The Indicator from Planet Money

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What's The Indicator from Planet Money about?

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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A troubling cold spot in th...

06.02.2023

The job market continues to surge despite fears of an economic slowdown. In recent months, Black Americans benefited from strong labor market conditions. But May's unemployment numbers hint that could change. For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, ...

The Indicator from Planet Money episodes:

06.02.2023 A troubling cold spot in the hot jobs report The job market continues to surge despite fears of an economic slowdown. In recent months, Black Americans benefited from strong labor market conditions. But May's unemployment numbers hint that could change. For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, ...
06.01.2023 The OG of ESGs Decades before the current debate about ESG and "woke capitalism," there was a guy on Wall Street investing money on behalf of nuns and labor unions. He's known today as one of the pioneers of socially responsible investing. For sponsor-free ...
05.31.2023 The inventor's dilemma New economic research suggests that large companies can hold back inventors, and the overall economy. Today we talk to an inventor who left a big pharmaceutical company to start afresh, leading to some incredible treatments for serious diseases. For sponsor-free ...
05.30.2023 Elon's giant rocket Is this Mars thing really happening? SpaceX did its first test launch of Starship this spring, the rocket that it's developing to send to Mars. But getting to Mars is still a long way off. So does SpaceX have the ...
05.26.2023 Receding rivers, party poopers, and debt ceiling watchers Indicators all about kicking the can down the road but never far enough. A deal on water in the west, the US's tippy top credit rating gets put on notice, and tech companies want us to have less fun and ...
05.25.2023 The dangers of money market funds Money market funds are a key aspect of the financial system and hold about $5.75 trillion of assets. Today, we explain what makes up a money market fund, why they've been looking shaky lately, and why a potential debt default ...
05.24.2023 Bots, bootleggers and Baptists A corporate titan and a cautious professor face off before Congress and ... agree with each other? From the ivory tower to inside the boardroom, the pressure campaign to regulate AI. For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, ...
05.23.2023 Is AI a job-killer or an up-skiller? For all the talk about AI, one of the burning questions is how the technology will affect the workforce. Today, we talk to the authors of one of the first empirical studies that looks at AI in the workplace. For ...
05.22.2023 The Indicator Quiz: Banking Troubles It's another Indicator Quiz episode! We bring a listener onto the show and test their econ knowledge. This time around, the quiz is all about the banking system and its recent troubles. Are you interested in being a contestant on ...
05.19.2023 Household debt, Home Depot sales and Montana's TikTok ban It's Indicators of the Week! We round up the economic indicators that caught our attention. On today's episode, we look at growing U.S. household debt, the shrinking sales of Home Depot and Montana's new TikTok ban. For sponsor-free episodes of ...
05.18.2023 Can YOU solve the debt crisis? In the background of the debt ceiling fight between Congress and the Biden administration, we peek inside a little-known program created for citizens who want to help pay off the national debt. This special fund has been collecting donations from ...
05.18.2023 The man who busted the inflation-employment myth Nobel-winning economist Robert Lucas Jr. died on Monday. His revolutionary theories transformed the field of macroeconomics. His influential "Lucas critique" argued economic policy must take into account people's decisions in reaction to the policy itself, and just as importantly, their ...
05.16.2023 Does the U.S. have too many banks? The United States is unusual in that it has thousands of relatively small and specialized banks. Even after adjusting for population size, countries like Canada, the U.K., India and Brazil have far fewer banks. Today, we examine America's love affair ...
05.15.2023 Do dollar store bans work? In recent years, we've seen dozens of cities ban new dollar stores from opening up. The thinking goes, by keeping dollar stores out, it'll be easier to get much-needed grocery stores to come in. On today's show, we visit two ...
05.12.2023 The debt ceiling deadline, German economy, and happy workers It's Indicators of the Week! We round up the economic indicators that caught our attention ... Germany's economic resilience comes in the form of a heat pump. As debt-ceiling negotiations continue, the debt default date continues to move around. And ...
05.11.2023 Twitter's concerning surge Twitter's false labeling of the NPR Twitter account as "state-affiliated" put a spotlight on the website's handling of government-controlled accounts. Today, we talk to NPR tech reporter, Dara Kerr, about the recent surge in activity for state-controlled Twitter accounts. For ...
05.10.2023 Congress could do more to fight inflation The rate of inflation is slowing, but still uncomfortably high, according to today's consumer price index report. The Federal Reserve has been front and center in fighting inflation, cranking up interest rates for more than a year. But how about ...
05.09.2023 Housing dilemma in resort towns Hot, fresh and kinda salty, the Beige Book is back! This time we're headed to the beach as businesses get ready for summer. For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or ...
05.08.2023 What's the Commonwealth good for? The coronation of King Charles III is putting the United Kingdom and its relationship with Commonwealth countries back in the spotlight. Today, we explore the economic links between the UK and Caribbean Commonwealth countries to see what the future might ...
05.05.2023 Who's the boss in today's labor market? It's one thing to quit your job and a completely other thing to get laid off or fired. A new indicator compares quits with firings and layoffs to measure who has more power in today's labor market, workers or employers. ...
05.04.2023 President Biden: Climate champion or fossil fuel friend? As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden promised to make climate change a major priority, But since taking office, President Joe Biden seems pretty friendly to the fossil fuel industry. What gives? For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, ...
05.03.2023 How the Fed got so powerful How much power does the Fed have? According to Fed Chair Jerome Powell, the limit basically does not exist! New York Times reporter Jeanna Smialek joins the show to talk about her new book Limitless: The Federal Reserve Takes on ...
05.02.2023 The banking system that loaned billions to SVB and First Republic Unsung hero of the financial system or enabler of failing banks? Today on the show, how the Federal Home Loan Bank system, originally designed to support homeownership and affordable housing, ended up loaning billions to failing banks like First Republic. ...
05.02.2023 SVB, now First Republic: How it all started The turmoil in the banking industry isn't over yet. Today, First Republic Bank was seized, following the failures of Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank back in March. How did we get here? And how do we prevent banks from ...
04.28.2023 Our final thoughts on the influencer industry As we wrap our series exploring the influencer marketing industry, we go to the cutting room floor for some extra insight into topics that we didn't have time for. For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to ...
04.27.2023 The dark side of the influencer industry When your lifestyle is your brand, the line between work and life can start to get blurred. From hate comments and sneaky contracts to prejudice and discrimination, it's not all sunshine and brand deals in the influencer industry. For sponsor-free ...
04.26.2023 Gen Z's dream job in the influencer industry 'Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life,' they said. How Gen Z is trying to do just that through ~influencing~ For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via ...
04.25.2023 The economics of the influencer industry We wanted to know how many influencers are making a living from their content creation. Turns out, not many are. On today's episode of our series on the influencer industry, we meet a fashion influencer trying to piece together sponsorship ...
04.24.2023 The origins of the influencer industry This week, we're going deep into the multi-billion dollar influencer industry. Today, a researcher and two generations of influencers take us through the industry's history, from its origins in the blogosphere of the Great Recession to the sponsored content in ...
04.21.2023 Dollar v. world / Taylor Swift v. FTX / Fox v. Dominion Why does Brazil's President Lula go to bed every night thinking about the US dollar? Did Taylor Swift know crypto exchange FTX was trouble? That and more on this week's financial news roundup. For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from ...
04.20.2023 'Let's Get It On' ... in court Did Ed Sheeran steal from Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" in his hit single "Thinking Out Loud"? That case heads to trial next week, and our guest says the outcome should matter to music-lovers everywhere. For sponsor-free episodes of ...
04.19.2023 A tech billionaire goes missing in China Earlier this year, Bao Fan, a prominent Chinese banker and tech billionaire, went missing in China. According to a statement from his company, he's "cooperating in an investigation being carried out by certain authorities in the People's Republic of China." ...
04.19.2023 The dating game that does your taxes A video game where you go on dates and also prepare your federal tax return? We obviously had to play. Plus the IRS's 20 year journey to make tax prep free. For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, ...
04.17.2023 Can forcing people to save cool inflation? "Forced savings, you cowards!" Those aren't his exact words, but in 1940, macroeconomist John Maynard Keynes advocated for compulsory savings to help tame inflation during World War II. Could that work today? For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet ...
04.14.2023 Gloomy global growth, Tupperware troubles, RIP HBO Max In this edition of Indicators of the Week, our hosts cover the latest news from the International Monetary Fund, Tupperware and the media conglomerate behind HBO Max — or is it just Max now? For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator ...
04.13.2023 When AI works in HR Artificial intelligence has been portrayed as a solution to human bias. But, when it comes to finding top job talent, AI can get it just as wrong. So how can that be fixed? For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from ...
04.12.2023 Prices: What goes up, doesn't always come down Earlier in the pandemic, we saw many businesses raise their prices because of the higher costs they faced. So we wondered, now that some of those costs are coming down, will companies also pass along that price relief to consumers? ...
04.11.2023 How one small change in Japan could sway U.S. markets You've heard of the butterfly effect, right? A seemingly small action causes ripples in unexpected ways elsewhere. So, what would it mean if Japan's central bank raised interest rates on its 10-year government bonds, which have been near zero percent ...
04.10.2023 The Fed's radical new bank band-aid Recent bank failures are putting a spotlight on risky behaviors in the financial sector. The Federal Reserve is introducing a new way for banks to borrow money that's better for banks, but exposes the government to more cost and risk. ...
04.06.2023 How much is your reputation worth? Dominion Voting Systems is seeking $1.6 billion in damages from Fox News, which if it wins, would be the biggest defamation verdict in U.S. history. So we wondered, how do you price a reputation? For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator ...
04.05.2023 Inside the underwater cables powering the economy On the Internet, everything feels instantaneous. But how exactly did that data get to you? We'll take you on a virtual tour of the 19th-century technology that runs the modern world. For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, ...
04.04.2023 The inverted yield curve is screaming RECESSION There is one indicator that has predicted every recession since 1969, and that indicator is flashing red right now. It's the yield curve. But Mr. Yield Curve himself, Campbell Harvey, explains why this time he thinks his prediction could be ...
04.03.2023 What the "bonkers" bond market means for you U.S. government bonds have long been seen as a steady, reliable place for investors. So why has this safe 'merry-go-round' option turned into a rickety roller coaster ride? We step into the financial markets theme park to explain. For sponsor-free ...
03.31.2023 Binance lawsuit, bank failures and oil drilling We cover some of this week's top economic stories: Cryptocurrency company Binance's legal issues, patching a hole in the banking system's rainy day fund, and newly approved waters for oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. For sponsor-free ...
03.30.2023 The cost of a dollar in Ukraine How one Ukrainian is circumventing the government exchange rate to turn U.S. dollars into medicine for Ukrainians near the front lines. For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
03.30.2023 What's the cure for America's doctor shortage? The doctor shortage is a growing problem across the U.S. But there was a time when the government, researchers, and medical professionals worried about a doctor surplus.
03.28.2023 Batteries are catching fire at sea Lithium-ion batteries—used in everything from smart phones and laptops to electric scooters and cars—are catching fire on land and at sea. A former cargo ship captain walks us through why these fires are so hard to put out and why ...
03.27.2023 Why tech bros are trying to give away all their money (kind of) How do you do the most good in the world? Money and data! That's according to this new wave of philanthropy known as effective altruism, heralded by the likes of Sam Bankman-Fried. Today on the show we uncover the art ...
03.24.2023 Too many subscriptions, not enough organs Our indicators of the week: how a federal agency is trying to make it easier for you to cancel your subscriptions. And what's being done to address the 100,000-plus person backlog for organ transplants. For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator ...
03.23.2023 The wide open possibility of the high seas The high seas — water 200 nautical miles from shore — are an ocean of possibility for industries looking to cash in. But without proper oversight, the problems could be as deep as the ocean itself. Could an international agreement ...

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