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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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...
How to avoid scammers after a natural disaster
When people lose their homes to wildfire, hurricanes or flooding, they're eager to rebuild. But scammers are also ready to take advantage. On today’s...
Looking for love in the auto supply chain
Foreign automakers already have huge assembly plants in the U.S., but lots of parts and materials come from overseas.
To avoid costly ta...
How to make switching jobs not terrifying
The U.S. labor market is stagnant right now, with little hiring and lots of people holding onto their jobs for dear life. In Denmark, there’s a differ...
The winner's curse
Ever put in the winning bid for something on an auction site only to realize you significantly overpaid? Yeah, there’s a phrase for that. On today’s s...
50-year mortgages, falling real wages, and doing your rideshare due diligence
It’s … Indicators of the Week! We look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news and bring them to you.
On today’s e...
Where the US got $20B to bail out Argentina
The U.S. is committed to bailing out Argentina to the tune of $20 billion using a little known mechanism called the Exchange Stabilization Fund. On to...
Trump's backup options for tariffs
The U.S. Supreme Court may soon rule on President Trump’s favorite tariff law. It could render them moot, but that doesn’t mean the end of tariffs. O...
Who is the World Cup for anymore?
The World Cup is coming up, and it’s going to cost a pretty penny if you are hoping to attend. Today on the show, we talk to NPR Senior Business edito...
How the French pensions débâcle is a warning to us all
France has one of the most generous pension systems in the world. But several governments there have collapsed over questions about how the government...
Can air traffic controllers keep calm and carry on — without pay?
There’s one job that gets all the attention during a government shutdown: air traffic controllers. Today on the show, we spotlight why this job has ta...
This indicator hasn’t flashed this red since the dot-com bubble
The “Shiller PE Ratio” is at its highest level since November of 1999. That was at the peak of the online gold rush right before the dot com bubble bu...
Who's propping up Russian oil?
Russia’s been subject to more than 5,000 sanctions since its invasion of Ukraine. Yet many purported allies of Ukraine are still getting Russian oil —...