The Indicator from Planet Money

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The Indicator from Planet Money episodes

September 03, 2025 So long, farewell, super cheap tariff-free shopping
In late July, President Trump signed an executive order to get rid of de minimis, a kind of a loophole where packages valued less than $800 could come into the US without tariffs.

Last week, post offices from India to Austria to France suspended some types of packages to the US. We speak to an Australian jewelry maker, a logistics expert and an economist to learn how this is changing shopping in America.
Related episodes:
Three ways companies are getting around tariffs
What olive oil tells us about Trump's tariffs
What is Temu?
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 Cooper Katz McKim. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

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10 min
September 02, 2025 Inside the illegal vape boom
A booming underground vape market is thriving. It’s unapproved, unregulated, and risky. Today on the show, we hear from The Atlantic’s Nick Florko to dig into why illegal vapes have flooded the U.S., and what’s at stake.
Related episodes:
The vapes of wrath
How sports gambling blew up
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.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

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10 min
August 29, 2025 AI creeps in, KATSEYE milkshakes, and China says “Zaijian!” to US soybeans
It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.
On today’s episode: AI shuts out youth from the grind, China leaves U.S. soybeans behind, Gap has the then-and-now in marketing mind.
Related episodes:
AI creates, transforms and destroys... jobs
What do farmers do in a trade war?
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 and Julia Ritchey. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

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10 min
August 28, 2025 What olive oil tells us about Trump's tariffs
Trump's tariffs are making business harder for international olive oil producers and it turns out those tariffs are even complicating other parts of the Trump administration's agenda, too.

Today on the show: Olive oil and the unintended consequences of Trump's tariffs.

Related episodes:

Three ways companies are getting around tariffs

The legal case for — and against — Trump's tariffs

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.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

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10 min
August 27, 2025 Trump's unprecedented attack on the Fed
Last night, President Donald Trump posted a letter firing Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook. The reason? She was accused of listing two properties as her primary residences, which potentially gave her more favorable lending terms. This marks another escalation in the president’s battle for control of America’s central bank.
We’re publishing our conversation early about whether this is legal, what the Fed might do, and how the Fed’s independence is more fragile than we may think.
Related episodes:
Should presidents have more of a say in interest rates?
Can the Federal Reserve stay independent?
It's hard out there for a Fed chair
Patent Racism
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.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

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10 min
August 26, 2025 Three ways companies are getting around tariffs
Businesses are scrambling for ways to minimize the impact of the Trump administration’s global tariff policy. Today on the show, we go over some of the tricks and legal loopholes that companies are employing to get around these sudden import taxes.

Related episodes:
The legal case for — and against — Trump's tariffs
The secret tariff-free zone
You told us how tariffs are affecting you

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.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy
10 min
August 25, 2025 Can you copyright artwork made using AI?
Copyright is the legal system used to reward and protect creations made by humans. But with growing adoption of artificial intelligence, does copyright extend to artwork that’s made using AI? Today on the show, how a test case over a Vincent Van Gogh mashup is testing the boundaries of copyright law.

Related episodes:
‘Let’s Get it On’ … in court
Copyright small claims court
The alleged theft at th heart of ChatGPT

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.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy
9 min
August 22, 2025 Job retraining and the brain, DC dining, and Robinhood's sports bet
It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.

On today’s episode: Job retraining boosts mental health (with more mixed results for romance); the complex picture behind why dinner reservations are down in DC; and the trading platform Robinhood gets into the sports definitely-not-betting game.

Related episodes:
The cautionary tale of a recovering day trading addict
The nepo baby premium, frothing markets, and Apple vs. Apples

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 Cooper Katz McKim and Corey Bridges. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy
10 min
August 21, 2025 What happens when railroads get hitched
Two freight-rail giants could make history if their $85 billion merger gets approved. Union Pacific’s proposed marriage with Norfolk Southern would create the first coast-to-coast rail network. So why hasn’t it happened before now? Today on the show, the business of train mergers.

Related episodes:
How Yellow wound up in the red

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.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy
10 min
August 20, 2025 Cobalt-free batteries reign in Chinese EVs. Why not the US?
There’s been an era-defining race underway between two types of batteries used in electric vehicles: lithium batteries that use cobalt, and ones that use iron phosphate. Cobalt, a metal with a checkered human rights record, has been in the lead. Until recently.

Henry Sanderson’s book on the elements that build electric vehicles is Volt Rush: The Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green.

Related episodes:
The race to produce lithium
How batteries are already changing the grid
How batteries are riding the free market rodeo in Texas
How EV batteries tore apart Michigan (Update)
Batteries are catching fire at sea

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.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy
10 min

About The Indicator from Planet Money

From the publisher's feed

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…