Health care costs contributed big to September’s inflation reading, though the sector’s price increases have lagged other industries for most of the last year. But lately, consumers and insurers are shelling out more for medication, nursing homes and hospitals. In this episode, we’ll diagnose the root cause of high health care spending, which is expected to make up a fifth of the U.S. economy by 2030. Plus, why the cost of corporate debt is on the rise and haunted houses’ frightening finances.

Gross domestic product expanded at a 4.9% rate in the third quarter, driven by a consumer who couldn’t pass up high-priced concert tickets and big-ticket durable goods. But is that torrid pace sustainable? We’ll also examine why companies are holding on tight to their workers and how Buy American rules can complicate infrastructure buildouts.

As America gets older, its people need nursing homes, and nursing homes need nurses. There’s not enough of them, and even government mandates may not fix the problem. We delve into the gap. Also, GM slows down its electric vehicle program, and Microsoft has the momentum in its long rivalry with Google.

As the federal budget deficit widens, we’ll take a look at one contributing factor: the Federal Reserve’s obligation to pay interest to banks. It’s outpacing income the Fed makes from the securities it bought as part of its quantitative easing strategy. Also in this episode, women who’ve started their own businesses weigh in on the pros and cons compared to traditional jobs. Hydropower dams struggle in the face of changing weather patterns, and the H-1B visa application process may get some updates.

Do users actually like Google’s search engine best, or does its role as default option seal the deal? That’s the question at the center of the Justice Department’s antitrust trial against Google — whose parent company, Alphabet, spends billions to be the default on all sorts of devices. In this episode, we examine the psychology of defaults and why they wield serious power. Plus, we’ll investigate the revenue side of the budget deficit and get your bond yield questions answered.

In the most recent Beige Book, the Philadelphia Fed reported a staffing firm said it’s having an easier time filling night and weekend shifts. Could this mean the labor market is loosening up? We’ll talk to some folks around the country who are picking up jobs at odd hours. Also in this episode: rental car agencies pile on fees, China restricts graphite exports, and class barriers break down at … Applebee’s?

Initial jobless claims dropped last week, according to the Labor Department, but continuing claims ticked up. That could mean companies are hanging on to employees, but aren’t hiring new ones, an economist told us. We’ll talk about that at the top of the show. Later, Black and Hispanic household wealth grew faster than other households from 2019 to 2022. But that growth is a bit of an illusion. In this episode, two data stories with lots of nuance. Plus, the U.S.-to-Mexico gun pipeline and revenge spending.

A fast-growing city in the Arizona desert wants to spend millions buying extra land just to access the water beneath it. Drought in the Panama Canal is causing headaches for a Pennsylvania customs broker. And in Texas, a shrinking water management workforce means utilities companies are recruiting high schoolers to join the trade. In this episode, we’ll dive into why water matters in this economy. Plus, small businesses navigate growing insurance premiums and teens try out LinkedIn.

Many medical businesses thrived early in the pandemic. But now, domestic producers of personal protective equipment are struggling, COVID test makers have shuttered and vaccine developer Pfizer cut its revenue forecast for the year by $9 billion. In this episode, what might be next for the COVID economy. Plus, we’ll meet a writer who followed a meal literally from farm to table and visit two states that offer very different opportunities for remote work.

High tariffs usually mean high prices, which can do bad things to economies and consumers. But what if tariffs were strategically used to encourage climate-friendly purchases? Take steel, for example. In this episode, we examine how trade policies could incentivize the use of recycled steel over steel made from scratch. Plus, why Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy, how natural gas prices could keep heating bills low this winter and what’s driving Tesla’s price-cutting strategy?