The Indicator from Planet Money

On today’s Indicators of the Week: the Gamestop and eBay romance that never was, more and more people are taking out loans for everyday things, and no, everyday people can’t invest in OpenAI and Anthropic before they’ve gone public.

Fact checking by Julia Ritchey and Corey Bridges. 

Your Next Listen 
— OpenAI's deals are looking a little frothy 

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A new documentary from Frontline PBS, called “The President vs. the Fed”, helps us make sense of the unprecedented power struggle between the world’s most powerful politician and the world’s most powerful bank. You can watch the film, directed by Frontline Correspondent James Jacoby, on Frontline’s website, YouTube channel, or the PBS app. 

Fact checking by Sierra Juarez.

Your Next Listen 
— Trump’s unprecedented attack on the Fed
— One Fed battle after another

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NATO was formed after World War 2 as a collective security alliance that would prevent future world wars. But President Trump sees NATO more like a transaction between countries where allies have to pay up or be left undefended. On today’s episode: How NATO is actually funded, why this longstanding alliance is under strain, and how the U.S. could pay the cost for these frayed relationships.

Fact checking by Sierra Juarez.

Your Next Listen

— Europe's NATO members take an economic hit

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It’s the Wild West of online betting. Prediction markets have been plagued by insider trading allegations, ethical questions and even national security concerns. Today on the show, what are sites like Polymarket doing to self-police, and what other regulations might be necessary? We talk to one U.S. senator with some ideas.

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Related: 
Is anyone gonna do anything about these Iran War trades?  
Do prediction market bettors make anything better?  
Polymarket bots, lithium found: lots!, marathon shoe thoughts  

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.  

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Anthropic’s AI model, Claude Mythos, is very powerful. SO powerful it can find software vulnerabilities that might let it, I don’t know, steal your bank login information. Anthropic is holding back the model from a wider release for now. Today on the show, how worried should we really be about Mythos? And are its capabilities actually unique?

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Related episodes:  
Fighting AI with AI 
How AI might mess with financial models

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.  


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With AI disrupting the workplace, is your job even going to be around in ten years? The Bureau of Labor Statistics has just the handbook for that. 

Today on the show, we flip through the Occupational Outlook Handbook and answer your questions about the future of work.

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Related episodes:  
How AI is shrinking the job market for teens  
Why wind techs are so in demand 
AI creates, transforms and destroys... jobs

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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What do a Florida-based drone company, a crypto billionaire, and a European steelmaker have in common? Ties to President Trump. Since returning to office, the president, as well as his family and friends, have inked a number of business deals that raise questions about conflicts of interest. On today’s show, we scrutinize three of these deals.

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Related: 
Trump’s crypto interests  
Mixing family business with US trade policy in Vietnam 
Gilded Age 2.0?  
The tensions behind the sale of U.S. Steel 

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.  

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The US-Israel war in Iran is already being felt by American consumers at the gas pump, but when — and how badly — could it be felt at the supermarket? 

Today on the show, a food economist takes a crack at forecasting just how much our grocery bills could increase in the coming months, and which items will take the biggest hit.

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Related episodes: 
How are drivers riding out the gas crisis? 
Think the oil shock is bad in the US? Look here 
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.  

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Some of the earliest signs of dementia can show up in your financial portfolio. Missed bill payments and erratic investments could be indicators, and they can happen years before an official diagnosis. Today on the show, we dig into the connection between finances and dementia, and why the financial health of seniors is falling through the cracks.

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Related episodes: 
The dementia tax
What does the next era of Social Security look like?
Saving, borrowing, spending: an economist's take on popular advice (Planet Money+)

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.  


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Tax cuts for the middle and working classes, and tax hikes for the rich. What's behind this trend? We ask Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen to explain his bill that eliminates federal income tax for many workers while hiking taxes for high earners. We also hear from a tax policy expert who has some reservations. 

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Related episodes: 
What if our income was taxed ... totally differently? 
Will the tax cuts pay for themselves? 

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.  

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