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.
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Are U.S. defense contractors lavishing their investors too much?
In early January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order threatening bans on defense contractors paying dividends or buying their stock back...
ICE influencers, a world-record trade surplus, and the moon goes nuclear
Welcome back to Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.
On today’s episo...
Why Trump resurrected the Monroe Doctrine
203 years ago, President James Monroe declared the Western Hemisphere off limits to powerful countries in Europe. Fast forward, and President Trump is...
Can a good story change economic reality?
Economic decisions aren’t only driven by hard data. A compelling story can change economic behavior and outcomes. In today’s episode, we explore real-...
One Fed battle after another
Over the weekend, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the Department of Justice served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas. Powell says it’s all a...
How far can philanthropy go to fill government gaps?
While Americans are known for their generosity, the U.S. government, increasingly, is not. The Trump administration’s cuts to SNAP benefits among othe...
How AI is shrinking the job market for teens
Karissa Tang is a 17-year-old in California who got curious about the impact of AI on typical teen jobs like cashiers and fast food counter workers. S...
Venezuela didn't steal U.S. oil. Here's what happened
President Trump claims Venezuela stole American oil. Is that true? We trace Venezuela's oil industry from its 1920s birth through nationalization and...
Can you trust you're getting the same grocery prices as someone else?
When you're in a grocery store nowadays, chances are your data is being collected. From a swipe of the loyalty card to the purchase of an ice cream pi...
How cocaine smuggling through Latin America really works
Former Venezuelan leader, Nicolás Maduro, appeared in a New York court yesterday. He’s facing drug-trafficking and weapons charges after the U.S. abdu...
Why China pulled the plug on Japan
Japan’s new prime minister Sanae Takaichi made waves last fall after saying her country might intervene if China invaded Taiwan. In response, China la...
Venezuela’s economic descent (Updated)
At The Indicator, we’ve been following the conditions in Venezuela over the years. In 2024 we covered how Venezuela’s economy went into freefall, and...
We resolve to watch these 2026 indicators
2025 is finally over.
We had bad consumer sentiment vibes, tariffs, and a seemingly ascendant stock market. And those are just a few ind...
Why Americans don't want to move for jobs anymore (Encore)
Americans are moving at record lows for work. What’s driving people to, well, not drive cross-country for jobs? On today’s episode, we explore the ris...
Gilded Age 2.0? (Encore)
To hear President Trump tell it, the late 1800s, i.e. the Gilded Age, were a period of unparalleled wealth and prosperity in the U.S. But this era was...
The cautionary tale of a recovering day trading addict (Encore)
Seasons greetings from the The Indicator! On today's show, the story of a man who started buying and selling stocks as a hobby — and got seriously add...
The economic challenges facing men without college degrees
Many men in the U.S. feel like they're not doing as well as their fathers. But what does the data say? This episode, we're sharing an extended convers...
The secret to Nintendo's success (Encore)
For the next week, we're running some of our favorite shows from this year. On today's show, a brief history of Nintendo and how a small playing card...
Why every A-lister also has a side hustle (Encore)
Happy Holidays from The Indicator! For the next week, we're running some of our favorite shows from this year. On today's show, why celebrities are in...
The worst year of Warren Buffett’s career
As Warren Buffett aged, he became a different sort of figure. He transformed from short-term investor into long-term builder. He used Berkshire Hathaw...
The spite acquisition that launched Warren Buffett
With an unprecedented decades-long run of success, Warren Buffett is retiring on December 31, 2025. Buffett’s turning point began with the acquisition...
Tariffs. Consumer sentiment. Cape Ratio. Pick The Indicator of The Year!
2025 was a wild year for the U.S. economy. Tariffs transformed the global economy, consumer sentiment hit near-historic lows, and the stock market hit...
Catching up with a fired federal worker, a shrimper and a fraudster
After a firehose of economic news in 2025, we wanted to check back on some of the people we’ve heard from on our show. Today, we check in with a forme...
The ghosts of Obamacare past, present and future
Absent a holiday miracle, premium subsidies for the Affordable Care Act are set to expire at the end of this year. This will greatly increase the cost...
Will new loan limits lower the cost of grad school?
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act made a lot of changes to the federal student loan system. One of those changes put a new cap on the amount of loans stu...
Can American cities grow AND stay affordable?
Cities like Austin and Atlanta used to top lists of places people moved to looking for relatively affordable places to live. Until, one day, they were...
Nvidia chips for China, frozen Russian funds, and a lot of self-checkout stealing
It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.
On today’s episode: Nvidi...
How to make $35 trillion ... disappear
You may be familiar with the AI-fueled stock market boom. Well, former International Monetary Fund Chief Economist Gita Gopinath warns it could mirror...
Bitcoin miners are betting on AI over crypto
If you want to make Bitcoin, you need powerful computers and a lot of energy. Well, it turns out the same infrastructure needed for Bitcoin mining is...
How a former Fed vice chair would approach rate cuts
Federal Reserve is meeting to make its interest rate decision after the government shutdown delayed key economic data. Today on the show, we talk to t...
Take a penny, leave a penny, get rid of the penny
In November, the U.S. stopped production of the humble penny after 232 years in circulation. On today’s show, a former U.S. Mint director shares the f...
Chips up, rent down, and are people really skimping on holiday gifts?
It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.
On today’s episode: A big goshDR...
A little doomsday feeling is weighing on the economy
It is a special edition of the Beigies Awards where one regional Federal Reserve Bank will receive lifetime achievement recognition. Today on the show...
How Japan’s new prime minister is jolting markets
Sanae Takaichi was sworn in as Japan’s first female prime minister a little over a month ago, and she’s already making waves in the East and West. The...
What would it mean to actually refund the tariffs?
Tariffs are bringing in some serious cash into the US Treasury’s pocket. The problem with that money is that it may need to be refunded. A case in fro...
Why the US chose not to have a passenger train system like Europe
Why can't the US be like Europe, Japan or India—countries that all have extensive passenger train systems? On today's show, why the US chose not to. W...
Moochers, monopolists and market-based poverty help
Public sector economics is a fundamental piece of the discipline. So we wanted to give our hosts an opportunity to put their knowledge to the test in...
Who's financing Meta's massive AI data center?
In a rural pocket of northeastern Louisiana, Meta is building a $30 billion data center called Hyperion. But it’s not being completely financed with M...
Who’s buying all the beef?
President Trump has said he’d try to get more Argentine beef into the U.S. So who would actually do the buying? That’s a general theme with a lot of t...
Pay transparency. The WhatsApp and Instagram decision. Our beef with screwworms.
It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.
On today’s episode: the e...