The Indicator from Planet Money

Despite presidential saber rattling and huge tariff threats, the U.S. stock market keeps reaching record highs. Why?

Today we sit down with the man who coined the acronym TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) and chew through several hypotheses. (Over tacos, of course.)

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Once upon a time, the states had a thriving tinned fish market. Like a lot of U.S. manufacturing though, that's been lost. But sardines are having a moment right now and that may help a growing effort to resurrect this lost industry.

Related episodes:
Why do shrimpers like tariffs (Apple / Spotify)
When a staple becomes a luxury (Apple / Spotify)
We're gonna need a bigger boat-building industry (Apple / Spotify)

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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To cap off our weeklong series on all things Hollywood, we're going to have a little fun! Tune in to hear Adrian, Darian and Wailin battle it out as they try to name movies based on cryptic descriptions of the businesses featured in them. You can play along!

Related episodes:
When is cosplay a crime?
The story of China and Hollywood's big-screen romance
Why aren't filmmakers shooting in LA?
Before La La Land there was Fort Lee, New Jersey

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 movies come to Indicators of the Week. We dig into why one film is letting you reserve tickets a whole year in advance, what ticket prices might tell us about tariffs and inflation, and how Los Angeles might be cutting back on the red tape when it comes to making movies there.

Related episodes:
Why aren't filmmakers shooting in LA? (Apple / Spotify)
The story of China and Hollywood's big-screen romance (Apple / Spotify)
When is cosplay a crime? (Apple / Spotify)
Before La La Land, there was Fort Lee, New Jersey (Apple / Spotify)

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 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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Cosplay—or dressing up as your favorite character from pop culture—is fun! But it can fall into a legal gray area when it comes to companies' intellectual property.

Today on the show: a group of cosplayers, Lucasfilm(!), a lawyer, and finding economic symbiosis in order to express yourself.

Related episodes:
Before La La Land there was Fort Lee, New Jersey (Apple / Spotify)
Why aren't filmmakers shooting in LA? (Apple / Spotify)

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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No country can come close to the amount of money Americans spend at the box office each year ... that is, until China came along. The US and Chinese film industries have a long intertwined history, with shifting power dynamics.

Today on the show, we continue our week-long look at the movie business as we explore the on-and-off romance between Hollywood and China's film industries.

Related episodes:
Why aren't filmmakers shooting in LA? (Apple / Spotify)
Before La La Land there was Fort Lee, New Jersey (Apple / Spotify)

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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Despite being, ya know, Hollywood, more and more movies and TV shows are shooting outside of Tinseltown.

Dozens of U.S. states and many countries offer subsidies for film production. This has drawn filmmakers away from L.A. and led to historically low levels of shooting activity in recent years in the city.

After the COVID shutdowns, labor strikes, and January's devastating wildfires ... what can bring back LA's film industry?

Related episodes:
Before La La Land there was Fort Lee, New Jersey (Apple / Spotify)
Why residuals are taking center stage in actors' strike (Apple / Spotify)

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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Hollywood, baby! The glitz! The glamour! The ever-changing business models! This week, The Indicator is going to the movies. Starting today with the history of Hollywood and where it began ... New Jersey!

Related episode:
The Origin Of The Oscars

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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We are back with Indicators of the Week! Today, we'll be digging into why U.S. professional gamblers are worried about their future, why businesses might start investing more in research and development, and why cancelling your subscriptions is going to remain difficult.

Related episodes:
How sports gambling blew up (Apple / Spotify)
The cautionary tale of a recovering day trading addict (Apple / Spotify)
The 'Planet Money' team examines the subscription trap

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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