse of knowledge
How Colorado towns are trying to get some water certainty
Not too hot, not too cold: a 'Goldilocks' jobs report
Protesters want schools to divest from Israel. How would that work?
What a cabinet maker can teach us about interest rates
Is the federal debt REALLY that bad?
Taxing the final frontier
Video Game Industry Week: The Final Level
Work. Crunch. Repeat: Why gaming demands so much of its employees
The boom and bust of esports
Designing for disability: how video games become more accessible
Forever games: the economics of the live service model
Ticketmaster's dominance, Caitlin Clark's paycheck, and other indicators
Inside the epic fight over new banking regulations
Profiting off greater risk: the reinsurance game
What is a 'freedom economy'?
Why is insurance so expensive right now? And more listener questions
What Subway's foot-long cookie says about inflation
The IRS wants to do your taxes for free. Will it last?
Why the EU is investigating China's wind turbines
What do the royals do all day, anyway?
Why companies spin off
Do I need a four-year degree?
How the 'shadow fleet' helps Russia skirt sanctions
Can an old law bring down grocery prices?
The Indicator Quiz: Labor Edition
Can breaking the law be good for business?
Three ways consumers are feeling the pinch
Should schools be paying their college athletes?
Help Wanted at Boeing
Name our mascot. No, really.
The interest-ing world of interest rates
How ski resorts are (economically) adjusting to climate change
When does youth employment become child labor?
Tick tock for TikTok?
Can Europe fund its defense ambitions?
Biden's economic pitch for a second term
How are moving companies faring with high mortgage rates?
Are data breaches putting patients at risk?
What's behind Bitcoin's bullrun?
Is the financial media making us miserable about the economy?
Why wind techs are so in demand
How to get Russia to pay Ukraine
What would it take to fix retirement?
How the SEC's new rule could reveal more about a company's emissions
The growing industry of green burials
Wendy's pricing mind trick and other indicators of the week
Why Israel uses diaspora bonds
What the data reveal about U.S. labor unrest
How to make an ad memorable
Reddit's public Wall Street bet
An oil boom, a property slump and dental deflation
A Supreme Court case that could reshape social media
Why Capital One wants Discover
Could fake horns end illegal rhino poaching?
Chocolate, Lyft's typo and India's election bonds
Why banks are fighting changes to an anti-redlining program
How Egypt's military is dragging down its economy
How's your defense industry knowledge?
What's really happening with the Evergrande liquidation
A Swiftie Super Bowl, a stumbling bank, and other indicators
Why Saudi Arabia is building a new city in the desert
Is Wall Street's hottest trend finally over?
Did pandemic business support work?
Could cash payments ease recessions?
How local government is propping up the U.S. labor market
Why the FTC is cracking down on location data brokers
How to transform a war economy for peacetime
Can Just-In-Time handle a new era of war?
Are we overpaying for military equipment?
Tumbling Chinese stocks and rapid Chipotle hiring
How niche brands got into your local supermarket
A manifesto for feeding 8 billion people
Are we counting jobs right? We answer your listener questions
The tensions behind the sale of U.S. Steel
Walmart scams, expensive recycling, and overdraft fees
Five tips for understanding political polls this election season
The surprising leader in EVs
How the world economy could react to escalation in the Middle East
Offloading EVs, vacating offices and reaping windfalls
The lawsuit that could shake up the rental market
Why oil in Guyana could be a curse
Ad targeting gets into your medical file
Five reasons why Americans and economists can't agree on the economy
Higher wages, fewer temp workers and indicators of the year results
WTF is a bitcoin ETF?
What a pot of gumbo can teach us about disinflation
Red Sea tensions spell trouble for global supply chains
Chasing the American Dream at Outback Steakhouse (Classic)
'Let's Get It On' ... in court (Update)
A lesson in Barbie labor economics (Classic)
The echo of the bison (Classic)
Predicting next year's economic storylines
The 'Yellowstone' effect on Montana
How economics can help you stick to your New Year's resolution
Coyote vs. Warner Bros. Discovery
Would-be weed merchants hit a 'grass ceiling'
The Indicator of the Year
What women want (to invest in)
The 'physics' behind potential interest rate cuts
Are the products in your shopping cart real?
A countdown to climate action
AI creates, transforms and destroys... jobs
The wheel's many reinventions
What can we learn from the year's most popular econ terms?
Americans don't like higher prices but they LOVE buying new things
Who can and cannot get weight-loss drugs
Endless shrimp and other indicators
Could SCOTUS outlaw wealth taxes?
Putting the 80/20 rule to the test
Oil prices and the Israel-Hamas war
Texas' new power grid problem
A salary to be grateful for, and other Thanksgiving indicators
How "dark defaults" could cost you
The messy human drama behind OpenAI
Prices fall, unemployment rises and Boomers have all the houses
How do cheap cell phone plans make money? And other questions
The evidence on school vouchers that'll please nobody
Xi and him
When a staple becomes a luxury
Actors back. Pandas gone. WeBankrupt.
A radical plan to fix Argentina's inflation
Bond. World's oldest living bond.
A bad economy can be good for your health
The spectacle of Sam Bankman-Fried's trial
Why everyone in the labor market is being picky
How the South is trying to win the EV race
Trying to solve the mystery of big bond yields
Are real estate agent fees a racket?
A finance fright fest
Europe vs. US economies... and a dime heist
What happened to the internet without net neutrality?
The Beigie Awards: Why banks are going on a "loan diet"
Why offshore wind is facing headwinds
How IBM's gamble ushered in the computer age
More fraud, higher bond yields, and faster airline boarding
What could convince Egypt to take in Gaza's refugees?
There's one business like show business
How a consumer watchdog's power became a liability
The Indicator Quiz: Climate Edition
Junk fees, unfilled jobs, jackpot
Taking the temperature of the US consumer
A treacherous descent? What will the Fed do next?
A conversation with Nobel laureate Claudia Goldin (Update)
Wanted: Social workers
Body Electric: What digital jobs are doing to our bodies
You tell us how to fix mortgages, and more
EVs killed the AM radio star
When Uncle Sam stops paying the childcare bill
Twerking, tote bags, and the top of the charts
The walking dead NFTs
How EV batteries tore apart Michigan (Update)
Chasing the American Dream at Outback Steakhouse
Is the Canada, Meta news standoff coming to the US?
A million-dollar fossil, and other indicators
Selling safety in the fight against wildfires
The rat under the Fed's hat
The Beigie Awards: Manufacturing takes center stage
Coca Cola v. Coca Pola
Economics, boosternomics and Swiftnomics